Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 22:38:14 -0700 From: Douglas DD DD Subject: The Puget Posse Chapter 21 Welcome back to the Puget Posse. This chapter is a little more sports oriented. The twins learn that there can be more to playing a game than winning. Neville begins to realize that maybe his life would be better if he became part of his team. The transition will be slow, but in this chapter his eyes open for a moment. All of the disclaimers continue to be real. Emails are always appreciated and enjoyed. Please donate to the Nifty archive. Douglas. The hakaanen@hotmail.com CHAPTER 21 INTO FALL When Jeremiah returned to riding the bus on Wednesday, he and Tony found a seat as far away from the twins as they could without encroaching into the territory claimed by the seventh and eighth graders. They ignored the twins and the twins ignored them. But Jeremiah was learning patience; he knew he would figure out a way to get even with or defeat the twins even if it took awhile. In the meantime, he would try not to suffer any more losses. Mark and Matthew did not trust Jeremiah. They were familiar enough with him to know he had to be planning something nefarious, sometime, somewhere. When the bus got to the Academy, the twins held back and let Will and Patrick leave ahead of them, with Jeremiah and Tony next, so they could keep an eye on the two. That order was going to become their routine. The Pelicans had a soccer game that afternoon against Whitman Day School. The fifth grade league they played in was little more than a glorified intramural league. Everybody got to play close to equal time during a game. The Pelicans performed rather well when their best players were in the game, but both teams had a lot of holes when the poorer players played. The Pelicans ended up losing 5-3. Mark scored one goal with Will and Lucas scoring the other two. Nobody scored against the Pelicans when Patrick was the goal keeper. Mark and Matthew each had a problem hogging the ball, making sure it was passed to either the other twin, to Patrick when he wasn't the keeper, to Misha, or Will, or to a couple of other boys they didn't know well but figured could handle the ball without tripping over it. "We would have won with our best team out there most of the time," Mark complained, making sure he was in the vicinity of Coach Walsh so his gripe would be heard. "You don't know that Mark. The Wildcats didn't have their best team out there a lot of the time either." Coach Walsh knew it was Mark and not Matthew who complained by the uniform number. He assumed the twins didn't switch numbers, which he wouldn't put past them. "That's when we should have gone after them," Matthew said, "when they didn't have their best team out there." Coach Walsh was learning what it was like to have to deal with the twins in tandem. "You guys both play on a select club team, correct?" Coach Walsh asked. "Yep, and we're two and oh," Mark said. "That makes us undefeated," Matthew said, in case Coach Walsh couldn't figure it out on his own. "And you guys play to win there, right?" the coach asked. "Yep. We like to kick ass," Mark said. "Mark, let's be using appropriate language, okay?" "Sorry coach." "What you boys who play recreation and club soccer should be doing instead of complaining is helping me make the less experienced players better. That way, when they go on the field, they will be so improved our team will be better." "That's a great idea, Coach," Matthew said. "Yeah," Mark agreed. "Then, when I give one of them a pass, he can kick the ball in the right direction." "That's it, you're getting the idea. And you two deciding to actually pass the ball would be a good idea, too." "Me and Matthew and the rest of the Posse can be your assistant coaches." "Yeah," Matthew said. "We might even win some games." "Save that for your select team," Coach Walsh told them. "Let's just try to do our best here and see how much we learn." On the drive home the twins' mother, who had come out to watch the game, listened as Mark told Patrick about the talk they had with Coach Walsh. "I think we're like assistant coaches now," he concluded. "I can teach about goal keeping," Patrick said, "because five goals is a lot to give up." "Yeah, especially when Patrick didn't give up any," Matthew said. "Do you remember what we talked about on Saturday?" Patrick asked, changing the subject. "We talked about lots of stuff," Mark said. "I mean about us having Posse names." "Do you have another idea?" Matthew asked. "Yep. How about we all have animal names." "Yeah," Matthew said. "Me and Mark can be the lion kings." "Or the grizzly bears," Mark said. "Something really big and fierce." He let out a loud soprano growl that almost had Kristy steering the SUV off of the road she was laughing so hard. "Let's talk to the Posse about it tomorrow," Patrick said. "We could all have lunch together." "Sounds like a plan," Matthew said. ++++++++++++ Getting the Posse to agree to have lunch together on Friday proved more difficult than Patrick had anticipated. Neville turned out to be the big stumbling block. "I am having lunch with my brother and with Cody," Neville said. "Why do we want to eat lunch together?" "I have a plan," Patrick told him. He went on to reveal his idea for each of them having animal names so the group wouldn't have to worry about using the right given names all of the time. "Names are simple. I am Neville." He pointed around the table. "You are Pat, and he is Misha, and he is Mark, and he is Mattie. No, he's Matthew now." "And I want to be called Patrick," Patrick added. "See what I mean, you had two of our names mixed up." "I suppose Misha wants to be Mikhail," Neville said. "No, I like Misha," Misha said. "At least you like it today," Neville said. "I wish I was on a team like the Fantastic Five. They all know what their names are." "They have five members, so they are full," Mark said. "Maybe we can make a trade," Neville said. "Me for Ellis. Will said they would not mind losing Ellis from their team." "You've been eating lunch with them a lot," Patrick said. "You seem to fit in with them." "Better than I fit in with you, Irish. Not to mention those two over there." He nodded his head toward the twins, whose desks were next to his. "Then maybe we can have lunch together on Monday," Patrick said. "I was planning to eat with Will and Lucas." "Change your plans," Mark said. "Bite me," Neville said, feeling good about his mastery of the American insult. Misha was following the spat with a great deal of interest. He'd been around more than his share of clashes at the orphanage. He realized that strong wills could often cause problems. The bell rang starting class and, for the time being, ended the dispute. There was no school soccer on Fridays, so each of the five Posse members was riding his regular bus home. Patrick expressed his disappointment in Neville to the twins who were sitting in the seat in front of Will and him. "Every time I want to like Neville, he gets all stupid," Patrick said. "That's because he is stupid," Mark said. "He wants to be part of the Fantastic Five," Will said. "Does that make him stupid?" "Nope. What makes him stupid is him not wanting to be part of the awesome Posse," Matthew said. "He can eat lunch with us for one day," Patrick said. "Just one day." He turned to Will and said, "And there is no room for him on your team, even if he could move." "Mr. Jackson said people can't move before winter break," Will said. "Yeah, like Mr. Jackson would let anybody change teams," Mark said skeptically. "He keeps calling me Irish," Patrick said. "That's one stupid thing. I was born in Seattle." "You said you got lots of Irish in you," Matthew said. "And he sure doesn't like that." "I know what kind of animal he can be if we ever pick them," Matthew said. "What?" Patrick asked. "A weasel, because he's all sneaky and you can't trust him." But Neville didn't have to deal with what was being said behind his back. He was on his bus having to deal with what the boy sitting next to him was saying to his face. "You are part of the Posse," Misha said earnestly. "You must work with us, so why do you fight everybody?" "I do not fight everybody. They are always fighting me," Neville whined. "I am leaving the Posse as soon as I can." "Everybody invited you to lunch to talk. I do not think that is fighting. In Russia, in the orphanage, there is a lot more fighting, sometimes with fists." "Patrick hates me because he is Irish and I'm from England. The twins hate me because I won't let them boss me around. I have to fight everybody almost every day." "And why do I hate you?" "You hate me, too? I thought we got along okay." "I do not hate you, but you said you have to fight everybody. Patrick does not hate you. The twins do not hate you. I have seen boys hate boys. I can tell that nobody hates you." Neville said nothing. He turned and looked out the window wishing for what seemed like the zillionth time that he had been assigned to a different team. He dealt with his negative thoughts. Misha didn't understand that his problems with the Posse were not his fault—they were everybody else's fault. Misha was trying to blame him for everything. "Patrick was born in Seattle," Misha said. "Even in Russia we learn that Seattle is not in Ireland." He gave Neville a sly little smile. "His grandparents or somebody were from Ireland." "You should not be so..." He paused to think of the word he wanted. "Not be so what?" Neville asked. "The word I think is prejudiced." "I am not prejudiced. Everybody in England doesn't like the Irish." "You are not in England," Misha said, once again stating the obvious. "You must work with us for more than three months. We have projects we must do." "I am trying to get my father to move me to another team," Neville reiterated. "You want the Fantastic Five team? They have no room. Why not try to get on a four person team?" "I like the Fantastic Five. Will is really nice. And they can trade Ellis for me. He's a pouf. I don't think they like him." "What is a pouf?" Misha asked. "A queer. A homosexual." "You know this how?" "He got naked at the challenge. His toenails were painted. He is a pouf." "Matthew got naked. Or maybe it was Mark who did. They are not, how you call it, poufs." "I'm tired of talking about it," Neville said. But Misha persisted. "Just do one thing, please." "What? I am not having lunch with you on Monday, so do not ask me." "I was asking you to have lunch with us on Tuesday. Say yes, I will leave you alone." Neville was having one of his inner conflicts. On the one hand, he wanted to rebel against his team, especially the uncivilized twins and Patrick, whom he saw as an ignorant Irish boy, just as his father described. On the other hand, he wanted to be accepted by his team, knowing that a big part of his grade in social studies could rest on how well his team worked together. If he didn't work with them, he could get a low grade in the class which would have huge repercussions at home. He desperately wanted to trade teams. "We won the scavenger hunt," Misha said. "We did so because we worked together, all of us. Mr. Jackson will not allow you to change your team. You must still work with us." Neville turned and stared out the window again. Misha stuck his right hand in front of Neville. "Lunch on Tuesday, yes?" Neville turned back to Misha, light reflecting off of his glasses. "Lunch on Tuesday." He refused to shake Misha's hand. When Misha got home, he wished, not for the first time, the Posse had each other's phone numbers. If we do not even give each other our phone numbers how can we be a Posse working for a common cause? he thought. He wanted to give Patrick and the twins the news about Tuesday right then rather than having to wait until Monday. Three boys did get phone numbers, however. Patrick and the Twins exchanged them while the twins waited at Patrick's house for their father to pick them up. It was a start. ++++++++++++ The weekend for the Posse was uneventful. The twins' Lake Monsters team won their soccer game 6-0 with Matthew getting three goals--a hat-trick. Patrick's Kickers had a tougher time, winning 2-1 to stay undefeated. The Lake Monsters and the Kickers were scheduled to play each other the next Saturday. Will's Red Devils team, who played in the same select league, had lost 3-2. Neville didn't try out for a soccer team. Instead, he followed Dylan's lead and played lacrosse. It was a sport not played by many in the Northwest. Neville was placed on a beginner's team and discovered that he actually enjoyed this sport; like Dylan, Neville became hooked on lacrosse. Misha played in a recreational soccer league. Misha found out he was overqualified for his team and league. His parents weren't sure where to place him and listened to the advice of Ben's parents, which turned out to be wrong. They said Misha should play in a league where he was sure to succeed, not knowing that Misha had played a high level of youth soccer in his native land. Misha's coaches told Ryan and Lois they would help get Misha placed on a select team the next year, but for him to enjoy himself and learn what he could this year. As far as Misha was concerned, he was right where he belonged. He was having fun playing and he liked his teammates. His team was undefeated in three games. ++++++++++++ Patrick and the twins were surprised Monday morning when Neville said he would eat lunch with the Posse on Tuesday. The three of them peppered Neville with questions. "I don't think Mr. Jackson is going to allow me to change teams early, and since we have to work together on our project, it looks like for all of us to acquire a good grade we will need to work together," Neville told them. "That is all I am going to say about it." The smug look on Misha's face made Patrick wonder if Misha had something to do with Neville's change of attitude. On the other hand, Neville had a way of changing attitudes from minute to minute, so maybe Misha had nothing to do with it. Patrick had also noticed that Misha was the only one in the group who did not appear surprised by Neville's announcement. Once a Tuesday lunch meeting was accepted by all five of the Posse, the talk went to soccer. The games of the weekend were discussed as well as the upcoming school game on Thursday afternoon at North Lake. Misha and Patrick sat together at lunch. Patrick asked Misha if he'd talked to Neville about the team meeting during Tuesday lunch. He knew Misha and Neville rode the same bus, so he didn't think the idea of that being the reason for Neville's change of mind was far- fetched. "I had a talk with Neville," Misha admitted. "What did you say?" "I said he needs to remember we are the Posse. It is what we agreed to be." "And it means we have a common...common...purpose." "Yes. We work together for some grades like the social studies project. We must all be a Posse until winter." "It makes sense." Patrick flashed Misha his big smile. "I'm very glad you talked to him, Misha." Patrick's smile and gleaming eyes almost made Misha melt right at the lunch table. His boy crush on Patrick was getting bigger and bigger. What he didn't know was that the same was true for Patrick. "What is your idea to talk about?" Misha asked. "About us having special Posse names, maybe animal names or something." "It is a good idea, I think. You will tell us more tomorrow?" "Yep." But the only person he really needed to talk to was Neville. Everyone else already knew most of his plan. Patrick had a disconcerting run-in that afternoon. At the end of sixth period, Mr. Jackson asked him to take some books to the office. David, one of the boys in class, was quite ill and might miss the entire week of school. The books were for his mother to pick up after school. "I know you have to go past the office to get to chorus," Mr. Jackson said. "And here is a pass just in case you run late." Mr. Jackson had placed the books in a bag, but they were still a bit heavy for the nine-year-old. He wasn't about to complain, however. He enjoyed being given responsibilities. He dropped the books off at the office, but between waiting for Mr. Jackson to gather the books and then waiting in line to give them to the secretary, he was running late. The bell rang just as he left the office, making him thankful he had the late pass. He needed to pee badly and ducked into the boy's room to take care of business, once again thankful he had the pass. He finished up, washed his hands and started out of the bathroom. Before he could get through the door, Jeremiah walked in. "Girls aren't allowed in the boys' room, Patricia," Jeremiah said. "I am not a girl," Patrick said defiantly. "Your name is Patricia, so you must be a girl." "My name is Patrick." "You have a girl's name and that Ellis kid paints his toenails. Your class has two girls in it. You're losers." "We won the scavenger hunt." Patrick knew he needed to keep his mouth shut, but that was easier said than done. Jeremiah pushed Patrick up against the wall. Jeremiah stood almost six inches taller than Patrick and stared down at him. "I know why Markey and Mattie flicked my ears. It was because of you—you told them I flicked yours. You better be careful because I got them kicked off the baseball team and I can get them and you kicked out of this school." He released Patrick, warning him not to say a word to the twins about what he'd just said and done. Patrick walked into the hall, his heart thumping fast. As he hustled to choir, he couldn't help but wonder who had told Jeremiah about Ellis's painted toes. That afternoon on the bus ride home, Patrick couldn't help but feel Jeremiah's eyes on him. The boy was making him very nervous, but he was not about to say anything to Mark and Matthew. He was learning how they operated and there was no way he wanted to get them into big trouble on his account. ++++++++++++ In their own inimitable style the twins procured a table for five at the start of Tuesday's lunch. Coincidentally, it happened to be the same table the Posse sat at during orientation. They were all having a hot lunch and discussed school and sports as they went through the line and as they started eating. It was as if they were waiting for somebody to take charge and get them from merely eating lunch to having a meeting to discuss Patrick's idea. It was Patrick who ended the waiting by telling what his idea was, asking for everyone's opinion when he finished. The twins looked at Patrick with added respect. They had discussed with each other which one of them was going to lead the meeting, but Patrick had beat them to it, which the group thought was great. They liked that the youngest and smallest boy in the group had no problem taking charge. They were going to learn even more about their young friend in their upcoming soccer showdown. "So, each of us needs to pick an animal name that we will never change," Mark said. "If that's what we all want to do," Patrick said. Neville provided the second surprise of the lunch meeting. "I think it is a good idea," he said. "One day Matthew is Mattie and the next day he is Matthew. Irish is changing his name all the time, too. If we have our animal name it never will change." "Plus, it gives us each code names that nobody but us knows," Matthew said. "It could be really handy." "When do we have to have our name picked?" Mark said looking at Patrick. Patrick couldn't believe that everybody was letting him be in charge. He thought for sure the twins would take over the meeting. "Um...how about...how about...um...Monday?" Patrick said. Everybody agreed on Monday being the deadline to have their names picked. They also agreed to have lunch together again on Monday. What they didn't agree to was to have lunch together on Wednesday and Friday that week, but that is what ended up happening. ++++++++++++ Tuesday was also the day of the only practice of the week for the Pelicans. Coach Walsh went over the schedule for the hour-and-a- half practice. He and his assistants were both prepared to tone down the twins as well by getting on their cases when they started to dominate practice. What they got instead was a surprise. Neville wasn't the only thing that Mark, Matthew, Will, and Patrick discussed on the bus. The twins had taken Coach Walsh's words about helping assist him with the less skilled players to heart. They showed once again that while they were often wild and mischievous and trouble had a way of finding them, they were also bright, polite, well-raised boys with big hearts and a way of getting the right thing done. Before he could dismiss the team to work with him and his assistant, Will, Mark, and Matthew each grabbed some boys to be with them. Patrick found the other two boys who'd been playing goalie. As soon as their little groups were formed, the boys looked at the coaches for instruction. When the drill work started, the four boys from the number two bus ignored their own drill work and helped the other boys, giving the coaches even more time for giving their own instruction. Misha, who was in Mark's group, saw what was going on and started helping Mark with instruction. Getting Misha to help was exactly what Mark was hoping for when he grabbed him for his group. While nobody was turned into a star player, a lot of improvement could be seen in many of the inexperienced Pelicans. One of the lesser skilled boys was Ellis. The only reason he turned out for the Pelican soccer team was because his father thought it might man up his sissy son. Ellis did everything he could to resist the instruction of the coaches. Kicking at an incoming ball and missing was something he did frequently, not only in practice, but in gamesbb. Once in a game, he kicked at the ball so hard that when he missed it he fell on his ass. "That Ellis boy is one of the fastest runners I've ever seen" Coach Walsh told Coach Hardy, his assistant. "He's like a gazelle being chased by a hungry lion. It's just a shame that he's running away from a soccer ball." Misha took Ellis under his wing. Misha knew what it was like to be rejected and became the first to make him feel like he was part of the team. By the time they finished, Ellis became more comfortable with how to attack the ball, and could even try for a header without either ducking away from the ball or knocking it away illegally with his hands. Coach Walsh called his little "assistants" aside after practice was over. "Good job boys. Thank you for sharing what you know." "We got some of the other good players to help us, too," Mark said. Matthew and Will both found another boy or two to help out as Mark had with Misha. Will's friend and fellow Fantastic Five teammate, Lucas, was his main helper. As with so many who got to know the twins, Coach Walsh gained a new respect for the two boys he had seen as selfish and self-serving. He wondered if their new attitude would carry over to the game on Thursday. That is exactly what happened, as the skilled boys found ways of controlling the ball, yet getting it to their less skilled teammates. The purpose of having teams at the Puget Academy was being fulfilled: the more skilled players were learning more about being part of the team and accepting those who didn't perform up to their standards, and the lesser skilled players were learning more about the sport as well as getting involved in teamwork instead of being on the field with little purpose. While the Pelicans ended up losing 6-4 to North Lake on Thursday, Coach Walsh saw definite improvement in how the team played, even after one practice. He told the team as much in their postgame meeting. "Now we know what you mean," Mark told Coach Walsh after the meeting. "Mean about what?" he asked. "About being your assistants and how it's more fun to help each other than to get mad because we didn't win. This team is all about learning, right?" "Good job, Mark. You have a good grasp of what is going on." "Yeah, but Coach, guess what?" "What?" "We're still gonna win some games," Mark said with a laugh before he scooted away to join his teammates and friends. Brian, Patrick's father, had taken off from work a little early to watch the game. After the game, Mark, Matthew, and Patrick all strapped themselves into the backseat of his car. Neither Scott nor Kristy could get off for the afternoon game. If Brian hadn't taken the time off, the three would have ridden the activity bus to Patrick's house. Brian listened intently to the chatter in the backseat. He was convinced that as soon as a group of boys got into the backseat of a car they came under the illusion that there was a curtain of silence separating them from any adult sitting in the front. The result was if he kept his mouth shut and made sure not to laugh he became the almost invisible listener to many conversations. "That was the hard game," Mark said casually. "Yeah," Matthew said, picking up on where his twin brother was going. "Now we have the easy game to play on Saturday." He was referring to the upcoming big game in the select soccer league. "But you're playing us on Saturday," Patrick protested. "We are?" Mark said, feigning innocence. "Yes. It's the Lake Monsters against the Kickers." "See, I was right," Mark said to Matthew. "This is going to be an easy game." "I hear their keeper has big holes in his hands and the ball goes right through them," Matthew said. "I'm a good keeper. And so is Carter." Carter was Patrick's fellow goal keeper. He was an old ten and edging into puberty. He already had the coltish look of a pubescent boy, with long arms and big hands that were his best weapon in the goal. He also had experience and maturity as advantages over Patrick. What he lacked was Patrick's smarts, anticipation, and lateral quickness. "Whose turn is it to get a hat trick tomorrow?" Matthew asked Mark. "I thought it was your turn," Mark said. Up in the driver's seat, Brian was trying hard not to bust out laughing. He kept waiting for Patrick to realize the twins were yanking his chain. But he also knew from his child development books that nine-year-olds tended to be somewhat concrete in their reasoning, often taking things literally no matter how ridiculous it sounded. But then, most ten-year-olds tended to think the same way; but the twins were certainly not like most ten-year-olds. Brian didn't think Patrick was like most nine-year-olds either, and kept waiting for him to spit out the hook. That happened almost instantaneously as the light bulb went on in Patrick's head. "Your whole team will be lucky to score three goals," Patrick said. "No way one of you gets a hat trick." "You and whose army is going to stop us?" Mark asked. "Me and the whole Kicker army!" Patrick shouted, finally getting into the swing of things. "Go Lake Monsters!" Mark and Matthew shouted together. "Go Kickers!" Patrick shouted. "Go Lake Monsters!" "Go Kickers!" Patrick shouted with his dad joining in this time. By the time they reached Patrick's house, the shouts had deteriorated into giggles and good-natured arm punching. The boys, and Brian, were in good moods as they pulled into the driveway. Maxine met them as they came into the house. "Your father called," she told the twins. "He should be here in about a half hour. I'm sure you can avoid tearing the house down in that short amount of time." "Yes, ma'am, we can," Mark said. "Patrick told us all about what it's like getting swatted by your broom." "You'll find out in a hurry if you get smart with me," she said with a sly twinkle in her eyes. The boys giggled and high-tailed it for Patrick's room. Patrick quickly removed his shoes and his uniform pants and shirt. He was clad in only his socks and a pair of white briefs. "Damn, you got out of that thing in a hurry," Matthew said as Patrick hung his uniform in his closet. "I'd get naked if you guys weren't here. I like being naked in the house." "Your dad and grandmother let you do it?" Mark asked. "Dad, Grannana, and Uncle Ted don't mind. I've been doing since I was little." "We can get naked and run around our house on Mondays," Matthew said. "It's one of our favorite days. It's cool you can do it every day." "I have to be careful, though. If I make Grannana mad and she brooms my bare butt, it really hurts." What Patrick didn't know was that was one of the reasons Maxine let the young boy run naked. "Maybe some day after school we can stay awhile and we can all get naked together," Matthew said. "That would be really fun," Patrick said. "You can get naked now," Mark told Patrick. "We don't care." "I kinda got a boner," Patrick said with a blush. "We noticed," Matthew said. Patrick's undies were tight and it was hard to hide the bulge in the front. "It's not like you didn't see our boners in school," Mark said. "Okay." Even though he didn't get naked at the challenge like Ellis and Matthew did, or even half naked like Mark, deep down he had really wanted to. Now he could let the twins see what he looked like naked, which would make Neville the only Posse member not to have seem him in the nude. Patrick yanked off his briefs and tossed them in the hamper. "I got a boner, too," Mark said. He opened his pants and pulled the zipper down, putting his hand into the opening in his boxers and pulling out his boy cock. "How big was yours?" Patrick asked, referring to the measurement at the challenge. "Three and a half," Matthew said. "Now I got a boner, too." His cock came out of his pants in the same way Mark's had. "I wasn't even three." "We should put them together," Mark suggested. "That's the best way to see who is biggest. When me and Mark do it, he's usually bigger." "Usually? Not always?" Patrick asked. "It's weird. They aren't always the same size." "Want to put all three together and see?" Patrick asked. He was feeling almost dizzy with the excitement of having two boys in his room who were not in the least ashamed of their bodies. "Yeah, but we should take our pants off so they're out of the way," Matthew said. "Mark and Matthew, your father is here," Brian shouted from the living room. "Damn, he got here early. We needed a traffic jam," Mark said. The twins quickly put their junk away, zipped up, grabbed their backpacks, and headed for the living room. "And our team is scoring three goals," Mark yelled as he headed for the door. "In your wettest dreams," Patrick yelled back. He'd heard his Uncle Roy use the phrase responding to an opponent and knew it was a friendly comeback, even if he didn't totally understand what it meant. It sent the twins into howls of laughter and made Brian choke on the can of soda he was drinking. Patrick followed the chortling twins and watched as they grabbed their jackets and scurried out the door. "Patrick, were you naked in your room with the twins?" Brian asked, after Patrick closed the door. Patrick blushed a deep crimson, even though it was obvious that he had been. Fortunately, as far as he was concerned, he'd gone soft as he left the room or he would have taken even more flack from his dad. "They didn't mind," he said quietly. "I bet they didn't," Brian said as he avoided laughing at the situation. When they all got together in the dining room for dinner, Brian said he had an announcement to make. "Since The Wombat's game next week is a night game on Wednesday, that leaves the weekend free. I thought we'd zip up to Everett and watch The Gerbil play football." Patrick jumped up and down in his chair with glee. "I get to see Uncle Roy play? Can I spend the night with him after the game? He can take me home. Please, can I?" "We'll have to find out from Roy." "You mean you didn't ask him? Can I call him and ask? Please! I want to spend the night with him so bad." Brian knew why Patrick wanted a night with his seventeen-year-old brother. It was all about his sex lesson. "Yes, you can call," Brian said, "but not until tomorrow, since he's probably getting ready for his game right about now." "I want to call him now," Patrick sulked. "Patrick," Maxine said in a very stern voice. "Sorry, Grannana, I'll wait." That night Patrick had trouble getting to sleep. The next day would be a big one, with the game against the Lake Monsters plus him calling Roy to see if he could spend the night the next weekend. He finally fell asleep thinking of Mark and Matthew standing in his room that afternoon with their pants unzipped and their boners sticking out. He had a feeling the twins knew a lot more about sex than he did. Patrick wanted desperately for Roy to fulfill his promise to him before he and the twins all got naked together. Next: The Education of a Wombat.