NOTE:
I'm taking another risk and trying something different again! Please let me know if you enjoy this story, and if you'd enjoy reading others like it. Comments and feedback are very important in determining what I write next, so make sure you let me know how you feel! As always, enjoy!
*****
"Again, great hustle out there, everyone!" A heavyset man with five o'clock shadow and salt and pepper hair spoke to the young men in front of him. Coach Miller gave a proud smile as he looked at the varsity soccer team before him. "Great practice today. I'll see all of you tomorrow, bright and early!" The players groaned as they dispersed. "6 AM, I expect to see you all here for warmups. Try and blow off some steam tonight, come to the game with a clear head!" He sighed and waved his hand in defeat, watching as the juniors and seniors made their way to the parking lot, some calling out parting acknowledgements of his advice.
Two seniors, Brad and Kyle, walked to the lot together, their matching bags slung over their shoulders with their high school logo sewn onto the front. Kyle was taller, tan, with brown hair he was constantly running his hand through to look casual. Brad was just an inch or two shorter, and his hair was a shade darker, cut short with curls at the top. Kyle was in a loose-fitting tank top, Brad wore an old jersey, and both had on baggy gym shorts. Between soccer and the gym, the two boys were muscular; where Kyle was a little beefier, more obsessed with his physique, Brad was leaner, in shape but thin.
"Have you started studying for Spanish yet? Ms. Morales seems serious about this test." Brad asked Kyle as they stepped off the grass, onto the gravel of the lot.
"No, not yet, have you?" Kyle responded, absentmindedly. He surveyed the cars in front of him, watching as fellow teammates either hopped into their own cars or were picked up by parents. Brad glanced around as well, looking for Kyle's mom's dark green mini-SUV. Typically, Kyle's dad picked them up after practice, on his way home from work; this evening, however, he had to work late, and Kyle's mom offered to chauffer the boys. Even though the two boys were both eighteen, neither had their own car. Kyle had failed his driving test twice, and while Brad did have a license, his parents couldn't afford a car. As such, Brad squinted in the low light at each of the cars; Kyle's mom was running a little late.
"Hey Kyle!" A shrill voice caught Brad's ear and he turned to see a small, gray sedan idling on the side of the road, outside the parking lot. Hanging halfway out the window in a low-cut top was Amy, Kyle's girlfriend. She waved enthusiastically, her whole body wiggling. The driver of the car, another senior, Jake, honked the horn twice, also gesturing to Kyle. Brad could partially make out a girl in the back, who he assumed was Jake's girlfriend, a junior he couldn't remember the name of. Brad shot Kyle a confused look, who pulled his eyes from his girlfriend's bouncing cleavage.
"Sorry, did I forget to tell you?" Kyle apologized insincerely. "I'm hanging out with Amy and the others tonight. Amy's older sister Molly is in college, and she said she could get us some beers for a party. You know how Coach said we should blow off some steam?" Brad watched Kyle undress Amy with his eyes. "I'm hoping Amy will blow off
my steam
, if you know what I mean." He playfully smacked Brad on the shoulder and winked.
"Wait, you're going with them?" Brad asked as Kyle walked away, towards the idling sedan.
"Yeah man, sorry. My mom should be here soon, can you tell her for me?" Kyle called back.
"Well, sure, I guess." Brad shrugged. He hated how irresponsible Kyle was, and how frequently it affected him.
"Thank you!" Kyle shouted back, throwing up an overdramatic pair of hands, pretending to bow to Brad in thanks. Brad just sighed, watching the sedan drive off, full of hormones. As the parking lot thinned out, the sun hung lower in the sky. The school year had just begun, and it was late summer, so the nights were still warm and the humidity stuck to Brad's skin. He checked his phone, wondering if Kyle's mom was actually coming to pick him up, then looked up to see the familiar mini-SUV pull into the parking lot, stopping in front of him. Brad walked up and opened the passenger door, smiling at his friend's mom, who was giving him an inquisitive look, before a quick sigh.
"Let me guess, Kyle went to hang out with Amy." She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, you kind of just missed them. Coach said we should all blow off some steam before Regionals tomorrow. Kyle took that to mean he should party with Amy." Brad replied, settling into the passenger seat, placing his bag at his feet. "I don't think he's coming back tonight." Brad had had this conversation before, constantly being the one to tell Kyle's parents of their son's spur-of-the-moment plans. The two boys had been best friends since middle school, and even though Kyle began running with a very different, very delinquent crew in high school, they still stayed close. Their moms got coffee every Tuesday, and their dads went fishing together on Sundays. Brad was close with Kyle, but that only meant he was even more willing to call Kyle on his misbehavior.
"Oh, he can be so irresponsible." She groaned. "I'm sorry you have to put up with him, Bradley." She laughed, shooting him a smile. She was the only person who called him Bradley besides his own mother.
"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Lynn. I'm definitely used to it at this point." He smiled back. When he'd met Kyle in seventh grade, he'd thought his parents were cool because they didn't demand that he call them by their last names. They weren't Mr. and Mrs. Smith, they were Mr. Mike and Mrs. Lynn, Kyle's cool parents.
"I wish my kid wasn't such a little bastard." Lynn joked, and Brad felt his cheeks get warm, not sure if he was allowed to laugh at her comment. "You're a good kid, why can't you peer pressure Kyle into being a better person, huh?" She laughed again, and Brad did as well. The car pulled up to the driveway of the parking lot, inching towards the main road when Lynn stopped, tapping her car's GPS in the center. "Sorry, honey, I just realized I've never driven to your house from this direction, and I just don't want to get lost. Can you give me your address?" Lynn gave an embarrassed smile.
"Sure," Brad sat forward. "Here, I can just type it in." He tapped the touch screen, filling in his address, before pressing a big
GO
button.
"
STARTING ROUTE TO 4176 FAIRWOOD ROAD
" the GPS' robotic voice announced as it loaded the map. "
YOU WILL ARRIVE IN FOURTEEN MINUTES.
"
Lynn stepped on the gas and turned onto the main road as the GPS instructed her to continue straight for the next few miles. The two sat in silence for a minute, listening to the hum of the car, before the silence was broken by the GPS again.
"