No More Fences Part 15

  "Hey, you wanna play?"  Pete heard, as he walked to the road.  Pete noticed the oldest of the group, walking his direction.  "It'd make the teams even if ya would," he continued, as Pete considered his options.  He could go home, hang out, maybe watch some T.V., or he could hang out with some people his own age, and have a good time playing some football.  "Hell yeah," Pete told him, as he flipped the last of his cigarette, getting ready to play.

  "My name's Jason, this is Chris, Joe, Justin and Charlie," He said, as he introduced everyone.  Jason was the oldest, at 19, so they all looked up to him and followed his lead.  Plus the fact that he was nearly six foot three.  Joe and Chris were brothers, Chris being a year older than Joe.  Justin was their cousin, and he had just moved up from Sarasota, after his parents split up and his mom married his stepdad.  "You'll be on Justin and Joe's team," he told Pete, after all the introductions were over.  Pete looked his team over, trying to decide what kind of chance he stood.  Joe was a smaller guy, about 16 years old, but he looked more like he was 12.  Justin was a bigger guy, closer to Pete's age, and looked like he could handle a tackle a lot better than anyone else on the lot, besides Charlie, their 14 year old neighbor.  He was a chunky kid, with a long,dirty blonde mullet, and a matching younger brother, who was watching from the sidelines.  "Let's do this," Pete said, not expecting too much competition.

  They were alot tougher than Pete had given them credit, and after three hours of running and tackling, the sun was finally beginning to set.  They made arrangements to pick it up the next day, and Pete started on his way home.  When he finally walked in the door, he felt like everyone was looking at him.  "Where have you been?" Gwen asked, upset that he had missed dinner.  It was the first time since he moved down there, that Pete wasn't home before dark.  "Sorry about that," he apologized, "I met some people around my age, just a few blocks down, and we were playing football," he told her excitedly, as he heated a plate of food in the microwave.  "Are you talking about over on Terrell Street?" Gwen asked, before asking him to be careful, and explaining that she heard that they were nothing but trouble over there.  Pete didn't want to believe her, since he always tried to give everyone a chance, but he agreed, and finished eating before going to bed.