Max:Not really. I took a run this evening. Went all the way to the top of the stadium. I like going there to clear my head sometimes.
Kellan:I have a question.
Max:Shoot.
Kellan:Remember when you said you didn’t know if soccer was your path? What would you do if you decided otherwise? Programming? Computer science?
Max:If I could work for Apple or Google that would be pretty cool. I’m originally from Seattle and I’ve always dreamed of moving back there someday. Not sure how soon after graduation but I’ve thought about it.
Kellan:I’m interested in Seattle too.
Max:To work? Live?
Kellan:Both, I guess. I’ve applied to an internship there this summer. Video game design. Don’t know if I’ve gotten accepted yet though.
Max:Realllly. How interesting. And you’re telling me this, I assume, because you want me to show you around the city? Is that it?
Kellan:Well, I don’t know if I’ll get the internship. Who’s to say we’ll be in the city at the same time?
Max:You don’t have to keep everything inside, you know. It’s okay to admit you like someone. The world isn’t going to end.
Kellan:But I’m so good at being a hermit.
Max:You weren’t like this a few months ago. What changed?
Kellan:One day I hope to tell you, if you’ll let me.
Max:Not sure what that means, but okay.
Kellan:Max? I do like you, and I wish I didn’t.
Chapter 17
Noah
Max is wearing me down slowly. We text all weekend. Every time I tell myself not to respond, I find the phone in my hands, hitting reply. This is turning out to be a problem. We talk about all kinds of things. I open up about video game design, and Max is interested in seeing my game, Miaku, if I’m willing to show him. I say I’ll think about it. He sends me pictures of his parents’ cat. It’s an enormous orange tabby named Pumpkin. Very unoriginal, but the cat is kind of cute, if morbidly obese.
Then we start sending one another cat videos, because that’s what young people do nowadays. Too often, I find myself ignoring the computer. When the cat videos run out, we communicate via puns.
Then talk turns to other things. Personal things. Max tells me about his dad’s passing a few years ago, how difficult it was for him, and I tell him about my brother Maverick. Then, somehow, I open up about what life was like growing up.
Max:Did you have a rough childhood or something?
Noah:I was bullied as a kid pretty badly.
Max:Seriously? Why?
Noah:I was always a bit of an outsider growing up. It was hard for me to make friends. I was the awkward, anti-social kid that no one wanted to play with. Then in high school, some of the soccer players pulled a prank on me, and it kind of destroyed my trust in people.
Max:What was the prank?
Noah:Someone took a picture of me showering in the locker room. Posted pictures all over the school with the word ‘fag’ underneath.
Max:Wow. I’m sorry to hear that. Was anyone caught?
Noah:They were, but the damage had already been done.
After that phone conversation, I need a break. Revealing that hurt from my past hadn’t been easy, but I trusted Max to keep it to himself. A day of no contact to gather myself helped.
