If during the days leading up to the game, the attention to myself had begun to dissipate, the day after the game, on Friday, as I walked through the school hallways, to my utter disappoi, I was once again the ter of attention of my peers; at least now it was for gratutions aement over the game's victory rather than unpleasant gnces.

  "I heard you guys won the game," Kat said, leaning against the closed locker o mine, as it was being a daily occurrence.

  "You heard?" I asked, exaggerating an offended look. "You didn't go to the game?" I tinued.

  "Watch a bunch lodytes crash into each other over a ball?" Kat asked, exhaling with exaggerated arrogance. "I have better things to do," the teenager tinued, ing her nails in front of her face.

  "Oh yeah sure, like listening to musipletely alone in your room and writing songs that sadly no one else besides you will know," I said sarcastically, dedug knowing somewhat the girl's personality.

  Apparently uo deny my insinuation, "that was low, Dun," Kat said, l her head slightly while shaking it.

  "Well, you called me a troglodyte for rules I 't ge in a game, whereas yours easily be ged," I said arrogantly, smiling at the teenager who, finishing her ad trying to hide a growing nervousness, denied again, "they're not ready yet," she argued, what seemed to be the tenth time in our versations wheuro her music.

  "For some reason, I don't believe you," I said haughtily, closing my locker.

  "PJ," the sharp voice that I would reize anywhere in this school called from the hallway, "Sheldon," I greeted the boy who was apanied by an uncharacteristically annoyed Geie, with a marked frown on his face.

  "When they're ready, I'll let you listen to some, I promise," takihings from the floor o her, Kat said as a farewell before quickly walking away through the crowd.

  "Were you with Stratfain?" Geie asked, still with the frown on his face, but I could detect the i behind his question.

  "Yes," I simply replied. "So, does your dad want Sheldon to help with the pys?" I quickly asked, ging the subject.

  "How do you know?" surprised, Sheldon, who was standing unusually straight for a kid, asked.

  "Well, you arrived early and with Geie, so you came together, and since yesterday, through a small versation with Coach Cooper, I found out that the decisive py to win the game was thanks to you, I simply deduced it," I expined, leaving out Geie's still present frown.

  "That was a good deductive process, I wouldn't expey less from you, PJ," Sheldon said, strangely proud as he nodded.

  "Well, thank you, good sir," I said, putting a hand on my chest, thanking the boy with exaggerated formality, which Sheldon imitated surely without exaggeration.

  "And don't worry, he's just going to help with the pys, he won't e out to give us orders or anything like that, besides, nobody else o know besides us," leaning in with Geie, I whispered, avoiding his younger brother from overhearing us.

  "Know what?" appearing suddenly by our side, impressively close as to not have noticed when An arrived, he asked calmly.

  "When did you arrive?" Geie, equally surprised as I, asked.

  "A few seds ago," opening his locker, An replied calmly, shrugging it off.

  "Well, we weren't talking about anything," Geie lied, seemingly relieved that An hadn't heard our entire versation.

  "Oh, e on, Geie, it's An, who's he gonna tell?" I couldn't help but say haughtily to Geie, just to have someoo annoy him wtih me.

  Besides us three and Sheldon, I highly doubt anyone else in the school would find out that Sheldon from now on would be helping the team in the uping games.

  The day tinued naturally until lunchtime, sitting at our usual table as every day with my friends and the retively new addition of Kat and Mandel, separated into small subgroups talking about their topics of i, with Kat, Mandel, and surprisingly An, giving me a small lecture on more musical groups and albums than I kept in my car's glove partment.

  "Hey! Dun," interrupting our versation suddenly from behind me, someone cheerfully said as they passed their arm over my shoulder.

  "Oh, was it Joey?" I said, reizing the teenager and for some reason, I began to feel a faint headache.

  "Yeah, Joey Donner," the teenager said, smiling widely, greeting those present at the table who looked puzzled by his abrupt arrival.

  "What do you need, Joey?" I asked, removing his arm from my shoulder as he practically had to lean all his weight on me since I was sitting.

  "Just to give you this," stretg out his other hand with an arrogant smile, he handed me some sort of brochure, "a party to celebrate the team's victory, my parents won't be in town this weekend so it's gonna be awesome," Joey said with great excitement, awkwardly tapping my arm, "obviously all of you are ioo," he said, addressing the other people at the table as the teenager tio distribute more papers.

  The paper the teenager had handed over was surprisingly an invitation printed with an address and time.

  "Maybe I mentioo a couple of people that you'd be there," the teenager said, tapping my shoulder again. "So I'd really appreciate it if you came; after all, you owe me," he asserted shamelessly. "Well, see you all there," before I could ask what he meant, the teenager quickly moved to aable, seemingly repeating the process.

  "I owe him?" I asked incredulously to my friends at the table, showing them the 'invitation' in my hand.

  "It doesn't sound too bad," David said, holding the same invitation in his hand.

  "You've skipped enough parties, SuperStar," Brock added. "If you don't owe it to Donner, you owe it to us," grabbing Geie and David oher side, he tinued.

  "You don't want to be a social outcast, at least not more than you already are," Kat argued, seizing the opportunity to tease.

  "Are you going too?" I asked An beside me, who simply shrugged. "No, no, if I go, yoing too. I'll swing by for you tomorrow," I said, leaving no room fument.

  At the hospital, it seemed that House had somehow mao stay in the obstetrics louo watch his soap operas without being disturbed, and with no cases requiring the team's attention, there was nothing much to do. Therefore, like other days, I spent most of my time studying in the hospital library as well as watg numerous surgical procedures and practig whatever I could in the skill b.

  The day, being Saturday, apart from waking up ter than usual, nothing ged from my daily routine. "PJ, we go to the ic book store?" Gabe asked from the living room couch while we watched one of his cartoons.

  "Yeah, sure, why not," taking the remote and turning off the TV, I said, getting up and walking towards the front door with my little brother following me excitedly.

  Outside the house, we found Sheldon sitting on the front porch of his own house, w ily in a notebook with several papers in his p. "Hey Sheldon, we're going to the ic book store, do you want to e?" I asked the boy after greeting him.

  "Oh yeah," quickly setting aside everything he had with him, the boy responded just as excitedly as Gabe, quickly walking, but still with surprisingly straight posture, towards where we were.

  "No, first, tell your mom," stopping the eager boy in his tracks, I ordered.

  "Right," uanding the gravity of my order, Sheldon turned on his heels, walking back to his house.

  "Why did you invite him?" annoyed, Gabe asked.

  "Oh, e on, Gabe, he likes ics too, I thought you'd already warmed up to him," I said to the boy, scolding him with a geap on the back of his head.

  "Okay," still grumbling, Gabe said.

  "PJ, Gabe," from the Cooper's house, Mrs. Cooper with her almost alresent kind smile greeted us.

  "Hi, Mrs. Cooper," I greeted the woman, echoed by my younger brother.

  "Sheldon says yoing to the ic book store and that he's invited," the woman said quietly, asking if it was true.

  "Oh yes, don't worry, Mrs. Cooper, we'll be there for one or two hours top," I assured her.

  "Well, that's perfect, thank you very much, PJ," joining her hands cheerfully, the woman said before calling Sheldon.

  "Let's go," excited, Sheldon joined us, waiting for me to open the car so he could get in the back.

  "Do you have your seatbelt on, Sheldon?" after making sure Gabe had his on, I asked the boy in the back of the car.

  "It's the third thing I do when I get in a car," Sheldon said seriously, "the first two are making sure the driver is petent and theructural viability of the car," he added, apparently feeling the o expin.

  "I'm gd you find me petent," I said to the boy before starting the car.

  "Yoing too fast," a few seds after moving forward, Sheldon said with .

  Ign the boy, I turned up the volume of the musi the car.

  Reading ics along with pying sports were things I hadn't experienced, and as I did, I was starting to enjoy them. Plus, it was an activity to do with Gabe that didn't involve getting dirty again.

  After what robably a couple of hours, I decided it was time to head bae. " I take a ie?" Gabe asked after agreeing it was time to go home. " I too?" seizing the opportunity, Sheldon also asked.

  Seeing the two eager children in front of me, "I'll tell you what, if you promise to my car tomorrow, you each take two ics," after thinking for a few seds, I offered.

  The offer was tempting for the children; it seemed Sheldon was about to blindly accept, but Gabe stopped him, dragging him away from me for a few seds.

  "Make it three each, and you have a deal," Gabe said seriously as Sheldon nervously stood behind him.

  "Three ics each, and you 'Debbie' inside and out, including the trunk," I tered.

  Sheldon now much more nervous shuffled behind Gabe on his feet, while my brother seemed to sider the offer, spinning with the other boy, they seemed to have a silent versation with their eyes befabe turned bae, "you have a deal," he said, raising his hand for a handshake, which I gdly accepted, and we repeated with Sheldon.

  "You have two mio pick your ics, or the deal's off," raising my hand with the watch, I said.

  Gabe, who had already experiehis, quickly ran to one of the shelves, while Sheldon, not having experiehis before, stood still, pletely surprised. "Time's tig, Sheldon," I said, shaking my wrist, causing the boy to snap out of his trance as he ran like my brother to where the ics were anized.

  Two minutes was really more than enough time, at least fabe, who chose his ics without much trouble. Sheldon, oher hand, used the eime limit while he debated the pros and s of choosing one ic over another on his own.

  After paying for the kids' ics, we returned home.

  "Hey, Dad," I greeted Bob as we ehe house, finding him fortably watg TV in the living room, where he was watg some kind of dotary about ants.

  "So, there's a party today, and I was w if..." I was saying, but Bob interrupted me. "Sure, just e home before the sun es up," Bob said, ughing.

  "Really?" I asked, surprised by how quickly and disiedly he agreed.

  "Of course, your mom and I trust you. Besides, you practically live in a hospital outside the house, so you know the risks of being stupid," Bob expined, l the volume of the TV when ads interrupted his dotary. "Actually, we were worried that you never go out. For a moment, we thought you were sneaking out at night," the man fessed.

  "So, yd I'm going out?" I asked, surprised.

  "Of course, your mother and I are happy with your improvement in school, PJ, and your i in medie, but you're a teenager. Behave like one occasionally, just oh a brain," he crified seriously.

  "Okay, thanks, Dad," I said, still puzzled, walking to my room. It seemed I wasn't behaving like a regur teenager; again, House was right, I o spend more time with my friends.

  A few hours ter outside, as we had discussed the day befeie was waiting, apparently hidden behind the fence separating our houses from his.

  "What are you doing?" I asked, puzzled by his behavior.

  "I lied to my mom, I told her we were going to Brock's house," Geie admitted in a whisper.

  "Why?" I asked, intrigued by the reason for his lie.

  "We 't go dang, it's a silly rule from mom," Geie replied, annoyed; so it was for sious reason.

  "Well, I did ask for permission for the party, so if your mom asks mine, she'll find out," I said, bursting his bubble of ignorance.

  "That'll be a problem for the future," after thinking about it worriedly for a few seds, Geie said resolutely before walking strao 'Debbie,' as if he didn't want to seem suspicious.

  "Whatever you say," I said amused, walking to 'Debbie,' opening the doors before speeding out of our street towards An's house.

  Upon arriving at An's house, before I could turn off the car's engine a out t the doorbell, the gss on Geie's side was tapped, surprising both of us at once; outside the window, An was equally calm as always, standing.

  "No way, he wasn't there when we arrived, how does he do it?" Geie asked, surprised. "I don't know," I replied, equally surprised, befeie opened his door and got out te the seat so An could get into the back.

  During the drive, despite Geie's insistence, An didn't deign to respond to how he had reached the window without us notig; with An, my usual skill of observation usually didn't work, but there were few times I could distinguish a small amused smile, and it was when he mao surprise someone.

  Following a small map of the city that I kept in the glove partment, we arrived at the street indicated on the 'invitation' Joey had handed out; it was a street with beautiful houses and expensive-looking cars in front of each house, obviously a street of wealthy people.

  In front of the house where the party obviously was, a bunch of cars were parked with dozens of teenagers with cups swaying slightly to the music that we could still hear ihe car despite the windows being up.

  Parking 'Debbie,' we all got out of the car before entering the house, greeting a bunch of teenagers I didn't know, but they knew me; likewise, receiving kisses dangerously close to the lips from a few of the girls I passed, who shared a bit of alcoholic breath.

  Ihe house, I moved with An among the people, as Geie immediately separated, following one of the girls present at the party, until we reached what seemed to be a living room. "Dun, you made it!" obviously a little drunk, Joey happily shouted, spilling some of the tents of his cup as he moved, "look, it's Dun!" he cheerfully shouted to a group of people beside him before walking towards me.

  "Be careful with that, looks like you've had enough already," subtly taking the cup from his hand, I said while greeting the teenager.

  "Yeah, I was a bit nervous, so I had a few drinks," the teenager admitted, "here, grab ohey're i, Stratford's ioo," he tinued before shouting and joining his guests.

  "Thanks," amused, I said to the teenager, handing the cup in my hand to aeenager passing by.

  "Let's go find Kat?" turning to ask An, I didn't find my calm friend, even though I could swear he was there a sed ago.

  Ign my friend's sudden disappearance, I walked again among a bunch of teenagers until I reached the kit, where I found Kat with her friend Mandel, both with drinks in their hands as they moved pyfully to the rhythm of the musibsp;

  Mandel, who was in front of the kit door, saw me enter before inf Kat and pointi, now behind her distracted friend, Mandel after saying something else to Kat, separated, giving me a big thumbs up as she danced among the crowd of people.

  "I thought you'd be in a library at this hour," speaking loudly by my ear, Kat sarcastically said.

  Ign her joke, I took the gss in her hand, bringing it to my o dis its tents, obviously alcohol, while I looked at my friend with the best disappointed expression I could muster. I reacted too te when she quickly grabbed the gss from my hand again, "have some fun, dad," shouting agaio my ear, Kat arrogantly said, emphasizing the st word before taking a big sip of her drink.

  "Let's go, smart pants," pulling my arm, she shouted as she danced out of the kit dragging me along with her.

  I could uand all the fuss about parties and teenagers; after a few minutes of being forced by Kat to dao the music's rhythm, I actually started having fun.

  Several songs ter, exhausted from having fun with Kat, we walked back to the living room where surprisingly I found my friends sitting among a bunch of other teenagers mixed of both men and women.

  "SuperStar!" Brock excimed excitedly, looking up at me from the floor. "It's true, you came!" David added, equally excited. Suddenly, one of the girls he circle on the floed me into ay space, f me to sit o Brock, who helped the girl support me tightly under his arm.

  The girl who had dragged me quickly moved to the other side of the circle, where a small group of girls allowed her to sit. "What's happening?" I asked my friend, watg as the same girl prepared in the ter of the circle to spin a bottle.

  "It's just the best game ever," Brock ughed for some reason, tightening his grip.

  The bottle spun for a few seds until it stopped, pointing to aeenager who cheered, uhe girl who sputle, who lowered her head in disappoi.

  "What..." I was asking, but the two teenagers approached and kissed in the ter of the circle amidst the cheers of encement from the others.

  "Yeah, no," uanding the game, I said, trying to get up but uo do so because of Brock's strong grip. "No, they weren't so excited to spin a minute ago," Brock expined loudly in my ear pointing to the girls oher side, keeping me by his side.

  The bottle spun several more times, fortunately not stopping in my dire. I mao free myself from Brock's grip when it was his turn to spitle, which I immediately took advantage of because, following the logic of the game, it would soon be my turn to spin.

  In one of the sofas in the house, An, atg the game, was sitting quietly with a small smile on his fad a bowl of some snacks. "You're lucky," he said when I sat o him, loud enough for me to hear. "Yeah," I admitted relieved, taking a potato chip from the bowl. "Did you see where Kat went?" remembering that I had been pulled away from my friend, I asked.

  An, amusedly watg as Brock excitedly moved with all the grace his robust body allowed towards a teenager who, with some reluce, also approached my friend, simply pointed behind the sofa.

  Kat, again with Mandel, was dang happily in the ter of the house.

  Talking to An, who surprisingly had a great knowledge of music, about the songs pying on the speakers in the house, we tio watch amusedly as our friends kept pying the bottle game while the girls involved in the game one by oarted to leave until the number of boys far outnumbered the girls.

  When the bowl of chips ran out, I realized it was quite te when I looked at my watch. "Do you want to leave?" I asked An, who nodded without really g. "I'll go to the bathroom, I'll see you in your car in five," An said, getting up.

  Taking the bowl to the kit, I found a bunch of people at the door apparently excitedly watg something, pushing the few teenagers at the door aside, I ehe kit where Kat was dang carelessly on top of an kit isnd.

  That's dangerous. Quickly leaving the bowl in the sink, I approached Kat, grabbing her by the legs and lifting her onto my shoulder. "PJ, what are you doing?" obviously drunk, Kat said, moving unfortably on my shoulder.

  "I'm preventing you from breaking your neck," walking towards the back door of the house i, I said with the teeill on my shoulder, "where's Mandel?" I asked when I was outside the house, walking towards where I arked.

  "I told her to go, I'm sleeping here," Kat said, outside the house, even though you could still hear the music, it was much quieter now, "she left?" I asked worriedly, "did she drive?" I tinued.

  "No, she left with her parents," Kat expined as she hummed the song.

  "And she left you here?" I asked again incredulously, "how were you going to get home?"

  "I was going to call home tomorrow," she expined shamelessly as if it were obvious, "yeah, no," I said, walking to the front yard of the house, leaving the teenager on the ground again to seary keys, "hey, idiot!" from the house behind me, someone suddenly shouted, surprising me.

  Turning around, I found an aeenager walking directly towards me. "Are you talking to..." I was asking, but the teenager, without letting me finish, punched me right o my eye. "What?" stepping back with a burniion on my face, I said incredulously, trying to uand what was happening, "she's doh you, stop b her," the aeenager said advang towards me again.

  Altered by the pain in my fad trying to uand what was happening, as I tried to move away from the strangely angry teenager, I stumbled over my ow, almost falling.

  "I don't know who you are," I said nervously, dodging the blows from the now obviously drunk teenager.

  "Stay away frina," he said again and immediately I reized him; he was the blond teenager who apanied Regina the day Gabe and I found her. Uo defend myself, the teehrew another punch that I couldn't avoid, hitting my face again, and if the taste of blood could say something, it opened my lip.

  Uo move further to avoid the fight, bumping into a car, I closed my fist, hitting the drunk teenager's face.

  I had never hit anyone before; even the pung bag that Bob had brought along with the weights was still hanging from the garage ceiling as it arrived, never in my previous life had it occurred to me to use my hands for anything other than sewing wounds or stopping bleeding.

  As I hit the teenager's face, I felt an immediate pain in my fist. "Ow," I pined, stupidly holding my hand, turning my ba the still angry teenager.

  "Don't go, you damn coward," I heard the guy shout, turning quickly to try to avoid any other blow directed at me, fortunately, I didn't have to worry.

  An appearing again out of nowhere with surprising ease used the momentum of the angry guy's blow to carry him over his shoulder and forcefully hit him on the ground, knog the air out of his lungs.

  "Are you okay?" studying my face seriously, An asked, ign the still painful teenager on the ground, "I was about to defeat him," now out of danger, feeling the stinging pain in my fad in my fist, I said jokingly.

  "Yeah, I could see that," sarcastically, An said, looking at the teenager on the ground without being impressed, taking my hand to i it, "it's not broken," An said.

  I could tell.

  "Let's go, give me your keys," he ordered, pointing to Geie who was behind him with a bunch of teenagers who until now I realized were there witnessing everything incredulously.

  Handing over my keys to my usually calm friend along with Kat, who looked worried betweewo, I ehe back of 'Debbie' while Kat, much more sober, began to check me nervously, "what was wrong with that jerk?" she asked angrily as she moved my face from side to side.

  "I don't know, he's Regina's boyfriend..." I was saying what I knew, but Kat angrily interrupted me, "that damn lying bitch, I khat show wasn't all she was going to do, she's a witch," furious Kat said, pressing forcefully where the teenager had hit me without realizing it.

  Pulling away from her hand, I excimed in pain, "I'm sorry," embarrassed, Kat said, g her hands.

  "Don't worry," I said, calming the girl, "seeing a caveman hit me for no reason, how's that for spending your day?" I asked, teasing her about what she had told me the day before.

  "Don't say nonsense," Kat said, ughing untrolbly and pushing my arm.

  "Ah, I'm injured, remember?" I said, exaggerating the paihough I hadn't received any other blows besides the oo my face.

  "Yeah, why didn't you defend yourself?" frustrated, Kat said.

  "Hey, I threunch," offended for some reason, I said.

  "And it was a great punch," Geie added from the front of the car, "until it hurt you," he added, ughing lightly.

  "Yeah, you're supposed to close your fist tightly, you didn't have it pletely closed, that's why it hurt, also your wrist wasn't straight enough, if you had hit with more force, you could have broken it," An calmly said from the driver's seat.

  "Sorry for not knowing how to hit a person," I said incredulously, making Kat and Geie ugh lightly.

  Relutly, Kat was the first to be taken home, who, due to the shock of the 'fight', was much soberer than before and mao enter her house quietly before we left the pce.

  "Mind if I stay at your pce?" An asked as I y in the back seat, now feeling the incredibly unbearable pain in my face.

  "Obviously, you stay," I said, trying to distract myself from the pain in my face.

  Arriving at my house, An and Geie, who with whom I was supposed to be with at Brock's house, entered as quietly as possible. "Hey, champ," in the living room, watg TV silently, Bob, who robably listening for the door, said. "Everyone's sleeping," he said quietly as he stood up, "how did it go?" he asked, turning with a big smile that quickly faded when he saw my face.

  "Great?" I said, trying to smile, stopping with pain.

  ---

  Author's Thoughts:

  As always, I'm not Ameri and not a doctor.

  He does not know how to fight, Is anyone surprised by this? I hope not, because throughout the course of the story, I've left many clues about it.

  I've never been to an Ameri party (specifically in Texas in 1990), but I've seen many movies and the party in episode 5 of Young Sheldon, so that was my attempt at a 1990 party in a small town in Texas.

  With that said,

  I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.

  Thank you for reading! :D

  PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.