Chapter 2

For my senior year Dad had bought me a new 1967 Camero convertible. I was never spoiled growing up but Dad wanted me to have it better than he as a teenager. He always said he would explain to me someday what he went through as a child and I could only imagine what he had to endure. I do know some secret government agency was involved in some of the test they put him through. I heard that through mom's thoughts when I was fourteen. She and Dad had discussed it one morning before he left for work not knowing I would probe mom's mind.

I arrived at school just after seven thirty, giving me time to register for classes and possibly make it to homeroom at eight. Dad had encouraged me this morning not to use my gift the first couple of days of school. He said I should act normal and would enjoy school more if I didn't know what everyone was thinking. I was doing fine until fifth period study hall when I met Coach Reese the football coach who was filling in for Mister Randall the first day of school. I introduced myself and showed him my schedule. He entered my name on the roll and told me to find a seat. I sat in one of the two remaining seats at the very front. I pulled out my American Literature book and began thumbing through the pages.

"Do you play football Mister Bolton?" Coach Reese asked breaking the silence in classroom.

"I hadn't planned to Coach."

"What are you, six one, six two, one eighty five?"

"Six one, one ninety." I replied.

"I'll see you at practice today son!" he stated. I knew I wasn't going to win this argument. Either way he would win. If I said no, everyone would call me a wimp. If I said yes, everyone would call me a wimp for knuckling under. I opened my mind up to hear his thoughts. I detected a little fear in him and seeing he wasn't serious about me playing that he was only showing off for the rest of the class.

"I strained my back a few weeks ago helping my father. The doctor said not to do anything strenuous for a few months. I'll be glad to tote water if you need me to." I said being humorous as some of the kids laughed. I should not have said that. He was willing to let it go but I had embarrassed him.

"Come out after school and we'll see how well you tote water." He replied with a slight anger. I lied about my back so what was I going to say now that would cover it up.

"I was joking about my back coach, I just want to concentrate more on academics this year. I apologize for making that remark.

"Apology accepted. So you have played in the past. What position?" He asked in a different tone.

"Defensive back but I prefer Quarterback."

"You have the size for both positions. Why defensive back then?"

"My coaches have always held I was more suited as a back because I had a pretty good feel for the opposing offence."

"I tell you what, if you come out for practice I will give you a shot at any position. If you show me you can do it better, then the job is yours. Is that fair?"

"Can I talk it over with my parents before I commit?" I said realizing he was now serious.

"Since you were man enough to apologize sure, talk it over with them. Come see me tomorrow in my office. Mister Randall will return to this class. I was filling in for him today."

"Yes sir!" I said knowing that being honest was the best way to handle most situations. Nothing else was said between us. I studied awhile looking around the class from time to time to see the new faces I would soon get to know. Two desks over was a girl that was staring at me. I glanced at her and we smiled at one another. After the bell I stood up getting my books together and she came over and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Amy Renick."

"Jay Bolton. Nice to meet you."

"Where are you transferring from?"

"Briton Tennessee."

"I think Coach Reese let you off the hook pretty easy. He is normally pretty rough on the new boys. I'm on the cheerleading squad and I hear him all the time."

"I suspected you might be. You have the look of a cheerleader."

"And what look is that?"

"Beautiful."

"Thank you." She said, then pausing to try and figure me out. "What class do you have next?" she asked.

"I'm out, I don't have a sixth period class." I answered as we walked down the hall toward my locker. "Do you have another class?" I asked.

"I'm going to cheerleading practice. Do you want to come out and watch us? We are pretty good this year. I will introduce you to some of the kids."

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do right now. I'm sorry! I didn't mean that the way it sounded."

"Are you always so apologetic?"

"If I do or say something wrong the I don't mind admitting to it. In the same way that if I am right about something I will let you know I am right."

"I know a lot of boys that will let you know if they think they are right but I don't know any that will admit to being wrong. That makes you weird." She said smiling. I knew she was joking. Her locker was just four down from mine so we put our books up and I walked her to the gym and waited for her outside the girl's locker room as she changed.

As we walked to the field she took my hand explaining she had grown up in this part of town and attended all local schools since kindergarten.

"What if your boyfriend sees us holding hands? Won't he get mad at you?" I asked probing.

"Donald and I broke up this past summer. He expected to much from me." She explained. I got a sense of what she was saying without probing her mind. I didn't want to spoil this time with her by knowing everything. As we approached the other girls she smiled at them and waved, then pointed at me.

"Look what I found in study hall." She said introducing each of the girls.

"Amy said you were terrible this year. She thought I could help out with some moves." I said, as she looked at me being stunned and then smiled.

"I love that! You have a sense of humor." She said squeezing my hand. "Jay might be trying out for the football team. I asked him out to watch us. He transferred from Briton."

"Let's go girls!" Their coach shouted.

"That's Ms. Hinson our coach. Jay you set on the bleachers." She pointed as I walked over and sat on the second row up and watched awhile. They were very good and much better I thought than the girls at Briton. They practiced on the track surrounding the football field. All of the football players began coming out to the center of the field for practice. When they all arrived the coaches had them stretching and exercising to loosen up. I was watching the team the more they got into practice. I would glance at Amy and she would smile. I stood up pointing to the team indicating to her I was going over to watch them a few minutes. She frowned but shook her head yes.

I walked over to the sideline about ten yards from where the coach was standing just far enough back behind some of the other players that he wouldn't notice me.

"The coach doesn't allow anyone on the field that's not on the team." One of the players stated.

"Yeah, get your ass off the field before you get hurt!" another one said.

"It won't be by anyone out here." I replied not looking at any of them but looking on the field.

"Hey coach!" one of them shouted pointing at me. He glanced at me and turned his attention back on the field. Now that he knew I was here I walked closer to the sideline and watched a few minutes. Looking at him every so often I knew he was angry at the missed tackles and fumbled passes.

"Bolton!" coach Reese shouted and waved me over. I walked over to him.

"It's Jay sir." I corrected him.

"Can you help the team?"

"What do you mean by that sir?"

"If you were to play with the team, would we be any better. That's a straight forward question to see what you think about your abilities."

"Without a doubt coach." I replied knowing he wanted to see if I was confident in myself.

"I think you know right now if you have decided to play. Am I right?"

"Not really. I haven't decided sir."

"Are you going to dress out tomorrow?" he asked.

"I don't want to play defense."

"What makes you think I will want you to play defense?"

"The fullback will run right, probably between the guard and tackle." I said pointing to the field as we watched. It was as I said.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"A little of everything. The previous play, what's working or not, the way they line up. No one particular thing."

"Do you think you can beat out Vanburing at quarterback?"

"If I came out I would like to try. I think I could do better than what I've seen so far, four for eight."

"See me after lunch tomorrow in my office. We'll get you a locker and some pads. You have about three weeks of practice to catch up on. Here, learn this tonight." He said handing me his playbook." I probed his mind securing the plays instantly. "You better hurry. Miss Renick is waiting on you." I turned to look and Amy was standing on the track with one of her friends. The others girls had gone. I smiled at him and walked away.

"I'm sorry, I came out here to watch you practice and ended up talking to coach Reese."

"Denise, this is Jay. He is a very apologetic person." She said making fun of me.

"Hi Denise."

"Hi Jay."

"So what did you decide?" Amy asked.

"I'm probably making a mistake but I took his playbook. I am to learn it tonight. I start practice tomorrow."

"I hope you know what you are doing." Amy replied."

"I'm not sure. I've really never played before." I said with a serious look on my face. Both of them looked at me unsure if I was telling the truth.

"Just kidding!" I said with a little laugh.

"I thought you were serious for a second."

"Me too!" Denise agreed.

"Denise is my ride home. Can we give you a ride?"

"No, but if Denise doesn't mind I would like to drive you home if you would let me."

"Do you mind Denise?" She asked with a pleading look on her face.

"I don't mind. Just make sure you take her straight home." She said giving me a serious look.

"Isn't that sweet. You have a babysitter." I said teasing. She broke into a smile.

"I'm going to follow you. I live next door to her."

"Good, I want her to feel safe." I said as we walked to the cars.

I looked in the mirror while driving and Denise was behind us.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Woodland Hills subdivision. Oak Avenue."

"Really, that's where I live. 2118 Oak Avenue." I responded.

"I live at 2131. So you're the one that moved into the Davison's house. Everyone was saying that a cute boy had moved in there. I use to baby-sit the Davison's daughter. I have slept in the front room upstairs a few times when they stayed out late."

"You have slept in my room before?" I asked teasing. She smiled. I pulled into her driveway as we waved at Denise passing around us pulling into her driveway next door. After getting out of her car she waved once again entering her house.

We sat and talked for a while about school and life in general. We were straight forward about everything we discussed. I was staring at her being captivated by her looks. She had long, straight, dark brown hair with brown eyes. She was wearing the shorts she practiced in. She must have stuffed the dress she was wearing at school in her bag that was in the back seat along with my playbook. Her legs had remained tanned from the summer sun. We were quiet for a moment.

"I guess we ran out of things to say." She remarked.

"I didn't. I'm thinking of how I am going to kiss you."

"Don't, I have been sweating from practice." I looked at her and leaned over putting my hand around the back of her head pulling her to me. She put her hand on the back of my head holding us together for a long kiss.

"The neighborhood can see us with the top down." I said but not caring.

"I don't mind. By the way, I love your Car. I love convertibles too."

"Thank you. My parents bought it for me because I made it to the twelfth grade. Would you like to come over later and meet them?"

"That must be your Dad pulling into your driveway now." She stated as I looked back over my shoulder. We lived three houses down on the other side of the street. I tapped on the horn catching Dad's attention and waved.

"Hi Dad." I thought.

"Hi son. Don't get any on you." He thought teasing me as I read his mind. I laughed to myself and he knew I was as he walked into the house.

"It is my Dad. Do you want to come over now and meet them?" I replied.

Not right now. I can't believe I've sat here this long talking to you and I haven't taken a shower. I must smell awful."

"You smell fine. The worst odor is covered by your perfume."

"Now you make me self conscious."

"You know I'm teasing."

"Well I'm going to go in and take a shower."

"Can I come by later?" I asked.

"Yes, my parents should be home any time. I want you to meet them too."

"I'll see you in a couple of hours after supper." I said more or less asking.

"Ok." She agreed. I got out to go around to open her door as she opened hers.

"Wait a second. I said then opening her door.

"Thank you." She said as I held the door. She seemed surprisingly pleased.

"Your welcome." I replied. We said bye and I drove across the street to my house. Entering the kitchen where mom was I said hi and sat at the table.

"How was your first day Son?" she asked.

"Overall it was pretty good."

"What is that in your hand?" she asked.

"Football playbook." I replied with a little smile on my face.

"I thought you weren't going to play this year.

"Well, I was sort of coaxed into it but I think I want to play anyway." I said as Dad walked in.

"Jay is going to play football Hun." Mom said to Dad.

"That's good. It will keep his mind off the local girls." He replied joking with me.

"Her name is Amy and I met her in study hall. I'm going over to meet her parents after supper. Mom, she is gorgeous!"

"How was school?" Dad interrupted.

"It wasn't bad. I met fifteen girls today and coach Reese."

"The cheerleading squad?" Dad asks.

"Why do you bother asking me anything if you're going to listen to my thoughts Dad. I thought we agreed to a little privacy. Do I have to block everything I think from now on?" I said getting up from the table and walking off.

"I'm sorry son. I was only doing it to have a little fun."

I went up to my room and sat at my desk opening up the playbook debating if I wanted to play or not. Afterwards I lay on my bed thinking of Amy. I wasn't sure if I should get too serious about her right now. I want to know what she is thinking but I don't want to spoil it by knowing everything. I would rather that she told me how she feels. It would be easy to get serious about her but I would rather let things to develop slowly. She did come on a little quick today. I wonder what she is thinking?

Mom and Dad left me alone during supper saying nothing, knowing I was a little angry. They knew given time I would get over it. I never stayed angry for very long but during that time I kept to myself. I arose from the table and went out the door, walked over to Amy's house and knocked on her door. Her father answered.

"Hi, Mister Renick? I'm Jay Bolton, my family and I moved in across the street. Is Amy here?"

"Hi Jay. Amy said you were coming by. Come on in. She is in her room; I'll go get her. I waited a few minutes in the living room.

"Hi! She said coming down the stairway.

"Hi! You look nice." I said as she walked over and took my hand leading me to the couch. She had changed into a short black skirt with a white blouse.

"Your Dad seemed nice." I remarked.

"He's a pretty nice guy. Mom is too. Come on and meet them." We went into the dining room where they were setting at the table. "Mom, Dad, this is Jay Bolton."

"Hi Jay, Amy said you moved in across the street." Her mom said.

"Yes ma'am. I love the neighborhood. Everyone seems to take pride in keeping up their lawns. They look manicured."

"It is nice here. You'll find everyone around here easy to get along with."

"Amy told us you have joined the football team. What position are you trying out for?" her Dad asked.

"Quarterback."

"You should see the thick playbook coach Reeves gave Jay to learn before tomorrow. It will take him a month to learn." Amy stated.

"I've already learned it. They're basically the same plays all teams use with different names."

"It took me a while to learn them when I played. You must have an extraordinary memory if you have memorized all of them." Mister Renick stated.

"You played football? What position?" I asked changing the subject.

"End. You're going to have a tough time beating out Tommy Vanburing. He was our starter last year in his junior year. We were nine and one. We lost in the play-off's."

"Do you go to all the games?" I asked her parents.

"We have never missed one of her games." Her mom said meaning watching the cheerleading squad.

"She is a very good cheerleader. I watched her today in practice."

"Seriously Jay. Beating Tommy will be tough. You might be sitting on the bench a lot."

"We'll see sir. I played middle linebacker last year and we were AA state champions at Briton.

"Briton, I remember reading about them. They skunked Overton in the championship game."

"Yes sir. We also shut down six of nine teams allowing only two touchdowns and two field goals on the year."

"I remember reading about that. Were you the defensive captain they were writing about?"

"Yes sir. We had a great defense. All the guys put out last year."

"If you can play offense that good you might have a chance. What does Coach Reeves say about your playing quarterback?"

"He is going to give me a shot at it tomorrow."

"Knowing about you at Briton, he will probably start you on defense."

"He doesn't know I'm from Briton."

"If I know coach Reeves he will by tomorrow." He stated.

"You didn't say you played for a championship team last year." Amy said.

"You didn't ask." I said with a smile.

"If Dad has read about you then you must be good. Dad is a football fanatic."

"I don't like all the hype." I responded.

"Either way you have a good coach. You can learn from him. He is tough sometimes but fair. If you prove yourself, then the job is yours." He inserted.

"You two can finish this conversation later. We're going to take a walk over to Jay's house. I want to meet his parents." Amy said tugging my hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm sure we will be seeing more of each other." I said as we were walking out.

"Nice to meet you Jay." They both said.

"My dad would talk football all night if he could." She said as we walked to my house.I stopped us on the steps of my porch.

"Let's sit a few minutes before going in." I stated.

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm a little upset with Dad. I don't feel like talking to him right now."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"We had a disagreement about my privacy."

"He doesn't trust you."

"It's not that."

"Then you don't want to talk about it."

"Maybe when we get to know each other well enough."

"What is well enough?"

"I don't know. We've just met. We don't know anything about each other." I said.

"I know a lot about you."

"Amy, you don't know me at all." I said looking in her eyes.

"I want too."

"What if I am the type of guy that expects more from a girl than she is willing to give? Like Donald." I said bluntly. She sat staring across the street. I moved one step down looking up into her face. Reluctantly I opened my mind to her. She had strong feelings for me. I wanted to see what was in her face as she answered me.

"When I broke up with Donald, he began dating almost immediately. I knew he wasn't serious about us. You know how a person can feel those kinds of things."

"I know what you mean. I've only known you for a few hours and I feel this thing for you already." I said blurting it out.

"Really! What kind of thing?"

"You know, this thing. Come on, I'll walk you home."

"First I want to hear more about this thing." She stated. I almost couldn't help myself. I liked her a lot but was it to soon to get serious?

"Amy, I think I could get very close to you but I don't want to rush you into anything."

"I like you a lot and I am willing to take it slow if that is what you want." She replied.

"Right now I need someone I can talk to. You have been so sweet today."

" I love talking to you. I haven't talked like this to a boy since, maybe... never."

" Can I pick you up in the morning?"

"I would like that. I'll call Denise when I get home and tell her I'm riding with you in the morning."

"I better walk you home."

We left it at that. I walked her home without introducing her to my parents. I went home, up to my room and read a book while watching the news on television. The news was consumed of reports of the Vietnam War. It wouldn't be long and I would be eligible for the draft. I didn't think much about Vietnam at this time. I knew two boys that graduated from Briton last year that joined the army, went over there and were killed. I had dated Lisa Davis, the sister of one. She was never the same after Glenn was killed. I remember listening to his thoughts one afternoon while he was on leave before he went over there. He was so gung-ho for action. I remember thinking he might not come back because he would inter into action carelessly without thinking or regard for his safety. I was going to call Amy around ten but I fell asleep.

I was up at five the following morning seeing I had gone to sleep early. I showered, dressed and went downstairs. I was up a little earlier than normal so I brought in the newspaper, made toast and drank orange juice. Mom came in to begin preparing breakfast for Dad.

"Good morning Jay. Your up early this morning."

"Good morning. I went to sleep early last night."

"Not because of your Dad I hope. He was only having a little fun with you yesterday. What's happened to your sense of humor?"

"Mom, it has nothing to do with my sense of humor. I think I am a normal kid with the same thoughts as anyone my age. Dad has taught me that a person's privacy is extremely important to them and I should not invade it for the sake of my own curiosity. I have tried to do that but then he turns around and invades mine. How should I react?"

"When you were young, everything you thought about he listened to until two years ago when he saw that you were being very responsible with your gift. The only time he does it now is when he feels concern for you, which is not to often. But you're his son and he wants you to have a normal life. So what if he wants to have a little fun with you. Is their something you have to hide?"

"If you want to call it hiding mom. I'm seventeen and I think about things that seventeen-year-old kids think about. You know, personal things."

"I see! Girls!" she said smiling.

"Mom, once I accidentally heard your thoughts about Dad, private thoughts and realized I was wrong and never listened to it anymore. From then on I have left that privacy to you and Dad. I would like to have that same privacy."

"Your Dad would never invade your privacy in that way. We have discussed the subject many times over the years. You two have always been honest with one another. Ask him, he won't tell you anything that is not true. But I think you know that by now."

"Your right mom as always. Sometimes I feel that you're wiser than Dad with all his knowledge."

"It may seem that way but your Dad is an expert on every subject. I don't think there is another person who has more knowledge and wisdom stored in their head as your father. It's their own fault he won't share any of it because of what they did to him as a child. That's why he wants you to find that place in the world that is suited for you without everyone taking advantage of you. And they will if they find out what you are capable of. His soul purpose in life at this time is that you use your gift in your own way for good and that you will be mature enough when you leave on your own to be able to fend off those that would abuse you."