Ryan Armani
Tomfoolery
“The Devil can come in any form,” started Mr. Crocker, being his usual stickler self. Mr. Crocker was a scrawny middleaged man with thick glasses, honestly looking a lot like Mr. Crocker from Fairlyodd Parents. He looked around Artin’s class, focusing his eyes on the four boys, Artin, Liam, Noel, and Lucy. “Although he is portrayed as a red man with a spiky tail,” Crocker was jabbing his finger at things and people in the classroom now, “he can come in the form of a-ny-one and a-ny-thing.” The four boys, along with the rest of the class, started giggling and started side conversations. Mr. Crocker’s death glare put a sure stop to that. “NOW,” Crocker started again, with the spite equivalent to that of an angel a sinner, “it is stated the Devil will not come in his spiky tail and pitchfork, rather, he will come wearing regular clothes. I’d even bet that-” RrrrrriiiiiIIING! The CCD bell rang. All the kids jumped up and bolted to the exit, ignoring Crocker’s rant about how he dismisses the classes and not the bell. Artin, Noel, Liam, and Lucy bolted down the hallway to reach their parents’ cars.
“Gang!” Lucy shouted over the crowd of angsty kids, “Football at my house tomorrow morning!”
“Yeah!” shouted Liam and Noel in unison.
“Sure!” Artin responded, drowned out by the roar of children. With that, the kids spilled out into the parking lot, waving their goodbyes with excitement for tomorrow. Noel and Liam went to their car, Lucy, with great hesitance, went to his, and Artin got into the mom van.
A Sunday in September, 9 am, 2007
Artin awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and a ray of sunshine pouring through his window. His eyes widened as he realized his mistake, “Crikey!” Artin yelped, “I’m late for my playdate with the lads!” He hurriedly put his lucky sweater on, put on his cargo shorts, and grabbed his white flag and rushed out the front door. Flag football with the boys was more than a daily routine, it was a daily tradition. It was where the friendship between Noel, Liam, Lucy, and Artin, (the kids of the neighborhood) was truly solidified. Artin himself couldn't remember when they started playing, it felt like forever. When school got boring and ruined the day, each of them could look forward to their game. Oddly enough, none of them were on any actual football teams, or even watched football on television. It wasn't entertaining. All they knew was that flag football in the basin was the thing that glued them all together, and together they were happy.
The match wasn’t too far away, only a cut across 2 lawns. Artin's seven-year-old legs had never moved so fast in his life. He jumped over a bush, feeling the wind in his hair, and sprinted down his friend Lucy’s driveway to the backyard. Artin sprinted around the corner of the house, revealing the expansive backyard, a huge basin the size of two football fields. This was the neighborhood’s greatest spot, the prized possession all the middle class kids could share as one, where all memories were made. Lucy’s porch overlooked the basin, and on the porch was Lucy’s mom enjoying a relaxing morning cocktail.
“Good morning Artin!” Lucy’s mom waved somberly from atop the porch. Lucy Fell’s mother was a sweet lady, always letting the young boys be boys, although she always had a dull expression on her face. The sun blinded Artin as he looked back.
He waved back energetically, “Good morning Mrs. Fell!” as Artin continued down the hill. That’s when his world went upside down. Then right side up. Then upside down again. Soon the world was one blurry panoramic picture, and soon enough all Artin could see was green, and all he could taste was… dirt? Why was it wet?
“Aaah!!” Noel and Liam cringed in perfect harmony, the two brothers seemed to always be on the same wavelength. Lucy chuckled behind them.
“That’s gotta hurt!” exclaimed Noel, the older brother.
“Quite the entrance!” commented Liam, the younger brother.
“How’s breakfast, Artin? Taste a bit soggy?” provoked Lucy, slapping his knee. Noel and Liam followed suit, giving each other hi-fives despite not having done anything.
“Very funny, guys.” Artin said, wiping the mud off his face, already red with embarrassment. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his white flag. “Well, wanna get started with the game?”
“Absolutely!” shouted Liam and Noel, both barely being able to contain themselves. Lucy looked mildly irritated, having his mojo swept to the side in a moment’s notice.
“Alright, let’s pick teams,” Lucy started, “Noel and Liam will be the captains.” Lucy pulled out the official flipping coin. This coin was special, as Noel and Liam found it in the road on their way to Lucy’s. It was a dollar coin, something relatively rare nowadays. Despite this, all four of the boys agreed that the coin was better spent on their game rather than some gum. Now, it was time for the selection.
“Heads!” shouted Noel and Liam. They looked at each other and laughed. “No, tails!” they both said again. Now it was serious.
“I want tails!” shouted Liam, clearly furious.
“Fine! Then have it pip squeak!” Noel retorted, ready to suplex Liam. Things were not looking good for the gang, and such culture had never been introduced before. What was the fuss about? What travesty had led to such an outburst?
“Guys, let’s just flip the coin,” Artin said with caution, “there’s no need for the insults.”
“He’s right,” Lucy said, “we save that for the field.” With that, the coin was flipped. The light shone off the sides, creating a beautiful show of rays shining from the coin. It took the breath away from all the boys for a moment, and then Lucy captured it securely between his hands. He spun around, his back to the boys, and then with a turn long awaited by suspense, revealed it to be tails.
“Yes!” Noel jumped with joy. “I choose Lucy!”
“Whatever,” Liam said, obviously peeved about the turn of events, “let’s go, Artin. We’re offense.” With that, the boys began to strategize. Liam and Artin decided that the best course of action was to burst right through their opponents with lightning speed, starting with a handoff. Oddly enough, Lucy and Noel were plotting something of their own. The boys lined up.
“Blue 42, set, hike!” Liam shouted, receiving the snap from Artin. As fast as they could, Liam handed the ball off to Artin in a roundabout manner, a solid attempt to confuse their opponents. With Liam leading the charge and Artin close behind to try and block, it was a great strategy. Unfortunately, their opponents had their own idea. Noel headed for Liam with a smirk, Lucy right behind him.
“Now!” shouted Lucy. With that, Noel threw a fist full of dirt right into Liam’s face. Noel pushed Liam to the side, giving Lucy the opportunity to charge right towards Artin. Artin covered his face with one hand, expecting dirt to be flung into his face, but this is exactly what Lucy wanted. With the ball exposed, why bother going for the flag? Lucy jabbed at the ball with his right hand, knocking it out of Artin’s hands in a moment’s notice. The ball rolled and bounced behind Artin, right in Lucy’s favor.
“Crap!” Artin yelled. Now, for the kind Artin to yell profanity such as ‘Crap’ meant playtime was over. It was showtime. Artin turned for the ball, ready to break out into a sprint, but right as he began, his view was blinded. Dirt!
“Hah!” Lucy exclaimed triumphantly. With Artin staggered, Lucy grabbed the ball and headed for the endzone. Artin tried to follow, but his attempt was in vain. Lucy scored and celebrated, doing his signature default dance move.
“Not fair!” shouted Artin, peeved beyond all belief. What just happened? Why would Lucy have done such a thing? He knows it’s unfair.
“Sorry, what were the rules?” taunted Lucy, obviously having fun with this.
“You know what you did!” Artin was being beginning to get flustered now, “You-you cheated! You’re a- you’re a cheater!”
“Whaaaaaat?” Lucy snorted, “I’d never cheat!” He was grinning now. Before Artin could respond, the two heard a ruckus behind them. They turned around to see Noel and Liam grabbing each other's shirts in a tussle.
“Eureka!” Shouted Artin. “Guys, break it up! What’re you doing?!” Artin grabbed Liam, and Lucy grabbed Noel.
“You're no friend of mine!” Noel shouted first.
“I could say the same, stupid-face!” Liam responded, his face red with anger. Ok, now this is out of hand.
“Guys, cool it!” Artin shouted, forgetting about his and Lucy’s debacle a few moments ago. The gang was falling apart from the seams! But why? What was the cause?
“That’s it, I’m going home!” shouted Liam.
“Fine, be that way! I'm going home too!” Noel was freaking livid now.
“We live at the same place!” Liam shouted.
“I know!” Noel screamed. And with that, they were off, marching up the hill out of the basin. As they left, the magical barrier that surrounded them fell apart. Artin noticed Lucy's house on the hill, the neighborhood street, the dog barking in the background. Something had changed, and Artin wasn’t sure if it’d ever be the same. Now, it was just Lucy and Artin, staring off into space.
“So…,” Artin started, “wanna hang out some more?” Lucy looked at him, a bit displeased at how the events turned out. He wasn't angry about the fight, rather he was angry that the two had left so soon.
“No…,” Lucy trailed off a bit, “I think we're done.” With that, he too went up the hill towards his house, leaving Artin by himself. With a sense of defeat, he wiped the remaining mud off his face. As he started up the hill, he noticed something shining in the grass. Artin grabbed it for closer inspection. It was the dollar coin, all covered in mud. It looked more dull than usual. With a few seconds of thought, Artin decided to leave it there, continuing up the large hill. It was tough, especially for such a young kid.
“Artin!” Mrs. Fell yelled from the porch, looking very wobbly at this point, “I’m sorry that Noel and Liam left, but would you like to join us for dinner tonight around 6? Lucy isn't doing anything else today.”
“Sure!” Artin responded graciously. Dinner! This would be the perfect recovery from the past events that transpired. There was hope yet! So Artin returned home, cutting through lawns again, getting back to his house in record time. Artin’s mom tried to ask him how his day was, but he brushed her off. His mom was annoying, and he preferred talking to his friends. Now, what to do in the meantime? Study? No, there was nothing to study for. Studying was boring anyways. Play outside? Without the guys, it would be a drag. Video games it is then!
6pm
Artin lost track of time yet again, having played nearly 5 hours of video games nonstop. He had a bit of a headache at this point, feeling quite dazed and muddles. He checked the clock in his room, reading a nice round 6:00pm. It was time to head over to Lucy’s. Fighting through his perplexed state, he headed out the door and down the street again. It seemed like twilight out, the odd state between day and night. Artin took note of this, realizing there would be no light left on his walk back. Regardless, he forged onwards towards Lucy’s house.
Soon enough, Artin was at Lucy’s porch. A red lamp glowed eerily next to the reinforced front door. Although it could have been his imagination, Artin heard some screaming and shouting behind the door. Hesitantly, Artin grabbed the ornate goat head door knocker and knocked three times. Muffled footsteps could be heard from behind the door, followed by some louder shouting. Soon enough, the door opened.
“Hey, boss!” Mr. Fell greeted Artin, “please, come on in. You can take your shoes off right here if you’d like.” Artin entered the expansive-and expensive- house. The boys have all been in it before, the larger-than-average house. It wasn’t anything too special, having a dining room, an office, a kitchen, family and living room, a pretty fun basement, and an upstairs, all relatively open. It felt cozy and innocent enough, nothing out of the ordinary here. Artin followed Mr. Fell into the kitchen, where something spicy was cookin’. Mrs. Fell was in front of the stove with a bottle of wine next to her and an apron on, reading, “Kiss the Cook or kiss my…,” Artin was confused why there was a donkey on the apron. Regardless, Lucy was already sitting at the table, staring at his empty plate, looking a bit gloomy.
“Hey, Lucy!” said Artin enthusiastically as he sat down, hoping to cheer both himself and Lucy up. Lucy looked up and gave him a weak smile.
“Hey, Artin.” Lucy responded with little enthusiasm. Mrs. Fell slapped a piece of lamb onto a plate, and Lucy flinched. “Erm, sorry about this morning,” Lucy was looking a bit nervous now, “I was a bit mean. I’m sorry for causing trouble.”
“It’s alright my guy!” Artin responded, confused as to why there was an invisible tensity in the room. He continued, “Wanna play again tomorrow?” With that, Mrs. Fell interjected with a nice plate of lamb chops on the table.
“Dinner time! If you don’t eat, you won’t grow up to be big and strong!” She smiled half-heartedly at Artin, and gave a side glance at Lucy.
“Wow! Thanks Mrs. Fell!” Artin grabbed himself a plate, picked up a chop with his fork, and placed it on his plate. He then proceeded to lay a napkin across his lap.
“Excellent table manners, Artin.” Mr. Fell noted, making his way to his seat at the far head pf the table. As he walked by Lucy, he placed a tight hand on his shoulder, his knuckles turning white. Lucy winced. “I only wish Lucy here could be more like you.” Mr. Fell said in a serious tone. Then he broke into a grin, “Ah, whom am I kidding?! He’s just like his old man.” Mr. Fell finally sat down, soon followed by a woozy Mrs. Fell.
The dinner itself was delicious. Artin ate till his belly was full, enjoying conversation about school with Mr and Mrs Fell. Lucy sat idly by, avoided conversation and picking at his food. Soon enough, it was time for Artin to return home. He said his thanks to the Fells for hosting and was off, forgetting all about his troubled morning.
It was pitch dark now, being so dark that one could hardly see their hand in front of their face. Luckily for Artin, lights coming from the neighboring houses illuminated the streets just enough to grant safe passage home. Although dinner was delicious, thoughts clogged his mind. Artin turned behind him, not knowing why he felt the urge to do so. In the dark, he saw a large house illuminated faintly with an eerie red glow. Although the neighbors might say this house was Lucy’s home, Artin would say otherwise. It sure didn’t feel like home to him, and neither to Lucy.