Bae, Bob stopped me before opening the door. "If they ask, we just went for a haircut, nothing else. If your mom finds out we went shopping and didn't take her, she'll murder me," he said with a serious look, holding my shoulders and speaking close to my face. When I nodded, he let me go and slowly opehe door to peek ihe house.

  "Quick, PJ, go to your room, make sure your mom doesn't see the bags at all costs," he urged me as we ehe house.

  "Halt right there!" suddenly yelled from the living room. "What is it that you don't wao see, Bob?" Mom had appeared out of nowhere, directly in front of us. "Oh, PJ, what a nice haircut, you finally got rid of that awful hair," she said, getting closer to i it.

  While a few steps toward us, her gaze fixed on the bags in my hand. "That is..." she seemed impressed, "Bob! You went shopping without me!" she excimed, and with a sigh, Bob walked over to the coud sat down.

  I slipped away from the otion, grateful that Bob was receiving his wife's attention in the form of angry shouts. Mom pletely ignored my presence. Carefully and trying to ignore Bob's cries for help, I made my way to my room where Gabe ractig with one of the guitars.

  sidering the short time Gabe has had the guitars, he pyed the strings with remarkable ease, at least to my inexperienced eyes. "That sounds good," I said, apparently startling the boy.

  "PJ! When did you get here?" he quickly put the guitar aside, seeming embarrassed that I caught him pying it. I approached him, took the guitar in my hands, and ha ba.

  "e on, keep going. I gave you those guitars because I want to see you py them," I said with a smile. With embarrassment on his face, Gabe took the guitar, settled ba the bed, and began pying the strings, one by one, pleting a circle.

  Happy, I started putting my new clothes away in my wardrobe, still listening to the sound of the strings. "How long have you been doing this?" I asked Gabe, trying not to break his tration. "Sihe end of breakfast," he replied. It had beehree hours since he started.

  After finishing putting the clothes away, I noticed a football ball on the floor of the wardrobe. I picked it up and couldn't resist throwing it lightly at Gabe's head to get his attention. Wheurned with intrigue on his face, I teased him, saying, "Well, that's enough guitar for today. You'll hurt your fingers. Take that ball and follow me. Let's py with it."

  I left our room on the way to the front yard, passing by Teddy's door, where I heard two voices talking. "So the boy I like doesn't have to speak first?" I heard Missy say. "Not necessarily. For example, in Colorado, there was this guy, Speall, very handsome, but he didn't talk to me, so I spoke first," Teddy replied. "And what happehen? Was he your boyfriend?" Missy asked. "Yes, he was my boyfriend," Teddy lied, ughing quietly at the girls' versation. I moved away from their door and arrived at the living room.

  Mom and Bob were sitting on the couch, M on Bob's shoulder. When he saw me, he silently asked for help, pointing to Mom and then to the remote trol, which was far from them on the couch.

  Ign Bob, I left the house ao our front yard. The neighborhood was awake, people walking their dogs, neighbors mowing the wn, a few women jogging. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm day. I was admiring everything when suddenly, a hit on my head made me lose my baurning around, I saw the football ball on the ground, the one I had thrown at Gabe a moment ago.

  "Revenge, PJ!" Gabe ughed from the doorstep.

  We pyed catch with the ball for a while until, from the Cooper's house, Mrs. Creeted us from her doorstep, dressed like the quintessential 90s Texan housewife, with Sheldon holding a green book over his fa front of her.

  "Good m, PJ, Gabe. It's a beautiful day to py ball, isn't it?" Mrs. Cooper said as she waved at us. "Yes, Mrs. Cood m to you too, Sheldon," I replied cheerfully, returning the ball to Gabe, who also greeted with a wave.

  "Good m," Sheldon said without taking his eyes off the green book.

  Seeing her son's behavior, Mrs. Cooper snatched the book from Sheldon's hands and pulled him a few steps toward us. "Sheldon, why don't you join them? PJ, would you mind looking after him a bit?" Mrs. Cooper asked, pg her hands on Sheldon's shoulders.

  "No, of course not, Mrs. Cooper. Sheldon, catch!" I said, throwing the ball ba. " a fall," I added when I saw Sheldon not moving a muscle to catch it. "Sorry, Sheldon. Did I throw it toive it back, and this time I'll throw it mently," I said, hoping Sheldon would pick up the ball. "Oh, no. It's just dirty, and I won't touch it," Sheldon said as if it were obvious.

  "I'll leave him with you," Mrs. Cooper quickly said, heading back to her house, ign the looks of disbelief Gabe and I were exging.

  "Well, you stay here and chat with us," I said as I approached to pick up the ball. "What did you do today?" I asked as I threw the ball back to Gabe.

  "I went to church with my mother. Since we're going to have a talk, I might as well ask you if you've ever had bad thoughts," he asked, for the first time seeming like a regur kid.

  "Well, Sheldon, it's normal to have bad thoughts, but the important thing is not to be guided by them. I imagihe pastor sidered bad thoughts as a sin and good thoughts as a grace from Ght?" I replied while tinuing to py with the ball. "Exactly. That's astor Jeff said, but I don't think I've ever had a bad thought, and I doubt my good thoughts are God's doing," he said.

  "Don't tell your mom, but I agree with you on that one. You might not remember having bad thoughts because your own morality doesn't perceive them as such. However, the good thoughts are not necessarily God's doing, or at least that's what I think," I responded.

  "My own morality?" he seemed intrigued.

  "Yes, morality is a philosophical disciplihat studies human behavior. It generally examihe social norms that define what is right . Your morality is defined by your enviro. Like I said, your morality might be different from mine abe's here," I expined as I threw the ball once again to my brother.

  "I see. So, acc to your theory, some of my thoughts might be perceived as good by me but as bad by other people," the boy said.

  "Yes, it's not my theory. I don't know who ied it, and I'm not sure if you sider it a theory to begin with. But yes, basically, that's it," I said, feeling a little bit embarrassed now.

  "You were right yesterday. Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be any signifit damage in your brain," Sheldon said with a surprised expression. "You seem smart enough to have a versation."

  "Haha, the child genius thinks you're not a chimpanzee, PJ," Gabe said, ughing, as he threw the ball back. Retrieving the ball, I replied, "Yes, thanks for notig that I'm not an idiot."

  "You're wele," Sheldon said before being interrupted. "Hey, Sheldon!" From the Cooper's yard, a chubby boy approached, holding a chi in his hands.

  "Hello, Billy Sparks. Hello, Matilda Sparks," Sheldon said in a monotone and bored tone.

  "I heard yoing to high school tomorrow," the chubby boy said.

  "Yeah, so you better find someone else to torment on the pyground," Sheldon said, and to my surprise, this chubby boy who seemed foolish turned out to be a bully. I didn't see that ing.

  "Torment? What does that mean?" the chubby boy asked, looking intrigued.

  With an exasperated sigh, Sheldon expined, "It means to maliciously harass."

  "Her ass? Haha, that's funny," the chubby boy ughed loudly, and Gabe ughing too lost sight of the ball, uo catch it, and got hit in the face, which made me ugh too.

  Apparently tired of the iion, Sheldon said, "Well, this was nice. We were having an iing versation before you arrived, so you leave now."

  Seemingly a being dismissed, the chubby boy said, "Hey, doofus," and brought the chi close to Sheldon's face. In fear, Sheldon screamed loudly and hid behind the hing he found, which happeo be my body.

  Behind me, Sheldon, still hiding, screamed again, making me realize that he was just a little kid and made me feel bad.

  "That's enough, Matilda Spark. I think you should go," I told the chubby boy.

  "My name isn't Matilda; that's my chi's he chubby boy replied.

  "Yes, I know. It was just a joke. You go now. You're sg Sheldon," I respoo the boy.

  "That's the point ing Matilda to doofus. It's funny; look," he tried to e closer, but an object flew and hit him in the face, causing him to step back. "Ow, what was that?" he said, holding his h one hand and holding the chi under his other arm.

  "Sorry, I aimed wrong," Gabe said, who had thrown the ball.

  The chubby boy moved his hand away from his fad upon seeing a bit of blood, ran back g and shouting, "Mom!"

  Seeing that his bully had run away, Sheldon came out from behind his hiding pce, my body, and said, "Thanks, PJ, f to make him leave."

  "Hey, it was my throw that made him go," Gabe protested, offended. "You should thaoo."

  "But you said it was an act," Sheldon replied curiously.

  "Yeah, duh. It was a lie. I did it on purpose. It's funny to see how you got scared. But even I have limits," Gabe said with a smile. "Besides, my 'morality' told me to do it."

  "There you have a perfect example, Sheldon. What Gabe did might seem bad to other people, but for the three of us, it's clearly a good deed. That's morality," I told the kid. "Although ime, Gabe, I don't want you to hit someory to hahings differently," I said as I threw the ball ba.

  "Yeah, whatever," Gabe said with fake irritation in his voice, though his face showed the opposite, with a big smile.

  "Shelly, what happened? I heard you scream," Mrs. Cooper asked, appearing to have rushed here, if her agitation was real.

  "Oh, Mom, it's nothing. Billy Spark scared me with his chi, but PJ and Gabe made him leave," Sheldon said, omitting the part where Gabe hit him with the ball.

  "Is that so?" a very relieved Mrs. Cooper said. "Well, thank you very much, boys," she thanked us.

  "You're wele, Mrs. Cooper," we replied in unison.

  "e on, Shelly, say goodbye to PJ and Gabe. It's time for lunch," the smiling Mrs. Cooper said as she went baside her house.

  "I didn't tell my mom because I think she'd be one of those people who think what Gabe did is bad," Sheldon whispered to me.

  "Alright, thanks, Sheldon," I whispered back.

  "Goodbye, Gabe. Goodbye, PJ. Have a good day. See you at school tomorrow, PJ," Sheldon said as he walked away. "Oh, I remembered something. PJ, have your testicles dropped yet?" This time, I was the one surprised, and I missed the ball, getting hit in the face.

  After Sheldoo have lunch, Gabe and I tinued pying until I got exhausted, whifortunately didn't take long. PJ was, or rather, I am in very bad shape. In my previous life, maybe I wasn't the most athletic person, but my work as a paramedic made me gain some fitness. I o start exerg again before it's too te.

  The day passed without anything signifit happening. Gabe went out to ride his bike, Teddy tio stay locked in her room despite Missy haviurned home, and I started studying PJ's books and notebooks again. They were battered, with missing pages, and the notebooks had few relevant notes.

  The day.

  After taking a m shoart of my new routine I decided to go for a short run every m to try and improve my g fitness.

  Entereing the kit I greeted Teddy and Gabe, who were having breakfast at the dining table. I approached my mom, who was hurriedly preparing sandwiches and pag them, along with different fruits, into paper bags, one for each of us. "Darn it, Bob couldn't have scheduled that meeting ter. Now I have to rush to drop off Gabe, then Teddy, and finally PJ. They're going to be te on their first day of school," she muttered with annoyance as she vigorously spread mayonnaise on one of the bread slices.

  "Good m, Mom. Do you need any help?" I asked, moving closer to the kit ter to grab an apple. "Sure thing, PJ. Please turn off the sprinklers while I finish preparing your siblings' lunches."

  Heading to the front yard, I saw Mr. Cooper and Geie leaving their house, heading toward Mr. Cooper's van. Quickly closing the sprinkler valve, I ran towards them and called out, "Good m, Mr. Ceie. Since yoing to school, could you give me a ride too? Dad had to attend a meeting with a t, and Mom 't take us all on time."

  "Good m, PJ. Of course, we'll wait for you. Go get your things," Mr. Cooper replied, opening the van door aing in with Geie.

  Thanking them, I rushed baside the house. "Mom, Mr. Cooper give me a ride to school. You rex now," I told her as I grabbed one of the paper bags, my backpack, and a small suitcase taining my special footballshoes for the tryout.

  "Oh, thank him for me, PJ," she said, relieved. As I passed by her, she stopped me by the arm and kissed my forehead. "Good lu your first day of school," she said, giving me a hug, which I returned. After bidding farewell to Mom and the kids, I left the house, heading towards the Coopers who were waiting for me in their van.

  Inside Mr. Cooper's van on the way to school...

  "Are you okay?" I asked, as I noticed Geie seemed upset. "No, stupid bow-tie," he muttered under his breath, clearly annoyed. "Bow-tie?" I asked. "Yeah, my stupid brother lost it, and mom bmed me when I didn't take anything," the frustrated teenager replied with a sigh. "Hey! Don't call your brother that. If your mom got upset, it's because she's worried about Sheldon. Yes, it wasn't your fault, but you 't bme your mom. It seems like you hate the idea of your brother being in the same school as you," Mr. Cooper said.

  "How could I not hate the idea of him being in my grade? You know what he's like. They're going to make fun of me," Geie said, even more annoyed. "Yes, I know, but it's your duty as the older brother to protect him, Geie. Let's hope your brother behave a bit in school, and if not, you really don't have to hang out with him, you know? Just make sure he doesn't get hurt," Mr. Cooper said as he parked in the school parking lot.

  "Yeah, whatever," Geie said, st out of the van towards the school.

  "Thanks for driving me, Mr. Cooper," I said as I prepared to leave, but he stopped me by toug my shoulder. "PJ, I know it's not your responsibility, and I shouldn't ask you, but I would appreciate it if you checked on Sheldon from time to time and apanied Geie. He's upset with everyone, and I don't want him to do something stupid because of his brother," Mr. Cooper said, showing some .

  "Of course, Mr. Cooper. Don't worry about it. I actually get along with Sheldoe his... etricities, and I was hoping to befriend Geie. After all, we might be on the same team. See you ter at the tryouts," I said as I got out of the van and said goodbye to Mr. Cooper.

  I didn't remember how nervous one could be on the first day of school. The entrance of the school was divided into many different groups. I could see the popur kids with the cheerleaders, the punks dressed in all bck, with extravagant hairstyles, piergs, and makeup. There were skaters chatting while doing small tricks, a pregnant girl, and other people who didn't fit into any specific category.

  As I walked ihe school, I felt some gny bad murmurs behind me. Being in a small town, it was natural that people would wonder who I was. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I still felt the pressure.

  Ihe doors, I ran into Geie, who was talking to three other people. As I approached, Geie noticed my presend said, "David, An, Brock, this is PJ Dun, my new neighbor. He'll be trying out with us." He introduced his friends to me, "We've been friends since middle school. David is our HalfBack, An is the FullBack, and Brock, along with me, are the Offensive Guards."

  Greeting everyoh a high-five, we started walking towards the while they were discussing the most on topic among teeheir age: girls, breasts, and butts. At some point in the versation, they asked me, "Hey PJ, what kind of girl do you like, ones with big butts breasts?" I replied, "Well, I've never really thought about it. I guess it doesn't matter to me, holy." As soon as I said that, they fell silent, looking at each other until Brock spoke up, "Yeah, you're right! It doesn't matter whether they have a big butt breasts; both are great." He then asked for a high-five, and I happily obliged.

  When we arrived at the , I sat o Broke at one of the two-seater tables. They tinued discussing other topiow that we were surrounded by more people in a smaller space – from iusid st week's game. Occasionally, they asked for my opinion in a discussion, "Who do you think would win, Spiderman or Rambo?" or "Which robot do you think is cooler, Terminator or Robocop?" They kept going until... "Isn't that your breie?" David said, pointing at the door.

  Standing at the door, looking like a little adult with a tucked-in dress shirt and a briefcase in his hand, Sheldon sed the room. When he spotted his brother ating at the back of the , he waved at us and approached, "Good m, PJ. Have you noticed that many cssmates break the code of duct? Do you think their morality prevents them from following the rules?" he asked, intrigued.

  "No, Sheldon, I think this time they're just people who want to dress how they like," I replied to the boy, who furrowed his brow in fusion upon hearing the answer.

  "But you told me that..." he was saying when "Go sit down, Sheldon, don't talk to us during css," Geie said, exasperated.

  "But I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to PJ," Sheldon said, causing his three old friends to mock him.

  "Yeah Geie, he was talking to PJ, not you," Broke said mogly, "don't interrupt his versation, you disrespectful little guy," An added to the joke, trying to imitate Sheldon's way of speaking.

  "You see, even your friends uand," Sheldon said petuntly.

  Geie seemed about to explode, so I intervened, "e on, Sheldon, go find a seat, css is about to start. If you're not seated when the bell rings, you'll be breaking a rule," I said in a pyful scolding tone. Surprised, Sheldon quickly picked up his briefcase and briskly walked to the front of the , where a girl with gsses occupied a desk. A sed ter, the bell rang, causing Sheldon to jump in his seat and turn to me, giving a thumbs up with a satisfied smile.

  "Thanks for that," Geie said, smiling.

  "Don't mention it," I replied, smiling back.

  -------------------------------------------

  Author's thoughts

  I am not a believer, but I don't like being disrespectful. Everything written in this chapter is without the iion of offending any religious person ion. The main character doesn't believe in God and is not afraid to say it. I hope I haven't offended anyone, and if I have, I apologize.

  Again, I am not Ameri, so I don't know how high school works or how football works. While writing this chapter, I did some resear the positions of the pyers, but I'm not sure if the lineup I created is correor do I know if freshmen py on the school team. It's all based on the idea from the first chapter of Young Sheldon.

  David, An, and Broke are characters from some high school football movies (I have to watch them) (The movies are Remember the titans and Fag the Giants) to better uand their personalities because in this first arc, I pn to make them recurring characters iory.

  That's all, if you find any errors, please ent so I correct them. See you ter.

  PS: The Discord is almost ready; I've been studying to make it as aesthetic as possible :D.