Meet Me After Practice

Johnny The Smitten Kitten

--- JOHNNY ---

Two Weeks Later...

I didn’t sleep at all the two weeks following the game. The only thing I could think about was Abby, and it was driving me crazy. Why couldn’t I get her out of my head? I barely knew her, so why was she suddenly all I could think about?

Completely sleep deprived, I hopped out of bed and into the shower, deciding that since I had to be down at Abby’s house in thirty minutes to go to school, maybe I’d better make myself look somewhat presentable.

After scrubbing my hair for about five minutes, I hopped out of the shower, lazily pulling on my favorite pair of jeans and a loose fitting Yankee’s T-shirt. I looked at myself in the mirror, running my hand through my damp hair as I looked over my attire. I looked okay, I guess. Everything just seemed off. I’d never really cared about how ‘presentable’ I was when I went to school, mostly because I saw no reason to look any better than I normally did. But now there was someone at school that I wanted to impress, and I actually cared that I looked good. I grunted in approval after I accepted that I couldn’t make myself look any better. I was ready to go.

I grabbed my backpack off the floor before walking down the stairs to the kitchen where my mom was standing by the stove, cooking something. “Hey, Mom.” I said, tossing my bag onto the table before falling down into a chair, stretching my legs out in front of me. “What'cha making?”

She turned to me, a smile forming on her face. “Oh! Good morning, honey! Are you hungry for something healthy?” She asked, turning dramatically to show off her pan that was full of peppers, mushrooms, and basically any other kind of veggie you could imagine, all shoved into one omelet. She was the master packer. “I think my crazy baseball playing boy needs some nutrition.”

I grimaced when she flopped it onto a plate and set it down in front of me on the table. I hated veggie omelets, and she knew it! “Well, the thing is- It turns out that I’m not really hungry.”

She raised her eyebrows at me, and I could tell that she wasn’t buying it for one second. “Okay, Mr.Smarty Pants. But next time, you will eat it. Now come on- give your Momma a hug before you leave.” She said, opening her arms to me as I stood up and swung my backpack over my shoulder.

I smiled at her and gave her a hug before walking towards the door, a little more anxious to get to school than I should have been. Noticing that I was in more of a hurry than usual, Mom stopped me before I could leave.

“Johnny, what’s going on with you this morning? First you come downstairs with a big smile on your face, dressed like you’re about to see the president, then you refuse to eat and try to leave in a hurry? What’s happening to you?” She said, folding her arms across her chest, looking at me curiously. “Is there a girl I don’t know about?”

I tried to stop my cheeks from burning, but it was too late by the time I realized it was happening. I let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of my neck, not wanting to tell her about Abby just yet. Was it that obvious that I was trying to impress her? “Mom, a girl? What? No, there’s no one. I’m just... in one of those moods.” I said, taking a couple steps toward the door, getting ready to make my escape.

I was obviously a terrible liar. My mom just shook her head and smiled at me- one of her teasing smiles that I knew so well. “Oh, come on, Johnny! Tell me who she is! I know a smitten kitten when I see one.”

“A smitten kitten? Okay, I’ve gotta go, Mom.” I said, opening the door and stepping out before adding. “And there’s not a girl!” I was pretty sure she was laughing at me as I walked down the street toward the Chamberlain’s house, her knowing smile forever burned into my memory. But the thing was, I knew she was right. There was a girl. And I was indeed a smitten kitten.