Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other

(3) Planning is a bore

Everyone in the world has had a hobby that they get so engrossed in, that everything else that happens in the world becomes, very swiftly, the most unimportant and insignificant thing in the world. When all that you can think about is what you could do next, how you could improve it. Whenever you sleep it's all you can dream about, always at the back of your mind...

Do you get the picture?

Good.

If you understand now how obsessive a person can be over something, now you understand how the two teams get about prank week. Sometimes prank week consisted of petty pranks, silly string, water balloons, stealing shoes, the works. Other times, it can get really physical, one year it was so dangerous people broke bones. Each year, two emissaries meet to discuss terms, sometimes leader, sometimes the big pranksters. It is rumored that Rye was going to meet for his team this year, which is unheard of. He usually sent his mate Ben Coleman. In turn, Andy would send Sam Kenworth, his best mate. But if one of the 'big dogs' were going, then - Andy guessed - he had better be the one who met him. All Andy could do was sigh at this point, he resented the idea of having to talk to someone a loathsome as Beaumont. So far he had managed to avoid having to have a proper conversation with the boy, and that was a record he had wished to maintain.

He hated Rye's brazen nature, his high opinion of himself. Andy betted he was from some well-off family who lived in the rich estate, probably was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was just one of those born-lucky people. Andy could have created that impression, but he knew that it would be far too easy to collapse, which is why he usually told people he had only one parent. That, he could sustain. Andy lived in the really poor part of the poor estate, he made sure that nobody saw where he went at the end of the day. He knew that his team both knew and did not care, but he would rather the whole school did not find out. mostly he stayed for training. hockey and football alternated, and on the days he did not have training he hung around so the crowd thinned before heading home.

Mike and Sue were lovely people, they wanted to see if they could have a teenager before trying to adopt. They lived in a very run-down area, the exterior of their home looks decrepit and weathered, but when you step through the doors it is like a different place. The rugs and carpet are worn, but still soft underfoot. The walls are a warm yellow, brown sofas are faded with age but Andy had never found another more comfortable. The kitchen was small, but flowers bloomed on the window ledge and merry songs came from the radio.

Upstairs there were two bedrooms and a family bathroom, painted in warm colors it was impossible not to call this place a home. Both bedrooms were cream-walled and square-shaped. Andywas very simple with his choice of decor. He had a double bed, desk, bookcase and wardrobe with some draws. His hockey photos and trophies were his decoration as well as all of his kit in the corner next to his bed. He kept his space tidy, out of respect for Sue and Mike. They had shown him nothing but kindness. Their kindness was a breath of fresh air from his previous situation,

He liked all the warm and mellow colors of his home, he hoped that when he left for university they would get to adopt a toddler and raise him or her. They would be the greatest parents ever. I wished I had been given to them sooner.

Andy liked mellow colors, he presumed that Rye would like deep greens to harsh blues. If they were going to be rivals, they may as well use rival colours. His for happiness and calm, while his for activity. Man, Andy was going to hate talking to that douchebag. That idiot was not worth a second thought.

Andy knew how his free lesson was going to be spent, with the rest of his hockey team planning. And then he would have to think about the meeting with king prick. In a desperate attempt to miss out on the meeting he weaved through the throngs and headed to the library. Andy thought to himself that would message the group chat to see what he had missed when he got home.

Now, being a 'jock' the library was not a place you would be seen all that often. But Andy loved it. Some of the shelves were so close together his wide shoulders threatened to bang into them, but there was something peaceful about being surrounded by books. It was why he had a very full bookcase at home. Here he relaxed. He scoured the bookshelves for a book and settled happily on 'Heroes', they were to study it at some point for his AS and he may as well read it in advance. The other people who frequented the library knew he liked to be in there a lot, so he was accepted. It did not seem out of place for him to be in the library.

His phone, as predicted was blowing up with messages from his friends demanding to know where he was, he decided he would not even open them. He could easily make up some lie about a meeting or a family emergency. Yeah, he would go with the latter, they would ask much less. He walked over to the desks in the corner of the library to read his book, he found himself unable to focus on the words. Instead, he was dreading prank week, it was all he could think about. He was not sure why he was so damn apprehensive about it this year. There was just something in the air that told him that something was going to happen, and he was not going to like it one bit.

The end-of-school bell rang and Andy reluctantly put down his book and headed out of the library, hoping he did not bump into any of his teammates. As much as he was very good at lying, he would prefer not to have to lie to them. But it appeared that luck was not on his side today.

Sam and Jack walked around the corridor and straight into Andy.

"Hrmp, watch where you are goi... Oh hey, Andy. Where were you, you totally skipped on us?" Sam began.

"Hey, dude where were you? The boys have come up with an awesome one, but we will have to wait for the meet-up to decide if we can actually use it" Jack continued.

"I got a call from my Mum, just needed to be alone for a bit" Andy replied, with feigned sadness. "But, tell me all about it, we are going to win this year!" Andy continued with false enthusiasm and happiness. Really, he wanted to go home. Do his assignments, read a bit more of 'Heroes' and then lie in bed and watch Netflix. The prank week was not what he wanted to be thinking about. But, as the three boys walked out to the carpark, it seemed that Andy was not escaping his teammates
detailed planning. He sighed, well. Life's really had it in for him.
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