BENDING THE RULES..A USWNT FANFIC

Figuring Things Out

 "School sucks already!" Brendan yells as he arrives home from school this fine Thursday afternoon.

"What could go wrong on your third day of school," Whitney asks from the living room couch.

"I have a math test tomorrow, Coach put me as 2nd string receiver and my girlfriend is a total wackadoodle,"

Whit chuckles. "Sit down Brendan. Let's assess this piece by piece,"

Brendan huffs as he sits on the couch across from his mother.

"Are you ready for the math test?"

"Positive," He says confidently.

"And even though you're 2nd string receiver doesn't mean you won't play,"

"I guess..." He concedes. "...just not as much,"

"Well, that's okay. First string won't come overnight,"

Brendan frowns.

"And what's going on with Claire? Why is she a wackadoodle?"

"She's so selfish," Brendan vents. "...her ego is too big for her head!"

"Why?"

"Just because I'm the football player and she's the cheerleader doesn't mean I wanna go out, drink and get laid!"

Whitney looks surprised at her son.

"Why do you think she wants to do that?"

Brendan is stumped. "Well...well she never directly told me that, but...but she's asked me to go to parties with her friends. She doesn't like my friends!"

"Okay..." Whit replies. "...it's okay that she doesn't like your friends. That's something that will always remain just for you. That's good...but she wants you to hang out with her friends...that sounds like she likes you so much that she's letting you into another personal part of her life,"

"Huh?"

"Brendan, you guys have been together long enough that she trusts you around her friends,"

"Ohhhh..." Brendan grins. "...you really think?"

"Well I'm kinda telling you the opposite of what I experienced in high school,"

"Ohhh with that Will guy that Mama hates," B chuckles.

"Mama doesn't hate him...she's never even met him. But anyways, Will was on the baseball team and his teammates were his best friends. We were dating for a while but he asked me to come hang out with them one night,"

"So he trusted you around his friends,"

"Well yea...and he was also confident that he liked me enough to introduce me to them,"

Brendan nods.

"I guess I didn't give it a chance," He admits.

"I think she just likes you a lot, B,"

Brendan grins.

"Thanks Mom. I'll go call her right now," He says as he stands up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That's not how you do it," Jordyn laughs.

"Why? I'm doing exactly what you're doing," Jack laughs back.

"No," Jordyn chuckles. "...like this,"

Jack offered to help Jordyn make school government signs for an upcoming fundraiser.

Jordyn hesitates as she helps the boy draw the school emblem.

"Wow, you do that really well," He replies.