Long Islanders

1 - The Circle

Doors slammed shut around the neighborhood as the sun ascended slowly up from behind the trees, heralding a bright Saturday morning in early summer. It didn't matter that it was early; that was the best time to start the day in the summer, before the sun burned off the morning dew and caused sweat to flow.

Jimmy flew down the driveway into the road, veering in the direction of the circle. His sneakered feet slapped against the asphalt in the cool morning air as his brown hair flopped against his forehead, above his brown eyes, and he relished the coolness, knowing it would turn abruptly hot when the sun had surfaced fully into the sky.

He could see the gang beginning to assemble, and grinned. Today they had a big game planned with the kids over on Mike Lane. They were going to play field hockey over at their street.

It was the second game of their little intramural league between Jimmy and his friends, the kids of Stanwich Drive, the kids from Mike Lane, and the kids from the park. They had played the kids from the park last week, and had lost. But that didn't stop the Stanwich team from being enthusiastic this bright Saturday morning in early summer.

John and Andrew Rossi from one of the houses on the circle itself, Nathaniel from next door, and Roger, Frank, and Brian had already gathered on the circle. Tim joined the group just as Jimmy arrived. Now all that was missing was Ron, Jimmy's older brother who had been a little behind Jimmy in getting ready for the big game this morning.

"Ready for the big game?" Andrew asked Jimmy, coming up beside him. His darker skin was complemented by his brown eyes and short cut black hair. Gripping his modified hockey stick, he bounced on the soles of his sneakers.

"Oh, yeah," Jimmy answered, knocking his hockey stick against Andrew's. "This is going to be fun."

John raised his hand into the air. "Ron's here!"

Ron raced up to the group, clutching his hockey stick. "Ready," he said, panting slightly.

With the broken hockey sticks that had been adjusted for playing in the street, the team headed off for Mike Lane, cutting through the woods separating the two streets. The little group talked and laughed about their chances as they walked, gripping their hockey sticks tightly.

The kids at Mike Lane were waiting when they arrived, their equipment all set up. Jimmy furrowed his brow on seeing the fancier equipment these kids had – some kids even had mouth guards. Jimmy and his friends all had makeshift gear, scrounged out of garages and stolen from older brothers. This was already starting to look a lot like last week's match against the park kids.

Tim shook his head. "Well, this is going to be fun."

John snorted. "Heck, yeah."

The group trooped onto the street. The Mike Lane kids also played in their circle, just like the Stanwich kids, so at least the terrain was familiar.

Anthony, the team captain for Mike Lane, came up and informed John of where his team could position themselves and which team would start with the ball first. Due to the Mike Lane kids hosting the game, they got the ball first.

The Stanwich kids proceeded to take their positions on the circle, Jimmy standing beside Andrew and John on offensive. Roger and Nathaniel stood behind them, Ron, Brian, and Frank forming a defensive line, with Tim taking up the goalie position.

With the shout for the game to start, Anthony of Mike Lane struck the ball with his stick and his teammate received it. The game was on.

The Stanwich kids threw themselves into the game, but the Mike Lane kids had an advantage. Those kids actually played organized sports, unlike the Stanwich kids who just set up games among themselves. Jimmy was the only kid on the team who actually played any sports on an official team, and that was baseball.