Despite All Obstacles Part II

Status Quo

PATTHEW'S STORY

This evening.

After we all took the school bus home, we did homework, mom and dad took Matt and me to our evening practices, and then Lauri drops The Three Stooges off to our house. Bro comes over almost every Friday night.

Right now, bro, Matt and I are playing NFL 2K12 in my room. Both Matt and bro are sitting on my bed while I'm sitting on my blue carpet floor. Bro is on my team as blue, and Matt is on the opposing team as red. The red team is winning.

"Little bro, you play like a girl. Bro and I should call you Patty for now on," Matt teases me.

"Patt-bro, get your A-game on or I'm switching teams," bro demands me.

"Look, I'm not a gamer, all right? I'm trying," I complain to them. I'm used to getting beaten by Matt in everything that involves sports in video games. We did well together as baseball players in elementary school, since it was actually live, not digital.

Bro does a touchdown in the game. Both teams are tied now. Now, it's the play-offs.

"Yes! It's a draw, bro!" Bro cheers. "Yo, Matt, when are you goin' to the Johnson twins' party? Is it in Compton?" Bro asks him. Just because they're from Compton doesn't mean they're actually partying there, bro. We play again.

"No, it's at their house, here in Pasadena, tomorrow night at seven to whenever. It's after our tomorrow's game. You should come," Matt invites bro.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm not really into drinking," bro rejects the offer.

"C'mon, bros. All you two do is stick to the same routine. You go to the library to do homework or study, then each other's houses to play instruments, band try-outs, meet me, and repeat. Don't you both want to live a little?" Matt preaches to me and bro.

"I just don't think partying is my thing. That's all," I tell Matt.

"But you're having a party here on Sunday, though. Oh, yeah, that's right. It's gonna be a small gathering with no hard drinks or messing around. Just board games, snacks and lame movies. Sounds like church to me," Matt complains to me and bro.

"Well, we went to one party, last year," bro admits.

"And that's the only party you both went to," Matt also admits, and he's right. I feel like I was just called lame by the whole school.

Saturday, September 24th, 2011. That evening.

Last year, Matt dared us to go to one party. For the first time, I and bro snuck out of the house with him to go to one house party. We asked Shortcake to join us, despite the fact that both of her parents are really strict on her, and she was in.

We went to the party, and we were invited to play spin-the-bottle with the cool kids. Bro and Shortcake kissed, according to the game.

Every time it was my turn, it kept landing to bro, so I kissed no one. While they were each other's first kisses, I still never kissed anyone.

After spinning the bottle, the cool kids decided to play Seven Minutes in Heaven. That was when I was out. Bro and Shortcake played the game but haven't done anything to anyone else or each other. They were exposed as "virgins".

Shortcake's parents called to ask her where she was. She lied that she was at my house watching a movie. But little did Shortcake knew, her parents tracked her Samsung. She had to get out of there, quickly.

"Bye, guys. I need to head home before they do." She rushed outside once she used her burner to call the mafia crew to come get her and take her home. Boy, they came to the party fast. It ended up being me and bro stuck at the party.