7 years old
Lennon knew that he was in trouble the Moment he entered the dressing room and saw his father staring at him. Only God knew what Danny must have told his father.Out there in the field, his father was the greatest of all times, Jacob Shepherd, six times Superbowl champion and other titles that he bagged. But when he left the field, he was just like every other father, strict, caring and affectionate when you listened to him.His father was talking to uncle Michael when he entered the room, “ It was an easy win here…I wonder if they were scared of playing against us or something”, Uncle Michael muttered, throwing his stuffs inside his bag.Yeah, Lennon noted that it was an easy win. He had been watching the game with uncle Chase and Danny at the VIP area in the stadium and noticed many flaws in their strategies that made them lose the match. Most of all, they were scared of playing against the Vikings.Lennon looked around the room, he saw many of his father’s teammates packing up or chatting with each other in the room and Danny who was laughing with them, excited that he had their attention.He decided to chose peace over Chaos and moved to where Enzo was sitting and scrolling through his phone, rather than towards his father and uncle. He knew his father’s eyes was following him and yet he still did not stop to acknowledge the man.“ Woah young man!, What happened to your leg?, Why are you hopping?”, Enzo asked immediately when he saw the boy. Lennon sighed as he sat on the bench in front of Enzo’s dressing stall.“ I fell…”, he murmured, leaving it at that. If was better that they believed that he fell than something else.Enzo arched an eyebrow, “really?, Just like that, you fall and boom!, Sprain your ankle because if you are hopping, then you’ve sprained something”, he summarize, not believing what Lennon had told him.“ yeah…”, Lennon agreed.Enzo sighed and turned to look for the boy’s father. Before Lennon could stop him, “ Jacob!”, he called.Lennon swore that he shrinked down a bit. Contrary to what people think, his father was a strict and disciplined man. Quite alright, he spoiled him at times but most of the times, he was strict and giving out instructions and he had just defiled one of those instructions.He heard his father’s footsteps approach before he stopped behind him.“ yeah?”, his father’s voice boomed Startling Lennon.Lennon closed his eyes, waiting for the scolding that was about to come. He hated it when his father scolded him or was disappointed in him. Two weeks ago, he had been injured while he was playing with some kids on the playground. Kids that his father had told him to stay away from.Apparently, they had thought that it would be a good idea to push him down the slide, so he could roll down quickly and it had ended up in disaster with him scrapping his forearm. His father had been so mad at him even as he rushed him to the hospital.The case before that, had been Danny’s fault entirely. The boy had no filter in his mouth and had ended up picking a fight with someone who was bigger than him when he couldn’t fight for the love of God. He had called the big boy, an empty vessel who only ate to fill up his belly and forgot to load his brain with knowledge. The big boy had been so angry and had tried to punch Danny.Well Lennon would be damned if anybody laid their hands on Danny when he was there. So before Danny could run to get more help from the crew as they called themselves, Lennon had received more blows and beating than he could count. The other boy looked worse than him by the way. The school had suspended him for one week and had asked him to write an apology letter. Danny had refused to go to school that week, so they instead had fun following his mother for those events that she attended and Danny was glad that he got to be babied by many people.“ I think your son sprained his ankle or something”, Enzo ratted him out.Lennon huffed, “ it wasn’t my fault this time, I swear dad.” He explained, turning to face his father.His father arched his brow and crossed his arms in front of his chest, taking his notorious big daddy stance that only worked on Danny and the girls.“ Really?... And who’s fault is it?”, he asked Lennon.Lennon cleared his throat, preparing to defend himself, “ a boy, he ran into me at the hallway when we were coming here. He wasn’t looking at where he was going to and then bumped into me. We both fell on the floor at the same time, it just happened dad”, he explained.Jacob shook his head, bending down and turning his son to face him. He squatted in front of the boy and raised Lennon’s leg to examine the injury. He frowned his face in concern.“ Ahh!, “ Lennon yelled in pain when his father touched his ankle.“ It hurts here?” , his father asked touching the painful spot.Lennon nodded his head, biting his lips. His father sighed and stood up from his position, placing his hands on his waist.Uncle Michael patted his father’s shoulders, “ take him to the hospital and get the ankle checked out. I’m off, have an appointment with Zara’s tutor. Take care of that Jacob”, he said turning to carry his bag.His father nodded his head at what uncle Michael had told him.“ where is Chase by the way”, he muttered. His father shrugged, “ dunno…”Danny jumped from his side, “ he was talking with a big man”, he told them.Lennon rolled his eyes, uncle Chase was talking business with a man and told them to head over to see his dad instead of waiting for him.Uncle Michael nodded and left the room his father turned to face him.“ who is this person that even bumped into you by the way”, Jacob asked his son but before the boy could say a word, Danny started talking.“ It’s a boy that’s around our age, so he wasn’t bigger that he could push Len down and he has a silver color hair. You needed to see his hair dad, it was so clear and the silver was almost glittering and he looked sorry too that he bumped into Len dad…but Lennon was also at fault dad because he was running down the hallway”, Danny relayed, exposing him.Lennon winced.“ he was running down the hallway?”, his father asked, obviously catching that part of Danny’s explanation.Lennon heard Enzo Chuckled, as well as some other teammates of his dad who were still changing in the dressing room. Like he had said earlier, Danny had no filter, he didn’t know when to stop and shut up his mouth. He was way too blunt for someone who looked that innocent and kind.Danny nodded, “ Yes dad, he was running and I kept on calling him, but he wouldn’t stop dad”, Danny answered.Lennon rolled his eyes and palmed his face, “ he wasn’t talking to you Danny, shut up…”, Lennon stated.Danny pouted his lips and stuck his tongue out at him, “ you were going to lie about it, I know”, he accused.Lennon’s eyes bugged out. How in heaven’s name did Danny know about that. Of course he was going to lie about it. There was no way he would tell his dad that he was running down the hallway and bumped into someone. There was no harm in his father believing that it wasn’t his fault.“ I wasn’t….”, he mumbled, hoping that his father would believe him.Instead of his father reacting to the information that he also caused the accident, he asked something else.“ wait a minute!, Did you just say the boy had a silver colored hair”, his father rasped.Lennon paused to stare at his dad, wondering why he was asking. He had a distant look in his eyes like he was trying to remember a memory.His uncle Chase entered the dressing room then and walked over to them.“ Daddy!...” , Danny shouted running over to his father. He would sometimes call Jacob dad too. Uncle Chase smiled at Danny “ hey kiddo…what’s up?”, he said patting his head. “ you miss me..”“yes, Lennon is injured again.” Danny informed his father.Uncle Chase paused and then looked pointedly at Lennon , “ you were running through the hall right?”, he asked knowingly.Lennon frowned, why did every one always find fault in him when something bad happened. It was always Lennon’s fault.“ Where’s this boy with the silver hair?”, His father asked.“ which silver hair?”, Chase mumbled looking at Jacob. Lennon knew that look, the look that his father gave his uncle told him that there was something that they knew about, that others were not aware of. His father and uncle Chase has been best friends and very close, so it definitely was an inside secret, he deduced.Lennon was grateful that the color of a boy’s hair was enough to distract his dad from focusing on him but the hair was a fake and Danny should have known that.“ It’s a fake dad, he dyed his hair…”, Lennon snorted.His father blinked at him, “ really?, It’s not natural?”, he blurted out.Lennon scoffed, “ it’s definitely not natural dad”, he confirmed. Danny opened his mouth to say something but Lennon clamped his hands on the boy’s mouth before he could say something bad.Danny licked his palm, causing him to jerk his hand away, “ Eww.. dude, that’s gross”, Lennon grimaced.Danny laughed running away from his reach. If his leg was in good form, he would have chased Danny round the room. Jacob sighed in relief, focusing on him, “ I think you need to see a doctor for that, probably sprained more than a muscle” he hinted walking over to his dressing stall to pack his things up.Lennon winced, he hated going to the hospital especially when it concerns him. His mother was not going to be happy and would fuss over him for days. He didn’t like worrying her, she had a lot’ on her plate, work and all.Uncle Chase ruffled his wavy hair, “ seriously kid, how do you get yourself in so much trouble everyday”, he pointed out sitting down on the bench beside him.He was a growing and healthy boy, he was bound to encounter some mishaps and accidents that wasn’t really his fault. Instead of answering his uncle Chase, he huddled into the man’s arm and was contented when his uncle pulled him close.Uncle Chase was his godfather and if there was any one he admired and cherished more than his parents, it was uncle Chase. He would always buy nice things for them and take them out to have fun. If uncle Chase was there, his father would scold him less.“ You’re spoiling the kids Chase and that’s why they don’t listen”, his father said coming up to them with his bag on his shoulders.Uncle Chase snorted, “ They are still kids and these things will happen whether we like it or not”, he retorted.Lennon smiled up to his father, giving him the puppy eyes that always does the trick. His father’s eyes softened when he looked at his son who was under Chase’s arm.“ fine…”, his father, Jacob released a soft sigh. “ you’re coming to the hospital buddy and I know how much you hate the place”, he said picking Lennon up.Lennon laid his head on his father’s shoulder. So long as he was with his father, his hero, he was okay and would bear whatever he was going to face at the hospital. Well that was until his uncle Chase called the only person he was really truly scared of, Liam’s mommy, his aunt Brianna.“ I’ll call Brianna and tell her that you guys are coming in”, uncle Chase offered.“ I want to go with them to the hospital daddy, I want to see aunty Bree”, Danny insisted.“ oh, oh!”, Lennon thought. “ not aunt Bree…”He was silver, yet he had been born with a plastic spoon, the irony. His name looked too rich coming from a poor scrawny kid.He turned to look at his mother who was focused on the road and gripping the steering wheel. He prayed that she would be calm before they got home.“ Take your eyes off me…”, his mother reprimanded, catching him staring at her.Silver turned back to look at the looming structure that they were leaving behind, one thing was sure, his father was in that building and he wished the man had sort him out or even spared him a glance.By the time they got home, it was almost evening and his mother was becoming agitated. He knew when she was in one of her moods, so he stayed quiet and did nothing so as not to upset her. “ Clean up your room!” , she told him immediately they entered the house.His room was already tidy, he wanted to tell her but thought it wise to shut up and do as she had asked. He was not a disorganized kid. at an early age, he knew how to take care
His mother loved him and that was all that mattered, nothing else, he mused. Smiling at the social worker, he said, “ there’s nothing going on here ma’am. I’m fine with my mother, really…”.Ms. Anselm sighed, nodding her head, “ I understand Silver…well, I’m pleased to inform you that this will be the last visit from me… from henceforth, you don’t need me to come check up regularly, you’ll be fully under the guardianship of your mother. I hope you made the right choice”, she said.He felt like crying.Even as Silver laid on the bed, forcing himself to go to sleep, he could only think about how he had let himself suffer by concealing the truth from the social worker. His mother loved him, she had told him earlier.She loved him and love covered a multitude of sins right?, his teacher had said so. But why did it feel like he had just let go of the lifeline he was holding on to.A single tear fell from his eye and he wiped it off from his face. He had chosen love and that was okay, becau
Lennon laid his head on his father’s shoulder. So long as he was with his father, his hero, he was okay and would bear whatever he was going to face at the hospital. Well that was until his uncle Chase called the only person he was really truly scared of, Liam’s mommy, his aunt Brianna.“ I’ll call Brianna and tell her that you guys are coming in”, uncle Chase offered.“ I want to go with them to the hospital daddy, I want to see aunty Bree”, Danny insisted.“ oh, oh!”, Lennon thought. “ not aunt Bree…”He hugged his father tightly as the man maneuver through the crowd of reporters waiting at the entrance for the football players. This was not the first time Lennon was seeing reporters and flashes of camera attacking his father, Infact, he had seen it Majorly all his seven years of existence, so he wasn’t shocked again and used to seeing them. This time though, he buried his head in the crook of his father’s neck.His father smelt like he just came out of the showers, which he just di
Lennon looked at Danny sitting on the other side of his father, the boy was already sleeping. His eye lashes closed against each other.His father kissed his head, “ sleep Lennon, I’ll wake you when we get to the hospital…”, his father told him.Lennon sighed, his eyes already felt heavy though, so he closed his eyes and allowed sleep engulf him.The next time he woke up, he was in his father’s arms. He looked around, noticing that his father was already walking down the hallway of the hospital. He sighed, he had been sleeping and had not noticed that they had gotten to the hospital, it was already evening outside.“ you’re awake?...”, his father noted.Lennon hummed, allowing his father to readjust him so he was no longer carrying him bridal style. He looked over his father’s shoulders expecting to see Danny, but it was just the nurses and doctors in the hospital.His father must have sensed what was happening because he answered his unasked question.“ Your uncle Chase, went home wi
(16 years old)“ one two south west!”, Asher called, as he threw the ball into the waiting hands of Danny who almost missed the catch but still gripped the ball running before the right tackle could intercept the ball. He wasn’t as fast as he used to be, he was tired and any minute now, he would start acting up. Lennon was grateful that he was not the one throwing the ball right now.Though football in middle school was a bit on the easy side, well football in high school was a bit competitive and tough, challenging even and he was wondering every time why he wanted to play ball in the first place.Considering they were playing ball under the hot morning sun before classes. Because they had messed up in their last game, coach had declared early morning training and that was why they were here playing ball thirty minutes before school started for the day, though they had been running in the field for almost three hours, since five thirty that morning.Danny fell into the end zone, sco
(16 years old)Danny was still holding the stupid guy in a headlock when he saw Lennon walk through the crowd, taking in what was happening there. Lennon cleared his throat, tapping the guy who was pulling his hair, for some reason, the guy thought it was okay to touch his hair. He was already feeling the pain in his scalp, but there was no way he was letting the guy he had in a headlock go. He was a huge asshole.“hey!, That wrong!”, Lennon told the guy he had tapped.The guy scoffed, “ ask him to let my friend go!”, He shouted.Danny laughed in pain, over his dead body. The one under him tried to push him off, but he pulled the arm tightly, hearing the snapping of bone. The guy cried out in pain.Great Danny, you just dislocated his arm, he chided himself. It wasn’t his intentions, but it could happen sometimes when he pulled too much. He was trained in defensive techniques and could handle just about anyone that messes with him.If there was one thing his father had taught him to
“I’ll catch you guys later!”, he said standing up and picking his plate up. He was halfway out of the cafeteria when he noticed that Lennon was walking behind him. He rolled his eyes, that was the thing with Lennon, he would grumble and complain but would always be beside him at the end, that was why he loved the guy to pieces.“ They called your father”, Lennon muttered.Danny winced, that was very bad. He had expected the guy to be a big boy and handle his shit by himself, not involve his parents. Well, the guy was not, so much for a wide mouth.“ you don’t have to be there, you know…” Danny told Lennon.One thing about his father was that the man had the tendency to transfer his aggression to just everyone in the room, and he did not want his father to scold Lennon for allowing the fight to happen like Lennon was his overseer.Lennon hummed in response but still continued trailing behind him.He sighed. They walked to the principal’s office, and he almost didn’t believe his eyes
The early evening sun was killing him. They've been at it for hours and coach was not relenting anytime soon, the man seems to have all the time in the whole world."Okay guys, that's it!, Let's take it one more time!", Coach shouted.He has been shouting that for five times now, they would do a full drill and run, then he would clap, yell something to correct a player who was too fast or too slow for his liking and then ask them to repeat it again."I could faint at this rate", Anthony whined next to him.Silver groaned, walking over to take his position. It was even worse since the guy playing the QB1 position transferred Schools, leaving just him to play in the position throughout a full game.He was exhausted even as he lifted his hand to throw the ball, it didn't go that far. It stopped right in front of the fifty yard, even before the wide receiver.Coach shouted out in annoyance. They continued that way until they couldn't walk anymore before the coach announced that practice