The Game

Chapter 1: The Game

"The point of The Game is to not think about The Game. If you think about The Game, you lose. You have to tell someone you lost, and for all those that hear, there is a thirty minute restart period to get The Game out of your head."

Moseph lifted an eyebrow at Avalon. He had no idea why she ever talked to him. She was a beautiful blonde cheerleader and he was an emo-skater punk. She had long, platinum blonde hair and large, aqua colored eyes, and he had dark brown hair that fell to about his chin, light brown eyes, and a scar over his left eyebrow. But Avalon Evans had not yet failed to appear at the skate park fifteen minutes before Moseph Fox would leave on Tuesday evenings for the past three months.

"So there is no point to this game you're playing?" Moseph asked lifting his scarred eyebrow.

"Well…" Avalon said sheepishly. "Are you in or not, Mo?"

He smirked at his nickname. Very few knew his actual name, an agreement his Jewish mother and Catholic father had come to upon his birth. Both secular, but came from pious families. His maternal grandfather expected him to be named Moses, and his paternal grandmother expected him to be named Joseph. He guessed Moseph was no worse than Joses. At least his whole family had agreed that Adam was an acceptable middle name, though he would have much rather that be his first.

"What's in it for me?" Moseph asked leaning in and staring into her large, sparkling aqua eyes with his dull brown eyes.

"What do you mean?" Avalon asked taking a step back to avoid the stare.

"I mean, what do I have to gain from this?" Moseph asked kicking up his skateboard. "Why should I play The Game? What will make it more interesting."

Avalon smiled her perfect white teeth. "It means interaction with the cheerleading squad every time you lose. And, once they know you're in on it, they might just confess to you they lose."

"You know me better than that," Moseph said as he picked up his messenger bag. "Do you think I really care about whether or not cheerleaders notice me?" Moseph turned and smiled at Avalon. "Plus, I have a better solution to make it interesting."

"What's that?" Avalon asked following him as he began to walk out. He grabbed his black winter coat off the bench and draped it over his shoulders. Avalon followed closely, having not even taken her pink The North Face fleece off when she entered the building.

"Let's say I lose," Moseph began holding the door open for her into the cool late March air. "Then, I do something for you. And, if you lose, then you do something for me."

"Like what?" Avalon asked.

Moseph smirked. "Well, say you lose and it's about dinner time…"

"I buy you dinner," Avalon figured out what he had in mind. "And if your homework isn't finished, I lend you mine. And if you're feeling some sexual tension…"

"I think you've got the idea," Moseph said.

"But you'd have to be one hundred percent honest," Avalon warned. "And it would only count if we report our loss to one another. I mean, if I'm at the mall with Stephanie and Rebecca, I'm not going to call you to tell you I lost."

"You can't call me," Moseph said. "You don't know my number."

Avalon stepped in front of him and placed her pointer finger on his chest. "That's what you think, Mo."

"You know my number?" Moseph asked genuinely confused. He knew he had never given it to her, and only a select few of his friends knew it, none that she would talk to.

"Let's just say that Michelle recycled your number when you two broke up," Avalon said smiling and taking a step closer. However, Moseph's face dropped from the memory of his last girlfriend. It took Avalon a moment to realize her mistake. "I'm sorry, Mo."

"Don't mention it," Moseph said turning away from Avalon and crossing the street.

"I didn't mean to bring her up," Avalon begged following him into the street. "It kind of just slipped out of my mouth." She stopped as he turned to look at her from the sidewalk.

"Get out of the street, Avalon," Moseph said flatly.

"Just, please forgive me," Avalon continued not moving because she simply hadn't heard him.

Moseph saw a car coming quickly from the corner of his eye. "Avalon, watch out."

"What?" she asked, turning to see a red sports car speeding toward her. She screamed, certain that she was about to die. She felt something push her hard and she fell to the pavement hard, a slightly larger body landing on top of her.

"What the hell were you doing standing in the middle of the street?" Moseph yelled standing up.

Avalon waited a moment, expecting Moseph to lend her a hand, until she realized it wasn't coming. "I thought that if I came closer to you that you would turn away from me again."

"Maybe I ought to just stay away if it'll keep you safer," Moseph said dragging her back onto the sidewalk. He let her go, grabbed his dropped items, and started walking again.

"Mo, don't be like that," Avalon said.

"I'm sorry for trying to save your life," Moseph said sarcastically. "Would you rather I let you get hit next time?"

"Why do you ridicule me?" Avalon asked. "It seems that every time I approach you in public, you can't help but call me an airhead blonde or a witless cheerleader. But, when it's just the two of us –"

"How often is it just the two of us?" Moseph asked. "We're never alone."

"But there are times –"

"No, Avalon," Moseph said. "If you can't take my insults why come near me at all?"

"Because we used to be friends."

"And then you hit puberty," Moseph said. "Face it, we haven't been friends for years now."

"And why is that, Mo?" Avalon asked. "Because I began to talk to other guys than you? Because some guys wanted to ask me out?"

"Because you stopped calling me," Moseph said.

"I believe it was you who stopped returning my calls," Avalon said.

"You never called my cell," Moseph said.

"You never game me your number," Avalon said.

Moseph nodded. "I know." He picked up his pace a little now that he was near his house. He needed to escape her before she saw the mist in his eyes.

"Why do you hate me?" Avalon asked.

"I don't hate you," Moseph replied not turning around.

"Prove it," Avalon said louder and grabbing Moseph's shoulder to spin him around.

Moseph just looked at her, avoiding direct eye contact until he had his emotions under control. "You want to be friends again, right? Well, just trust me when I say I don't hate you, Avalon."