A Losing Game

"The Score - Part II"

            It was a slightly warm August morning in 2009 when an eleven-year-old Roderick walked to East Calhoun Heights Middle School from the Center of Youth Excellence foster care group home a few blocks away. He was in a bad mood because one of the boys he shared a room with stole the new pair of shoes he'd received from the group home's sponsor program; most likely intending to sell the shoes on the street for money. He knew he'd never learn who stole the shoes, so he put on his old pair and headed to school in them. As he was heading towards the school's entrance, he heard a car horn blow and looked in the direction the noise came from. And it was in that moment that he first saw Jacory staring at the rose bushes in front of the school.

            Like a moth to a flame, something natural pulled Roderick to Jacory that morning. It was as if Roderick was caught up in a rapture and couldn't do anything to turn away. He had to approach Jacory and he didn't even understand why in that moment. However, typical preteen angst got in the way and Roderick gave into it and decided to proceed into the school. On the way in, he looked back and saw the sparkle in Jacory's hazel eyes and his heart skipped a beat. Jacory hadn't even looked at him and there he was already catching feelings. It wasn't until later that day at lunch that he built up the nerve to finally approach the boy he'd been seeing all morning in the hallways and thinking about during his first few classes.

            "I saw you," he said to Jacory out of the blue while Jacory was eating lunch with his friends.

            With a mouthful of pizza, Jacory looked back and mumbled, "What?"

            "I uh...I saw you this mornin' in front of the school. You were lookin' at the rose bushes. They're nice, ain't they?"

            After he finished chewing and swallowing the pizza in his mouth, Jacory wiped his mouth with a napkin and replied, "They're pretty, but I love tulips more than roses." He looked at Roderick's lanyard ID badge and read his name aloud, "Roderick Payne."

            Roderick laughed nervously and said, "Yeah, that's my name." Jacory showed him his own badge and he read it aloud, "Jacory Hamilton. Your name fits you. You look like a Jacory."

            Jacory's friends giggled and he gave them a look, causing them to stop. He then turned his attention back to Roderick and asked, "You wanna go to the courtyard?"

            "Yeah, sure." He stood back so that Jacory could push back his chair and stand up from the table. He then followed Jacory out of the side door into the courtyard where some students were talking and enjoying their lunch at the tables outside. As he walked alongside Jacory, he revealed, "I haven't made any new friends yet. My best friend Kel is here but he ditched me to talk to some girl."

            "Aw, I'll be your friend."

            Roderick smiled as he asked, "Really?"

            "Yeah."

            "I'd like that." He stopped walking and Jacory stopped, too. He looked into Jacory's eyes and asked, "Do your eyes always do that when you see somethin' or somebody you like?"

            "Do what?"

            "Sparkle? Do they always sparkle?"

            Jacory blushed and shrugged his shoulders, replying, "I don't know."

            "They sparkled when you were lookin' at the rose bushes and they're sparkling now. I've never seen anybody's eyes do that before. It's cute. You're cute."

            That day would go on to live in both of their hearts and minds. It was the beginning of their friendship and the friendship was the foundation of their enduring love for one another. They would go on to become boyfriends by that Christmas break. Through the years that they were together, no disagreement or argument ever broke them. When Roderick would do something to annoy or even anger Jacory, it made Jacory want to love him more. No matter how frustrated or angry Roderick would become with Jacory, his way of de-escalating any problem was to put his own needs second and Jacory's needs first. That dynamic between them was the essence of the magic in their relationship.