Marie Ferrarella - A Maverick And A Half

“Would you rather have me sign you up for something else? Baseball maybe, or football?” Anderson suggested, glancing at Jake’s face for a response.

That was the extent of the after school sports activities that were available and he wasn’t really sure about the baseball part. The actual baseball season, he was only vaguely aware, was over and he wasn’t sure if anyone was available to coach boys in the off-season. He’d never been one to enroll in any of those sports himself when he was a kid. All he’d ever been interested in were things that had to do with ranching.

“You know, it’s not a bad idea to try to broaden yourself a little bit,” Anderson told his son. He hadn’t been critical yet, but maybe a small bit of pressure wasn’t a bad idea. “Sitting in your room all day playing video games isn’t healthy.”

“I don’t play all day,” Jake answered, finally turning toward him. “I go to school.”

It wasn’t a smart-aleck answer, but it didn’t exactly leave room for a warm exchange. Determined to get through to Jake, he tried another approach.

“You need to socialize, Jake. To get to know people. You need to make some friends.”

“Why?” Jake wanted to know. He wasn’t being belligerent; he was just asking a question.

It was a question Anderson wasn’t prepared for and he had no answer ready, so he fell back to an old tried-and-true response parents had used since time began. “You just do.”

“Oh.” Jake went back to looking out the windshield, watching the desolate scenery go by.

Maybe, Anderson thought as silence descended within the vehicle’s cab, that teacher he’d seen today did have a point.

And then again, he thought rebelliously in the next breath, maybe not.

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