Fate Reloaded

Fate Reloaded--Part I, Chapter Two

Chapter Two

            Jordana hadn’t said more than ten words to her parents throughout dinner and although she knew that they’d caught on to the whole ignoring them plan, they didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Jordana was annoyed to notice that her parents seemed to like the silent her.

            Not ready to give up on her guilt-trip yet, Jordana decided to switch up tactics. If they’re cool with me not talking to them, I wonder how they’ll feel about me talking non-stop, she wondered as she followed her parents into the living room.

            Jordana watched as her dad plopped down onto the couch, turned on the TV and flipped the channels until he found a football game. He settled back into the cushions of the couch and took long sip of his drink.

            That’s right, Dad, it’s game time, Jordana thought as she jumped onto the seat next to him, causing him to spill his drink slightly in the process.

            “Whatcha watching?” she asked loudly.

            “Browns vs. the Steelers,” her dad answered, as he wiped at the dots of coke that had appeared quickly on his shirt.

            “Who are we rooting for?” she asked almost immediately.

            “The Steelers.”

            Jordana glanced at the TV and watched as the crowd went crazy.

            “What just happened?” she asked, turning back to her dad.

            “They sacked the quarterback,” her dad answered, his eyes never leaving the screen.

            “What does it mean? Sack a quarterback?” she asked.

            The Judge sighed loudly and shifted in his seat. Jordana stifled a smile. She actually knew what a quarterback sack was—she’d been around Billy enough to pick up on all the crazy football lingo—but her dad didn’t know that.

            “It’s when a member of the opposing team tackles the quarterback before he can throw the ball,” her father said slowly, his annoyance obvious to all of them.

            Jordana crinkled up her nose as if she were confused and then turned back to her dad. “Well, why do they call it a sack then? I mean, none of the teams wear sacks. Why don’t they just call it a quarterback smack down, ‘cause that’s sort of what it looks like to me? Or do they call it that because they dropped him like a sack of potatoes?”

            As the game broke for commercials like Pepsi, Hungry-Man dinners and Viagra, Jordana’s dad turned to her and began rubbing at his eyes.

            “Don’t you have something else to do tonight, Jordana?” he asked her hopefully. Then he added, “I mean, it’s great that you want to hang around your mom and me, but I thought you didn’t even like football.”

            This was mostly true. She usually had no desire to watch football—unless Billy was on the field. And even then, she never really paid attention to the game.

            “Well, I did have plans, but you said I couldn’t go to the movies with my friends,” Jordana reminded him matter-of-factly.

            “Jordana, I’m not having this conversation with you again,” her dad said sternly. “You could have made other plans tonight if you’d wanted to.”