A Thousand Reasons to Live [On Hold]

A Thousand Reasons - Chapter 6

For a long while, the two boys drove in silence.  Isaac tried to get his radio going at one point, but the severe static rendered the music unrecognizable.  So, instead of music, they had only the loud roar of the old engine.

Noah closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable in his seat-- a near impossible task.  It was devastatingly hot inside the car, since Isaac had neglected to park in the shade when they spent the afternoon in the mall.  Since the jalopy didn't have air conditioning, they instead had the windows rolled down, intensifying the volume of the engine and sending wind, bugs, and dust flying into the car and whipping against Noah's face and hair.

"How can you stand this car?" Noah loudly asked Isaac.

"Well, it's better than having no car at all," Isaac replied, as if the answer was obvious.

"I doubt it!" Noah called back.

"Okay, you know what?" Isaac said, "Fine.  We'll take a break from drivin'."  He turned the car into a parking space beside a large, nearly empty park.  The brakes squealed horribly, and Noah's ears were still ringing after the key was withdrawn from the ignition.

"Looks like we're spendin' the evening in the park," Isaac said, opening his own door as Noah nearly threw himself from the car.  "You play basketball?"

"In gym class," came Noah's reply.

"What, back in middle school?" He nodded.  "That isn't enough, kid.  Spending two weeks learning how to dribble a ball doesn't teach you the sport.  Now, come on, this is something every normal guy does."

"I don't think I want to," Noah said, shaking his head.

"Don't be stupid, it's easy," Isaacly said, pulling almost eagerly at Noah's hand towards the asphalt half-court.  "At least try a few shots."  They reach the court, and he reached into a bin of balls, pulled out a ball that still had nearly all of its air, and handed it to Noah.  "Let's see you try a layup."

Noah looked up from examining the ball, slightly repulsed by the thin layer of dirt surrounding it. "A what?"

"It's where you stand right up next to the basket, see," Isaac said, taking the ball to demonstrate, "and you knock the ball into the net using the backboard.  Here," he tossed the ball to Noah, who barely caught it in his chest, "you try it."

Noah hesitantly approached the hoop, staring up at the basket.  It looked so much higher from close up.  He bent his knees, took aim, and lobbed the ball into the air.  It scratched the underside of the rim, bounced back, at hit Noah square in the face. "Ow!" he cried, rubbing his sore nose.

Isaac bit his lip to keep from laughing.  "Okay, dude?  I'll be honest.  That was pretty pathetic.  You shoot like an old crippled man."

He grinned as Noah shot him a glare.  "It's not easy," he snapped.  "Let's see you try."

Isaac sighed in mock exasperation, then grabbed the ball from Noah's hands and tossed it easily into the hoop.  "See?" he said, "It's that easy."

"Well-- well, you're taller than me!  Of course you could make that shot!"

This was responded to with a snort from Isaac.  "Tell you what, kid.  I'm gonna train you.  You are gonna learn to play a sport.  Everyone can.  For some people, it's their entire reason for living."

That last remark struck gold.  Noah looked quickly back up and readied his stance for another catch.  "Okay, toss me the rock."

"Yeah, don't talk like that," Isaac replied, throwing him the ball all the same.  Noah dropped this one, but was quick to retrieve it.

Teaching Noah to play basketball was not an easy task at all, considering his complete lack of any athletic ability whatsoever.  However, as the evening wore on and Isaac ran him through drill after drill, it began to seem less and less impossible.  In fact, by the time the sun had nearly set and they were playing with only the streetlamps for vision, Noah actually managed to land a shot from nearly the edge of the court.

"Unbelievable!" Isaac cried victoriously as he collected the ball.  "You've only been playin' one evening, and you're already makin' three-pointers!"

"And it only took me three hundred tries," Noah pointed out.  His mood was on edge from exhaustion after the events of the day.

"It'll get easier."

"Whatever.  Should we start getting the tent out?"

"Not tonight," Isaac said, popping open the trunk and pulling out their two sleeping bags and night gear.  "Come on, follow me."

Noah kept behind as Isaac led him towards the center of the park, where it was much darker, having been so well-hidden from the streetlights.  Isaac finally stopped at the tennis court and set the sleeping bags onto the ground.

"Here?" Noah remarked incredulously, "We're sleeping on the tennis court?"

Isaac nodded.  "Just lay down, and you'll see why."

Noah groaned, but he got down onto the ground, squirmed into the sleeping bag, and looked up.  Isaac hadn't been wrong; they were sleeping under the stars tonight.  They were far enough away from any light that the sky was uninterrupted, leaving every star bright and clear.  It was enough to light the entire court, and Noah was hardly short of awestruck.  Never before had he really looked so clearly at the stars.

"Nice, huh?" Isaac said, settling himself into the other suitcase.  "My dad used to take me out here one night every summer." He sighed.  "He lives in Seattle now, so I doubt he ever really gets to do this out there."

"It's pretty," Noah muttered, uncertain of what else to say.

 "Do you know any constellations?" Isaac asked. "You know, besides Orion and the Big Dipper."  Noah shook his head, and Isaac pointed up to the sky.  "Well, the one running along right above the Big Dipper is Draco, and it's wrapping around Ursa Minor, which is the one with Polaris, that really bright star.   That's Cepheus next to it, and do you see the five stars forming sort of a W-shape?  That's Cassiopeia."

"Did your dad teach you about astronomy?" Noah asked.

"Yeah.  Me and him used to really be into it."

"He and I," Noah corrected him.

"Shut up."

"Sorry."

He turned back to face the sky, half-listening as Isaac pointed out all the different stars and constellations.  It was nice, really, sleeping out under the stars like this.  The air was open and sweet-smelling, the cool breeze was wonderfully relaxing, and it felt incredibly peaceful.  It wasn't long before the two boys drifted off to sleep.