Desert Passage (11 page)

T
he boys wheeled the scooter and their belongings to the campsite and met the other boys. The soccer ball was being kicked around on a grassy area nearby and Turner was getting the food out of several ice chests. Miguel saw the boys playing soccer and wanted to join in. His legs were stiff from sitting on the small seat all day and he wanted to run around and stretch out. He approached the game in progress and when the ball rolled in his direction, he kicked it up with the end of his shoe and balanced it on his knee before kicking it up and forward to the other players.

“Hey, he's good. You're with us,” Chris said, running toward Miguel to take the pass. “You play on a team?”

“Yeah, next year I'll play varsity.” Miguel spoke with reservation in his voice. After the last fight at school, the principal had wanted to expel Miguel and his dad had threatened that he would never let him play soccer again if he didn't “straighten up.”

Not being able to play soccer was Miguel's biggest fear. He had started to play when he was four years old and was the most outstanding player on every team he played on. He was taller than most boys his age and his muscles were more developed than his teammates' but that did not affect his speed on the field. The other kids back home used to call him “Tank” because when he had control of the ball no one could stop him. The school coach had been impressed with Miguel and for the last two years had encouraged him to train harder and focus on his natural athletic ability. Deep in his heart, Miguel wanted to play soccer forever. Even if he never played professionally, he knew that playing soccer was his
special gift and that he would only be happy if he could play. Now at fourteen, his future was at risk due to his bad grades and his recent bad behavior.

The boys played for a long time until the inevitable darkness stopped them. Turner had cooked chili dogs over the campfire and was passing around bags of potato chips and plates full of spicy food when the boys returned from the game. Ramón was stretched out by the fire, eating his second chili dog when Miguel saw him.

“These are awesome,” Ramón said with his mouth full. “Who won?”

“Miguel beat us all,” Chris said, laughing. “I've never seen anyone like him, and I play in tournaments all the time!”

Ramón knew that his cousin was a great soccer player. He admired his ability and frequently attended his soccer games, especially the championship tournaments. Ramón nodded at Chris's observation and motioned for Miguel to sit nearby.

“Turner says you guys are driving to New Mexico on your own. Is that true?” asked another boy.

“Santa Fe, actually,” Miguel said proudly, feeling the admiration from the group after his dominance on the newly created soccer field. “My mom and dad left two days ago, and we're meeting them there.” Miguel didn't mention that they had been left behind and that his father had no idea that they were on the road by themselves.

The boys were in awe. For the rest of the night, Miguel or Ramón could have told them the most fantastic stories and their newfound friends would have believed every word. But Miguel and Ramón were honest about themselves and soon the conversation drifted to what their school was like and the different activities they were involved in. Turner asked about the classes they were taking and if they liked
school. Ramón tried to act like everything was okay but soon he felt like he had to get everything off his chest.

“Miguel and I almost got kicked out of school last month,” he blurted out while Turner passed around chocolate chip cookies from a box.

“What happened?” Turner asked. “It must have been serious for the school to want to expel you.”

Ramón took a cookie and bit into it. “Miguel was fighting this kid. He was winning at first but then two other guys jumped in and started punching Miguel. That's three against one and I couldn't just stand there. I had to get into the mix!”

The others listened and their admiration grew even more. Miguel and Ramón were real heroes in their eyes, tough guys who could make it on their own and fight back if they had to. Chris spoke first.

“Why were you fighting in the first place? I mean, what started it?”

Ramón looked to Miguel to tell the story.

“Well, there was this guy, not really a friend of mine but I knew him from grade school. We played on the same soccer team when we were kids,” he stopped and took the last bite of his third chili dog. “He's kinda small, he didn't grow much after fifth grade, and this other guy was pushing him around and it looked like he was going to get real hurt. He was throwing him up against a brick wall.”

Ramón stayed silent as Miguel continued.

“I got in the middle of it and pushed the other guy on the ground, when he got up his other friends jumped in and it got rough. That's when Ramón tried to help.”

“Did you explain that to the principal, did you tell him why you got involved in that fight?” Turner asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

“Yeah, we both did,” said Miguel, looking at his cousin. “But I guess that other guy's dad, the one I beat up, is on the school board or something. He didn't get in trouble. We did.”

“What about your parents, what did they say?” Turner asked.

“My dad was real mad after the principal told him that the fight was my fault. He wouldn't listen when I tried to tell him what really happened. Then it only got worse when I got in trouble the second time,” Miguel explained.

Everyone was listening with rapt attention.

“A couple of days later, the guy I beat up jumped me after school in the parking lot, with his older brother. I'm bigger than the both of them, though, so I didn't get hurt, but his older brother ended up with a broken nose, I think.” Miguel smiled a little when he remembered the older brother crying on the ground with blood coming out of his nose.

“He had to defend himself, those guys were trying to mess him up. What was he supposed to do?” Ramón asked, feeling his emotions rise as his cousin retold the story. “I even got blamed for the second fight and I wasn't even there!”

Turner sat down and faced Miguel. “You did what you had to do, you had no choice. Those boys attacked your friend and could have really hurt him. It was good that you interceded. You did the right thing.”

“I wish my dad thought so,” Miguel said, mournfully remembering the lost cell phones and video games.

“Keep telling him the truth. One day he'll hear you,” consoled Turner. “Your dad just wants you to have a good future. He's worried that if you get into trouble at school, it will affect the rest of your life.”

“I remember when my little brother was getting picked on by a bully last year and we had to change schools because my parents couldn't stop it. Maybe I should have beat him
up,” interjected a red-haired boy almost the same size as Miguel. “I could have taken him.”

“If you get the first punch in you have a better chance at winning the fight!” Ramón suggested eagerly.

“Beating someone up isn't always the answer,” Turner quickly stated. “Sometimes, only sometimes, violence is appropriate. I do think Miguel did the right thing. Don't worry about your dad, Miguel. I'm sure he'll understand someday.”

Miguel ate the stack of cookies in his hand, stared into the firelight, and thought to himself, “Why can't my dad understand me
now
?”

 
Chapter 22
 

T
he campfire kept all the boys warm as they slept through the night. Ramón had opened up the sleeping bag to the size of one flat blanket and he and his cousin slept on it next to the open flames.

Since Ramón had been a little boy, he had often dreamed of his father. If he was upset or sad, his dad would appear in a dream and talk to him. But as he got older, Ramón rarely dreamed of Enrique. Ramón began to feel increasingly alone. Not having a dad around was hard for a young boy and now that he was becoming a man, he had no one to guide him through life. Rodrigo was a good uncle but it wasn't the same thing. Rodrigo was Miguel's dad, not his, and Ramón felt the difference in the ways he heard Rodrigo speak to Miguel. Ramón wanted his dad back. He needed him.

Warmed by the fire, in a deep comfortable sleep, Ramón began to dream. It was the same dream he had dreamed as a child. Enrique was driving the family car, talking to him in the back seat. Ramón never saw his dad's face, he could only see the back of his head, but he knew it was him. During the first part of the dream, Ramón felt safe with his dad driving and he felt himself laugh when his dad teased him with a joke. Then the car suddenly swerved and the dream went dark. Ramón woke up suddenly and found himself at the campsite.

“Hey, man, you okay?” Miguel asked with one eye still closed. “You were shouting something.”

Ramón sat still and tried to keep the vision of his dad in his head for as long as he could. For a few more minutes he could feel like his dad was still alive.

The sun was just beginning to rise and a few of the other boys had woken up. Turner was rummaging through the group's van looking for more camping gear and turned when he heard Ramón walking toward him.

“Did you sleep okay?” Turner asked.

“Yeah, I'm all right.” Ramón was now feeling the emptiness of being alone in the world.

“After breakfast, we're going to head out on a short hike down into the canyon. Why don't you join us?”

Ramón wasn't sure how he felt about anything at that moment. Everything seemed impossible and the road to Santa Fe seemed long and endless.

“I don't know. I'll ask Miguel,” he answered quietly.

Miguel was exhausted from the drive the day before and only the inviting smell of the frying sausages woke him up from his slumber. He had dreamed of playing at a World Cup soccer game and as usual he scored the winning goal. He got up from the sleeping bag, took a plate of sausages nestled over chili beans, and started to eat.

“What do you think of going on a hike into the canyon with the others?” Ramón asked his cousin.

“Yeah, that sounds cool if we can spare the time.”

Ramón then remembered his grandfather's wishes of taking them to the canyon and replied, “Yeah, we're okay on time. Let's do it.” Ramón took a few small bites of sausage and breathed in the fresh morning air. “Today is a new day,” he thought, “we'll see what happens.”

 
Chapter 23