Failed Picnic Friends

Peter considered himself a cool kid. Not that he was the top dog at his school, but he was definitely in the cool crowd. He had a good group of friends, his teachers loved him, and he was considered a role model at school.

One day he and his group of friends were at the park and they saw Matty. Matty was not in their circle and was kinda an outsider at school, seemingly by choice.

Matty was setting up a picnic. "Yo, Madster!" One of Peter's friends called out, while his other friends laughed. "What ya doing?"

Matty rolled his eyes at the nickname. "I have a date." And he kept setting up his picnic. Peter's friends oohed and ahhed and snickered at the idea of Matty on a date.

"I'm shocked he could find a date." Peter’s friend spoke in a low voice but Matty still heard, yet he said nothing.

"Come on guys, we came to play football, so let's go." Peter led his friends away. And they played football, laughing and getting covered in mud.

At some point, Peter looked over and saw that Matty's date still hadn't arrived yet. For a moment his heart sank. Had some girl lied to Matty? His friends seemed to notice too and started to make jokes about it.

Peter watched in horror as some kids who had been playing ball nearby lost control of the ball and destroyed Matty's picnic. Peter’s friends laughed even louder, and for a moment Petter wondered if Matty might cry.

Having had quite enough of his friend’s behaviour, Peter walked over to Matty and helped him clean up. He didn't say anything, just started picking up the plates and other things. Matty didn't speak either; he just let out a sigh and also started picking up what was left of the mess.

Soon everything was back in the cooler that Matty had brought, and he gave Peter a smile. Peter's friends had already left, so Peter shrugged and said, "You like Heroes of the Empire? My dad brought me the newest comic and I got the new battle game video game."

Matty's eyes got wide. "Yeah I do! I have all the issues and I play their online game!"

Peter smiled. "Then come on, let's go." Peter and Matty talked about the comic books, the heroes they liked, the villains, and so much more as they walked to Peter’s house.

When Peter walked in the door, a voice called out, "Peter is that you? You’re back already?"

"Yeah Mom, the guys ditched me, but I made a new friend." His mom came around the corner. "This is Matty, he's in my class."

His mom smiled. "Welcome to our home, Matty." She grinned. "Let me guess, you're here to play Heroes of the Empire?”

The boys smiled "Yeah, Matty doesn't find it lame like the guys do,” Peter explained with a shrug. “Is that okay?"

“Of course, just don't turn the TV up too loud."

The boys played all afternoon. They became friends that day. Matty never told Peter about the failed date and Peter never asked. It didn't seem important. And even though they were friends, things didn't change overnight.

On Monday morning, Peter was back with his friends and Matty was sitting by himself, but people left him alone. Nobody bugged him or made fun of him. Matty knew that that was Peter’s doing.

Peter and Matty hung out outside of school, trading comic books, playing video games online, or taking turns hosting games night at each other's homes. They even took trips to conventions.

Eventually, Peter stopped hanging out with his old friends and started to hang out with Matty. The two boys were each other’s best friend. Peter didn't need to be popular and Matty didn't need to be a loner.

A number of years later, Peter helped Matty set another picnic. "Peter, she is going to say yes, right?" Matty looked at him as they spread out the blanket.

“Dude, Harly is crazy about you. She going to say yes."

Matty was planning to propose to his long-term girlfriend and Pete was going to film it.

"Dude, I'm so nervous..." Matty fidgeted with the blanket one more time.

"It's gonna be fine. Go get your girl." Peter jokingly shoved his friend. "I'll be here waiting for ya. Go change your life." Peter watched his friend dart off to make the future happen.

He smiled over at his own finance who had just pulled up in her car to help him film.

She walked over to him. "So why was it so important for you two to set this up?"

"Because it's how we met. Only this picnic will have a much happier ending than that one." They shared a smile and waited together.