Ric, Josh, and Mr. Mendes got their fair share of stares, pointing, and whispering on the way to the park, but Ric realized that this was nothing new... he'd been getting those reactions for 13 years. Josh was completely oblivious, chattering away to Mr. Mendes about cartoons and video games, extracting a promise to go to the arcade later. Had he already forgotten his old life? wondered Ric.
Thankfully the park wasn't far, and soon they reached the large open field. Ric and Josh kicked off their flops and galloped out on the soft grass. Ric knew he'd been doing this all his life, but despite those memories he was also experiencing it for the first time: the soft green grass under four bare feet felt wonderful.
But he wasn't too distracted to miss the sound of a ball kicked his way. He whipped about quickly and trapped it—Mr. Mendes laughed at his quick reaction—then passed it more gently over to Josh. Josh, unprepared and not a ball player, almost tripped, but caught himself with his three other feet and sent it back, hard. Ric easily trapped it again, passed it deftly from foot to foot to foot, and then sent it flying back at Mr. Mendes.
Soon the boys were laughing and galloping all over the field, as Josh and Mr. Mendes's kicks sometimes went wild, giving Ric quite a workout as he repeatedly chased it down and brought it back to the others.