Modern Family: New Life

[Pritchett-Tucker House]

The atmosphere was so tense that even Lily, barely two years old, seemed to sense that something was off.

She squirmed in her stroller with a suspicious expression, as if she could feel her parents were seconds away from an emotional implosion.

"Cam, I told you we had to leave ten minutes ago!" Mitchell exclaimed from the doorway, already dressed and ready, checking his watch like it was a nuclear detonator.

"I'm almost ready! Just one last stroke. Pippa, sweetheart, the light here is awful, bring the lamp from the living room side table!" Cam replied from the bathroom, his face half-done and an eyeshadow brush between his fingers.

"A lamp!?" Pippa shouted from the hallway, her face flushed with frustration. "I thought we were done!"

Sighing, she headed to the living room. On the way, she looked up at the ceiling, the walls… and her poor decisions from the last few hours.

'I don't know how I ended up in this,' Pippa thought, checking the time on a wall clock.

It had been over sixty minutes since she answered the most treacherous call of her young life.

"Can you help me with a quick makeup before the game?" Cam had asked, sounding innocently sweet.

Cam.

Cameron Tucker.

"Quick makeup."

She'd fallen for it like an amateur.

She should've never trusted a gay man who uses the words "quick" and "makeup" in the same sentence.

Especially not Cam, whose idea of "quick" was vastly different from hers, and pretty much everyone else's.

She had been naive.

In the living room, Mitchell was still by the door, checking his watch every ten seconds, as if time might move backward if he stared at it long enough.

When he saw Pippa dragging the lamp with resignation, he gave her a guilty look, a tense smile, and an awkward hand gesture that said: I'm really sorry, but this is out of my control.

Pippa forced a smile back, thinking to herself: Don't worry… but if I miss the game and Andrew thinks I got run over, I'm blaming all of you.

"Oh, thanks, sweetheart!" Cam said, grabbing the lamp and plugging it in quickly for better lighting, then resumed his makeup, with Pippa biting her lip to keep from exploding.

She was never late.

And for this game, probably the most intense one of the season, Liam was injured, Andrew had been acting weird, and everyone had noticed.

She had seen it too: more distant than ever this week. Existential crisis, vacant stares, sloppy practices.

And now she was going to be late… because of her father-in-law's makeup.

Ten minutes later, Cam finally finished his makeup with Pippa's help. His face was completely painted, a burst of light blue and white, with GO EAGLES in large letters across his forehead, like he was part of some postmodern Scottish tribe.

"Finally done! Glorious, isn't it?" Cam said, turning to Pippa so she could admire his work.

"Yeah… glorious…" Pippa muttered.

Just then, Mitchell appeared in the bathroom doorway with Lily in his arms, exasperated. "You look like Mel Gibson in Braveheart…"

"Mel Gibson started a revolution. I'm starting school spirit," Cam said, completely serious.

Cam turned to Pippa, who instinctively took a step back, sensing he was about to suggest something she definitely wouldn't like.

"And you, girl…" he said, pointing the brush at her, "you're still in time to join in! A little face paint to show Andrew you're with him!"

"I don't know…" Pippa replied.

"Come on! It'll be something simple, subtle. Just to show him you're there for him. You know how he's been this week… kind of off. Your support might be stronger than any touchdown," Cam insisted.

Pippa took a deep breath. He was right, "Okay, but something simple and quick. We don't have time."

Cam clapped his hands with a smile. "Great! Let's get to work!"

In less than ten minutes, Pippa had small white and sky-blue stars on her right cheek and a sky-blue line under each eye. Her gray Palisades sweatshirt, jeans, and nail polish, alternating between white and blue, completed the look. She looked in the mirror as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I look like I'm ready to cheer at a game… or summon spirits on a mountain," she murmured.

"Exactly! Spirits of victory!" Cam exclaimed, raising a fist, fully convinced of his contribution to the cause.

"Alright, let's go! With any luck we won't miss kickoff!" said Mitchell, who clearly had no intention of waiting another second.

[Palisades High School Stadium]

7:04 PM

Night had already fallen and the stadium was glowing under the bright lights, with the school band playing in the background and the crowd roaring with excitement. The bleachers were packed, overflowing, buzzing with energy.

Ever since Andrew became the starting quarterback last year, Palisades games had become the town's main event. The school had gone from irrelevant to state favorite. And for a regional semifinal… no one wanted to miss it.

Cars snaked endlessly through the parking lot.

"My God, this looks like a Beyoncé concert," Mitchell muttered as he went around yet again without success.

"Our son is a real icon, Mitchell!" Cam added with a proud smile from the passenger seat.

"You should be more worried about being late…" Mitch muttered under his breath.

They finally managed to park nearly three blocks from the stadium.

"Perfect, now a nice cardio walk," said Pippa, stepping out of the car with Lily in her arms.

As they walked among other stragglers, lights, and the echoes of the crowd already roaring, they began approaching the main entrance.

And there, as if chaos had conspired to unite them, they ran into the rest of the family.

Jay, Gloria, and Manny were coming from the opposite sidewalk.

Gloria carrying a tray of arepas wrapped in foil, Manny holding an envelope with his carefully folded poem and dressed in his usual eccentric way, and Jay wearing an expression of total resignation… identical to Pippa's.

At that very moment, turning the corner from the other side, the Dunphys appeared.

Claire was leading like she was commanding a military unit, Phil waving a lion flag (with Andrew's face printed in the center), Luke running ahead wearing headbands and shaking pom-poms while practicing his roar, and Haley and Alex walking side by side in silence… suspicious, since it was rare for them not to be arguing.

All three groups instinctively stopped in front of the entrance, staring at one another.

"Are we all late?" Claire asked, panting, not even trying to hide her frustration.

"Gloria took forever with the arepas and Manny with his existential motivational poem!" Jay grumbled.

"They're lucky arepas! And this poem will save Andrew's soul!" Gloria snapped, clutching the tray like it was the cure for cancer.

"Cam kidnapped me," said Pippa bluntly, pointing with her thumb at her father-in-law, who looked like he'd just walked out of a school play version of Braveheart.

Phil proudly raised his flag, "I bring the spirit of the lions!"

Everyone stared at him.

"We're the Eagles, Phil," Mitchell said flatly.

"A lion flies higher in spirit!" Phil replied, utterly convinced.

"It doesn't fly, dad. It's a land mammal," Alex muttered without even looking at him.

"Everyone shut up! Go in! You can hear the crowd! It's started!" Claire snapped, losing her patience and dragging her family into the stadium.

The place was packed. People standing, shouting, LED lights flashing, drums pounding, pom-poms waving.

The atmosphere was electric. Not a soul could fit in, and still, people kept arriving. The stands were split between the home crowd and a small, tidy section for the Moose Ridge visitors, all perfectly groomed, well-dressed, and wearing jackets embroidered with their initials.

But the rest… was pure, unfiltered school spirit.

Thanks to the family's special status, their seats were reserved with an excellent view: midfield, high rows, completely unobstructed.

"What did we miss?" Jay asked the moment he sat down, adjusting his coat and eyeing the field with concern.

Archie's father, Fred, a medium-built man with a beard and always wearing a baseball cap, even if it were a wedding, turned in his seat:

"We started on defense. And badly. You can tell Liam's not out there. Moose Ridge is coming at us like they drank Red Bull laced with steroids. They're already on our 30-yard line… and they're not slowing down."

Claire leaned forward to look at the field, her expression serious, "Already close to scoring?"

"Yeah," said Fred, eyes still locked on the field, "The defensive line looks frozen. Those rich kids clearly want revenge for us ending their undefeated streak a few weeks ago."

"Oh God…" Gloria whispered, hugging the tray of arepas like it was a sacred relic.

"We can't start like this…" Mitchell murmured, already getting nervous.

Reggie's father, Marty, was sitting beside Fred and looked far more relaxed.

"It's odd, but not catastrophic," Marty said, in the tone of someone who'd seen far too many games to be fazed by a rough start.

"Defense was never Palisades' strong suit. Andrew doesn't play there, nor Kevin, my son, Steve, or Archie… All five are on offense."

"Exactly," Fred nodded, arms crossed.

"If they score, we'll score twice. Once we're on offense, Andrew will do his thing, and the others too. The best defense is scoring more than your opponent."

Hearing that, Jay slowly nodded, though his eyes stayed fixed on the field.

"Right, right…" he murmured, but with far less conviction than he would've liked.

The rest of Andrew's family didn't seem convinced either. In past games, maybe those words would've reassured them, but now… they knew Andrew had been off lately. Low motivation for the first time might come with a price.

And just then, a voice boomed through the stadium speakers:

"Moose Ridge lines up… third and six at the Palisades 9-yard line… the quarterback throws a short pass… and number 19 catches it! He dodges a tackle! Another one! Touchdown Moose Ridge!"

The visitor stands erupted in cheers.

The Palisades side… fell into stunned silence.

"And Moose Ridge takes the lead. A fast, smart, and aggressive drive. Palisades' defense couldn't stop a single play. The absence of number 44… Liam Mackenzie… is being felt," the Palisades commentator said with calm professionalism, no embellishment.

The next play came quickly.

"They're going for two? Seriously?" his assistant chimed in, skeptical.

"Yep, going for two… pass to the center… caught. Successful conversion. Moose Ridge starts strong: 8 to 0 in just the first five minutes of the game."

Claire put a hand to her forehead, "Five minutes in and we're already down by eight…" she muttered through gritted teeth.

And that's when the growing murmur of the crowd began, like a wave rolling in.

The stadium camera focused to the side: Palisades' offensive team was entering the field. Leading the charge, helmet in one hand, was Andrew. At his side, his most trusted teammates: Archie, Reggie, Kevin, and Steve. All of them walked with steady strides and serious expressions.

Cam sprang to his feet like a jack-in-the-box, "That's my son!" he shouted, his face paint shaking as he beamed with pride.

Phil wasn't far behind. He raised his flag with clumsy military flair, "Go Eagles! Fly high, Andrew!"

Several people glanced at Phil's flag with puzzled expressions.

Mitchell, holding Lily in his arms, joined the applause as best he could. Gloria whistled with two fingers in her mouth. Luke let out a roar no one had asked for. Haley, Alex, and Pippa clapped along too, though it was hard to compete with the shouting of Cam, Gloria, Phil, and Luke.

The entire Palisades crowd in the stadium was also clapping with force. Signs with the number 12 waved in the air. The cheerleaders bounced with blue pom-poms. Yells, whistles, drums, horns. The Palisades spirit was on fire… even if they were starting the game behind.

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