by Dana Burkey
“Do you need money for your pumpkin?” he asked, reaching into his pocket.
“I don’t know what to even carve yet, so I don’t know if I'm even going to get one,” I explained.
“And I have to work on a project tonight so I can't go with you guys to Skyler’s, place,” Corra explained. “I’ve been zero help with picking out a good idea for her to carve.”
“Well, when you figure it out, let me know,” Ross shrugged before heading off towards where Skyler was standing.
Taking out my phone, Corra tried to help me find a cute carving design online. A lot of what I found on Pinterest was for decorating pumpkins, instead of actually carving them. Normally I would be okay with painting something, but I had a feeling no one else would be simply decorating their pumpkin. So, it made me determined to find something I could actually cut and design. Sadly, the more photos I looked at the, more frustrated I became.
“Maybe I’ll just help someone carve their instead,” I said with a sign. “I just can’t find anything worth making.”
“Did I just hear you offering to help someone carve their pumpkin?” a familiar voice asked. “I’m so bad at artsy stuff like this.”
“I'd usually love to help you,” I said to Jordan with a frown. “But I can’t think of a good idea on what to make. I don’t just want to make a stupid face or something, and all the cute ideas I see only are for painting pumpkins instead of actually carving them.”
“And you haven’t come up with something brilliant yet?” Jordan asked Corra. “After the whole map of the corn maze thing I'd assume you'd have something brilliant up your sleeves.”
“Not this time,” she explained. “I have to miss out on the whole pumpkin carving part of the evening to do homework, so I think my brain officially checked out!”
“Okay,” Jordan said slowly while looking through his phone. “I’ll text my cousin Dave for an idea. He’s an art major in California, so I bet he can give us something good to work with.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that one. Jordan was looking for something for “us” to use. It looked like he was joining me for my pumpkin weather I wanted him to or not. But, I for sure wanted him too! While he send his cousin a text I started crouching down to look at some of the pumpkins more closely. I figured if I was looking right at one from the right angle, then maybe I could imagine what to carve into the thing. I was starting right at one when the familiar sound of the Jaws ringtone had me popping up to my feet with an idea.
“That’s it!” I grinned while Jordan read the text from his cousin.
“What?” he asked with a laugh. “I didn’t even read you what Dave suggested.”
“What did he say?” Corra asked, giving me an odd look since she was clearly also confused by my sudden exclamation.
“He said we should make it a regular pumpkin that’s throwing up..” Jordan read. “He sent me a picture of ones he has outside of his frat house.”
Jordan showed us the photo, but it was clear from the frown on his face that he wasn't happy with the idea Dave had sent. Clearly his cousin was enjoying his frat house life as much as his art classes, if not more so.
“Well, forget Dave, I have a better idea,” I said quickly. “Sharks!”
“Sharks?” Corra and Jordan asked at the same time.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “We can make a shark swimming or whatever on one side, and then on the other there can be a shark bite where you reach in to put in a candle and everything. And then, we can use one of the ideas I saw on Pinterest and drip red candle wax over the top so it looks like blood!”
Now, I have to admit. This idea was kind of out of left field, and as I said it I got a little worried that it was lame or something. But, when I was done explaining, Jordan had a big grin on his face and then actually pulled me in for a hug!
“That’s perfect!” he agreed while I was still pressed up against him. “You're a lifesaver.”
“It’s just pumpkins,” Corra commented. It was exactly what I was thinking, so I pulled back from his embrace to see how he was going to reply.
“Not for Skyler,” Jordan explained. “You guys have clearly never seen her house. Her mom and dad make family portraits on their pumpkins every year, and they decorate the whole house for fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. They do everything really over the top. So, even if she didn’t say it yet, this whole pumpkin carving thing isn't just for fun, it’s a competition.”
“Well, then we better get to work!” I said simply, turning my attention to finding just the right pumpkin.
For the next hour or so we walked along the lines of pumpkins to find what we were looking for. Then, we also searched for a second pumpkin. The second one was for practice, and we set to work right away. After buying both pumpkins as well as some tools they sold at one of the booths in the barn, we looked up some YouTube videos on how to carve a pumpkin so you'd see the light inside without actually seeing through the whole skin. Thankfully one of the carving tools in the kit we bought made it super easy, so we got to work on the practice pumpkin. We wanted the whole bottom of the pumpkin to have layers of waves, and then we were going to make the shark jumping out of the water with water drips around him, but the actual shark would be totally cut out. We found an image from Shark Week that was perfect so we just had to actually draw it and cut it out.
By the time Skyler and Ross started rounding everyone up to head to her house, we were feeling pretty confident in our plan. We threw away the practice pumpkin since it was a mess of lines and cuts, and then went separate ways. When we dropped of Corra at her house I made a point of running home for a minute to get some red candles I knew we had in the attic. They'd be perfect for the pumpkin Jordan and I were planning, so I grabbed them quickly and stuffed them into my purse. I also grabbed my phone charger so Skyler and Ross wouldn’t know the real reason I'd ran inside. For some reason, keeping the whole plan a secret felt really important at that moment! We arrived to Skyler’s around the same time as a few other cars. Not everyone from the pumpkin patch was joining us for carving, but there were still going to be quite a few of us.
Getting out of the car I was once again impressed with how big Skyler’s house was. I thought my house was big, but her house makes mine look tiny in comparison. And, it only got more insane when I finally entered the front door. The whole house was elaborately decorated and even bigger than it looked from the outside. The ceilings were super high and there were giant stairs leading up to the second floor. I only got a quick glance though, since Skyler lead us through the open entryway and to a set of stairs that lead to the finished basement. It was all really open with all kind of things to do. There was a pool table and a ping pong table in one corner of the room. Then there was a massive TV in the other corner that had a massive L-shaped couch with lots of pillows. The other half of the room was filled with various workout equipment as well as few tables and chairs that were currently all set up for pumpkins.
The tables were covered in thick tablecloths and had a variety of carving tools laid out here and there. Then, in the center of each of the four tables was a plate of snacks. There were cookies and cupcakes and little finger foods like pigs in a blanket and mini quiches. Clearly her mom had been busy setting all of it up while we were out having fun at the corn maze and pumpkin patch.
“You ready to win?” Jordan asked, brushing up against my arm as he walked by carrying our pumpkin.
“I hope so,” I said with a smile.
Glancing around I saw that everyone else was putting their pumpkins on the table and chatting about plans. Skyler was, of course, working with Ross and Beth was with Trey. Torri and Chelsea were with Chad, and then Hayley was with Angie. Everyone else from the farm trip hadn't joined us for the rest of the evening, so it made me feel like Jordan and I had a chance of impressing everyone with our design for sure.
“Okay,” Skylar said loudly to get everyone’s attention. “I thought we could make the carving a little more fun! My mom a
nd dad are going to be the judges, and the winner of the night gets this!”
That was when she pulled out this adorable Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin trophy. That made me feel like the heat was on, especially when I looked closer and realized that there was also a gift card for the movie theater stuck onto the trophy as well. Before then I thought it would be fun to win, but suddenly winning would basically have a reason to go see a movie with just Jordan and I, and that was all I needed to get me totally focused!
“Let’s win,” I said to Jordan one I took my seat next to him. I leaned in extra close to no one else would hear my comment, the totally didn't want to lean back out of his personal space after he flashed me a perfect grin.
We got to work then, carving and cutting and scraping and doing everything that we'd been practicing on the little pumpkin while we were still at the farm. Skyler put on some fun music and put a Halloween movies on the big screen TV, but Jordan and I were super focused on the designs we were working on instead. And it was weird, because we weren't even talking that much. We were just working really hard and helping each other out and stuff. It may just be me wishful thinking, but it felt like we were working really well together too!
“Okay, like 5 more minutes,” Skyler called out after what felt like only a little bit of time has passed.
It was then that Jordan and I pulled out the candles I brought and used them and a lighter to start melting the red wax all over the top of the pumpkin. A few people that were already done came over to watch us, and were super impressed with our overall design. I was happy that they were shocked by what we were making, and also really glad that it worked out for us to even work together. It would've been okay to work with anyone else, but it was more special working with Jordan for sure!
“Time's up!” Skyler announced when her phone began playing a crazy tune that she had clearly set at an alarm. “My mom and dad are going to judge while we have cake!”
“Cake?” I asked, shocked there was going to be more after the treats that were on the table the whole time while we worked on our pumpkins.
“Just wait and see,” Ross assured me. He had come over to see our pumpkin since almost everyone else had stopped to check out the last of our wax drippings.
I was shocked, although at that point maybe I shouldn't have been, that Skyler had a massive ice cream cake that had a photo airbrushed on it of her and her friends at the dance. It was clear that she knew she was getting the cake, since she wasn't super shocked, but was excited to point everyone out. I wasn't in the photo, but she made sure to tell me I would have made the cake look even better with a pop of blue and all. To some people it could have seemed like Skyler was being a bit of a birthday diva, but it was clear that she was excited to spend time with all of her friends and even honored her friends by not being the only one on the cake! It was pretty cool for sure!
We all grabbed cake and sat around chatting while Skyler’s mom and dad headed downstairs to judge the pumpkins. I was hoping they would pick Jordan and me as the winners, but at the same time I knew that I hadn't even looked at what anyone else was making at all! So, when they came back up to announce the winners I was only kind of bummed to see they weren't carrying the pumpkin Jordan and I worked so hard on.
“And the winner is,” Skyler's mom grinned. “The soccer goal!”
When she announced it she turned around the pumpkin and I was shocked to see a practically lifelike carving of someone kicking a soccer ball into a goal, complete with Skyler’s soccer number on the jersey. It was carved like our waves were, so the light shone through the thick and thin layers of pumpkin skin. But, this was done with a lot more skill than anything Jordan and I managed. As if that wasn't shocking enough, my mouth about fell to the ground when I found out it was carved by Beth and Trey!
“We wanted to make it look like you winning state,” Trey explained. “That way even if our pumpkin won, you'd still be the winner for your birthday.”
It was super adorable, and I think all of us girls let out a big “awww.” Based on the way Beth was grinning up at Trey was who sitting next to her, it was clear that he was the brains of the operation. Not that Beth does isn't talented or anything. I just know that she isn't good at crafty things like carving pumpkins. So, it meant that Trey wasn't just super good at basketball, he was also a really good artist who was willing to downplay the whole thing by making his carving about Skyler! I was instantly even more excited that the two of them won, even if it meant that I didn't get to share the prize with Jordan.
“Sorry we didn’t win Fi,” Jordan said as we all finished up our cake and started talking about heading home for the evening.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” I shrugged. “Trey did a great job! And I still had fun making our shark.”
“Me too,” Jordan nodded. “Why don’t you take him home for your porch?”
“Are you sure?” I asked, both excited to keep the shark, while also feeling a little bad since Jordan had paid for it.
“Yeah,” he smiled. “It was your idea, and almost got us the win. I think it’s only right you hold on to him.”
I’m pretty sure my smile was from one ear to the other at that point! Jordan carried the pumpkin to the car for me, then gave me a hug goodbye before heading over to Trey’s car. Beth was riding with Ross and I home since her mom didn’t know about the whole Trey thing yet. I was hoping it would give her and I a chance to chat and catch up about everything, but I have a feeling we will be talking about it at lunch tomorrow once we are also with Corra!
Once I got home I put the pumpkin on the porch steps and sent a photo of it to Jordan. He sent back a thumbs up and a smiley face almost right away. I wanted to text him more and keep chatting and all that, but instead I decided to leave well enough alone and write everything from today down! I mean, as you can tell, it’s been a lot! And with the games we have coming up this week it's sure to be a busy few days! So, I'm off to bed now. Between catching Corra up on everything and also our game tomorrow, it is going to be a long day for sure!
OCTOBER 13TH-MONDAY
I’m pretty tired right now, but I wanted to write really fast to say that first of all, Beth is officially allowed to ride to and from school with Trey! She told her mom about him last night, and then this morning he had to get to her house early to meet both of her parents. They knew who he was since Beth’s cousin Greg was a senior last year and knew Trey from basketball, so it was kind of a formality. She said it was a lot less painful than she thought it was going to be, and that her parents were really great about it all! So, she's all happy with Trey, and I had a perfect moment with Jordan after my game!
Before I get to that, I should say when then I got into the car this morning Jordan asked about the pumpkin right away. He wanted to make sure it was still on the porch. I assured him it was there, and then also let him know that my mom and dad both laughed when they saw it and thought it was great. On the way into school, Jordan wished me good luck at the game before he went to his locker and classes. I didn’t really see him much after that, but I was having a good day catching up with Beth and Corra. Yesterday was just so good, nothing was getting me down. Not even Taylor glaring at me through the day, which is now our daily thing I guess.
After school I went with Skyler, Hayley, Torri, and Jenna to get Subway before we went right back to school for the game. Since Skyler is dating Ross it's like I'm automatically included in everything she's doing most of the time, and it feels really nice. Not just because I'm included, but also because I can tell she really wants me there. I'm not just invited so she'll look cool around Ross. Which that idea is kind of odd overall since a few months ago Ross made fun of me more than anything else. But, that was before I got hurt and I guess it made him see I wasn't that bad of a little sister after all!
Anyways, after we got food and went back to school we started getting ready for the game. This of course involved putting on our nose guards and taking a lot of selfies. Since more fans we
re starting wearing them as well, Skyler suggested we post the photos before the game so people would remember there was a home game and would come by to support us. It clearly worked since the stadium seats were filling up fast as the game got closer. I saw Ross and Jordan arrive with a group of people that looked to include both Beth and Corra, but I was pretty focused on warm ups so I didn't pay too much attention. And once the game started that was where ALL of my focus went.
The game was a fairly tough one, especially since I haven't been running in a little while, so I felt like I was moving a little slower than usual. But, we kept the score to 0-0 until right at the end. With less than a minute left we had a corner kick and Coach Heather told me to take it. I'd only done them a few times in practice, and never during games, but I was kind of thinking that the worst thing that could happen would be that we didn’t score and the game ended in a 0-0 tie. So, I was pretty calm and focused as I kicked the ball in towards the goal. Without really meaning to I kicked it perfectly to Torri who was able to give the ball a quick bump with her head and send it right into the back of the goal!
With no time for the other team to do much of anything the game basically ended right there. Everyone was cheering for us and shouting and hugging. It was amazing. I felt like I really did something great for the team, but also something I didn't think I would be able to do at all in a lot of ways! We were in such a good mood and going on and on that I didn’t even think about Jordan or my friends until the varsity game started. At that point I knew I wouldn't get to see them until the match was over, so I worked on a little homework between cheering varsity on to a win.
Finally, when the game was over I found Ross since he was my ride home. He was super proud of my corner kick in the game and told me if I wanted to could stop to get some ice cream on the way home. I was pretty cold after sitting for the whole game, so I suggested we just drink some hot cocoa at home. He was okay with that, and I was pretty excited that my older brother was actually looking to hang out with me! It's really still a shock some days.