They all looked at November, who could not face their gazes. “I gotta make a quick run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared around the corner.
“It’s gonna be rough when school starts,” Jericho said to the others.
“For all of us, but especially November,” said Kofi.
“It’s senior year,” Olivia offered softly.
“Senior year won’t be any fun with a kid,” Dana stated.
Then Kofi whispered, “Is November having twins or something? I don’t know much about this stuff, but isn’t she pretty big?”
“Yep. I’m big as a whale, but it’s just one kid in here,” November said as she came back into the kitchen. “The doctor said I’m retaining water, which doesn’t seem possible seeing how I go to the bathroom every eleven seconds!”
“Hey, I’m sorry,” said Kofi. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything.”
“You didn’t. Really,” she told him. She rubbed her bulging belly. “My mom took me out to dinner last week, and I couldn’t fit into the booth. We had to switch to a table with chairs instead. It was sorta embarrassing,” she admitted.
Everybody seemed to concentrate on what they were eating, not sure of what to say. “Great burgers, Jericho,” Olivia mumbled, her mouth full.
November went over to the refrigerator. “I’m having strawberry ice cream. Anybody want to join me?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Dana, moving quickly to fill any gaps in the awkward situation. She helped November get out bowls and spoons.
“So, how was Kings Island yesterday?” November asked with forced cheer as she licked her spoon. “Wasn’t that the annual trip where Jericho’s dad gets free tickets because it’s Policeman’s Day?”
“Awesome, man!” said Jericho just a little too excitedly. “I rode the Beast six times!”
“And me and Kofi went on that ride where you have to sit real close together and then you go down the hill and splash into that fake lake. I forget what it’s called, but that’s all we rode all day.”
“Real close,” Kofi echoed as he pulled Dana close to him and nuzzled her neck. She giggled.
November smiled. “Did you keep riding it because it got you all wet, or because you had to sit almost on Kofi’s lap?”
“He’s got a real nice lap,” Dana said with a mischievous grin. She kissed Kofi on the cheek. He was loving it.
“Did you go, Olivia?” asked November.
Olivia added strawberry sauce to her ice cream. “Yeah, I went. Thanks for getting me the tickets, Jericho.”
“Gotta look out for my band buddies,” he said with a nod.
“I took my little cousin,” Olivia explained to November, “so I spent most of the time in Kiddie Land, but it was fun.”
“You should have gone with us too, November,” Kofi said. “It wasn’t the same without you.”
“I wouldn’t have been much fun,” she admitted sadly. “I move too slow to keep up with the rest of you, and most of that stuff probably wouldn’t have been safe for the baby.”
She didn’t tell them that she’d cried most of the day while they were gone, missing the zooms and screeches of the roller coasters, the spins and drops of the other rides that she loved.
Last year she’d gone with Josh, and the two of them had stayed from the time it opened at ten until the gates closed at midnight. They’d gone on every single ride, even the merry-go-round. They’d eaten pizza and funnel cakes and cotton candy, then kissed under the moonlight as the fireworks exploded when the park closed.
Olivia once again brought the conversation back to what seemed to be a safe zone. “I got my schedule in the mail today. Did you guys?” She gave everyone another scoop of ice cream and a couple of cookies.
“Yeah, seems like they do that earlier and earlier every year,” Jericho said. “But for once, I don’t care—it’s our senior year and we are getting ready to blow out of there!” He took four chocolate chip cookies.
“Dominate!” Kofi said.
“Dictate!” added Jericho, squaring off his shoulders.
“Decorate!” Dana interjected with a laugh. “Shows how silly you two sound.”
“Girl, don’t you know nothin’ about male bonding?” Jericho teased her.
“I think it involves armpits and bad breath,” Olivia joked, grinning.
“The girls outnumber you here,” November told Jericho and Kofi. “You two better be careful. We’ve got enough female hormones in this room to choke a horse!”
“I hear you,” Jericho said. “We’re just psyched about senior year.”
“I’m thinking of going out for the swim team this fall,” said Dana, “although if it messes with my hair, I’ll quit. Hairstyles are more important than activities on a college transcript,” she added in mock seriousness.
“I live and die for Friday nights,” Olivia revealed. “I love the feel of the grass when we march, the chill in the air, the smell of fresh popcorn from the concession area. I love the power my horn gives me.” She stopped suddenly.
“I miss the band,” admitted Jericho, “a little. But the feel of a good tackle or hit on the line as the crowd cheers in the background—now that’s power!”
“I’m thinkin’ about trying out for the mascot this year,” Kofi said. “You know—that guy who dresses up like a panther at the football games. Girls go for that thing, I’ve noticed. Turns them on!” He rolled his eyes at Dana and waited for her response.
Dana smacked him on the back of the head. “If you find something better than me, brother, go for it. Tell those girls this panther is taken!” They grabbed each other and giggled.
November felt an odd mix of emotions. She was relieved that the cookout had been a success, but as she listened to her friends chatter about the beginning of school, she envied them, sadly aware that she would be able to participate in none of the very ordinary school activities they mentioned. None.
CHAPTER 31
JERICHO
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27
JERICHO TRUDGED OVER TO THE PARKING lot and chugged a whole bottle of blue-colored, raspberry-flavored sports drink. Coach said it was good for them, but Jericho still preferred plain old cold bottled water. He wiped his lips, tossed his gear in the trunk of his car, and turned on the motor, but he didn’t get in. He hoped the air-conditioning system was working today—it could be temperamental—so the car would be cool when Olivia got there.
Summer band and football practices were dismissed at the same time. A couple of weeks ago, when a rainstorm had exploded right after practice, he’d offered her a ride home. They’d sat in his slightly leaky, definitely ancient, red Grand Am and talked for two hours while the rain swirled around them. Since then, he had been giving her a ride home every day after practice.
“Waitin’ for your girl, man?” Roscoe yelled from the other side of the parking lot.
“She’s just a friend,” Jericho yelled back, trying to explain.
“Pretty big friend!” Roscoe laughed and drove away.
Jericho wasn’t sure how he felt about Olivia. She certainly was no Arielle—pale and dainty and desirable. Olivia was just a girl—a really nice girl, fun to talk to, but nothing more than that.
She turned the corner, lugging her instrument, and waved. She wore a navy blue T-shirt and red sweatpants. Her whole face became a smile. He waved back, genuinely glad to see her.
“Last band practice of the summer—over and done with, Captain!” she said, saluting. She shoved the sousaphone into the backseat.
“And last football practice, too! Whew! I thought Coach Barnes would never let us out of there.”
“You know, it’s not like it’s over. We’ll still have practice every night after school,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, I know. But somehow this puts the cap on all we’ve done. The rest is just practicing the details and polishing the production.”
She scowled and looked at him. “You sound like a coach.”
&nbs
p; “Coach Barnes has that effect on me. He’s always talking about reaching for the stars and dreaming of unbelievable possibilities. I’m starting to believe him,” Jericho admitted. He opened the door on his side.
“Is the team ready for Excelsior next week?” she asked. “This is gonna be like a Tonka truck going against a Hummer!”
“Some of those kids’ toys are pretty tough,” said Jericho, teasing.
“Not when they’re under the wheels of the biggest SUV in the world! They’d get squashed.”
Jericho laughed. “We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. Coach won’t let us say anything negative—he’s making us focus on a win.”
“A win against Excelsior? Impossible. You just have to hope you don’t get skunked too bad.”
They climbed into Jericho’s car, which had cooled enough so the seats weren’t hot to the touch. “At least we got new uniforms. We’ll wear them for the first time for the Excelsior game,” he said as he tried to make the air blow cooler.
“Sweet. So you’ll look good while you get stomped into the mud.”
“Girl, don’t let Coach hear you talking like that. I think he really believes we can beat them.”
“He’s a dreamer. What do the uniforms look like?”
“Really nice—expensive looking. They’ve got our names in big red letters on the back. Red stripes down the sides of the pants—really first-class.”
“And the band has to show up in those same ratty-looking uniforms we’ve been wearing for the past ten years. Oh well, at least we get a road trip to Cleveland. That ought to be fun.”
“Is the band ready for the half-time showdown?”
“Hey, our music is the bomb! If that’s the only thing we had to worry about, we’d blow them out of the water. We’re small, but mighty. Me, I’m just mighty!” She laughed, then added, “The trumpet section sure could use you.”
“Yeah, I know.” He clicked on the radio, but it just buzzed. “You get music or air in my car. Which one do you want?”
“My head is full of music, and the air feels good,” she answered contentedly.
“You ready for school to start on Monday?” he asked her after a few minutes.
Olivia exhaled loudly. “I’m glad it’s my senior year. I’m looking forward to my classes. But that’s all. School isn’t fun for me.” She fiddled with the zipper on her purse.
“I feel you. Me and Josh had all these crazy plans for our senior year—like climbing to the roof of the school and putting up a flag, or letting a cow loose in the main hall….”
“A cow?”
“His uncle owns a farm. It’s not important—just stupid kid stuff that will never happen.”
“I know how much you miss him,” she said gently. They stopped at a red light. He noticed she reached over to touch his shoulder, but she quickly jerked her hand back and folded her arms across her chest. He gave her no indication he had noticed and drove on when the light changed.
He pulled up in front of her house but kept the motor running. “Hey, maybe we’ll have a couple of classes together.”
“Who knows? When they do class schedules by computer, anything can happen. Last year some girl had been scheduled for seven periods of gym! She was in the office having a purple fit!”
“Sounds like a perfect day to me.”
“Ugh. A funky armpit day.”
“Well, speaking of armpits, I better get home and get showered. I’ll see you at school on Monday.”
She climbed out of the car and retrieved her instrument. “Uh, Jericho?”
“Yeah.”
“I really appreciate the rides home. You didn’t have to do that.”
“No sweat. You’re pretty cool to talk to—just like one of the guys.”
She gave him a funny look, then closed the car door. “See you around, Jericho.”
CHAPTER 32
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27
AFTER A LONG SHOWER AND A BIG BOWL of Geneva’s chili, Jericho sat in his room organizing his new book bag for Monday. Binders in red and green, fresh notebook paper, and dark blue gel pens. As a junior, he’d learned to do with the very minimum—just enough to get through the day.
Todd poked his head in the door. He wore his favorite pair of Batman pajamas, the blue logo faded and almost gray. The pj’s were way too small for him, but he refused to give them up, and would not pass them down to Rory. “You excited about the first day of school, Jericho?”
“Only because it’s my last first day. Everything after this is countdown to graduation!”
“You’ll have a first day of college,” Todd said, “won’t you?”
“Yeah, I suppose. But that will be different. What about you, kid? Ready for the first day of seventh grade?”
“I’m a little scared,” his stepbrother admitted.
“How come? You’re at the same school as last year, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but every year in June the seventh graders have a dance that they have to invite a girl to, and I’m afraid nobody will want to go with me.”
“You’re worried about a party that’s almost a year away?”
“I’m not cool and popular like you, Jericho. You’re a big football star, and I’ve seen how the girls look at you at practice. You’re the bomb.” Todd picked up a pack of pencils from Jericho’s desk and tossed it from one hand to the other.
Jericho grabbed the boy and tousled his curly hair. “Kid, you are the coolest, flyest twelve-year-old in Batman pajamas that I’ve ever met. You’re going to have to install a special computer program just to sort through the girls who want to go with you to that dance!”
“You really think so?” Todd slipped out of Jericho’s grasp and sat on the bed.
“I know so. And I think you’ve got the wrong idea about my popularity. My girl dumped me last semester, and I been flying solo ever since.”
“What about Olivia? Most days when I came to watch you practice, I noticed you took her home.”
“Olivia is cool people, but she’s just a friend. And at your age, that’s all you need to worry about—having girls as friends. You’re way too young to even think about anything else.”
“There was a girl in my class who got pregnant last year,” Todd said, grimacing. “Yuck!”
“In the sixth grade? That’s messed up.” Jericho gave Todd a devilish smile. “You’re not the daddy, are you?”
Todd threw several pillows at Jericho. “Ooh, nasty!” the boy cried. Jericho pounced on his stepbrother, tickling him, while Todd screeched with glee. Rory heard all the commotion and joined in, the three boys wrestling and laughing and knocking things over until Geneva came in and put a stop to it.
CHAPTER 33
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27
JUST BEFORE HE FELL ASLEEP, JERICHO’S cell phone rang. He stumbled over to his desk, lifted it off the charger, and said groggily, “Hello.”
“Hi, Jericho.” Arielle’s voice, coming across the phone line like a soft echo, startled him fully awake. He almost fell off the bed.
“Uh, what’s up, Arielle?” he managed to say. He wasn’t sure if he was glad to hear from her or not.
“I was just thinking about school starting next week, deciding what to wear and stuff, and I got to thinking about you.”
“Me? Why?” His heart was beating fast. He wanted to hang up. But he didn’t.
“We had a good thing going for a while there, Jericho. Something special.”
He couldn’t believe how her voice was melting him like soft butter. He hated himself for being so weak. “Yeah, we did. But you were the one who ended it, Arielle, not me,” he said as harshly as he could.
“I know, but there was so much trauma drama going on. I couldn’t cope with the stress. Josh was dead, the Warriors looked like they were going to jail, and everybody associated with them seemed to be in trouble.” She sounded as if she was sniffling.
“If I remember, I was the one who was stressed. Josh was my cousin, my very best friend. I needed you and yo
u weren’t there!” he said angrily.
“I’m so sorry, Jericho. Can you forgive me?”
“You gotta be kidding!” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“I miss you, Jericho.” Her voice was like candy.
“You’re asking quite a bit, Arielle.” He could feel himself weakening.
“I’m a better person now,” she said. “I’m willing to start over if you are.”
“What about Logan?” Jericho asked bluntly. Just saying Logan’s name made him furious—not just because Arielle had gone out with him, but because of what he’d done to those kids.
“Logan’s in jail and won’t get out till he’s twenty-one—at the earliest,” she replied dismissively.
“But you wrapped yourself around him like he was the ‘king of all that,’” said Jericho accusingly.
“I admit that was my bad. I made a mistake,” she said sweetly. “Haven’t you ever made an error in judgment? Haven’t you ever hated yourself for something terrible you’d done and you wish you could erase it?”
How does she know how to stab me right where I’m weakest? he thought as he stared at the moonlight outside his window. “Yeah, maybe,” he admitted.
“You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Jericho.”
Her voice was pleading, almost plaintive, like one of his trumpet solos. He found himself sweating.
“Did you know Logan was dealin’ drugs to little kids?” Jericho demanded.
“No, I swear I didn’t,” she proclaimed. “If I had known I would have turned him in. Honest. You gotta believe me.”
“One of those kids could have died, you know.”
“Yeah, but nobody did. That’s all that matters.”
“You really believe that?”
“You know what I mean, Jericho.” Changing the subject, she asked, “How are your little stepbrothers?”
“They’re cool. They think big brother Jericho is a football star.”
“Well, you are,” Arielle said, her voice sounding silky and smooth. “All the girls on the cheerleading squad say you be lookin’ bomb diggety out there!”
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