by Tim Mettey
**
Coach Miller’s story inspired me. It was my responsibility to honor my parents’ sacrifices by finding the 4th, hopefully saving a lot of lives in the process. Coach Miller and I became a lot closer after that. Not only was I part of the coaching staff, but now I was helping plan the defensive strategies. I didn’t know all of the X’s and O’s, but I knew what worked. Coach Miller and I came up with some crippling defensive strategies, which carried us on to win another state championship. There was talk that some of the top colleges in the nation were looking at Coach Miller to take over their programs. He dismissed those as rumors, but we all knew it was true.
In the championship parade, I sat right next to him and Riley. The problem with the parade was that it was covered by all the national sports and news programs because our team was said to be the greatest high school team in the last thirty years. I wore one of the Winsor football sweatshirts and kept the hood up so I could hide my face, and so did Riley. Bryce was featured on every one of the TV sports programs. The clip of him running over that player from Sycamore was being played again and again. If Xavier didn’t know who we were focusing on before, he did now. But on the brighter side, I felt like I really belonged with the team and was really part of this championship, not like last year with my fake injury.
Now that football was over, we were able to dedicate 100-percent of our time to searching. We had to hurry because of all the hype around Bryce. He continued to be our leading candidate. But Elle and a newcomer, Eric’s older brother, were now part of the group we were considering for the 4th. Riley said it was important not to limit our options. Eric’s older brother Seth was added to the list because he was a Navy Seal. He had been awarded a lot of medals for bravery in the line of duty. I met him after one of the football games. He wasn’t what I expected for a Navy hero. He was only about 5’10” and skinny. He had to have some talents to aid him. He didn’t exactly fit the profile of the 4th because he had received all of the medals over an eight year period, not over the past year when the 4th would have gone through his or her Realization. However, Riley thought he could have been brave from the beginning and now he might have gained his full talents.
Riley had met him several times and really felt a bond with him. Actually, the only reason Riley liked him was because of what he could do as part of our group. A Navy Seal would be an asset to the team. He would be perfect to lead us in crushing Xavier and the Seekers once and for all. Genevieve and I were on the fence about him, but Cora agreed with Riley, again, which was getting pretty annoying, because she agreed with everything he said. It was like she didn’t have a mind of her own anymore. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that she had grown to care for him. Elle was still in the running too because of my intense connection with her and the way she moved when the bus almost hit us on the field trip. We were down to our final three candidates. We were close now, and we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
For my birthday, November 23, I didn’t want to do much, but Elle insisted on cooking me dinner and taking me to the Esquire Theater, which was showing classic movies. We ended up seeing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The whole time we were watching the show, I kept thinking that Ferris reminded me a lot of Eric—it was so funny. At the end of the night, she gave me a playlist of her favorite songs. I hated my birthday and getting gifts, but this was a nice surprise. Now I could listen to this mix whenever I wasn’t with Elle.
The first week in December, Cora insisted that we should have a large Christmas party at Riley and Genevieve’s house so we could get a better look at the three candidates. Riley and Cora must have already discussed it because Riley just nodded his head, agreeing with her every word. As time went on, our group was being divided. Genevieve and I were on our own and Riley and Cora were together. For the first time, I didn’t feel like Cora was thinking of my well-being. I should have been okay with that, because that’s what I had wanted for her for a long time, to be able to live her own life. But the other half of me missed it just being Cora and me. Those days were unfortunately over.
The night of the Christmas party brought thick, dark clouds and some light powdery snow. The four of us worked for three days straight to get their house looking as festive as possible. We made several trips back and forth to the store because none of us had decorations to put up. I was in charge of the lights on the outside of the house. My inspiration was what the school looked like last year for Homecoming. So I wrapped every one of the trees and bushes in the yard with white lights. I lined the outline of the roof with white icicles. And to light the guests’ way up to the house, I used large white bulbs along the path. We invited so many people that we had to get a valet service to park the cars. I put out a small stand and wrapped it in white lights for the valets to use. Luckily, there was a field on the other side of their house where they could park the cars. The party was by invitation only. I think we had invited 200 guests and it looked like all 200 were coming. I invited all of my friends from school and Cora invited some of the families she had gotten to know during football and the dances. Riley and Genevieve invited the teachers, staff and others involved with the school. A buzz was created around the party weeks before the event. People were already talking about how it was the party to attend this Christmas. Part of the reason everyone wanted to come was because Chase would be there. His celebrity status made the party that much more desirable to attend.
I stood outside admiring the lights on the house, making sure I hadn’t missed any spots. Genevieve walked out the front door. She was wrapped in a large red shawl and stood next to me looking at the lights. She looked stunning. She was wearing a form-fitting, snow white dress. Usually, her dresses were more on the revealing side, but this dress was elegant. The white lights and snow seemed to complement her like they were her accessories for the party.
“You did a great job, Nicholas.” She leaned over and put her head briefly on my shoulder.
“Thanks. You look beautiful tonight.”
She smiled.
“So are we ready inside yet?” I asked.
“Of course. Cora is determined to make everything perfect. I left poor Riley in there alone with her. I’m sure that he didn’t know what he was agreeing to when she wanted to do this party.”
“How did you get out?” I asked.
“When she went to check on the food, I made my break. But I have to admit she does this well. It’s going to be a very nice evening.” She paused. “So what’s the plan tonight?” she asked.
“I will work on Eric’s brother. You and Cora need to work on Elle, and Riley will handle Bryce. We need to try to get as much information as we can from them. And you will definitely need Cora’s help with Elle.”
Genevieve put her hand on my shoulder. I looked at her.
“What do you mean by I’ll ‘need help with Elle’?” she asked.
She had to know that Elle didn’t care for her, even though she had been on her best behavior as of late. Genevieve looked at me like she had no idea what I meant.
“Elle’s hard to connect with sometimes. I was just saying that Cora already has a great relationship with her and you will need to use that.”
“Nicholas, don’t lie to me. You’re pretty bad at it.”
That was funny, because my whole life has been one big lie. “She’s jealous of you. I don’t know why, but I think that’s what it is.” I thought I saw a fleeting smile.
“That’s silly,” she said and turned away.
Who knows if she was sincere? But I did agree with her, it was silly.
“I know. She has nothing to be jealous of,” I said as she walked back toward the house. I couldn’t figure her out at all.
Elle arrived thirty minutes earlier than anyone else. She was wearing a beautiful red lace dress with cute jingle bell earrings and necklace. Her sparkling eyes left me momentarily helpless. She grabbed my arm and kissed me on the cheek, bringing me back to this world. The warmth of her lips sp
read throughout my body. I was glad she was the first to show up, since I knew that most of the night she would be with Cora and Genevieve, not me. I was right because as soon as Cora saw her, she asked if Elle would help get things ready. She looked at me for permission to go.
I smiled and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry, we have all night.”
She walked into the kitchen area.
The party guests began to show up. Bryce and Erin came together at the beginning of the party, which I was happy to see. I turned out to be a pretty good matchmaker. Riley moved in on them immediately. Riley’s plan was to take Bryce around, bragging about him to the different people at the party. It would be easy because Bryce and Chad were co-MVPs of the state championship game. Erin would just have to follow him around.
I was getting nervous that Eric and Seth wouldn’t show. The only thing that eased my mind was knowing that Eric would never miss the biggest party of the year. He lived for these things. Eric and Seth finally arrived. They looked like the complete opposite of each other. Eric was wearing jeans with a navy blue shirt and a crazy red Christmas tie that blinked and sang. Seth was dressed in a sport coat and slacks.
“What’s up?” Eric asked.
“Not a whole lot.” I extended my hand to Seth, but Eric grabbed it and shook it.
Seth grabbed Eric’s arm and he let go wincing in pain.
“None of that Seal death grip crap. I’m not the enemy,” Eric whined.
Seth extended his arm and shook my hand. “It’s nice to see you again, Nicholas.”
“So Eric, where’s Livi? I thought she was coming,” I said.
“Nah, I came here as a bachelor. So lookout girls, Eric Iery is on the prowl,” he said loudly at the front door. Everyone around us gave him strange looks.
I didn’t believe him.
“So, Livi couldn’t come?” I asked.
Seth, standing behind him nodded empathically, mouthing the words, “She’s sick.”
“So is Chad here?” Eric asked.
“I think Chad and Amber are over by the food.”
Eric rubbed both hands together and walked away toward the food. I didn’t think I was going to be alone with Seth so quickly. I was caught off-guard.
“So, Seth, Eric tells me you’re a Seal.”
“Yes, I’ve been a Navy Seal for the last eight years. I’m out of active duty now, and I only serve as an advisor to them.”
“What do you advise them on?”
“Sorry, Nicholas, I can’t tell you.” He smiled, but I could tell that he was serious.
“Seth, I’ve heard that people in the military often can’t sleep or have bad dreams. Is that true?” Wow, that sounded weird. I was absolutely horrible at this interrogating thing. Way to go. He looked at me like I had horns growing out of my forehead. I had to think quickly. “Because, I’m doing a report on that sort of thing for school and I thought I could get a couple of quotes for my paper.” He still looked at me skeptically. “If you don’t mind?” I added.
He looked at me like he was offended. He leaned in close to me. What was he going to say? I braced myself.
He laughed. “Sure. No problem, Nicholas. I was just messing around. Eric told me you were easy to tease.”
What a relief. I asked him a series of questions, some that pertained to being a Thusian and others that were just questions I made up. He definitely was a true hero. But I didn’t think he was the one we were looking for. He never had a bad dream that he could remember. Also, when he talked about his heroic acts, he said that his incredible training, team and plan got him through every situation, no matter how difficult.
Seth saw a couple of teachers he had not seen for a while. “Nicholas, it’s been great talking to you. See you around.” He turned around and walked over to them.
I went looking for Elle. I hadn’t seen her in a long time. Standing in the kitchen side-by-side were Elle and Genevieve. They were smiling and laughing. It looked like they had been friends for years. It was good to see them both smiling together. For the first time this year, I felt close to Genevieve. Maybe this was a good thing, especially if Elle turned out to be the 4th. Then all of us would get along perfectly. Seeing Genevieve stirred some emotion in me that was foreign. I ignored it and walked up to them.
“Can I help you ladies?”
“No, I think Genevieve and I have it covered. Why don’t you go have fun?” Elle sounded like Cora telling me to go out and play with my friends while she fixed dinner. Genevieve didn’t look up at me, but she smiled.
Elle was serious. They continued making food while I stood there. I looked around the room and saw Bryce. Riley’s arm was around him, ushering him over to another group of people. From the expression on Bryce’s face, he wanted to escape. Erin was not with him anymore. She had found Eric, Chad and Amber over by the large Christmas tree near the table with food.
I walked over to Riley and Bryce.
“Hey, Bryce,” I said. The look on his face was a cry for help.
As soon as Riley saw me, he winked. “Nicholas, you’re just in time. You remember Mr. and Mrs. Theasing.”
I hadn’t noticed who he was standing with. What was he thinking? This was not good.
“Nicholas, this is such a surprise,” Ester said.
What did she mean by surprise? This was partially our party, too. Or was it a cryptic way of saying that she was surprised we were trying to find the 4th. The best plan now would be to avoid her altogether.
“Can I steal Bryce? I need his help.”
Bryce didn’t wait for me. He hurried away from them. I followed him all the way to the other side of the room. He didn’t stop for anything. When he reached the wall, he turned around.
“Nicholas, thank you. The last hour has been torture. I wanted to enjoy a nice Christmas party with Erin, but Coach Moore trapped me.” He was breathing heavily.
“Bryce, I know how you feel. I prefer to stay in the background.”
“Yeah, that’s where I want to be.” He smiled.
“Let’s go find Erin,” I suggested. He grinned at the sound of her name.
Everyone was having a great time. The party brought back memories of my dad’s Christmas parties at the firehouse. My mom would dress up in some really nice Christmas dress and Dad would dress up and wear a Santa hat. My dad always did those types of fun things. The firehouse would be packed with all the families of the firemen. The kids saw Santa and got gifts. Every year I looked forward to going down the firehouse pole. It was so much fun. But it seemed like they would always get a call to respond to a fire in the middle of the party. Luckily, the last Christmas we were together, they didn’t. We were able to enjoy the entire party. After that we went to see a couple of houses that had the most incredible Christmas displays. One even had a real Nativity with people and animals. My mom held on to my dad to stay warm and she pulled me in close. They would have loved this party.
“Excuse me. Can I have everyone’s attention? Please, can I have your attention?” I couldn’t place whose voice it was over the sounds of the party. I pushed through the crowd to see who it was. There was a lot of excitement near the large Christmas tree in front of the big front window. It was Chase. He was surrounded by a dozen women and girls who were watching his every move. I was surprised I hadn’t seen him enter the party, because he was always so grandiose.
“Thank you, everyone. I would like to thank Riley and Genna Moore for throwing such an incredible Christmas party along with Nicholas and Cora Keller.”
He clapped and everyone followed along.
“It’s great to be able to mingle with such ordinary, everyday people like yourselves. I am truly blessed.”
He’s such an idiot, but they still clapped and cheered anyway.
“Please raise your glasses and toast our hosts and hostesses. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,” he said loudly in a deep voice.
Everyone began wishing “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays” to anyone who was near th
em. It was like a scene out of A Christmas Carol; we were just missing Tiny Tim.
Chase lowered his glass, but he didn’t look like he was done speaking. Like Eric, he loved to be in the spotlight.
“Can I please have everyone’s attention one more time? His eyes scanned the room. “Cora Keller, could you please come up here?” The crowd searched for her, following his eyes.
“She’s right here,” someone yelled from the corner of the room.
“Folks, can you please give her a round of applause to get her up here?” The party started clapping. Everyone parted out of her way as she walked up to Chase. He grabbed her and pulled her close. Her face matched the red of his Christmas blazer.
“Cora and I have known each other for a very long time. She and Nicholas are as close to a family as I have ever had.”
Yeah right. I bet his mirror is all the family he needs, I thought.
“Cora is such an incredible woman,” Chase said with his large arm still around her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. That couldn’t be an engagement ring. Cora glanced up, petrified. Riley, who was next to them, looked angry, but before Chase spoke again, Riley disappeared into the crowd.
Chase, still holding on to Cora, got down on one knee. The crowd gasped. I couldn’t believe this. Could she have really become that close to him over the summer?
“Cora Keller, would you do me the honor of marrying me?” He opened the box. The diamond was enormous. The light reflecting off it made the room look like it had a disco ball in it. The women around him began to cry. I don’t know how I missed seeing Joy Lemmins, but she was right up front, close to Chase. She was not even invited and yet there she stood, looking like a bright silver Christmas ornament. Every part of her that could sparkle did. Her reaction was not like the others’. She looked like a desperate woman. Her head was swinging back and forth, looking from side to side, like she didn’t know what to do. Then she smiled, closed her eyes and fell straight forward, landing just inches away from the kneeling Chase. She hit with a loud thud. Her beaded hat exploded, sending small silver beads over the entire floor. Chase immediately turned to see if she was okay. That was Cora’s chance. She slipped out of his grip and disappeared through the crowd.
“Nicholas, come here.” Chase spotted me. “Go find Cora. I need to attend to Ms. Lemmins, then I will come for her.”
Joy had figured out that he would always take care of someone that needed medical attention, no matter what. He had to because of the Thusian in him. It was his sacrifice, and now for the first time, it looked like it was a curse for him too. Even if he didn’t want to, he had to help. Luckily for Cora, Joy was demented enough to put herself through countless injuries in order to spend time with Chase.