I think they were simply used to me taking the heat when we did bonehead things. I’d learned my lesson. If it were my fault, I would say so, but I’d be damned if I would take the blame for them getting gonorrhea.
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I only had five more weeks of school left. I found myself taking tests before everyone else had to, starting today. It was all part of the accelerated plan Ms. Jaroslav, my guidance counselor, had devised. I would take my finals the Friday after Thanksgiving, three weeks before my fellow classmates. That is, except for Halle, who joined me today. We were ensconced in an office where Ms. Jaroslav would watch us while we took our tests.
Halle had also helped me with the script for the movie. We found a little time each day to work at it, and then most Thursday nights I would go to her house for dinner. It gave her mom a chance to check our progress. She seemed impressed I’d learned my lines so well.
I’d missed last night’s dinner at the James house because it was my nephew’s second birthday. I talked Rita, Trip, and Halle into joining us at our house. The kids had gone into sugar overload. It was so bad that Duke showed me he wanted to go into our apartment and be in his crate.
The plan for the movie was for Rita and Trip to travel back to LA two weeks ahead of Halle and me. The rest of the cast would do their script walk-throughs and prepare for when we arrived. Halle was one of the stars and needed to be on set and ready come the Monday after Thanksgiving. I would have a couple of days to settle in before I had to be on set.
This would be a new experience for me because most of the shots would be done on sound stages at the studio. For my last movie, the majority of the shots were done on location, and only the ones that needed a lot of CGI (Computer Generated Imaging) added were shot in-house. Rita told me that word had gotten out that I would have free time, and Kendal should start to receive some calls about my availability. Personally, if I had to be there for work, I’d rather be busy.
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Tonight, we played Riverside at their place. Last year had been easy. We had won 45–10 without breaking a sweat. I admit I hadn’t really taken this week seriously, football-wise. I’d spent more time on the academic side of my life. It felt like a reward for taking care of business.
I always loved the drive into Riverside. Of course, the town had been built along a lazy river, and the main road into town took you over an old metal suspension bridge. It was one of the first of its kind in our area and a landmark. The other landmark was the courthouse on the edge of the town square. It had a large brass dome which had turned green over the years. The downtown was full of small businesses. They had been smart and become known for antiques. We had spent a weekend or two wandering through the stores. I especially liked the ‘Fudge Shoppe.’ What kid wouldn’t enjoy a place where you could sample different types of fudge? Dad always felt guilty and bought a box of assorted fudge after Greg and I would decimate their sample platters. I think that was their plan all along.
We arrived about an hour before game time, and the stands were already filling up. I noticed it was mostly the orange and blue of our Bulldogs. I did my usual and wandered off before the game. I needed to do something to take my mind off what was to come. Of course, if I talked about football or played touch football, that didn’t count because it wasn’t me obsessing about Riverside.
I walked onto the field and found the cheerleaders sitting in the stands talking to each other. I spotted Pam and decided to talk to her to find out what was going on. I hadn’t spent any time with her for a couple of weeks. I didn’t expect the two of us to hook up; it was more that I missed our friendship. She was one of the few people that knew how to pull my chain in a humorous way. Pam cracked me up when she would start in on me about liking her, so I had to do such and such.
I think it startled her when I sat next to her and hugged her. She blushed when she saw it was me.
“That your girlfriend?” I heard and turned to see Jeff, my favorite reporter.
“Actually, they all are,” I announced, pointing to all the cheerleaders.
“Can we get a picture of you with all your women?” Jeff asked with tongue firmly in cheek.
The girls all sat around me while the newspaper’s photographer took a photo. I smiled when Pam sat next to me. I was disappointed when Jeff and some other reporters wanted to talk to me before the game, so I never did get a chance to speak with Pam.
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Playing Riverside felt like we were practicing against our JV team. I was sure after our second series that Coach Hope wasn’t going to let me play the second half, so I decided to have a little fun. We had just gotten the football back for our third possession, already up 14–0. We got into our huddle.
“Who wants to hog the ball this series?” I asked.
Jake raised his hand first. It was close between him and Johan. I hadn’t counted on our center wanting the ball. Coach Diamond had decided to run our triple option package in the hopes of eating up more clock. None of us really wanted to embarrass Riverside.
In the triple option, I decided who ended up with the ball. On this drive, Jake would get it every time. On the first play, he about broke it but was tackled after he picked up eleven yards. On the next, he ran for eight. It took five plays for Riverside to figure out Jake would get the ball every time. On the seventh play, Coach Diamond figured it out and pulled Jake from the game. When we ran the option for the eighth play, and I pitched it out of bounds to Jake, I found myself on the bench.
Jake went back into the game. The offense must have told Trent that Jake got the ball because he received it on a jet sweep and scored to make it 21–0.
On the next series, Coach Diamond made wholesale substitutions. My half brother Phil was even able to play some varsity football. If he would ever get into shape, he’d be a pretty good ballplayer. Phil thought that because he was related to me, he had natural talent. I’d tried to explain to him that if he ever wanted to be good, he would have to put the work in. The game ended in a 35–3 final that could have been 100–0 if we had wanted it to be.
The good news was that nobody got hurt on either team. When I found my seat on the bus, I thought about tomorrow. It was the first day of turkey season. Somehow Zoe had invited herself to go with Brook, Halle, and me. I suspected that the three girls didn’t want to hunt, but wanted to be there for the photo shoot and the making of the video when Brook and I tried out Devin’s new toy.
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Everyone met at our house when we got back. We planned to spend the night at the farms since we needed to be up before sunup to be in the turkey blinds. Dad said Devin had contacted Uncle John and would join us to go hunting. I was glad to hear Dad mention that Cora, Pam’s sister and Devin’s fiancée, was in LA with her mother, looking at wedding dresses. I had half expected to see her this weekend.
I was surprised when the girls showed up with their own shotguns. Halle, Brook, and Zoe rode with me while Mom, Dad, Greg, and Duke took the other car. Angie had zero interest in anything to do with hunting, except she told Greg she wanted a turkey for Thanksgiving. I smiled when he was given his orders. I don’t think she realized that wild turkey wasn’t the same as the ones you buy in the store. Wild birds flew, so their breasts were leaner, which made a smaller bird.
It was late when we left our house, and I soon found I had three girls sound asleep in my car. Zoe sat in the passenger seat, so I nudged her. I needed someone to talk to, or I’d join them. I already knew that I would need a nap after we went hunting or I wouldn’t be worth anything later in the day.