“Hey, Coach, come in,” I said and took his coat.
While I hung it up, Dad greeted him, and he took a seat to watch the game.
“This isn’t a social call,” he said, getting down to business. “I’ve come to ask for a favor.”
Coach Diamond had been my offensive coordinator last fall before he took the head coaching job at Washington. He’d also coached baseball, and I’d heard he was now their head baseball coach, too. As it happens, our first baseball game was against them this Saturday at Washington.
“You need me to give you some coaching tips,” I teased.
Between Bo Harrington, Coach Mason, and me, Coach Diamond had learned a lot. Of course, he’d also taught me a lot.
“The reason I’m here is I need your help with a fundraiser. Our booster club wants to raise funds to make improvements to our facilities. In particular, we want to raise enough to get a decent weight room, similar to what you have at Lincoln High. We plan to stage a fundraiser before our game on Saturday. I wanted to see if you’d come over early and sign some pictures or whatever you Hollywood-types do.”
“What all are you planning?” Dad asked as Mom joined us.
“We thought we’d have a petting zoo, maybe some pony rides. The high school band would play, and we’d set up a food tent. All that, and David would be there to sign autographs … Oh, and then there’s the baseball game.”
“How many people do you think will show up?” Mom asked.
“We’re hoping for maybe a thousand,” Coach Diamond said.
Dad snorted and then looked mortified that he’d made his feelings known. Coach Diamond gave him a crooked smile.
“I know. Those were my thoughts exactly. When I heard ‘pony rides’ and ‘high school band,’ I figured we might get a couple hundred if we were lucky. You helped raise all the funds for your field house. I hoped I could pick your brains, and maybe you could point us in the right direction.”
“The Sullivans have a car dealership in Washington. I would call them and ask them to help you get organized,” Dad suggested.
“You need to do something like a hog roast and a beer tent,” Mom said. When I raised my eyebrows at a beer tent, she added, “There needs to be something for the adults.”
“I have the number for the guy who did the hog roast for our Alternate Prom last year. He cooked three hogs for three hundred people if I remember right,” I said.
“You had a band help the governor with his campus get-out-the-vote events. Do you think they might help with this?” Dad asked.
“I don’t know. Let me go make a call,” I said.
I stepped into the office and called Angel Hargrove, the manager for Jett and her band Birthrite. I explained what we planned. Unfortunately, or fortunately for Birthrite, they had been booked to play some bars in Chicago.
“There’s someone I think I could convince, though,” Angel said.
“Anything would be welcome,” I admitted.
Nothing against Washington’s high school band, but I couldn’t see them being a big draw. They would attract friends and family, but I was thinking bigger.
“There is someone who you did music videos for … for free … and owes you many favors.”
“Eve,” I said unenthusiastically.
“Still mad about the breakup song?” she asked.
“It was kind of a bush-league move on her part,” I admitted.
“She knows,” Angel said and then sighed. “Tell you what. I’ll deliver Eve Holliday to do your fundraiser, but they have to pay travel costs and for hotel rooms Saturday night.”
We agreed, and my next call was to Frank.
“Have you seen the video Lucasfilm sent us?” Frank blurted out when he answered.
“No. Why, do I look stupid in it?” I asked.
“It’s awesome. I’m meeting with my staff right now to figure out how best to use it. In my business, this is what we dream of.”
Someone was excited.
“Send me the link when you get a chance. Hey, I called you because I wanted your help with another project. One of my old coaches is raising money for his booster club, and I offered to help. I hoped you might have some ideas on how to get people to show up,” I said.
I gave him the rundown of what they planned and how I’d gotten Eve ‘Country Girl’ Holliday, my ex-girlfriend and former classmate, to sing at the fundraiser.
Frank said he’d put together a plan and work with Caryn to make it happen. I also gave him Coach Diamond’s phone number in case he needed to talk to the organizers directly.
When I got off the phone, I turned on the office computer and watched the video. When it was done, I ran to the door.
“Dad, you have to see this!” I called excitedly.
“What is it?” Dad called back.
For some reason, my parents never responded to me when I got excited and called for them. I might’ve ‘cried wolf’ one too many times.
“Our video.”
That was all it took to get my dad off his butt. When everyone was in the office, I just pointed to the screen and hit play.
It started with a female newscaster in the studio. There was a flashing banner with ‘Breaking News.’ Under that was a graphic that said ‘Millennium Falcon Stolen’ and ‘CTV News London.’
“We have breaking news that there have been explosions at Elstree Studios, where the new Star Wars movie Rogue One is being filmed. It has been reported that the iconic starcraft, the Millennium Falcon, has been stolen. We go to Crispin Maconochie who is on the scene in Hertfordshire.”
The screen split, and you could see flames shooting out of the side of the studio. There appeared to be a large gaping hole that looked big enough to get the starship through. The fire department was busy trying to put out the flames.
“What have you been told, Crispin?” the studio anchor asked.
“We’ve had a report that two men stole the Millennium Falcon earlier today. We have footage from a security cam that shows the theft,” Crispin said. Then the newscast switched to a grainy video from a security camera.
It showed the studio side wall explode out into the parking lot. Moments later, the Millennium Falcon roared out of the smoke and flames as it rocketed out of the view of the stationary camera. If I hadn’t known it was fake, I would have believed it. When the last Star Wars movie was about to release, Lucasfilm had shown a similar ‘leaked’ video. It showed starships parked on a runway, droids running around, and an Imperial starfighter flying. It had been a YouTube sensation overnight.
The scene switched to a picture of my dad and me in what looked like mug shots with our names under them. We were dressed up in our costumes, so they must have pulled the photos from the video we shot.
“Be on the lookout for a father-and-son team. David A. Dawson and his father Robert Dawson were on the set. It seems David A. Dawson was at the studio to audition for the role as the young Han Solo in an upcoming movie. He recently starred in Star Academy and has a movie called The Secret Circle coming out this summer.
“My sources tell me that after the audition, the duo slipped into the hangar and stole the Millennium Falcon,” Crispin said.
The picture changed to one of the Millennium Falcon. Then the scene switched back to Crispin Maconochie, and he put his finger to his ear as if someone was talking to him through an earpiece.
“Hang on. I’m being told we have a video that David A. Dawson just leaked to the Internet, showing his brazen theft,” Crispin said.
The scene changed to what we’d shot. Mom and Coach Diamond both laughed when I ran onto the bridge. When our part ended, Crispin Maconochie was shown again.
“Police have issued a galaxy-wide request for any information on the whereabouts of the thieves, and a reward has been offered for the safe return of the Millennium Falcon.”
The screen split so the anchor could be seen, too.
“Crispin, any idea where they might have gone?”