“Where would I put it?” Lexi asked.
Both Tim and Wolf looked like they had some ideas that were best not voiced.
“Why don’t you surprise David?” Cassidy asked as she joined us in the tent.
She made us show her our tattoos, and she nodded her approval of our school spirit.
“If I get one, can you pay for it?” Cassidy asked me.
Some of the activities cost money, including this one. I wasn’t surprised Cassidy didn’t have any cash on her. More likely, she did, but knew I would buy it for her if she asked.
“Only if I get to see it,” I said with a cheeky grin.
“I got this,” Tim said and handed Cassidy money.
“What about me?” Lexi asked.
“Same deal,” Wolf said as he paid for hers.
I wasn’t sure if my guys were ready for those two or not, but I wisely stayed out of it. Instead, I left to explore what else was going on.
◊◊◊
I went to play cornhole with some of the other senior baseball players. When they saw my tattoo, they all decided to get one, too. I surprisingly sucked at cornhole. Something about the underhand toss of the beanbag didn’t work for me. I also sucked at bowling, so go figure.
“Throw it overhand,” Ty suggested.
It took me a couple of tosses before I figured out to bunch the beanbag into a tight ball. If I threw it without doing that, it would catch too much air, and I couldn’t predict where it would go. I won three straight games with my new technique, and after that, no one wanted to play me.
◊◊◊
I got Lexi alone for a moment because I had a question.
“How did you pay for all this? This had to cost way more than the ten bucks a head we charged.”
“Your mom helped. She called the Booster Club and told them what you all were doing today. They donated buses, tents, tables, and chairs. They also got people to pay for booths, like the tattoo folks did. I got the high school bands to play for free. That left the food and drink. That, we had to pay for,” she explained.
“Give me a list of who all I need to thank.”
“I already sent them thank-you cards, but if you want to say something in person, I’ll send you a list.”
That was something my dad had taught me. Little gestures like that made a big difference. Over the last four years, I’d built up enough goodwill to have a day like this come together. Down the road, people would remember if I thanked them or not.
I was about to inquire about where on her body she’d gotten her tattoo when the Wesleyan contingent showed up.
“Go say hi,” Lexi suggested.
◊◊◊
The first people who saw me were Sarah Spence and Megan Atkins. I hadn’t seen Megan since the Wesleyan Christmas dance our freshman year. They both gave me a scowl, to which I shot them a smile of amusement.
“Stop looking that way at me,” Sarah snapped at me irritably. “I’m having enough trouble concentrating on being mad at you as it is.”
The wind caught the girls’ long hair, causing it to tumble over their shoulders. Daddy likey!
“Hrumph.” Tami made a sound like clearing her throat to distract me.
“Oh, hey,” I said and turned back to check out Sarah and Megan again.
Tami smacked my forehead.
“Ow!” I complained. “I thought you only did that to Alan.”
“No, I do it to all ‘stupid boys’ who’re acting up.”
“I didn’t do anything …” I added ‘yet’ under my breath, which she caught and smacked me again.
Damion, Wesleyan’s All-State wide receiver, walked up with an amused expression.
“You trying to poach our women?”
“I have a few I’d be willing to trade you.”
Whack
“Ow!”
“I thought she only hit that Alan kid,” Damion said.
“I thought that, too. She’s decided it’s fair game to hit boys,” I explained.
“‘Stupid boys,’” Tami amended.
“I heard there’s a beer tent,” Damion suggested.
“Right this way,” I said as I took the Wesleyan group to where they could get their alcohol.
I looked around, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The high school band members were switching off playing. The group on stage now was playing top-40 songs from a decade ago.
I also checked to see if any baseball players were in the tent. Happily, none of them were.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Destiny sauntering up with two beers.
“I wondered when we would get you in here,” she said as she handed me a beer.
“I just brought the group from Wesleyan in. Would you introduce them around?” I asked.
Damion gave me a questioning look, and I responded with a little nod. I handed him my beer and made my exit.
“You’re that star football player …” I heard Destiny begin.
That was a car wreck just waiting to happen. Tami grabbed my arm and steered me out of the tent before I got waylaid again.
I took her around and showed her all the different booths that were set up. There didn’t seem to be any that interested her. I offered to get her a tattoo, but Tami decided to be a wimp and declined.
I stopped short when I saw Lexi directing men to distribute large trash cans with lids around the property. What confused me was they seemed to be struggling with them. I would expect them to be taking away full ones, not bringing them in.
“Something’s going on,” I told Tami.
She looked at me with a mysterious expression.
“I think you’re going to like this,” she said, but wouldn’t tell me any more.
Tami and I walked over to Lexi.
“What’cha doing?” I asked.
“Wait until it’s all set up, and then I’ll tell you,” she promised.
I whined, and both Tami and Lexi rolled their eyes at me.
“David hates surprises,” Tami shared.
“I’ve never noticed that. Every time I’ve surprised him, he’s liked it,” she said and then looked thoughtful. “Then again, he does want to ‘talk’ about everything. Sometimes I wonder if he’s a girl.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Tami agreed and changed topics. “What kind of surprises have you given him that he didn’t complain about?”
“I’m going to have a little peek,” I suggested.
“No!” they both said simultaneously.
One of the guys came up to Lexi.
“We’re all set,” he said as he handed her a clipboard to sign.
“Now, can I look?” I asked.
“Let’s move to the side of the yard where it’ll be safer,” Lexi suggested.
“Are there bombs in there?” I asked as I let them drag me to the farthest garbage can.
“Go ahead. Open it,” Lexi said.
I wasn’t sure what might be in them, but the suspense was killing me. I cautiously reached over and popped the lid off while leaning back in case something was going to shoot out. When nothing happened, I leaned back in to find the trash can full of water balloons.
“Care to get our next activity started?” Lexi asked.
I may have been a bit excited. Okay, my little hop of joy was a dead giveaway. I grabbed two of them and perused the crowd for my first victim. I spotted Wolf eating a pretzel and chatting up Gina. The obvious choice was my buddy, but I figured his girlfriend would get him in the mood to participate fully in our upcoming battle.
“Get your phone out,” I told Lexi.
Both she and Tami did as I asked. When they were ready, I launched one of those high, arcing, teardrop passes. I wanted to get off several before they figured out what was going on. As soon as I released the one at Gina, I threw one at Wolf for good measure.
As soon as they were in the air, I turned and acted like I was talking to the girls.
Splush. Splush.
The first one was perfect. It exploded on impact on the side of Gina’s head, soaking her. The next one was even better: it nailed Wolf in the nuts. I hadn’t actually planned that, but it was a happy coincidence.
My buddy doubled over, dropped his pretzel in the dirt, and groaned in pain. Gina let out a blood-curdling scream that had everyone staring at her. There’s a saying about someone being ‘as mad as a wet hen.’ Until now, I never knew what that meant.