“Hey, everybody, I’m Tracy Dole, and I’m with my good friend David A. Dawson. We’re looking for the area’s best desserts in Dessert First.”
“Cut! That looks good,” Curtis said.
We then shot the ending.
“That’s it for this edition of Dessert First. If you want to check out the recipes, go to my blog at Tracys Dessert First dot com. We’ll see you next time on Dessert First.”
Everyone thought we had what we needed, but there was something else I wanted to do.
“We have interior shots, but nothing outside. From what I’ve seen on other food shows like this, they want to help advertise the restaurant. We could say something like, ‘this time, we’re at Granny’s West, where we’ll learn the secret of her famous cinnamon rolls,’” I suggested.
“Why don’t we have David do that part?” Tracy suggested.
They videoed me as I introduced each restaurant and what dish we would be showing. My classmates would come back tomorrow, when there was enough daylight, and film the front of the restaurants. We would use the sound from my intro and overlay on the video.
“Last, you need some theme music,” Marshal said.
“Where do I get that?” Tracy asked.
“Stop by after school, and I can show you the royalty-free music we have access to,” Marshal offered.
When we finished, I was happy. This had been fun.
◊◊◊
Chapter 15 – Reckless Abandon Friday September 30
My rift with Ava had been smoothed over. She’d told me I was welcome anytime. When Paul and I pulled up early to Brook’s to get her for school, I got out and just walked in the back door. I couldn’t find anyone, so I headed upstairs to Brook’s room. The door was shut, so I slowly opened it and peeked in. Brook was nowhere in sight, but I heard her in the walk-in closet, rooting around. I slipped in and quietly shut the door.
I quickly stripped, crawled onto her bed, and assumed a sexy pose.
“Okay, I’ll donate these … David!” Ava screeched.
She had an armful of Brook’s clothes. Brook stuck her head out of her closet to see what her mom was complaining about. I quickly grabbed a pillow to cover myself.
Brook just rolled her eyes, but Ava had turned an unusual shade of red. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she stormed out of the room.
“I thought she would never leave. Hurry up and get undressed. We don’t have much time,” I instructed.
“I think I better go stop her before she either calls the cops or your mom,” Brook said.
The last one grabbed my full attention. Brook followed her mom, and I heard raised voices. Even Mr. Happy knew this was a lost cause. I got dressed and joined them in the kitchen.
“David Allen Dawson,” Ava huffed.
How was it moms could get your undivided attention by saying your full name? I dropped my head in mock shame and gave her my newest move—the miserable-wet-puppy look. I tilted my head slightly to the right, made my bottom lip quiver, and batted my eyes. Apparently, the eye-bat was too much because both Brook and Ava laughed at me.
“I’m not buying that for a second. What made you think you could just walk into my home and get naked in my daughter’s bed?” Ava asked.
“Oh, did I do something wrong? You said I was welcome anytime, and Brook always tells me I’m wearing too many clothes,” I said, going with the confused ten-year-old routine.
Brook tackled me and pushed me towards the back door. I winked at Ava as I was physically dragged out of the house.
“We will talk about this later,” Ava called as the back door was closing.
“Are you trying to piss off my mom?” Brook began as we settled into the back seat.
I tuned her out as she explained why I was a terrible boyfriend.
◊◊◊
When we pulled up to school, Brook had finally wound down.
“We still have time. I can have Paul drive around while we get busy,” I suggested.
“Paul does not want to witness that,” Paul said, using the third person to describe himself.
For some reason, that made me want to do it more. I guess I should be thankful that my girlfriend was embarrassed for the both of us.
“What is your deal this morning?” Brook asked.
“Me so horny. You so sexy.”
Brook got out of the car, leaving me to deal with Mr. Happy, who was ready to go.
“I guess you’re on your own. Welcome to the rest of the world,” Paul said.
It wasn’t the first time I wondered why I had a driver. I grabbed my book bag to strategically hide my arousal.
I found Brook with Cassidy, who had her phone out.
“They sent me pictures of the cubs,” Cassidy told me.
The tigers were getting big and looked like they liked their new digs. No way would I want to hold them now. I was sure that Precious didn’t have anything on these cubs, and she half-scared me.
“I also received an invitation from a sanctuary called Lions Tigers & Bears in Alpine, California. They were the ones that transported the cubs to their new home. They would like for us to visit them when we go to California,” Cassidy said.
This was the first I’d heard that Cassidy was going to LA with me. She forwarded me the email from the rescue organization. It was one of the top ten accredited exotic animal sanctuaries in the western hemisphere. It was also one of the few that had the capability to do long-distance rescues of fully grown big cats and bears. I also noted that they worked with the Wounded Warrior Project. Veterans volunteered their time to work with the animals. Those were two causes I was completely behind.
I forwarded the email to my mom and Caryn. Mom would want to see the pictures for sure. I asked Caryn to check out Lions Tigers & Bears as a possible charity. If all was good, I would make plans to visit. I would donate money as a thank you for getting the cubs safely to Busch Gardens and help them get some positive press. I made a point that if I did visit, I would want one of the veterans to show me around. That way, both groups would get publicity.
◊◊◊
A caravan of buses left Lincoln High for our contest with Eastside. Our marching band was going, and they planned a big halftime show with Eastside’s band. The Booster Club had also funded two buses for students who wanted to attend. Eastside expected a monster crowd for the rivalry game.
I was listening to my music when I noticed Wolf lean across the aisle and start to tease Johan. I quietly pulled one earbud away so I could hear them. This should be fun!
“Are you listening to both that country and western music?”
“Do I need to pray for you again?” Johan shot back.
Johan had decided that the Devil had taken up residence in Wolf. That was mainly because Wolf was so fascinated with his country-music-loving Mennonite friend. Wolf ignored Johan’s barb and plowed forward.
“Let me listen.”
Johan handed him his headphones, and Wolf began to sing off-key with a drawl.
“Kickin’ back and drinkin’ whiskey … Drivin’ my pick-’em-up truck is risky. Hey, we might get a bit crazy tonight … Hey, girl, that’s alright … It’s our farm boy Mennonite roots … It’s just what we do.”
I was impressed that he made up the lyrics on the fly.
“Brothers! Join me in driving out the evil that is within this child. I beseech thee … begone, demon!” Johan said to exorcise Wolf.
I’d found a new song for football, Here Comes the Boom. After I took out my other earbud, I put my phone on speaker and let it play. That got my friends to focus on something else, and everyone on the bus began to get fired up for the game. We were bouncing around and ready to go once we pulled into Eastside’s parking lot.
◊◊◊
As we got off the bus, I saw Jeff Delahey. The documentary, aka reality TV series, aired its first episode on Wednesday. Jeff was a man of his word, and they’d eliminated all the artificial drama. I was glad to see that it wasn’t all about me. There’d been other nationally ranked quarterbacks at the camp, and his crew spent time getting their stories as well.