Senior Year Box Set

I reserved the outside area where we’d put the picnic tables for our junior class project. Mary planned to cater the event and would get some of our employees to help decorate. I’d had Lily send out invitations. Because Tracy was graduating at the end of the semester, we suggested that people bring gifts she could use when she went away to college. Caryn and Megan made a gift registry so that we could prevent duplicate gifts.

When it was time, I hurried to beat Tracy to lunch. Pam was tasked with making the birthday girl late. I found the cheerleaders helping organize the details. I didn’t even ask how Brook managed to get them out of class early.

The place looked great. They’d put light pink tablecloths on all the picnic tables with a ‘Happy Birthday’ runner down the center of each table. There were potted mums as centerpieces. The school had provided two long tables, and Mary had put out a buffet of salad, pizza, and cookies on one. The other table was for gifts and was already full. People must have slipped out between classes to put them out.

Our friends began to arrive, and we soon had a crowd of about fifty people. There was an exit door right before the cafeteria. Through its window, I could see Pam and Tracy in deep conversation. Tracy looked confused when Pam opened the door instead of going into the lunchroom. Then she saw us. You could see we’d accomplished our goal.

“Looks like we pulled it off,” Gina said as she gave Tracy a hug.

“I had no idea. I planned to just have a casual dinner with my parents to celebrate.”

“Seriously? You always have the best birthday party,” I reminded her.

She just shook her head, then saw her mom and gave her a hug. Since we only had an hour, everyone grabbed some food to eat. Tracy opened gifts and got into the spirit of being the birthday girl. She quickly figured out the theme when she saw she’d received school supplies. I was impressed that the cheerleaders had pooled their money and bought her a laptop. The football players got her a mini-fridge and microwave for her dorm room. I’d found her a bike and five free massages from my brother’s business. I’d had to trade free babysitting services in exchange.

◊◊◊

After football practice, I drove to Tim’s house to hang out with him and Wolf. We were in the backyard, grilling hamburgers for dinner, when all our dads showed up.

“We need to have a serious discussion,” Tim’s dad, Conner, said.

“David, you watch the grill,” Dad told me, and the five of them found seats around the patio.

“What’s up, Dad?” Tim asked.

“Carol, Jared, and I have been contacted by a recruiter from Southwest Central State for the three of you to visit to their campus.”

“Why would we do that?” Wolf asked. “I know I’ve received a lot of mail from them, but I never even thought of them as a place I’d want to go to school.”

“I agree with Wolf. Are they even a Division I program?” Tim asked.

“They moved up to Division I in the spring and joined the Interstate Conference. I did some research and found they have a group of donors who want to turn them into a major football program. They recently signed a shoe deal with Springbok,” Dad explained.

“Again, why would we be interested?” Wolf asked.

“There was a suggestion that if you did, it would be worth your while,” Jared answered his son.

“Now we’re talking,” Wolf said with a big grin. “How much?”

Wolf’s humor needed some work because no one was smiling.

“Oh, come on, that was funny,” Wolf complained.

We just ignored him.

“We wanted you to be aware that as this heats up, there might be some inappropriate offers. If someone approaches you, please tell your dad,” Dad said.

“Dad, there was a girl at Wisconsin who wanted to have sex with me,” Tim said with a straight face.

“Next time, send them our dads’ way,” Wolf suggested.

We kids thought that was funny. Our dads? Not so much.

◊◊◊ Friday September 16

I slipped away from my security and took a drive in the Demon before the game. I found myself eating up the country roads outside of town. Thanks mostly to my modeling and acting, I’d gotten a chance to travel from Canada to the Caribbean and Japan to the UK. There are some gorgeous places, but driving through cornfields had its own unique beauty.

The sight of the sun streaming down on an ocean of corn plants as they gently moved in the breeze was relaxing. To be honest, I needed that right now. Only our sadistic athletic director would schedule Unity this early in the season. I was glad we hadn’t faced them in the opening game because I had no doubt we would have lost.

I let my mind wander as I pushed my car to its limits. The Demon was meant to run. The cornstalks along the side of the car almost became a blur. I raised my eye line, and the straight road went on for miles. It looked like one of those paintings where you saw the road disappear into the horizon.