Senior Year Box Set

Derek shanked another extra point, and we now had a 12-7 lead. Ed intercepted a long pass to end the game. He was given the game ball for scoring the winning touchdown and the game-ending interception. It was nice to see he was playing much better than he had last year.

◊◊◊

After the game, I was summoned to meet the press. I took a quick shower and then found Coach Hope with Ed. As soon as we sat down, Jeff Delahey asked us a question.

“What went wrong today?”

Coach Hope started to answer, but I cut him off.

“This was on the team. Lakeview was a trap game. We didn’t give them the respect they deserved, and they showed today that they’re better than their record. It was obvious that some of our younger guys, especially, didn’t take Lakeview as seriously as they should have. The coaching staff did everything they could to get us to focus. They even sat me down and called me out about my lack of concentration during this week’s practices,” I admitted.

“What’s your take on this?” Jeff asked Coach Hope.

“We, meaning the coaching staff, were worried. This is the type of game teams lose. I’m still not sure how we won the game. I’ll have to watch the film to figure out what happened. All I know is if it hadn’t been for Ed Pine, we would’ve lost today.”

I slipped out because we had to get to the airport. I was happy to see Ed was getting the attention he deserved for saving us.

◊◊◊

When we arrived at the airport, Brook took charge. She walked in and found Roy, our flight instructor. He took Brook and Cassidy out to help him with his preflight checklist. Cathryn, his wife, was his copilot. She helped us get all our gear stored.

We were flying in a Cessna Caravan, which sat 11 passengers. It had four rows with one seat on each side, an aisle down the middle, and a bench seat in the back for three more passengers. Brook and Cassidy claimed the front two seats so that Roy could talk to them while he flew. Dad and I grabbed the bench seat in the back. Tim and Wolf were happy that Tami and Sarah were joining us.

I loved that we didn’t have to go through security and then sit and wait for a flight. As soon as they were done with the checklist, we taxied down the runway and were soon wheels-up. The Cessna Caravan had a single turboprop. It was louder than a commercial flight, but I would put up with that for the convenience.

I put in my earbuds and closed my eyes. About twenty minutes into the flight, I felt someone touch my arm. I discovered Tami smiling at me. She pointed at my earbuds, so I pulled one out in order to hear her.

“What are you listening to?”

I pulled the earbud jack out of my phone, so it would play on the speaker. I was listening to Stitches by Shawn Mendes and began to sing along. The lyrics talked about the singer moving on from their lover.

Tami’s expression was unreadable. Apparently, the song hit a little too close to home. I looked up the aisle, and everyone was looking back at me singing to her. I got a sheepish grin on my face and waved. Brook raised an eyebrow, but I winked at her, and she turned around.

“Did you plan for that song to be playing?”

“No, you just got lucky I knew the words.”

“Are you still mad at me?”

I knew what she was talking about. To be honest, I was still mad about what she and Tim had done.

“You mean for using my apartment as a love shack, trashing my bed and bathroom, and then making me tell my mom on you? Why would that irritate me?” I asked.

“That was like months ago. Are you turning into your mom?” she complained.

Those were fighting words, and she knew it. Before I told her what I really thought, she touched my arm.

“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. I think I was just getting defensive because what I did was hurtful. At the time, I didn’t even think about it. I didn’t say anything back then because Tim was so worried he would lose you as a friend. I should have done a better job of apologizing right after it happened.”

“At the time, I looked at it as one last ‘screw you.’ I’ve moved on,” I said in a quiet voice.

“Oh, hell. That wasn’t what that was at all. It was me being immature and not thinking things through. I would never intentionally hurt you.”

I just shook my head. Intentionally or thoughtlessly, she’d kept on hurting me.

“David, no, seriously. I am sorry if that was what you thought.”

“Let’s just forget about it. I haven’t thought about it since I started dating Brook.”

“That’s why we never talk? You’re wrapped up with Brook?” she asked.

“No, it’s because you used my apartment as a love shack, trashed my bed and bathroom, and then made me tell my mom on you.” I said it with a straight face, showing no emotion.

“That really pissed you off, didn’t it?”

“Just leave me alone. You have your life, and I have mine. I’m happy for you and Tim. I guess that it’s like all my old best friends. We’ve just grown apart.”