Disclaimers in Chapter One
Chapter Three
When we arrive at Gregg's Pizza Fun Express, I try jump out of the car as fast as I possibly can. Before I make it out Catherine calls my name and suggests that I put back on my warm-ups over my uniform because it's getting chilly out. I stop perplexed, not at her suggestion, but at the fact that she made it.
"I'm cool," I manage to say then continue on my hurried exit, but still don't quite make it out.
"Put on your warm-ups." Catherine replies.
I quickly debate whether or not I should actually pay attention to this woman or not, but before I come to a firm conclusion Sara backs Catherine up and tells me, "Do as Catherine says."
It's the absolute shock that makes me dig into my bag and pull out my warm-ups and quickly slip them on. I'm sure when I can look at this moment with a little more clarity, I can figure out what just happened.
"Thank you," Catherine smiles at me once she sees I've done as she's said and slips out of the car. The rest of them get out of the car, but I stay in there just a moment longer still trying to figure out what has happened.
When we enter the restaurant the rest of the team is easy to spot. Most of them are wearing their warm-ups, no doubt told to by an adult, and have saved us all spots at a group of tables that have been pushed up together. They tell us that they've already ordered ten pizzas all different types.
Catherine and Sara are drawn into a conversation by some woman, whom I assume is someone's parent. She asks them how long they've been together. The question strikes me as an odd one and I would have liked to pay attention to their answer, but my hand was being pulled in the direction of some of the arcade games. When I look down to see who's doing the pulling I see Lindsey. I let her pull me to one of the air hockey games and even let her talk me into playing a game with her.
A few of my teammates follow us; I guess not wanting to join in on the adult conversations and quickly choose a side to root for. Most of them choose Lindsey. They're all a bunch of traitors.
Despite the kid's youngness, she actually manages to beat me fair and square. Christine, our team's second string point guard, pushes me out of the way and steps up for her turn. Lindsey ends up beating her too. The girl runs through another three of us before she meets someone who can beat her.
When she finally does get beaten a pout falls over her face and it's probably not a good idea for anyone to tease her. I grab Lindsey's hand and pull her away from my teammates quickly over to one of those dancing games, a game which I suck thoroughly at.
A smile lights up on Lindsey's face and I know that I'm about to get my ass kicked again. I manage to get enough tokens from those who followed us over to the new game for us to actually play it. I have Lindsey give me a quick run through on the rules then we start dancing.
It's a quick, but painless loss. Someone immediately steps up to challenge our little Dancing Queen and I can tell that Lindsey is having the time of her life.
"Your little sister is pretty cool," Rebecca says from next to me. I give her an odd look and open my mouth to set the record straight but the sound of all the parents calling us to, "Get over here and eat, immediately," takes away my chance. I make a mental note to fix the record later. I literally pull Lindsey from the game and drag her over to the food.
We're all smiling and laughing, and the parents are too. Seeing all this and being a part of it, it isn't really that bad. Even if my parents are dead and all I've got is a sister that doesn't know who I am. It's better than nothing, I guess.
I take a seat where all the other players have taken theirs. We dig into the pizzas like a pack of starved wolves. I make sure that I'm not picking from any pizzas that have any form of meat, and also make sure that Lindsey gets her fair share, then quickly dig into my own meal. I swallow three pieces within moments and quickly reach out for another.
"You don't have to eat so fast," Somehow Catherine ended up standing behind me without me noticing. She sets two cups down, one in front of me and the other in front of Lindsey. I think it's a cup of water. "You should give your stomach a chance to realize it's being fed."
I pick up the cup and start jugging the liquid down. I happen to be really thirsty too. When I put the cup down it's empty. I turn around and give Catherine a winning smile. She raises her brow and chuckles at me. She picks up my cup and walks away.
"You're such a momma's girl," Kendra, one of our post players throws her napkin at me. It lands on my empty plate. I quickly pick it up and throw it right back at her. Before I realize what kind of war I've started there're napkins being thrown all over the place, and I don't know who, but soon someone is throwing the pizza cheese then all the other toppings.
At first, I try to protect Lindsey from the storm but when she pours her water down the front of my shirt I leave her to fend for herself. Somewhere in the background I hear some of the parents yelling for us to calm down and stop throwing food. None of us are paying any attention.
I pick a wad of cheese out of my hair and cock my hand back searching for a target. I find one located a little further down the row of tables standing there looking on at us players with a hint of amusement on her face. Without thinking, and for once just living in the moment, I throw the cheese right at Sara's head.
My aim is perfect. The cheese sticks to her cheek. Her eyes widen and she turns to me. At first, I have no idea what she's going to do. Then a smile crosses her face and she picks up a full slice of pizza in her hand. I see her intent clearly and decide that I don't want to get hit in the face with her ammunition. I duck behind whoever is behind me and shove them in front of me.
Sara's ammo has already been fired and I see a look of horror cross her face. Then I look up to see who it is I pushed in front of me. Of course it's Catherine and she doesn't have time to duck or evade the pizza slice. The whole scene goes into slow motion and I see myself making an effort to grab for the pizza before it hits Catherine. My hand misses and the slice hits Catherine in the chest.
This unexpectedly leads to all the other parents picking up their own ammo and throwing it at their children. A whole new type of war is declared and poor Catherine is stuck on the wrong side.
I gave a genuine effort to protect her from my fellow basketball players, but there's only so much one person can do. It also felt kind of good for her to be pelted since she told me to put on my warm-ups earlier. It's a childish way to get back at her, but nothing about a food fight is particularly mature.
We continue the war of teenagers versus adults until the manager of the place comes out and politely asks us to stop. Out of respect for all the people who are going to have to clean this up, the parents surrender but tell us all to help out and clean up our mess. They don't do much on the clean up side, but they do really well at directing all of us.
It takes us probably a little under an hour to finish cleaning up our clutter. The management doesn't even tell us that we can never return. He just tells us to have a good night and that he'll see us again when we have another home game. I'm going to guess that he's one of our fans or maybe he just really enjoys our business.
I'm standing outside waiting for my ride and her friend and her friend's daughter to finish talking to everyone inside. Jenny comes up next to me and pulls a piece of spaghetti out of my hair. "Was anyone even eating spaghetti?" she asks as she throws the noodle to the ground.
"I don't think so. Maybe one of the employees started getting in on the fun. Towards the end I really couldn't tell." I place my hands in my warm-up jacket's pockets. It's actually getting a little chilly out here. I didn't think it actually got cold in the desert.
"We've never done that before," Jenny crosses her arms in front of her. "I think you're actually going to make us a closer team."
"You don't think your parents are angry?" The parents did join in on the fun, but that doesn't mean they still can't be angry. My parents looked fine all the time, but that didn't stop them from hurting me.
Jenny smiles. "I think this was good for everyone."
The rest of our teammates join us and somehow we end up in a circle. Lindsey even manages to wiggle herself into our semi-huddle. We all were covered in tomato sauce and looked like we had been through one tough food fight.
"What's everyone doing this weekend?" Rebecca asks.
"Homework," I say first. "Ms. Eddington decided to give us this big assignment so that she can see if we're prepared for the test."
"Ms. Eddington?" Kendra asks. "Doesn't she teach advanced Calc?"
I rock back and forth on the balls of my feet. "Yeah."
"That's it," Christine waves her hand in the air. "You're now the team's official math tutor. Most of us are just in algebra II."
"You in any other advanced classes?" This comes from Lindsey.
I shrug. "Not really. I take advanced Anatomy and Physiology, Physics II, English and Advanced Chemistry."
"So it's official," Jenny gently knocks me with her elbow. "You're the best player and the smartest person on this team. Should we start calling you Master?"
The rest of the team laughs and I feel my face turning a deep shade of red. "If you'd like," I manage to say as seriously as possible.
They immediately stop laughing, but when they realize I'm joking they all gang up on me and start slapping at my body. I fend them off as best I can but am ultimately saved by the parents actually making their ways out of the restaurant. They tell us to stop horsing around and get into the cars.
We say our goodbyes and do as we're told. I open the car door for Lindsey; she gives me a dirty look letting me clearly know that she can open her own doors, but climbs in anyway. I also open the door for Catherine, still feeling slightly guilty about what happened to her before. She accepts my offer and gets into the car. I shut the door softly and run over to the other side of the vehicle. I stop dead in my tracks when I realize Sara is holding the back door open for me.
I eventually make my body realize it's okay to climb into the vehicle and slide into the seat next to Lindsey. I mumble my thanks to Sara and she answers me with a slight smile. She gets into the driver's side and eventually we're heading out of the parking lot to a location unknown to me.
Wherever we're going, I hope it has a working shower.