Junior Year Box Set

She had about ten years of experience on me. Shiggy had asked her if she wanted to compete in a tournament to see how good she really was, but Cassidy had declined. She wasn’t interested in doing hand-to-hand combat with rules. My little ninja took what she did very seriously. I thought it was probably for the best, because if Cassidy could kick my butt, and I was a foot taller and outweighed her by over eighty pounds, I was afraid of what she would do against other girls her size. Someone would get hurt, and I was sure it wouldn’t be Cassidy.

“Want to come home with me?” I asked her.

“I don’t think you’re ready to take on my dad.”

“I was asking you to come over for dinner. Call your dad and invite him.”

Her brother Brad had moved out to go to college. I remembered when Greg and Angie had moved out of the house. It felt weird to be the one left behind. We went to the locker rooms to shower and change into street clothes. Cassidy took my arm as we walked to the Jeep. I tended to drive the Jeep to school because I didn’t want anything to happen to the Charger. I’d seen how other teens drove and didn’t need someone hitting it.

“Daddy wanted to ask what you’re having tonight.”

Cassidy must have called him while she got dressed.

“Tell Coach that it’s a home-cooked meal and to get his butt over to my house,” I said.

“He was just kidding. He’ll meet us there,” Cassidy said, and then changed the subject. “What happened this weekend? Northwestern talked to Daddy and told him they offered everyone. They also said you skipped your workout. Was something wrong?”

“It was something personal. I did my workout on Monday.”

“Do you plan on going there?” she asked.

“Probably not. I’m not sure where I’ll end up yet.”

“Do you have another trip planned for this week?” Cassidy asked.

“We’re going to Michigan State. They play Oregon this weekend.”

“Can I go?”

“You want to go on a recruiting trip with me?”

“In fact, a lot of people would like to go on your trips. I heard you took Tami last week. I was wondering if I could go with you on one.”

“Wouldn’t your dad be worried?”

“Did you take advantage of Tami last weekend?”

“No.”

“You think you could keep your hands off of me?”

“Maybe,” I said, and waggled my eyebrows.

“Then it’s settled because I can maybe keep my hands off of you.”

“Let me make a call and get extra tickets. You might want to invite your dad, too,” I suggested.

When we got home, Cassidy announced I had invited her to go to East Lansing with me. Coach Hope wasn’t amused. I called Brandon, and he had already arranged for extra tickets. I found out that Tami had invited the Wesleyan girls to go with her. I hadn’t told Brandon to stop her from going on our visits, so when she called, he had gotten them tickets and reserved a couple of hotel rooms for them. My parents were also going and wanted to attend the rest of the visits. Coach Hope planned to beg off, but when Cassidy told him she wanted him to go, he relented. This seemed to be taking on a life of its own. I wondered how many people would be traveling with us by the time we went on our last recruiting visit this year. I was starting to feel like that guy on HBO who had the show Entourage.

I did have a quick conversation with Brandon about Tami. He now had to call me first. My mom and I were barely speaking, so I didn’t dare cancel on Tami this weekend.

◊◊◊

I was sketching Duke for my art class homework when I heard my door open. Being the world-class watchdog that he was, he just let his tail thump on the floor to welcome the bad guys in. I wasn’t surprised when my mom came up the stairs.

“I take it you aren’t happy with me,” she started.

I guess we were going to clear the air. Ding, ding, ding … get ready for round two!

“I’d say that would be a fair assessment. I understand that I’m your child and you’re the parent. I also understand that what was going on was between you and Dad. What I don’t understand is why you suddenly treated me like I don’t matter.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Mom, you ordered me not to go to a party, because you said so! You, Dad, and I have had conversations about how much I’m growing up. I do things that you would never trust an average teen to do, like travel around the country to do movies or model. I also come to you with what’s going on in my life, and we have conversations that frankly aren’t normal. We’re open and honest with each other. It took a lifetime of trust to get to this point, and then suddenly we aren’t discussing what’s bothering you. It’s like I’ve been tricked into sharing everything with you, but it’s not a two-way street. When you had a problem with Dad, you closed down and then lashed out at me,” I said.

“You’re right. I am the parent, and there will be times when I don’t tell you everything.”

“It’s good we cleared that up then,” I huffed.

“Don’t act like a petulant teenager. You’re better than that,” Mom chastised me. “What happened with your father hurt me very deeply. I wasn’t ready to talk to you about it.”