Rush

Chapter Five

A Face in the Crowd

The big night is finally here. Father and Parker look so charming in their suits, and I’m not hating the way I look in this dress! Mother curled my hair and pinned the delicate strands into a bun on top of my head. Alyvia and Taylor came over to get ready, and over-excitedly agreed to do my make-up. I feel like a princess, with the best looking entourage a girl could ask for.

As the posse descends the stairs, I hear my father, mother, and brother gasp in unison. A smile spreads across my face, as a loud, resounding, knock echos through the foyer. Father turns to answer the door to see none other than Mr. Baker, Jackson’s father, at our house!

“Mr. Mayor, your look dashing tonight. Might I have a word with you...outside?” glancing at me as he spoke, Mr. Baker essentially gave Father no choice but to grant his request.

“I’m in the middle of getting my children ready for homecoming, but I suppose I can spare a minute or two.” Father said as he ushered Mr. Baker onto the porch.

Parker fills the gap where Father last stood, and begins teasing Taylor. They bicker back and forth like children, as Alyvia checks her hair in the mirror. Mother hustles around the house to be sure everyone has everything they could possibly leave behind, but I can’t pull my eyes from the porch window.

Mr. Baker is the exact opposite of his son. He is small in stature, but looks like he has some lean muscle to him. Wearing too short cargo pants and a too tight t-shirt, he looks like he has spent the last few years of his life chained to a desk. Frazzled, mousy brown hair to boot. Jackson is always well dressed with perfect hair. It’s hard to believe that they are related!

Inching closer to the window, I strain to try and make out what’s being said. Father has his arms crossed and a furrowed brow, nodding as Mr. Baker speaks, until i see it. In an instant his shoulders drop and head hangs low, as if he is about to cry. What is going on?!

I’m officially invested. Leaning as hard as I can into the window, I don’t even care about being obvious anymore. Mr. Baker shifts just enough that his eyes meet mine, he starts to fidget with his phone, shakes Father’s hand, and leaves him standing on the porch alone. Father takes a deep breath and walks through the door, as I adjust to look as though i hadn’t just creeped on his entire conversation.

“You heathens ready to go?!” he says with a smile. Just like that, any trace of the conversation that just broke him is gone. For now. Everyone responds in their own form of “Yes” and “let’s get going”; even a “yeehaw” from Jackson, as we file out of the house. Taking three seperate cars, Mother and Father are in the first, Jackson, Taylor and myself follow, with Alyvia in tow. She decided she had to make an entrance at homecoming, so she wanted to go alone in true Alyvia fashion.

Music is blaring, friends are laughing and singing along to whatever comes through the aux cord, and I take a second to appreciate the amazing people I have in my life. My parents are so supportive, my brother can always make me laugh, even when he is being a dunce. Especially when he is being a dunce. Taylor and Alyvia have both been through so much, and continue to be some of the strongest people I know. Then there is Leo, who would follow me into a fire without a second thought. Even Jackson has become a valuable piece in our little circle, with his caring nature and goofy nuances. Things are good, and I couldn't be more alive at this moment.

We pull up at the dance like a gang of hoodlums, and pile out of the car. Mother and Father are standing in the street waiting on us, shaking their heads with a grin. We are all family here. Parker pushes Taylor, laughing as she chases him in heels. Suddenly, he stops, turns around, and swoops her up in a tight hug as she tries to fight him off. Laughing now, Parker drapes an arm around her shoulders and they walk into the gated football stadium. I smile and follow suit, until I feel a presence beside me. Expecting to see Leo, I look up with a smile to find Jackson. He is stone faced, with a concerned look in his eye.

“Well, aren’t they cute? I see now why she wouldn’t go to the dance with me.”

Uh oh. This doesn’t sound good. He’s new. He doesn’t know our history.

“It’s not like that, Jackson. Taylor wanted to go with you, she just...can’t.”

“Right, she told me about her moms, but I see they had no problem with her going with Parker.”

“ Parker is here with Alyvia, actually.” I inform him, getting sassy now. I don’t handle jealousy well.

Jackson looks around. “Well, I don’t see Alyvia, Myah.”

He’s right. Alyvia is nowhere to be found. She pulled up with us, didn’t she? No. I haven’t seen her since we left the house.

“ She probably parked on the other side of the field. I’m sure she will meet up with us soon. She had to have her moment, and all.”

Jackson smirked, and visibly loosened up. For a moment, I saw a bit of his dad in his overbearing, protective, and slightly creepy nature. The look in his eye when he saw Parker and Taylor rubbed me the wrong way. Is he right, though? Is there more to Parker and Taylor’s friendship that even I haven’t seen?

We walk through the gate and Leo comes bounding up to meet us. Jackson;s whole demeanor changes as he exchanges bro-fives with my boyfriend. He has either snapped out of whatever weird headspace he was in, or he is just a good actor when eyes are on him. Leo leans down to whisper in my ear, “ you look beautiful tonight”, before kissing me on the cheek. The boys bounce away, in a fit of testosterone, to prepare for the game against the mighty Bulldogs.

I catch up to my friends and family, but not before being stopped by classmates who oogle over my dress and hair. Shaking them off, I can see my cohorts drawing near. A familiar voice comes from behind me.

“Be careful out there tonight”

I turn to see who spoke to me, but she is gone. I cannot place her voice, but the sound of it raised every hair on my body. Be careful out there tonight. Was that a warning? It races through my head over and over. Be careful out there tonight. Out where? On the football field in front of hundreds of people?

Pulled from my thoughts, as the crew approaches, the woman’s warning still swirls in the back of my mind as I join in on the excitement. It’s homecoming! The boys are winning, naturally, and the crowd is on their feet. The half-time buzzer squalls, and it’s time to take our places as the homecoming court.