Chapter 47: An Old Familiar Face

Monday, January 25, 1982

Rehearsals moved on into a more serious phase. Those of us in the chorus — the bulk of us — took over the Debate room and sang. And sang, and sang. And sang some more. Not trying to move, just get our voices to sync and work together.

It was both tedious and a blast. Singing the same thing for the tenth time when someone keeps coming in a bit off; not fun. But getting it right and finding you’re part of this big magical thing? A blast.

Yes, Jasmine and I, and Lexi and I, got in a few very nice kisses.

And, in other news, the Super Bowl went as expected. That meant I had winnings to collect. Angie checked with me that night.

“So, how’d you do on the Super Bowl?”

“I won,” I laughed.

“I know that. Would I have decided you were a master criminal if I found the stash from this one?”

“Um ... well. The odds were lower...”

“Not an answer. Thirty thousand again?”

“Um ... seventy?”

She blinked. “Seventy thousand dollars? Seriously?”

“Ten thousand with Gerry, five thousand each with two other bookies, at 3.5-to-1.”

“Good lord! That’s insane! I’m glad you didn’t tell me how much you were betting; I’d have gone nuts! On the other hand, okay, it’s nice that we’re insanely well off for high schoolers.”

“Last major sports bet until 1984. I know the Super Bowl and World Series in 1984; also, some college football games. There’ll be some smaller bets, but nothing this size. In the meantime, we count on market growth. Which will be slow and steady, but lucrative with the considerable seed cash we have.”

Friday, January 29, 1982

For the first time in almost two months I had a tournament to go to. And I’d considered dropping it a few times. I didn’t need it and I was tired. Rehearsal, all the after school activities, Jasmine, Lexi, classes — it’s a lot.

But I didn’t want Isidore Newman to be my first tournament after even longer. That seemed like a terrible idea.

Several others bailed out. Kenzie stayed home, but Callie was here, trying to pick up her Extemp qual. Emmy didn’t go, but May was here, also looking for Extemp. Janice had opted out, and Zoe and Adam.

On the other hand, we had a new face. Bree had indeed signed up and was here. I made sure to check in on her and see if she needed anything. Anne and Megan had also taken her under their wings.

So, Bellaire. I had a vague history with it. And this year I’d met some of their kids — and I liked them, pretty much. Decent, sharp. Tough opponents. They borrowed my sorting strategy. Hopefully it’d work well for them.

We got there early, massing in their cafeteria by 3pm. Classes were still in progress. I saw the occasional kid go back and forth through the large glass windows separating the cafeteria from a main hall.

And then I spotted a face. My jaw might have dropped. Angie noticed, followed my eyes, and her jaw dropped, too.

The guy was our age. Maybe 5’8”, sandy brown hair. Glasses. I’d known him well. In Angie’s view, I’d known him too well. And had dropped him cold a year and a half ago.

And here he was, where he wasn’t at all expected to be.

He glanced in the cafeteria. Then looked back down the hall.

Then did a double-take. Squinted. Went to the cafeteria door. At this point only about 4 schools were there; it wasn’t crowded. Jasmine had picked up on my distraction and moved over. “What’s up?”

“Old friend I wasn’t expecting to see.”

“Surprise him?”

I laughed. “Definitely.”

He’d stepped in. “Steve Marshall? Is that you?”

I laughed. “Yes.” I got up. “Long time no see, Dave.”

He came over. “Wow! You look all spiffy. Nice suit. Looks like you’d fit in at dad’s office.” He shook his head. “Man, you’ve changed.”

I looked at him. He was ... different. He’d always been a confident guy, but ... something. More. Better.

“Hey, you, too.”

“Nah. Seriously. You look like you’re in pretty good shape.”

“Karate a day a week, down from two for the last year. Jogging every morning. Dance and movement class twice a week since early this month. Even not biking to school anymore, I get a lot of exercise,” I laughed.

“Not biking? Hardship?”

I nodded. “Extracurriculars. Yeah, it’s a stretch.”

“Me, too. Dad pulled strings. Dance and Movement? What the heck?”

“Angie and I ... you remember my sister, Angie?”

Angie stood, offered her hand. He shook it. “Hi, Dave. Very long time no see.”

“Hey, wow! We ... uh ... cousin?”

“I was. Am? Mom and Dad adopted me a year back, in June.”

“Hey, cool!” He looked between us. “Cats and dogs?”

“Nah, we’re super-close. Not partners, though.” I nodded to Cammie, who was deep in discussion with Janet. “That’s my partner, Cammie Clarke. The one not in all pink.”

“That’s a whole lot of pink right there.”

“Anyway, I was saying, Jasmine here ... Jasmine, Dave Mayrink...”

“A pleasure.” She offered her hand, he shook it.

“ ... anyway, Jasmine convinced Angie and me to try out for the spring musical, so we’ll be in ‘Brigadoon’ in a few months.”

“Seriously? You sounded like a strangled cat!”

“I got better.” I laughed and tossed off a stanza of ‘There But For You Go I’. A number of eyes looked over for a minute.

He laughed. “You did get better. So, Debate, right?”

“Yeah. I started a year ago or so. It’s going well.”

He looked at Jasmine. I knew him well. He was at least going to try, and it wouldn’t go well. And I had mixed emotions, but he’d do this to himself. Not that he’d be too much a fool, but, enough.

“Debate, too? You’re really pretty. Of course, I can see that a lot of your team is,” he gave me a wink, “but...”

Jasmine laughed softly. “No, Drama. Dramatic and Humorous Interp. And, also, I’m the girlfriend.”

He looked at Jasmine. At me. At Jasmine. At me.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously!” She planted a kiss on me that was, well, serious.

I could see a bit of jealousy in him. I didn’t want it to get too bad. I hugged Jasmine, but turned my attention on him. “So, Bellaire. What’s up? I thought you were going to H.S.E.P.” That’d been his dream, Houston’s High School for the Engineering Professions. Like I said, I thought it’d done him a disservice, long-term.

“Nah. I mean, I did. For a year. But I never really got into it. I don’t know ... the long drive, the other kids. Mom and Dad were both urging me to reconsider Bellaire. I like it better here.”

“Still doing D&D?”

“Yeah. The group’s going pretty well.”

“And computers?”

“Eh. Sure. Not so much, maybe. I’m more trying to figure out how to use them. I’m wondering about whether I shouldn’t consider following dad’s footsteps. Lawyer and all. Some of it seems cool.”

Angie smiled. “I’m considering that, but then, I’m considering several options, right now.”

“Me, too,” I added.

“Not for me,” Jasmine giggled, “but Sue over there, I think definitely. Cammie, Janet, Lizzie, probably.”

He looked around at all of them, back at me. I was pretty sure of what he was thinking, though with that group he was barking up the wrong tree. I was also pretty sure that he couldn’t possibly imagine what I was thinking.

“Pretty cool running into you. I had no idea you were here.”

“And I only had a vague idea you were doing Debate or anything. Man, it’s been forever. We’ve done a horrible job of staying in touch.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve just been crazy busy. Girlfriends, Debate, school, all that.”

Yes, that was another tease. I know. Mean. It wasn’t too mean, though. He needed to fix his attitude more than anything else. And, me being a meddler, I’d help, if I could.

“I should run.” He looked towards the door.

“Hey, I’ll walk with you a minute. Nothing much to do for an hour.”

We walked towards the door. “Seriously, is, like, your whole team hot chicks? And, girlfriends? Like, some before Jasmine? Or simultaneous?”

“Before,” I laughed. “Two. I’m good friends with both, though one’s moved away. Hence the breakup.”

“Damn. I would so accuse you of the ‘girlfriend in Canada’ thing except for Jasmine standing there.”

I laughed. “You just need to calm down. Pretend they’re people like other people, except, you know, cuter. Be nice, be calm, take it slow, keep your eyes on theirs, be a gentleman, listen to the cues. I’m making it sound easy, but it’s not rocket science.”

He shook his head. “Seriously, in all my life, dating advice from you? And it’s good advice, I think. Having a sister must have helped! Damn. We need to get in better touch, at least a bit. I miss you.”

“Tell me about it! I do too, but life is ... crazy busy.”

“We should get together next weekend.”

“Can’t. Tournament, in New Orleans.”

“New Orleans? Really?”

“So many of our team have qualified for State that Meg, our coach, arranged for us to do a cool out-of-area tournament.” I nodded in her direction. “That’s Meg.”

“So, weekend after that?’

“Valentines. Jasmine.”

He laughed. “After that?”

“Tournament, San Antonio.”

“Seriously?!”

“I said life was busy.”

“Damn! That’s ridiculous!”

“It’d be cool to get together. I just don’t know when. If we’re not doing anything over Spring Break, maybe then. It’s special to our family, but not that special. Unless we go somewhere, which we might. Otherwise ... sometime.”

“Special? Oh wait, that’s when Angie...”

“Yeah.”

“We have a lot to catch up on. A lot. Wow. So, same number and all?”

“Yeah, all that’s the same. I can’t see Mom and Dad moving or changing anything.”

“Nah, mine won’t either. They love the house and neighborhood.”

Cammie called. “Hey, Steve! A sec?”

“Gotta go when the partner calls!”

“Great seeing you! What a surprise! Man! Mom and dad will be surprised! I should go anyway.”

We shook hands, and he took off. I headed back over to Cammie. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. Jasmine said you needed rescue.”

I laughed. “Probably so.” I glanced over to Jasmine, who was talking with Angie. She winked.

“Who was that?”

“An old friend of mine. Haven’t seen him in ... heck, a year and half. More. We used to play Dungeons & Dragons every weekend.”

She laughed. “I still can’t see you doing that. Except I can, just a tiny bit, but maybe not how it was. It’d be cooler than I bet it was.”

“Yeah. We were never cool, but, yes, I think it could be.”

“Jasmine said he’s a nerd.”

I laughed. “He is. I gave him dating advice. I hope he listens.”

“Not that I’m the best judge of guys, but I think he has the looks.”

“Me too, from a similarly lousy judge.” We both laughed. “He doesn’t have the approach. He’s still at the ‘girls are incomprehensible pretty objects’ stage.”