Thursday, November 16, 2000

"Randy?" Mrs. Lark said. "I have a pass here for you to talk to the school newspaper."

Justin looked up from the picture that he’d been doodling on his notebook. He was startled. The rest of the class laughed.

"’K," he said. He got out of his chair and took a quick look at Maggie who was watching him leave. He smiled at her. She smiled back. There was no hint of a blush anymore, just a friendly smile.

Justin looked at the girl who was standing at the front of the room waiting for him. She had a notepad and pencil clutched in her hand. She was grinning nervously. Justin walked to the door and opened it, indicating that she should go first. He could almost see the girls inside the classroom melting. They dug the chivalrous act. Not that he wasn’t naturally chivalrous, but…

"Hi," the girl said. "I’m Mindy."

"Randy Smith," Justin said sticking out his hand. The name was his now. He didn’t think twice about introducing himself that way anymore.

"I know," Mindy said. She had a small grin on her face and her cheeks were slowly coloring.

"So what’d you want to talk to me about?" Justin asked as they walked down the hall. Mindy was cute. She was your typical farm girl, down to the stereotypical braids. She was definitely not the reporter type that he was used to talking to. If only she knew who she was really talking to. She’d be on the floor in a dead faint.

"Well," Mindy said twirling the end of one of her braids around her finger. "We’re writing a feature on all of the basketball players for the year since you’re all really good."

Justin smiled. Good, uh-huh. This girl was star-struck just to be talking to a senior basketball player.

"Well what would you like to know?" he asked. He tried smiling to put her at ease, but it just made her turn redder.

"We don’t know a whole lot about you," she said. "Maybe you could tell me a little bit about your past. You know, where you came from, if you have any brothers or sisters, a girlfriend…"

Justin couldn’t help laughing. This was just too funny.

"Well, for the record, I am single."

Mindy turned bright red. She didn’t write it down. Justin had no doubt the fact was emblazoned in her memory and that it would be all over school by the end of the next class.

"Don’t you want to write that down?" Justin asked. He couldn’t help teasing. He hadn’t been able to tease a reporter ever.

Mindy frantically wrote the word ‘single’ on her notepad. "Well, where are you from?" she asked trying to cover her embarrassment.

"I’m from everywhere," Justin said. "There’s not really one place I’d call home since I’ve moved so much."

"Really?" Mindy asked. "Why is that?"

"My dad," Justin answered immediately. Another lie for the past of Randy Smith.

"What does he do?"

"He has his own business," Justin said. "It requires him to settle in lots of different states." He’d have to figure out a job that required that. More homework for tonight.

Mindy nodded in complete understanding. "So do you have any siblings?"

"Nope," Justin said. "Just me." He immediately felt guilty. What about Steven and Jonathon? "I’ve always been spoiled."

Mindy laughed. She laughed a lot.

"From what I’ve heard you aren’t spoiled," she smiled.

"Oh," Justin said as he raised one brown eyebrow. "What exactly have you heard?"

"Stuff," Mindy said as she slightly twisted back and forth. "So what are some of the things you like to do?"

Justin paused. "What do you mean?" he asked stalling for time. He could say anything but sing and dance.

"You know, what makes Randy Smith, Randy Smith?"

Justin shrugged. "I like to do what most any guy likes to do. I like to watch sports, sing along to the radio, you know…"

Mindy smiled again. "Do you like to party?"

Justin looked at Mindy. She was staring at his face like she’d asked the most important question in the world.

"Yeah sure," he said. "I like to party."

"There’s this party tomorrow," Mindy said. "At my friends house. A lot of the seniors will be there you know, so it’s not like a sophomore party."

Justin contemplated the party. "I’d love to."

Mindy smiled brightly. "It’s at Kurt’s house."

Justin nodded. Maybe he’d drag Maggie with him. He hadn’t seen her go out since he’d moved into the house.

"Do you need anything else for the article?" Justin asked.

"How old are you?" Mindy asked.

"Eighteen. I’ll be 19 in January," Justin said. "I know, I’m old."

"You aren’t that old," Mindy said, emphasizing the ‘that.’

It was Justin’s turn to laugh. "You make me sound like I’m 90 or something. Thanks for the interview Mindy. You did a good job."

If Justin had thought Mindy turned red before, it was nothing compared to the color she turned now. She looked like she couldn’t decide between being speechless or flirtatious.  Flirtatious won.

"Well, I had a good subject."

Justin shook his head and walked back down the hall towards his classroom.

Justin stared out the window at the grassy field in front of the school. There was a large tree close to the front of the school. A bench was built around the trunk.

"Randy Smith," the teacher said and Justin jumped to attention as a paper landed on his desk.

He picked it up with trepidation and felt a smile slowly split his face. There was a large red ‘A’ on the top of his test. The words ‘good job’ were written underneath. He felt his heart begin to beat faster and tingles filled his system. This was an unknown experience and he really liked it.

The bell rang and Justin hopped out of his seat. He was out the door when Stu caught up with him.

"What’s up bro?" Stu asked. "You look happy."

"I aced it," Justin said shoving the papers at Stu.

"That’s cool," Stu said. He studied Justin’s face. "You look like you’ve never gotten an A on a test before."

"I haven’t," Justin said slowly. He saw Maggie and Emily walking down the hall towards him. "Be right back."

He walked into the center of the hall and wrapped his arms around a shocked girl.

"Thank you!" he said.

"For what?" Maggie asked as he set her down.

"For helping me get an A on that test," Justin said. "I aced it."

"Congratulations," Maggie said with a smile. Her face was slightly red at the realization that the entire school had seen the hug.

"I just wanted to say thanks," Justin said. He stepped back towards Stu and smiled. "I’ll see you tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Maggie said. She continued down the hall with Emily by her side.

Emily had a grin on her face.

"What?" Maggie asked finally.

"You like him," she said with a smirk.

"I do not," Maggie said. "He’s just a really sweet guy."

"Who you are falling for really fast," Emily said.

"I am not," Maggie protested. "Just two nights ago we had a long talk about how neither of us wants to be in a relationship now. I mean he has a girl back home that he’s interested in…"

"That’s him," Emily said. "Whether or not he has a girl back home that he’s interested in says nothing about how you feel about him."

"I don’t like him Em," Maggie said. "I don’t."

Emily nodded. "If you say so."

"I do," Maggie said. "He’s becoming just like a brother to me. That’s it."

"I believe you!" Emily said. There was laughter in her voice.

"No you don’t," Maggie said.

"You’re right, I don’t," Emily laughed. "But if it floats your delusional boat to believe you don’t like him then so be it."

"I don’t like him," Maggie growled. "Seriously. I don’t. Who would know better than me?"

"Me," Emily said.

Maggie shook her head knowing she wasn’t going to win the argument.

Friday, November 17, 2000

Justin wiped the towel through his hair as he stood in the hall outside Maggie’s room. He knocked and rested the towel around his bare shoulders. He was wearing a pair of loose mesh basketball shorts.

"Come in," he heard Maggie call.

Justin opened the door and smiled. "What are you doing tonight?"

Maggie shrugged. "Probably doing what I do every Friday night. Staying at home with my parents."

"Not tonight," Justin said.

"Randy…" Maggie looked at the man in front of her askance.

"Get dressed, girl, ‘cause we’re going out."

"Randy," Maggie began to protest. "I don’t go out."

"But I want to," Justin pouted.

"So go," Maggie said. "I’m sure you’ll find more than enough female companionship."

"But I want you to come out with me," Justin whined. He pouted and stamped his foot lightly on the ground. "Puh-leeze?" he asked.

"I don’t party Randy. I haven’t since…"

"Come on Mags," Justin said. He put on his smile that made girls do anything he wanted.  "We have to celebrate both our A’s."

"I don’t know Randy," Maggie said.

"Puh-leeze?" Justin begged. He clasped his hands in front of him and batted his eyelashes.

Maggie sighed. "Fine…"

Justin smiled and picked the towel up off of his shoulders. He began running it over his hair again. "Great, I’ll meet you in the hall in ten minutes."

Justin walked out the door followed by Maggie’s shriek. "Randy! I can’t get ready in ten minutes."

Justin laughed. He went into his room and began to look for an outfit to wear. He decided to wear Abercrombie. It was probably too preppy, but Justin felt the need to get preppy. He hadn’t in forever.

Half an hour later there was a tentative knock on his door.

"Yeah!" Justin called. "’S open."

The door opened and Justin barely recognized the girl that stepped into his room.

"I thought you didn’t go out," Justin said.

"I don’t," Maggie said. She looked at her dress and slip-on’s. "Is this too much?"

"No way doll," Justin said. "You are going to be the hit of the party."

Maggie blushed. "You look really good."

Justin looked at his clothes. "I’ve missed wearing these clothes."

"You should wear them more often," she said. She blushed immediately.

"They don’t really fit in with the fashion statement of Mill Creek high," Justin said.

Maggie nodded. "Well, should we go? The faster we get there, the faster we can leave."

Justin smiled. "You are going to have the time of your life."

"I’ll have to see that to believe it," Maggie said. She walked out the door, closely followed by Justin.

Justin could have found the party without any directions from Maggie. There were more cars parked on the street than he thought belonged in the town. The music was deafening. In Florida this would have been shutdown long ago.

Justin looked at the girl beside him and met Maggie's eyes.

"We should probably go in," Maggie said after a moment. "Your public awaits."

"Promise me you’ll have fun?" Justin asked.

"Yes Randy," Maggie said rolling her eyes. "I will have fun."

"Good," Justin said. He acted on his impulse to grab her hand and started dragging her towards the party. Her hand fit very well in his. He dropped it as soon as they got to the porch, but he could still feel their palms pressed together.

He pushed open the door and motioned for Maggie to head on in. She walked in hesitantly and Justin walked behind her closely, almost protectively.

"Randy!" he heard someone call out.

Justin turned around and saw Stu standing with Matt and Kevin. He grabbed Maggies arm and dragged her over to the guys.

"Hey guys, you remember Maggie," Justin said.

Matt and Kevin nodded just slightly stiffly. They looked at Justin slightly oddly, as if wondering why he was hanging out with Josh's biggest enemey.

Maggie looked slightly depressed. "I’m going to go get a beer."

"Me too," Justin said. "Any of you want anything?"

The three other guys shook their heads and Justin headed off towards the keg with Maggie by his side.

"I thought you said you wanted me to have fun," Maggie said.

"You will," Justin said. "I promise."

He grabbed two cups of beer and handed one to Maggie. "Come on. Let’s dance."

Maggie shook her head frantically. "I don’t dance."

"You don’t go out either," Justin said. "But look where you are. Out. Now we’re going to dance." He grabbed Maggies hand and began to pull her towards the impromptu dance floor.

Maggie took a swig of the beer and gagged at the taste. She saw that they were getting closer to the dance floor so she stopped, chugged the rest of the cup and set it on a nearby table.

Justin pulled her to him out on the dance floor. This wasn’t the innocent dance of friends. This was the way Justin was used to dancing in clubs.

"Randy?" Maggie asked as he pulled her to him. "What are you doing?"

All the rest of the couples were slightly separated, dancing with each other, but not all over each other.

"I’m dancing." He put a hand on the small of her back and took a swig of his beer. He chugged the rest and dropped the cup on the ground, quickly crushing the red plastic. He used his other hand to turn Maggie around so her back was pressed to his front.

He put his hands on her wrists and pulled them up so that they were around his neck. He slowly began weaving down to the floor. On the way back up, Maggie turned around and wrapped her arms around Justin’s neck again, holding herself tightly to him.

"You never mentioned you could dance," she whispered in his ear.

"You never asked," Justin said.

The song ended and changed to country. Justin winced. He didn’t like country. That was the one problem he was having with the radio stations in the area. Nothing but country.

"Go find yourself a dance partner," Justin said. "I don’t swing. I’m going to get another beer."

Maggie frowned but separated from Justin. "I’ll come with you."

They’d just made it to the drink table when they met up with Stu.

"You guys looked pretty hot out there," he said. He looked appreciatively at Maggie. His eyes focused on Justin. "I didn’t know you could dance."

"I can’t," Justin said. "Not to country anyway. Why don’t you two dance?"

Maggie looked uncomfortable. She wanted to say no. Stu looked her up and down and then looked over to where Nick and Josh were standing along the far wall.

"You want to?" he asked, holding his hand out for Maggie.

Maggie smiled and placed her hand in his.

Justin smiled as they moved back to the space between the couches. He saw Mindy behind the bar. She was staring at him. He could tell she was already drunk. He made his way over to her.

"Hey Mindy."

"Hey Randy," Mindy slurred. "You wanna dance."

"I don’t really do—" Justin was cut off as Mindy dragged him back to the floor. He shrugged and chugged the beer. If he w as going to have to dance to country, he was going to have to get drunk. Two beers in ten minutes should be a good start.

Saturday, November 18, 2000

Justin groaned as he sat down on the bench beside Stu in the locker room of the gym.

Stu looked at Justin, an amused look on his face. "You okay bud?"

"Don’t let me do that again," Justin said. "If I say I’m going to party again the night before practice, slap me hard upside the head."

Stu laughed.

"It’s not funny asshole," Justin said with a slight grin on his face. "Why aren’t you miserable?"

Stu laughed again. "I’m still drunk. Why else do you think I’m here? I’m going to have one hell of a hangover."

Justin looked at his friend. "So I take it you had fun last night?"

Stu nodded. "You know, Maggies not that bad."

Justin looked at Stu. "I’ll be sure not to tell Josh you said that."

"He knows already dude," Stu said. "And he’s pissed at me. He saw me dancing with Maggie. He was not happy."

"I can imagine," Justin said. He smiled slightly.

"That’s it!" the coach yelled an hour into the practice. "I have never been more disappointed in any of you."

The nine guys stood around, heads hung low.

"We have our first game in a little over a week against Wilson and we need all the time that we’ve been given to prepare. What do you all do? You all go and get drunk the night before. This is inexcusable."

Justin was having a sense of dejavu. He was reminded of  the times that Chris had supplied all of them with alcohol. They’d been so hung over that they could hardly move the next day. Lance had been puking in the bathroom during their few breaks in the show. JC had been downing water like he was a fish out of water. Joey and Chris hadn’t been able to stand the bright lights, and Justin had had the worst headache of his young life. Johnny had freaked. He’d made them pledge not to do it again.

Justin looked at the coach who was still pacing back and forth spouting obscenities and phrases of disappointment. He raised his hand tentatively.

"Yes Smith?" the coach said. Justin had never seen him scowl so hard.

"Coach?" Justin said looking the coach in the eyes. "I would like to apologize for my actions. I can’t speak for the rest of the guys but I know I acted stupidly. It’s not fair to you, me or the rest of the guys. I want to pledge to you and the rest of the team that I won’t drink excessively before any practice or game ever again."

The coach glared at him still. "Thank you Randy, that’s very noble of you." His voice was sarcastic.

"I’d like to pledge that too," Stu said, raising his head for the first time since the beginning of the coach’s tirade.

Quickly all of the guys followed suit. They all looked at Justin with a new sense of admiration.

"Guys, I know that you’re teenagers and you like to go out and have fun, but if this keeps up, we’re going to screw up our chances of living up to the potential I know you guys have." Coach seemed to smile slightly. His expression seemed softer.

"We all know that we’re going to have a good team," Justin said. "I think we can go all the way and we need to give ourselves every opportunity to do that."

The rest of the guys nodded in agreement and thanks. They’d just found themselves a new leader.