Page 26
Chapter 26
Graham
Nathan, Chloe, and I huddle around the island at the Pritchetts' house, staring at The List, trying to come up with a good idea for what I should do next.
“Front row at her performance. I’ll be at the Cactus Hills variety show. And I am going to sign up to help out at the talent show with her. Maybe there’s something there? Could I do a big dance-posal at either show?”
“Seriously? How long have you known her? You want her to sing and then hit her with a big attention-grabbing ask? Yeah, no. She’ll hate that. Also, dance-posal?” Nathan says.
I throw my hands in the air. “That’s the problem! She’ll hate all big asks. They are big public spectacles! I don’t understand why it’s on her list. And yes. Dance-posal. That’s what they’re called. Keep up, Nate.” Chloe snorts in laughter, and Nathan rolls his eyes.
“Why?” Aunty Theresa says from behind us.
“Gosh! Mrs P., you’re a ninja!” Chloe exclaims, holding her chest. “You scared me so badly!”
Nathan rolls his eyes at her and looks at his mom. “What do you mean, why?”
“Why does it have to be in public? Why not do something private but still big? Like, turn her room into an island paradise with a volcano, and say I’d lava if you came to the dance with me? See—big, spectacular, private. Exactly what Julia would love.” Aunty Theresa shrugs before opening the fridge and pulling ingredients out for dinner. I look back at the list, my mind whirling.
“Uh-oh. J just texted. Apparently, Ginger is going to ask you to the formal. We gotta get moving on this.” Chloe sets her phone down and leans closer to the list.
“The words don’t change just because you get closer,” Nathan says.
“Are you sure? Try it. Get closer,” Chloe taunts. Nathan rolls his eyes, again, but otherwise ignores her.
“I got it! I’m going to need all of your help though! Including you, Aunty T. I need a sheet of paper. Let's take notes.” Aunty Theresa grabs me a pad of paper and a pen from a drawer. In big, block letters across the top of the page, I write PROJECT CASTLE. Chloe, Nathan, and Aunty T all smile big and nod enthusiastically.
“I’m ready! What do you need?” Aunty T rubs her hands together, apparently forgetting about dinner entirely.
“First, we need someone to distract Julia.” I rub my hands together, too, channeling Aunty T’s excitement.
“I’ll do it. We need to make a plan to stop Ginger anyways.” Chloe grabs her phone and heads toward the door.
“Deal. Nathan, get your keys. Aunty T, we’re going shopping!”
***
We spend the ten-minute drive to the craft store in full planning mode. Inviting Aunty T was a great idea, because it turns out, turning your girlfriend's room into a castle is probably something you should ask her parents about. Plus, she has skills. I do not.
“Okay, you get craft paint, you ask if they have any cardboard boxes we can have, I’ll get the rest!” Aunty Theresa says, before running into the store. I don’t know how this happened, but by the time I locate the paint, pick the correct colors, and find Nathan with some old boxes, his mom is already at the front door, with an entire overflowing cart, all paid for. We both look at her in awe, and I’m feeling even more confident than I was before.
“Come on, boys! Let’s do this.” I quickly pay for the paint and help Aunty Theresa load up the car. On the ride home, she draws a few quick sketches for my approval. I’m willing to agree with basically whatever Aunty Theresa suggests because it’s her house, and I know that she shares my vision. I want Julia’s door to look like a castle door, and then she walks into her room and it’s all castle-ified. I will be there, holding a sign with some kind of winter pun asking her to the dance. She will swoon, fall into my arms, kiss me, and we’ll go to the dance, and live happily ever after.
“Graham!” Nathan says my name, clearly not for the first time.
“Sorry. Daydream.”
“Aw! About Julia?” Aunty Theresa sighs.
“Mom. No, we don’t talk about this,” Nathan groans.
“You don’t talk about it. Graham and I talk about it whenever I can.”
“I think I’ll keep this one to myself, thanks. But, let’s check out these plans.” I grab the paper and look it over. I dream big, but I need all the help for the execution. Aunty T spends the last few minutes in the car, explaining how it will all work and what I need to do. She’s pretty excited and willing to spend the majority of tomorrow getting it all set up. I am positive that she’s going to recruit my mom. I’m pretty invested, but they might be more invested. I think it’s every middle-aged woman’s dream for their kid to fall in love with their best friend’s kid.
“Nathan. You go inside and make sure Julia is in her room. I need time to hide everything.” Theresa waves him off, and Nathan grumbles a little but gets out of the car and yells Julia’s name as soon as he gets to the front door.
“Theresa?” Julia’s dad walks out to the car. “Was I supposed to make dinner tonight? I thought you had a plan, but it seems you got distracted?” His eyes scan the bags in the car and land on me. “This is your doing?”
Aunty Theresa swatted at his arm. “Oh, Connor. Leave him alone. I get to play fairy godmother!”
“Graham is getting a makeover?” Uncle Connor’s eyebrows furrow in confusion.
“No! I am turning our daughter's room into a castle so Graham can ask her to the Winter Formal!” Aunty Theresa gushes.
Uncle Connor lets out a sigh followed by a small smile. “That sounds lovely, Theresa. I’ll go make dinner. Graham, be my sous-chef.” He grabs my shoulder, dragging me along after him.
***
I luck out when I check the fridge and there are two pounds of ground beef in there, just waiting for me to suggest burgers. Uncle Connor makes some of the best homemade burgers I’ve ever had. His secret is he adds homemade teriyaki sauce into the meat mixture.
“So, Graham. How’s it going?” Uncle Connor says, forming the hamburger patties with practiced hands.
“Uhm, good, sir.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’ve known you for years. Sure, I like to tease, but be nice to my daughter, the way you always have been, and I’ve got no problems.”
I clear my throat, and let my shoulders relax. “Great, thanks. Back to normal, then. I’m good, waiting for the next school break.”
Connor let out a small chuckle. “Still not sold on school, huh?”
“Not really. It’s boring, ya know?”
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll revisit that. What about sports? Your dad told me he was hoping you’d go out for something this year.”
“Yeah, he wants me to wrestle. I think he wants to relive his glory days. I know he played football, but I’m not interested in that. He liked wrestling too, so he’s encouraging me to do that. The coach stopped me in the hall the other day, asking me to join.”
Uncle Connor stops forming patties and gives me a searching look. “I’ve heard kids say that a lot. I probably even said it, too. But can I tell you a secret? It’s not about reliving our glory days. It’s about giving our kids glory days. We loved how it felt—to work hard and be successful. We want that for our kids. So cut your dad a break and give him the benefit of the doubt. We aren’t monsters. We are doing the best we can.” He nudges me with his elbow and then heads out to turn on the barbecue.
I watch him go and think about what he said. I know that my dad isn’t unreasonable or a monster. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to have something to do. Nathan plays baseball, Chloe is a social butterfly with her finger in every pie, Julia sings and runs. I don’t know what Josie does, but she seems busy. Maybe I am wasting my time. High school doesn’t last forever. My parents are always telling me to embrace it. I pull out my phone and find the high school website. I scroll to the athletic site and click on the sign up link. I’m going to do it. I make no promises to myself that I will stop being a goofball and a tease, but I can do something seriously. I can prove it to myself and my parents. This is also a perfect opportunity to show Julia that I have what it takes to do something hard, to stick with it. But first, I need to finish helping Connor. He said I didn’t need to be afraid, but let’s be real. I’m dating his daughter. A healthy amount of fear is a good thing.