Page 20

Chapter 19

You’ve Been Caught

W alking off the practice field and into the hallway that leads to the locker room, there stands the now infamous whiteboard with Danica and Ross. They are situated on either side of the camera, which is right behind the board, and are both smiling at us. While I find these questions a bit annoying, they are rather funny once they’re edited and posted. So far, we’ve been asked: When’s the last time you called your mother? Who is your favorite all-time athlete, not a football player? What’s the strangest app on your phone? Describe Bryan Brennen. What’s the best seat on the plane: window, middle, or aisle?

But today, it’s “Would you rather eat a Rocky Mountain oyster/bull fries sandwich or lie in a box and let a hundred spiders crawl all over you?”

“What are bull fries? Is that something like duck fat fries? Because if that’s the case, then I’m all in for the sandwich,” Rico declares, full of confidence. “Yum, yum.”

“Now I know you’re smarter than that.” Sully smacks him on the back of the head. “Why on earth would they put up a delicious sandwich next to a horrible experience? They wouldn’t. Try again.”

“I don’t think there are oysters in the Rocky Mountains.” This comes from Dylan. “Aren’t oysters like a saltwater thing?”

“Although oysters do primarily come from the ocean, there are freshwater oysters. Oyster is a term referring to a bivalve, and there are freshwater oysters in Africa. They can be found in the Nile, Congo river basins, and Madagascar,” Camden chimes in, rubbing his head and slicking back his hair.

“You do realize your geek is flying right now for all to see,” Rico says, looking at Camden like he’s suddenly worried for him.

Camden just shrugs. “I am who I am.”

“Well, this isn’t Africa, and no one has explained what a Rocky Mountain oyster is.” Dylan looks at each of us, and I duck my head behind Sully’s and snicker.

“A Rocky Mountain oyster or a bull fry is a cow testicle. They are usually deep-fried after being skinned, floured, seasoned, and pounded flat,” Camden tells him.

Dylan and Rico recoil in horror, and Rico turns to look at Danica and Ross.

“Oh, y’all got problems,” Rico tells them, and the amused look on Danica’s face stretches from ear to ear.

In front of me, Sully turns stiff and then makes a noise. Weird.

“I’ll take the sandwich,” Camden announces and then walks off.

“Are these big spiders or little spiders?” Dylan asks them, shaking out his arms like he’s been lifting weights for the past hour.

“Does it matter?” Ross answers. “They’re spiders.”

Just thinking about them crawling all over me has me raising my hand. “I’ll take the sandwich, too.”

“Bro, you nasty,” Rico says, his lips twisting as if he smelled something bad.

“Yeah, well, along with the size of the spiders, they also didn’t tell you if they bite or not,” I point out, and he and Dylan look at each other.

“What about you, Sully?” Danica asks, but he doesn’t respond, and I have to shove him in the back to get him to talk. What is wrong with him?

“Sandwich. I’ve had worse.”

Everyone turns to look at him.

“What could possibly be worse than eating cow balls?” Dylan asks.

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” he taunts. Sully is a big man and easily has five inches and eighty pounds on Dylan.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll go with the sandwich, too. Just like you didn’t say the details about the spiders, you didn’t tell us that we couldn’t slather it with toppings like chili, onions, and cheese. I’ll drown out the nut flavor,” Rico states, proud of his choice.

“My stomach just turned.” Dylan frowns. “I think I’ll take the spiders.”