Loose Ends

Chapter 43

Lauren and Amy were chatting in front of Lauren's locker when Madison came up to them.

"You guys going to the game tonight?" she asked.

"No," Amy said; Madison pouted.

"Oh come on! We gotta show our Lancer spirit!" Madison pumped her fist in the air for emphasis, causing her best friends to laugh.

"I'm not exactly a football fan," Amy told her. "So I have no clue what's going on anyway."

"But you were in the marching band." Amy rolled her eyes.

"Just because I was at the game doesn't mean I understood it." Amy shrugged. "No one ever bothered to explain it to me and I didn't ask."

"Explain what?" Ricky asked from behind her. Madison's face suddenly lit up.

"Ricky!" Ricky looked at her warily.

"What."

"Do you get football?"

"Yeah." He wasn't sure where Madison was going with this but the gleam in her eye made him nervous.

"Perfect! Then you can explain it to Amy tonight at the game." Ricky turned to Amy to ask for an explanation.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Madison?" Amy asked her friend.

"What?"

"John."

"What about him?" Madison asked, not understanding what the problem was.

"One, in order for us to be at the game we'd have to bring John with us. Two, the game starts at 7:30 so by the time it ended it would be way past John's bedtime. Three, John's only a toddler and he'd be bored just sitting there in the stands for a couple of hours so Ricky and I would be entertaining John and not actually watching the game."

"On the other hand," Ricky said from beside her, causing the three girls to focus their attention on him. "He's never been to a football game so he might actually enjoy it." Madison smiled triumphantly.

"So we're all going to the game then?" Everyone looked at Amy expectantly and she sighed with defeat.

"Okay, okay. I'll go." She gave Ricky a pointed look. "But that means you'll have to explain what's going on." Ricky gave her a smile.

"Deal." In another hallway near the counselor's office Ashley and Griffin were also discussing the game.

"Come on, Ash. Neither of us have any actual plans tonight and it's perfectly normal for two teenagers to go to their school's football game. Even if it's just to people watch and goof off and not actually watch the game."

"Well," Ashley didn't get a chance to finish her statement as she collided with someone. Ashley had her head turned to the right to look at Griffin and hadn't seen a student come out of the counselor's office. Said student had their head facing behind them to say goodbye to the counselor and hadn't checked to make sure the area directly outside the door was clear. The result was that he and Ashley collided as he left the office, knocking Ashley's books out of her hand and causing her to drop her bag that was slung over her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," he began, bending down to retrieve Ashley's books while she did likewise to retrieve her bag.

"Me too," Ashley said. They both looked up and caught each other's eye as they stood back up. "And since no one's bleeding, no harm no foul." The boy smiled as he handed Ashley her books. He stuck out his hand after she took them.

"I'm Toby." Ashley shook his outstretched hand.

"I'm Ashley." Toby smiled.

"Nice bumping into you. Although, we probably shouldn't make a habit of it." Ashley smiled and nodded.