The Homecoming Benefactor

13 | the parade

Beginning at 8:00 AM sharp, the entire Eta Pi Epsilon active chapter was standing outside of the house. We were waiting on Timmy and Nick to bring the float on Timmy's truck, practicing our walking and expressions in the meantime. All of our outfits were pastel colors to match the corals on the float.

My mind was absolutely not on the parade. I was still thinking about what Nick could have possibly meant by "revenge," as I never did find out. He didn't want me to worry about it and get distracted from the parade. When he left my dorm this morning, I overheard him talking on the phone to someone about computer coding. I, being an English major, couldn't understand any of the tech-speak beyond that.

"Hey, Francie," Hazel said, walking up behind me. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you, no matter what happens. This is the best homecoming performance we've had in years."

"Thanks, Hazel," I replied, turning around. "I'm sorry I got all delusional about Bryce and caused problems. We're done now, and there's nothing that will change my mind."

Hazel nodded hesitantly. "You don't need to feel an ounce of anything positive for him after the other day. I'm not mad at you, but I'm glad it's over. You're young... I know you're going to make choices that aren't great. It's what you do in the face of those choices. If those boys try anything, you have all eighty-two of us in your corner."

"Thank you," I said softly.

We heard the truck horn beep outside, and Hazel beamed profusely. "I know who else is in your corner."

Laughing to ourselves, we walked to the truck to greet Nick and Timmy. The float was even more colorful than I had remembered. Our makeshift pineapple stood in a field of cardboard corals, green hula grass hanging from the side rails. It appeared to be just enough to at least get us on the homecoming podium.

Timmy rolled down both front windows of the truck. "Are y'all ready to win this thing?"

"Hell yeah," I replied cheerfully. "We'll tell the other girls to walk over here."

In a single file line, sorority girls poured out of the front door, making their way onto and around the float. The color scheme made this look like a tube of Easter eggs. Timmy started the truck, and our entourage slowly made its way to the East commuter parking lot, the starting point of the parade. It was set to end at the football stadium.

The East lot looked like a car dealership for floats. Some of the other floats included one that was covered entirely with rhinestones, a Bratz themed float, and a float with a life-sized cutout of Britney Spears. I spotted Mattie on a float that looked like some type of hair salon setup. The competition was stiff, and I felt it in my chest.

"What is that?" Araceli pointed at an ice cream truck parked near the back of the lot.

"Let's go check it out," I replied, hopping off the float.

We still had about half an hour until it was time to line up for the parade, which started at 10:00, so a group of around ten of us ventured off to this mysterious ice cream truck. Hazel stayed behind to monitor the float, along with the seventy or so other actives. Soundtracks from various speakers played over each other as each team hooked their sound systems up to their floats. The sun was shining intensely that day in Great Oak, and I felt the heat tinge my forehead a little. It was abnormally warm for the middle of October.

When we finally reached the truck, a lanky man that looked to be about twenty-five opened the window. He looked like one of those professional video gamers.

"Hey, how are you guys doing?" His bright blue hair glistened in the sun. "I'm Ethan, and I'm giving away free product from our new launch!"

Emma narrowed her eyes. "What is the free product?"