Hidden Valley (D. SWING)

III. Reel Him In

"Man, I still can't believe you got her up in here."

Javon's still mugging me a week later. I couldn't not sit with them. The day after Javon found out Don invited me, again, I stayed away, again, and he brought his stuff to me... again. Him and Dalvin, they're cool. Dalvin is the coolest, I wish we could go to the same school. Derek is... Derek is not nice, at all. He's all on board with anything Javon says. I can't seem to figure out why. It's really annoying too.

Dalvin shakes his head at Javon's words. "Give her a break, man, it's her birthday." My head shoots up to face Dalvin. He hushes me by placing his hand over his lips. I fold my lips inward and turn back to my activity.

Don looks at me, a smile growing on his face. I fight the urge to look up at him. "It's your birthday?"

"No," Javon shouts. "Her birthday ain't until August! Dalvin's lying again." I look around, a little shocked at the idea of Dalvin not telling the truth about anything. Nothing about him looks unhonest. He looks pretty truthful.

I laugh and Dalvin says, "I was just tryin' to see if you would calm down!"

"You think I don't know my own sister's birthday," Javon argues back.

"You don't even like her!"

I'm not sure who said it but it definitely made questions come up about this fake front that Javon keeps putting on. He knew what he was doing no matter how much he tries ro hide it. He knows that I like fishing and that's why he doesn't want me here but he already knew that I would end up here.

I fight with the wrapping of my pole. I can't get my wire to wrap around my rod the right way. I can't ask Javon, he's in the middle of wrapping his own. So, I'll ask the next best thing that won't make me want to jump into the water. "Dalvin, can you help me?" I openly ask.

Dalvin looks at me and says, "Don did mine for me."

"I'll help you."

Without a single hesitation, Don approaches me with his hands out to take my pole out of my reach. I hesitate a little bit but I give it to him. I stand in front of him and watch him fix everything that I had did wrong. "You double jointed too?" I ask examining his hands. My cousin is double jointed but his hands only look like that when he flexes his fingers.

"Kinda'," He says laughing a little bit. "It's complicated." That's all he says and he silences himself. His eyebrows furrow. He is obviously focusing on the pole and how to fix it. "What the heck did you do to it?" I shrug my shoulders and Don starts to laugh. I hear small snap that takes my attention off of his fingers and he hands me my pole. "Here you go."

Taking the pole with a smile, I step back, mumbling my usual thank you that I'm always too scared to say. I wish he didn't make me so nervous. He's really nice. He opens doors for people and always says please. He gives up his seat for girls and always says thank you. He hasn't given up his seat for me yet but I'm patiently waiting on the day that it happens. If I fell into the lake would he come get me? I can't say that this isn't looking like the perfect plan right now. At the same time, Javon would probably jump in after me first. After that, he'll yell at me and after that, Big Mama is gonna' be mad that I messed up my good play clothes.

I end up right where I started, standing with Dalvin. "You ready?" Dalvin questions. We decided to have a little contest. We'll both cast in at the same time and whoever catches a fish first, they have to make the other one sandwiches for three days of service... and eat one sandwich of the other's choice. Dalvin added in that part. You know how boys are.

We cast.

My legs swing off the dock as I wait on the pole to jolt with some kind sign that I'm getting somewhere. Javon walks over to Dalvin and I, a half empty gatorade bottle in his hand. "Stay right here and don't move. I'm goin' to pee." I nod my head and Javon walks away. His three other friends, that I don't know, stay behind. Derek is digging in the cooler. He's prepping for a fish that he hasn't even caught. Don, is sitting on the edge of a bench with worms in his hand, he is baiting up.