Just Good Friends

Chapter 21

Author's POV

After the girls and boys basketball team played their game of scrimmage, the principal of the school took the mic as the audience quieted down.

"Thank you to everyone that came out this fine afternoon to enjoy games of basketball as well as games of bean bag toss."

The crowd laughs at the principal's corny joke.

"I want to thank all of our staff and teachers that helped with this last minute project; cafeteria workers that made a few snacks for you all; the cheer squad who baked some delicious goods for us; the basketball teams here, of course; and I want to thank the Wesley High Bumblebees for showing school spirit and putting together this wonderful fundraiser event. As you know, Christmas is next week for those who celebrate it, and though you'll be giving and receiving gifts for the next few days, one lucky student from Wesley High will be getting a gift early. Julie, please tell the audience the news," the principal announces.

The principal passes the mic to Julie and the crowd cheers.

"Thank you. Hi, everyone. My name is Julie Martinez, I'm a senior at Wesley High, and a current member of the cheer squad. I approached our principal and told him about my idea for this event today, because I think our school needed a good reason to come together, enjoy sports and games and good food, and support one another in a safe space. I'm super thankful that he agreed to this idea, because it turned out wonderfully! What do you all think?"

As Julie raises the question, the crowd gives a round of applause. After everyone is quiet, she begins again with a huge smile on her face.

"I'm excited to make this next announcement so without further ado... let's get to the chase! Some lovely math teachers of ours gladly counted the amount of donations collected from today's ticket sales and concession sales and came up with a huge amount. The total amount of money collected for the school this afternoon is... $4,000!"

The crowd goes wild.

"But that's not all. Half of the fundraising money will go to one lucky student who is very deserving of the money, I must say. You actually might've seen him scoring a few points during the scrimmage game today. He's a member of the Wesley High varsity boys basketball team."

Among the crowd, the guys of the boys basketball team look around at each other in disbelief about what they're hearing. They seem excited.

"Ladies and gentlemen, help me congratulate... Jake Ruiz!"

Jake gets up from his place on the bleachers and looks extremely shocked as his teammates pat him on the back and cheer him on. They push him up towards the center of the gym as the crowd gives another round of applause. As Jake approaches the principal and Julie, she passes him the mic and asks if he wants to say anything.

"I'm completely shocked. Um... thank you for this. I appreciate it very much," Jake says. His teammates run and give him a group hug.

"And that's a wrap. Thank you again, everybody! Drive safe and have a nice holiday!" Julie remarks with lots of energy, waving to the crowd as more cheers fill the gymnasium.

***

JULIE's POV

After everyone was gone and we finished cleaning up, I looked for Jake so I could congratulate him once again. Walking down one of the school's hallways, I see him giving his last interview to the local news channel. When the news people leave, I run up to him.

"Jake! Hey, congratulations!"

"Thanks, Julie. You did it. You actually put this whole thing together... impressive," he says while wearing a huge smile. Wow, I never noticed he had dimples.