Stupid Boy: Senior Year - Spring 07

Chapter 7 -- You've Got A Friend

Wednesday February 8

It's funny how your experiences can make you see things differently. My kids were all taking after Little David by learning to walk. Mom and I were in the living room watching Little David and Coby show off their skills while Cassidy, Peggy, and Dad made breakfast. Coby pulled himself up using the coffee table and promptly fell on his butt. That triggered his face to scrunch up, and his tears to well up, when my mom began to sing to him.

I was surprised because it was a classic I'd always thought of as a love song, but it fit perfectly with the little one's newest adventure. The song was You've Got A Friend. The lyrics were sung to someone who was going through a difficult time and was unhappy. It started out talking about if you were down and troubled, the singer would offer a helping hand. When my mom sang to Coby, he looked up and saw that she had her hands held out to him.

The little giggle-box forgot about wanting to cry as Mom continued to serenade him. I joined her when she sang the chorus, where it told Coby just to call out our names, and we would come running. Mom helped him stand and held onto both his pudgy little hands as they swayed to the music. In my mind, You've Got A Friend was forever changed to the baby walking song. I wasn't sure whether or not the songwriter would appreciate that, but your perspective changes when life happens.

"Breakfast!" Peggy called to break up our little sing-along.

I scooped up Little David while my mom took care of Coby. Happy babies can brighten up even your darkest night, in both the song's and my opinion.

My happiness turned to concern when I saw my dad grab the countertop with both hands, his eyes closed, and his head dropped.

"Rob," my mom said with concern.

"It's just a dizzy spell. Give me a second," he said.

Mom handed me Coby so she could go to my dad. He opened his eyes and gave her a sheepish smile.

"I forgot to take my pills this morning," Dad admitted.

Mom sent me upstairs to get his medicine from their bathroom. I came back downstairs with them in hand.

"I've been able to cut back because I've been getting better. Sometimes it just reminds me that I need to take it easy," Dad said to assure my mom. "I just forgot to check my heart rate this morning."

They'd given Dad a battery-operated cuff that he put on his forearm, which checked his blood pressure and heart rate. Thankfully, he was responding well to the treatment plan his doctors had laid out for him. It was still early, but they felt he would be okay and live a long life. He was relatively young and in decent shape. They wanted him to lose some weight, but that was a common issue for someone his age.

Heck, my brother had put on a few pounds. It made me worry he might end up with problems similar to my dad when he was twenty years older.

"Should we talk to Greg about his weight gain?" I asked.

My dad's eyes narrowed at me, and then he let go of his initial irritation at the perceived dig. Then he took what I asked seriously.

"I'll talk with him," Dad assured me.

I was relieved because my brother wouldn't take me as seriously as he would Dad. Greg would just think I was making fun of him. The truth was, Greg wasn't overweight yet, but if he continued, he would be. With our family history of heart issues, keeping his weight down was something he could do to help. It was something we both had to be aware of.

---

I'd decided today was put-up-or-shut-up time as far as dating a girl at Lincoln High. I'd run through the list in my mind. There were a handful of girls who could have made the decision easier if they had been attending school with me. The short list included Halle James, my actress friend in Hollywood; Kara Tasman, a top model in New York; and Missy Stone, my favorite redhead at Wesleyan.

Locally, Gina Tasman had three strikes against her. She was Alan's ex; even though he and I were on the outs, I couldn't date one of Alan's former girlfriends. The second problem I had with Gina was that she was Kara's sister. And finally, I thought Gina and Wolf had something going. What that could be, I had no idea.

What sealed the deal was, let's just say it: I thought she was a bit of a bitch. It was one thing to be friends with her, but dating ... Nah, not happening.

I decided to narrow the field and focus on someone whom I hadn't dated before. The first girl that came to mind was Kylie Ruttier. She was one of the 'frosh' cheerleaders that Tracy had put me in charge of in my sophomore year. At the time, I'd thought they were all too young. In the last two years, they'd grown up, but in the back of my mind, I still thought they were too young. That is when I added another filter: they had to be a senior. The underage aspect could potentially bite me in the butt.

"Hey, want to have lunch together?" I asked my target.

"Uhm ... I'm not really part of your crowd. I'm not sure they would want me to come to your table."

"Did you forget who I am?" I asked with a mischievous look.

"No, David. Everyone knows who you are, and I'm guessing that if I went to lunch with you, your friends would be nice. That doesn't change the fact that I'm not part of your crowd."

"We could get a table by ourselves," I suggested.

She gave me a skeptical look.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Let's cut to the chase. Would you go out with me this weekend?"

"Like on a date?" she asked as her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline in surprise.

"Yeah, like a date," I said, suddenly worried she might turn me down.

"I guess," she offered skeptically.

I decided to take that as a win and pressed forward.

"I haven't been on a first date in a while. Is there something you'd like to do?" I asked.

She barked out a laugh.

"I'm not falling for that. Everyone knows that if you ask a girl out, you plan the dates, or they get canceled."

Wow, I'd forgotten all about that. The 'frosh' girls had tried to set me up, and the one they'd wanted me to go out with kept asking what we were doing. As I recall, she wanted to ensure it was something enjoyable, or she didn't want to go. I'd felt like she was playing games, so I had withdrawn the offer. I could see that someone who didn't know all the details would think that about me.

"Tell you what. This one time, it's Lady's Choice. I'll take you anywhere you want to go," I said.

"Really? Anywhere I want to go?" she asked.

There were some people to whom, if I'd made that offer, I would be sweating bullets. Destiny Crown jumped to mind. She might make me take her to Paris for dinner. Of course, I had a loophole for that one. There was a Paris in Illinois I could use if needed.

"Sure. Why not? I think it'll be fun to see what a girl wants to do on a first date. It also takes a lot of the pressure off of me," I said with a little smile.

I could see she hadn't thought this through. Planning a good first date wasn't easy. I decided to give her an out.

"If it's too much ..." I started.

"No!" she blurted, and then her lips curled up in pleasure. "I need to think about it, but I'll plan the date."

"So, that means you'll go out with me?" I asked.

"Yes, David. Was there ever any doubt?" she asked.

I waggled my eyebrows at her in response.

"Now leave me alone. I need to talk to my girlfriends to get some ideas," she said as she walked past me.

I felt good. I had an actual first date set. Baby steps, right?

---

I nonchalantly slid into my seat at the lunch table.

"What do you call half a colon?" Wolf asked the table and then paused for effect. "A semicolon."

"Please, make it stop," Gina begged.

"What weight does an evangelist carry with God?" Wolf continued unperturbed. "A Billigram."

"I've got one ..." I started with the intention to tell one of my religious jokes that I told my boys.

That was when there was a big squeal from a table on the other side of the lunchroom as my date told her friends she was going out with me. The whole lunchroom turned to see why several girls were making a racket when the noisemakers all turned and looked at me. My tablemates, in turn, all looked at me.

"I have a date," I explained.

"With Sun Ling?" Cassidy asked.

"Yeppers," I admitted.

I was a little put out that my friends didn't believe me. They couldn't wrap their heads around the idea that I would date someone 'normal' like Sun. I'd gotten to know her when she and I had math together, and I'd noticed something was up with her. Turned out, Sun was homeless. My mom had worked with our church to find her a family that would let her move in with them. While she wasn't the type of girl I usually dated, I liked Sun as a person. It wasn't like we were getting married.

---

My friends amused me. First, they'd pushed me to date someone at Lincoln High so I could enjoy my senior year. I think Tim and Wolf had visions of double-dates where I picked up the tab. Well, that wasn't the whole reason. They were recalling the fact that I tended to do fun things, like motocross with Brook. I could always plan a guys' outing, and we'd do something like that.

But with this new development, the girls were confused. Sun wasn't the typical cheerleader type I usually spent time with. I guess most guys have a type. I liked smart, athletic girls who have outgoing personalities. Sun was more of a nerd who I suspected didn't exercise other than when forced to in PE. She was also quiet. I guessed her to be probably five-two and weigh about a hundred pounds. Me being over a foot taller and more than twice her weight made people wonder.

I'd picked Sun precisely because she wouldn't be my usual choice. What people forgot was that in middle school, I was the guy version of Sun. All my friends from my former nerd life were no longer around. Tami and Alan went to Wesleyan, and Jeff was no longer with us. Sun reminded me of what my life could have been like, and in some ways, I missed that.

The deciding factor was that my former nerd self would have totally been into Sun.

---

After Joey and Cassidy abused me, Cassidy and I met up with JD, my James Bond spycraft consultant, to do more training.

"Have you been working on your skills?"

"I try to pick the locks you gave me for a little while each day. I'm starting to get pretty good at it," I said.

"I've been working on fox walking," Cassidy shared.

I gave her a sideways look because the last thing I needed was for the little ninja to learn to sneak up on me.

"Good," JD said. "Today, we'll do a field trip and test out your skills. Before we proceed, I would like to share with you the mindset required for a successful spy. Chubby wants you to be able to fall into the role naturally and asked me to share this side of the business."

"You were a spy?" Cassidy asked.

JD gave her a noncommittal look and then looked at me to let Cassidy know she wasn't going to answer that question.

"A big part of the tradecraft is analyst work. You have to wade through piles of information that can be both contradictory and ambiguous to find the one key item that is relevant. The other side won't make it easy for you and will try to mislead or outright lie. That's why a systematic approach that considers a range of alternative explanations and outcomes is the best approach. Let me give you a few tips for evaluating something to get to the truth.

"Try not to go into a situation with an expectation of what you'll find. When we do that, we find what we expect. We also fall into the trap of resisting the truth even when faced with new evidence," JD taught.

"I get that," I admitted.

"Another trap is to think that a small body of consistent data means it will hold true across a wider sample."

"Can you give us an example?" I asked.

"Do you play cards?" JD asked.

"I've been learning to play poker."

"Have you ever noticed that certain cards seem to keep coming up?"

"Now that you mention it, I have."

Last time I played, it seemed a six came up on every flop. I'd actually hit trip sixes, which reinforced my belief that if I had a six in my hand, I should play it, even though that wasn't a winning strategy.

"The truth is that, over the long haul, the odds are equal for all the cards in the deck to come up," she explained.

"That makes sense," I admitted.

"What I'm trying to point out is that you need to be careful not to allow your bias to creep into your thinking. To help prevent that, challenge critical assumptions. Examine alternative outcomes, even those with low probability, to see if available data might support one or more of these outcomes.

"Here's a real-life example. In 2002, there was a sniper shooting people in the Washington, DC area. After the initial flurry of shootings, the operating assumption that emerged was that the shootings were the work of a single white male who had some military training and drove a white van. If that working theory had been locked into, they might have ignored new information that contradicted those key assumptions," JD said.

"What happened?" Cassidy asked.

"Ten people were killed and three others injured. It turned out to be a two-man team. One was a 17-year-old from Jamaica. The other was a black man who was a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and an expert marksman. They were driving a Chevrolet Caprice, which had been modified so that a shooter could lie prone and fire, undetected, from inside the car," JD shared.

"So, the only part they got right was the military training," Cassidy said.

"And the other takeaway I'm getting from this is an example of why we should question assumptions," I added.

"Yep," JD said and seemed happy that we'd understood her lesson. "Ready for a field trip?"

We both nodded.

---

"You want me to do what?" I asked in shock.

"I want you to break into one of the townhouses," JD said.

Cassidy had a look on her face that said she was glad it wasn't her who had to do this task. This was crazy. I could get sent to jail for breaking into a house.

"Chicken," Cassidy goaded.

"If you can't even do this, how are you going to be convincing on screen?" JD asked.

"What should I do?" I asked.

"Figure it out," JD said, to be totally unhelpful.

I got out of the car and walked around the townhouses. They backed up to my dad's golf course. The good news was that it was winter, so no one was playing it. I identified a couple of ways in and made a decision. I walked back and got into the car, and they both stared at me.

"Drive me to the clubhouse," I said.

"He's not going to tell us what he plans," Cassidy observed.

"Why not?" JD asked.

"That's just David."

I kept a neutral look on my face. JD shrugged and drove us to the country club. The girls followed me into the Pro Shop.

"Hey, David. I hear your dad took the day off. Is he okay?" one of the employees asked.

"He was just feeling a little dizzy today. I bet he's in tomorrow," I said, and then got to why I was there. "I need to borrow a wedge. Do you have any that are in rough shape?"

"Let me look in the back. Sometimes we have a few that are left on the course, and no one claims them. How rough are you looking for?"

"Something you won't mind me dinging up a bit."

While he went into the back, both JD and Cassidy looked concerned.

"You're not planning on breaking a window, are you?" JD asked.

I just ignored them.

"If he were doing that, he could use his tactical pen," Cassidy finally realized.

He came out with one that looked like hell.

"We found this one when we cleaned out the lakes at the end of the year. Will this work?"

"Do you need it back? I can give it to my dad to bring in," I said.

"No, keep it."

We said our goodbyes and went back to the townhouses.

"You two stay here," I said as I got out and walked around the back.

I stepped up to the sliding glass door in the back and peeked in the window. It looked like no one was home. My training had taught me that most spring-loaded locking mechanisms have a significant flaw: they can fail against upward force.

I leaned the wedge against the side of the house, slipped on my gloves, and grabbed the sliding glass door's handle with both hands. I looked around again to make sure no one was watching and jerked upwards as hard as I could. My effort dislodged the door from its track and released the spring latch to the open position.

I looked around again and, not seeing anyone, I lowered the door back onto its track. Now that it was unlocked, I eased the door open until the dowel caught the bottom of the doorframe. After backing the door off a few inches, I slid the wedge through the opening, used the club's head to lift the dowel out of the track, and opened the door the rest of the way.

I quickly stepped through and closed the door behind me. I took a moment to scan the back to assure myself that I'd made it in undetected. Then I turned around and almost peed myself. Sitting in the middle of the room was a cat staring at me.

'Meow.'

"Hey, Buddy, what's up?" I asked.

Frick! I was talking to a stupid cat.

'Meow.'

"You hungry?" I asked.

He got up and strolled to the kitchen. I followed him in, and he showed me that his food and water dishes were empty. I filled up his water bowl and then opened the pantry, where I found a bag of dry cat food. I sprinkled some in his dish. The cat, now having what he wanted, ignored me as he ate.

Typical.

I went back to the sliding glass door, reinserted the security dowel, and locked the door. I grabbed the golf club and walked out the front door, making sure the handle was secured.

When I got back in the car, both girls stared at me. Finally, Cassidy couldn't handle my silence.

"What took so long?" she asked.

"I had to feed the cat."

---

"And then he says with a straight face, 'I had to feed the cat,'" JD said and burst out laughing.

Chubby Feldman was on the line, and I could hear him laughing too as JD related my adventure in breaking into a home.

"The cat was hungry," I said to defend myself.

I should know better than to say stuff like that. My mom had roasted me many times. I rolled my eyes when JD, Cassidy, and Chubby all laughed at me.

"David, good job," Chubby said. "I also like your most recent 'walk' video. I forwarded it on to a friend of mine who's a choreographer, and he has a few suggestions. I'll send you a video of what he came up with when I get a chance."

"Thanks."

"I can't wait to start filming. I can already tell you'll be a lot of fun to work with," Chubby added.

"I just want to do a good job for you, sir."

"You will. Now enjoy the rest of your day. I'll see you at the Academy Awards ceremonies, and I'm sure I'll have a chance to talk with you at one of the after-parties," he said and hung up.

I got the feeling that last bit hadn't been just an idle comment.

"I'm hungry," Cassidy announced.

Sometimes, she reads my mind.

---

Friday February 10

I'd gotten some help with my 'walk' into school this morning. I'd bribed Marshal and Curtis, who were in my photography class last semester, to video my entrance for Chubby Feldman. Some of the theater and dance students were also assisting me.

I had Paul pull up in front of the school and wait. Cassidy had caught a ride with me. These days, she came over each morning, and Dad was teaching her to cook. My personal belief was that she didn't want to eat cold cereal at her house. It was only a matter of time before Coach Hope would be joining us for breakfast, too. He already ate dinner at our place about three times a week as it was.

"Why aren't we getting out?" Cassidy asked.

I tried to suppress my grin.

"I have a new walk to try out. Just wait for it," I told her mysteriously.

That was when I heard the drumbeat start. I made my exit from the car, spread my feet, dropped my head, and began to let my hips twitch to the beat.

'Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.'

The electric guitar began the opening for the old rock song Black Betty.

I'd talked to everyone and was surprised when one of the guys suggested this song. When he mentioned it, someone had pulled it up on the Internet and played it. What I was looking for was something with a driving beat that I could walk to.

My head came up, and I looked around. I pointed at a girl and then gave her the come-hither sign with the crook of my finger. She was with a group of girls, and she looked around as if to say, 'Who, me?' I was nodding to the beat as she hurried over.

I lifted my other arm and repeated the process. Cassidy was behind me, snickering at my antics.

Word must have gotten out. Almost everyone from the school was either at the entryway waiting to see my entrance or in classrooms looking out the windows at my helpers and me. They'd cleared the center area so I could do my thing.

We'd timed it so the second girl would be at my side when they began to sing.

Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)

Whoa, Black Betty (Bam-ba-Lam)

Black Betty had a child (Bam-ba-Lam)

The damn thing gone wild (Bam-ba-Lam)

The girls each grabbed an arm, and we strutted to the center of the area that had been cleared for us. Marshal and Curtis had set up two cameras on tripods, one facing us directly and the other at an angle. Marshal also had a handheld. Between the three angles, we figured we could edit it into a good scene.

Once we were all in place, people from the crowd joined us, and we began a choreographed dance. We had only planned a few moves because we didn't have much time to prepare. We'd worked in a few of the iconic James Bond poses, so I could do my whole Ian Bond shtick. When our routine ended, I suggested we freestyle until the end of the song.

I spotted Destiny Crown with her arms crossed, looking like a sourpuss. I danced up to her and gave her my best smile.

"Come on, dance with me. You know you want to," I prodded.

She rolled her eyes but soon joined me. I think the rest of the student body took that as a signal that they could join in. When the song ended, I was surprised to see everyone clap. Even Destiny had a smile on her face.

"You really are a 'stupid boy,'" Destiny told me. "I might have to transfer if you turn this place into the set of High School Musical Number 99."

That made me cringe. When I was a kid, Disney had put out a musical about high school kids who would break out in dance or song. Tami had made me go with her to the theater to watch it as payback for making her sit through some terrible monster movie. I didn't complain because the monster film really was awful. I think sometimes Tami just wanted to remind me that she was a girl, even though she usually liked action movies.

Anyway, to get back on track, Disney had made several more movies. Many had been released straight to TV because let's be honest, who would pay to see that? I just hoped that when our video was done, it would be better than that.

The bell rang, so I had to hurry to get to class.

---

After Joey had almost made me throw up from going too hard today, she caught my attention before I went to shower.

"You got a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, and she led me into her tiny office in the training room. I knew something was up when she closed the door.

"About the other night ..." she began.

"When you came over for dinner?"

"Yes," she said, and then took a deep breath. "You seemed to act like it was more than it was. I want to make sure you understand that we can't be more than friends."

"Because you're working at the school," I said.

"Well, that, and you're too young," she said.

I must have made a face because she hurried on.

"David, it has nothing to do with you. Normally, you would be the type of guy I would go for, but we are in two different places in our lives."

"So, it's you and not me," I said as I shook my head.

"Exactly."

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"I just realized that I'm a little too full of myself. I never thought you wouldn't be interested in all this," I said with my best smile to try to deflect the hurt I was feeling.

"Sorry, but even with 'all that,' not every girl is going to fall for your charms," Joey assured me.

"Wow! You're harsh. Give me a minute while I wrap my brain around that," I said, and gave her my drowned puppy look.

She didn't buy it.

"It's just that I had a good time meeting everyone and want to come back for dinner. If you think I would ever change my mind, I'll pass," Joey explained.

"No worries. I'll put on my big-boy pants and move on," I said and huffed. Then I had an idea. "You know my brother thinks you're hot, too?"

"Do I need to talk to Phil?"

"Not him, Greg."

Joey just blinked at me. Suddenly, I realized that she had a crush on my brother.

"But he's married. I would never agree to be the other woman," she confided.

"Good. There are times I would be willing to swap out Angie, but for some reason, my brother loves her," I said.

"You don't like her?"

"She's okay. She just gets on my last nerve sometimes," I said.

"Oh."

"The reason I bring Greg up is that he needs to get in shape. My family has a history of heart issues. I lost my grandfather that way, and my dad was just in the hospital for it. I worry about them."

"I could help them both if you want."

"What would work best for you?" I asked.

"If they could come to the high school before my day starts, I'd be willing to get them in shape," Joey said.

"Do you need to get permission from the school to let them work out here?" I asked.

"I hadn't thought of that," she admitted.

"No worries. If we have to go somewhere else, I have a gym membership I never use. I bet they'd let me do some kind of package deal for my family," I said, and then realized something. "Let me know how much it is for you to train them, and I'll have Scarlet get you set up on our payroll."

"I could use the extra money. They aren't paying me what I'm worth here," Joey said.

"They never do, do they?"

"No, probably not for your first job."

Well, our conversation wasn't a complete loss, even though I'd been dumped before we even went out. I knew that my debt to my brother for teaching Dare about girls was probably repaid in full. He would be secretly excited that I'd gotten Joey to agree to train him. I would bet he'd put the effort in to get into shape if she were there to watch over him.

I also knew that all I had to do was tell my mom, and she would make sure both my dad and Greg showed up. She was handy like that, sometimes.

---

At lunch, Cassidy was looking pleased with herself. I could tell she was dying to tell me something, so I ignored her. Tim and Wolf followed my lead, which caused Cassidy to glare at us.

"What's up, Cassidy?" Darius asked.

I think I liked him better when he was broken and afraid to talk.

"I have video from this morning," she announced. "David, get your tablet out so everyone can see."

She pulled her phone out and tapped at the screen for a second, and my tablet dinged to let me know I had an email. I opened the attachment so it would download. Once it had, I put the tablet on the table so everyone could see and hit play.

"Is that from your drone?" Wolf asked.

Sometimes I wish I carried around a sign, like a comedian talks about, for when someone asks a stupid question.

"Seriously? That's your question about this morning?" Gina asked.

"You need to figure out how to make her nicer," Tim said of Gina.

"I read that when women are like that, they're either having their period or need sex," Dare said.

I was impressed when Chrissy blocked Gina from her intended target, Chrissy's boyfriend.

"Don't worry, I'll explain it to him," Chrissy said when Dare didn't understand why Gina might want to do him harm for speaking the truth.

"Maybe we should buy her a BOB," I suggested.

"Who's Bob?" Phil asked.

"Battery Operated Boyfriend," Jill said to fill my half-brother in.

Darius looked confused.

"A vibrator," I supplied.

While our side conversation had been going on, I watched the drone video. Paul must have launched it when Cassidy and I got out of the car. I hated to admit it, but Destiny was right. It came across too much like a bad after-school special production. Still, my inner actor liked it. I would work with Marshal and Curtis and incorporate the drone footage. It would help establishment shots and be suitable for cutaways from a different perspective. The three of us would put it together and see what Chubby thought.

The Bickersons, my new nickname for Wolf and Gina, were about to start round two when Sun came to the table.

"You figure out what we're doing tonight?" I asked.

"I thought you could take me to dinner, and then we could do an escape room. They just opened one over by State."

"What's that?" Cassidy asked.

"They lock you into a room with a bunch of clues that you solve to escape. Their website says it's a fun way to get to know people. You can either join a group or bring your own," Sun explained.

"That sounds like fun. Would it be okay if Dare and I tag along?" Chrissy asked to invite herself.

"Me too," Jill said and then turned to Phil. "You want to go too, don't you?"

Phil, being whipped, nodded.

That was when Cassidy suddenly figured out that the two couples that usually went out with her and Don were going out with Sun and me. Double-dating was the only way her dad would let her out of the house.

"What about me?"

Wolf and Tim looked at each other and said at the same time, "Not it!"

"I guess you'll have to take Gina and her new boyfriend," I suggested.

"Better yet, we could go out alone," Don tried.

Cassidy ignored her boyfriend. It was apparent they'd discussed this at length before. Coach Hope hadn't budged on his group-dates rule, even when Cassidy had turned 18. I didn't want to get in the middle of that. I was confident that if Cassidy decided she didn't want to do it anymore, she would talk her dad out of it. It told me that she didn't think Don was her forever guy.

"I didn't know you were dating," Cassidy said to Gina.

"BOB," I supplied.

That was when I almost got suspended ... again ... for fighting. I'd momentarily forgotten that Gina had two older sisters, and I was sure that they threw down when they were younger. She came over the table with my doom written all over her face. It was a good thing I have cat-like reflexes, or she might have gotten to me.

Cassidy made me get on my knees and beg Gina's forgiveness. It was then decided that Dare, Chrissy, Phil, Jill, Cassidy, Don, and Gina would be joining us on our date. Somehow, for my atonement, I was paying for dinner and the escape room. I was glad that Sun was a good sport about everyone horning in on our first date. If she had pushed back even a little, I would have put a stop to my friends joining us.

Actually, it did sound like a lot of fun.

---

Sun picked a winner for dinner. It was both excellent and touched the adventurous side of my personality. She had us go to an Ethiopian restaurant. Watching everyone's reaction was interesting. Chrissy, Gina, Don, and Cassidy were all eager to try it. When we sat down, Dare and Phil were doubters. Once we were finished, everyone had enjoyed it.

They brought out an enormous platter of food and served it family style. We had different varieties of wat--a thick stew--served atop injera, which is a large sourdough flatbread. The bread was made out of fermented teff flour. The idea was to tear a piece of bread off and use it to scoop up the stew. What kid doesn't want to eat with their fingers?

We would spin the platter around every few minutes so everyone could try something different.

---

The escape rooms were located in the old IGA grocery store, which had gone out of business when Walmart came to town. They had six different rooms where you could try to solve their puzzles. I noticed that when we came in, they had a record time posted at the front desk. A group had escaped their room in twenty-eight minutes.

"I have a feeling we'll do well," Phil said.

"Why's that?" Gina asked.

"David is just a little competitive. I bet he sets the record."

I figured that with Sun, Dare, and Gina's brainpower, the four of us should solve the puzzles quickly.

One of the staff members took us into a room and explained how everything worked. To escape each room, there were several puzzles we would have to figure out. Some clues would help in figuring it out. We only had an hour to solve the conundrums and make our escape. She told us only about forty percent of the groups were able to free themselves. She seemed pretty proud of that, which made me even more determined.

She also shared that if it looked like we were stuck, they would give us hints, as they would be watching us on monitors.

"I think we should look around the room to get the lay of the land before we start reading clues," Sun suggested.

We all agreed and began to investigate.

"This has to be how we get out," Dare announced.

Against the wall, there was a clear tube with a key at the bottom.

"I bet we have to find something to fish it out," Phil suggested.

I went over to the desk and found a letter opener. I used it to unscrew the clip holding the tube to the wall and pulled it up. The key fell out, so I handed it to Sun.

"Give it a try."

Sure enough, it unlocked the door. Sun went out and hit a big red button to signal we were done. Seven minutes! We didn't need any stinking clues.

We got our picture taken for their wall of fame and then tried a new room.

There was one puzzle in particular that I was proud that my group figured out. They'd found a safe behind a picture that had a keypad to open it. We'd discovered the clue taped under a lamp.

"To open the lock, you need a six-digit number that is perfect," Gina read.

"That makes no sense," Cassidy complained.

"What would make a number perfect?" Jill asked.

They all looked defeated, and then Sun perked up.

"Could they mean perfect numbers, like 6, 28, 428, and 8128?"

Dare was the only one who seemed to get it.

"They're numbers that are the sum of their divisors," Dare explained, and when we still looked confused, he grabbed a piece of paper to show us. "The easiest one to explain is 6. What is it divisible by?"

"Two times three equals six," Phil offered.

Dare wrote down 2 + 3 = 6.

"That only equals five," Jill pointed out.

"One. Do we count one when doing this?" Phil asked.

"In this case, yes," Dare said as he wrote 1 + 2 + 3 = 6.

"That only has four digits," Sun said, looking defeated.

"Try 28," Cassidy suggested.

Dare wrote 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14 = 28

"The keypad only is one through nine," Don pointed out.

"Punch in 1, 2, 4, 7, 1, 4," Jill suggested.

Don put the code in, and it opened the wall safe.

Cassidy had said I couldn't help with this next room. That lasted for the first forty-five minutes; then I was allowed to play. They were stumped on a four-digit lock. The group had figured out the first three digits. Cassidy threatened to hurt me when I just began spinning the last dial at each number until I hit seven, and it opened. I was sent to my corner again.

I chuckled because this reminded me of what JD had taught us on Wednesday: don't let your biases get in the way of the solution. They were so caught up in solving clues that they hadn't stepped back and used common sense.

We failed on the last one, but everyone had a great time. Even Don was happy. I could sense that he wanted to take Cassidy out alone. If that was what he wished, he would have to step up and face Coach Hope to get what he wanted. I doubted Cassidy would ever defy her father.

I gave Sun high marks on planning our first date, even though it turned into a group date. It had all the elements I felt made a good first date. It was fun, we learned more about each other, and there were no expectations. I realized that I wanted to go out with her again. My night was complete when Sun agreed with me, and we planned a date for the following weekend.

---

Saturday February 11

When I came down for breakfast, I had a pleasant surprise. Fritz was there with Paul.

"Hey, stranger, what's new?" I asked.

"I wanted to give you an update on Chuck's travels, and I understand young Darius is going to show you his latest in drones," Fritz said.

"He's calling it a flock of drones. Personally, I think it's just an excuse for him to buy more of them," I said.

Mom and Dad came down while I went upstairs to get the boys for Peggy. When I came back, Fritz was showing my parents pictures of my properties. Fritz had sent Chuck to assess their security. While he was at it, he'd taken pictures we could send to Cindy for decorating ideas.

"... it overlooks a clothing-optional beach," Fritz said, catching my full attention.

I bit my tongue when my mom gave me a warning look.

"Is that normal in Greece?" Dad asked, saving me from having to dig into which property Fritz was talking about.

"There are a couple," Fritz admitted. "David just got lucky that it isn't the men-only beach that's two beaches down the coast from his condo."

"It's not a bunch of old people, is it?" I asked without thinking.

"What do you consider old?" Dad asked.

"Like that nudist camp you were taking Phil to in Canada."

My dad gave me a look that told me we would talk later as my mom stared lasers into the side of his head. I didn't feel bad because he had served me up to my mom's wrath with the age comment. It didn't help my dad's cause any when Paul barked out a laugh. Paul had been on the trip where we pulled a joke on my younger brother. The website I had printed out had pictures of older people playing volleyball. It just confirmed my belief that after a certain age, you should cover up.

Thankfully, my mom was more interested in spending my money decorating than she was worried about the view of the beach. After breakfast, she went to the office to call Cindy and review the pictures Fritz had brought back.

---

We arrived at Dare's apartment complex, and he was already in the parking lot with a man I vaguely remembered. I suspected he was the mysterious Hunter who had been helping Dare. I got a better look at him, and he appeared to be in his late 50s, yet still had an athletic build. To be honest, he could be a model. He was my height, with blond hair and piercing blue eyes. I could only hope to look that good when I was his age.

"Hey. I'm David Dawson, and these are Fritz and Paul, two of my security people who will be operating the drones," I said by way of introduction.

"Hunter Jacobs. I'm an engineering professor at State. I enjoy tinkering with drones as a hobby. Darius and I met at the flight school when they were selling a few of their drones, and I found a kindred spirit," he explained.

I got the feeling he wasn't telling me everything for some reason. I think he picked up on that and changed the topic.

"Dare, why don't you show them what you've done?" Hunter suggested.

I took a look at my friend and could see that Darius was slender and awkward, still only halfway through the metamorphosis that would spit him out as a man. I no longer got the vibe of him as a little boy who needed my protection. His confidence was evident when he began to talk.

"David told me he wanted drones to help protect his house. They have a few drawbacks that make them impractical unless you want to spend a lot of money," Dare said and glanced at me hopefully.

I shook my head to let him know that I wasn't about to let him bankrupt me. Dare continued.

"The first issue was that they were too loud. The answer was to make some modifications to help quiet them. The way I had to explain it to David was that I basically caused the 'noise' to be directed upwards."

"I think he just called you dumb," Paul teased.

"Darius just didn't want to overcomplicate it," Hunter said to rescue my socially inept friend.

"The next problem was the battery life. We tried adding solar panels to an earlier version, but that didn't extend it long enough and affected the aerodynamics," Dare explained.

"That's when he came up with the solution modeled after the robotic vacuum cleaner. When it needs to recharge, it goes to a docking station and plugs in," I shared.

Dare showed us a drawing of what looked like a birdhouse on top of a pole to protect the drone from the elements. The diagram showed that there was a charging station inside. By perching it on a pole, it can be used as a regular security camera with the added benefit of periodically making surveillance rounds.

"I'd modified the programming too so that it would investigate movement," Dare explained.

"We used that feature a couple of times when I was in LA. It was pretty good at spotting paparazzi before they ambushed us," I added.

"David discovered a hole in my design. He suggested that if he threw something to activate the drone's need to investigate, he could sneak past the security by taking advantage of the gap in coverage it left. That's when I called Hunter, and he had some suggestions," Dare admitted.

"The Russians?" I asked.

Dare nodded.

"Is this software legal?" I asked.

I could tell that Dare's mind hadn't even thought it might not be, but Hunter smiled at me.

"There currently aren't any regulations against having the hardware and software that we've included in these drones. A lot of this is still in the developmental stages, so rules haven't been put in place yet," Hunter said.

That didn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

"Did the Russians steal this? Is this poached technology?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you think it would cost way more than what you paid if it were?" Hunter asked.

On the surface, he had a valid point. Being my mother's son, I picked up that he hadn't answered the question. Hunter pressed on again.

"We used the basic framework that the Russian technology provided and tweaked it. I met a Hungarian researcher who was studying how animals move in formations, such as fish and birds. To do that, he felt the best way to understand it would be to create flying robots. From that research, he created what he calls 'flocking algorithms,'" Hunter said, and then had Dare demonstrate.

In essence, the algorithms enabled the drone to fly autonomously without operator intervention. Dare showed us an example with the five drones he'd linked into what he called a flock. They lifted off as one and created a formation around the central, larger drone.

Dare directed them to fly up the stairs to his apartment. It was evident that all five wouldn't fit through the staircase; some of them hovered in place to wait their turn.

The autonomous flying would prevent the drones from being jammed. They would continue on their last assigned task if the main drone's connection to the controller were lost.

"We're still working out everything the software is capable of. We haven't had a chance to test it all yet," Hunter said.

"Like what, exactly?" Fritz asked.

"It's supposed to have a search configuration. For example, if we link it to David's cell phone to follow him, and later, he's missing, the drones are designed to do grid searches to locate him," Dare said.

"Could we use that for the kids?" I asked.

Fritz had been working on tagging the little ones with tracking devices. Drones could cover a lot more ground than people on foot could. He explained that to Hunter and Dare.

"I don't see why not. We need to try it and see," Hunter confirmed.

"What if there isn't a tracker?" I asked.

"We could do something with thermal-imaging cameras," Hunter suggested. "And that wouldn't be all that expensive to add."

"One last thing we want to try is the threat assessment," Dare said.

They had Dare link the drones to my cell phone so they could follow me around. I jogged to the end of the parking lot, and the drones spread out with the control one over my head. I was told to turn around and walk back. Fritz, Hunter, and Dare were huddled around the controller screen when Dare turned on that part of the software. My phone beeped, and I opened it, and it showed me that it had identified four people ahead of me.

Paul walked towards me, and my phone beeped again, showing a dot on his chest change from green to pink.

"Draw your gun," Hunter suggested.

That got a reaction. My phone began to beep a warning, and the dot on the screen was flashing bright red.

"Raise your gun and point at the drones," Hunter instructed.

As the gun came up, they suddenly began to move erratically to avoid his line of fire.

"Switch it to the full protection mode," Hunter instructed Dare.

The drones continued to dance, but two of them zoomed past Paul. I watched in disbelief when one of them suddenly dove towards the back of his head. Hunter's hand flew to the controller and hit a button. The drone that was dive-bombing Paul leveled off and rejoined the flock. They were back in observation mode as if the mother drone had called them home.

Paul turned on Hunter.

"Did you know they would do that?" he accused.

Hunter held his hands in front of him.

"Sorry. The manual is in Russian. I knew enough to know it had a full protection mode, but I didn't know exactly what it would do."

"I don't expect it would kill you, but I bet it would get your attention if it smacked into your head," I offered.

"So, you thought you'd try it out on me?" Paul asked, not exactly happy with Hunter.

"You were the most expendable person here," Hunter said with a straight face.

I could see Paul getting ready to express his displeasure with Hunter by the way he moved his feet. Hunter's lip twitched, and I suddenly knew that Paul was about to make a mistake. I'd seen how fast Hunter moved when he stopped the drone from cratering into Paul's head.

"Stop!" I barked. "You've underestimated him."

Fritz looked at me, then at Hunter, and suddenly became very still.

"Stand down," Fritz ordered Paul, and then turned to Hunter. "You've had training?"

Hunter didn't answer. Instead, he looked at me.

"Can I have five minutes of your time?" he asked.

He was pretty skilled at evasive non-answers. I wanted to take him home with me and let him face off with either Tami or my mom. No matter how good he was, I was sure they could break him.

I nodded, followed him to his truck, and got into the passenger seat so we could have some privacy. I looked in the direction of Paul and Fritz and saw that they were looking at Fritz's phone, no doubt listening to our conversation.

"Who are you, really?" I asked.

"Officially, I'm a professor at State."

"Unofficially?"

"I know Dr. Rossetti, and she shared with me what a special boy Darius is. She was worried that he wasn't passionate about anything. That the last school he was at had damaged him, and he'd withdrawn to the point where she was afraid he'd become a social outcast. It was simply a coincidence that we met at Lincoln Flight School when they offered drone classes," Hunter said.

"You didn't stalk him or anything, did you?" I asked.

"In a past life, it was my job to discover truths. Before you ask, and I have to give you a non-answer, I'm afraid I can't discuss it. Let's say that Darius interests me."

"Dude. You're a fifty-year-old man hanging out with a socially awkward teen who's seeking approval. You get why that sounds a little creepy, right?" I asked.

Hunter had a shocked look on his face. It was apparent that he'd never considered what I was implying. Then he found it amusing.

"If you only knew," he said and then shook his head. "You probably have a pretty good idea. When I was in high school, I had a serious growth spurt, and ever since, I've been successful with the ladies."

"So, why help Dare? It's not like you knew him or were dating Dr. Rossetti, and a lot of smart kids are socially awkward."

"When I saw Dare working with the drone, I watched him transform. As a teacher, I seek out individuals with potential and try to guide them in the right direction. There's nothing better than seeing someone get it and be excited about something," he explained.

"Okay, I understand why you're helping him. I'm still confused about the Chinese, Russian, and now Hungarian research that has helped him create these drones."

"What's your real worry?" Hunter asked.

"Two worries, actually. How did you know where to get what Dare needed, and whether it's going to come back and bite him in the butt."

"My specialty is aerospace engineering."

"And ..."

"You're a smart boy."

"This is part of what you can't talk about," I supplied.

"Yes. Let's go with that," Hunter said with a smile.

The man was starting to get on my nerves, and I think he could see that.

"Look, I'm trying not to lie to you," he explained and looked at his watch. "I have to get going, but I wanted to talk about you for a moment."

"I like girls," I said with a straight face.

Hunter shook his head.

"Jesus, you remind me of myself at your age. I was too smart for my own good," he said, and then changed the subject. "Are you planning to help Darius sell his drones?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because it's what I would do if I were in your position."

"I've got someone working on that," I admitted.

"Can I give you one piece of advice?" Hunter asked.

"Sure."

"Don't sell the rights to one of the big companies that have military ties."

"Why?"

"They have their own projects going on, and they'll shelve what he's put together here. When they do get around to digging into it, they'll weaponize his design. I don't think you want Dare to have that on his conscience," he explained.

"That was one of my first considerations when I learned they could fly autonomously."

Hunter and I were on the same page with that. I would talk with Brook's grandmother, Grace, to make sure we didn't go down that path.

"One last thing," he said, and I could see he suddenly got serious. "Your greatest strength is as a facilitator. Someone who can step back, see the big picture, and direct others. If you can't solve something, you're probably too close to it. Pull back, and you'll see how everything should fit together and what needs to be done. Trust yourself."

Just when I thought I had him figured out, Hunter laid that on me. I couldn't wait to share that with Uncle John. He'd been hammering into my head the power of leadership with delegation. Earlier in the week, JD talked to me about not letting my bias cloud my decision-making. Uncle John had told me that sometimes you had to hear or read something from a different source for it to click. Deep in my bones, I knew that Hunter had just laid an important life lesson on me.

---

Sunday February 12

This morning, I found myself in Sunday school. I hadn't been since I was in middle school, but Sun had asked me to come with her. I knew there was a teen group, but I never seemed to have the time to make it there. Sun had become involved with the church after they helped her find a family to live with, so I agreed to go this morning.

I knew something was up when Reverend Jackson came in with his wife, and they were all smiles.

"Welcome. I'm glad you all came for the big event today. This is one of the best services each year, when you get up in front of the church and pledge your purity until marriage," Reverend Jackson said.

I groaned because I felt like I'd been set up. Each year, there was a grand service where the teens in the congregation made a promise to save themselves for marriage. I had never made that pledge. Besides, I felt like it was a little too late for me, anyway; I had children who proved that.

"What's wrong, Honey?" Mrs. Jackson asked me. "Just because you've strayed in the past doesn't mean that God won't forgive you if you atone for your sins and put yourself on a righteous path."

While I agreed with her, that was what I couldn't do. The problem was that I knew that it would be an empty promise, even though it was what the scripture said. It might also be something I would adhere to for a while, but I knew myself.

First, I had committed to being a man of my word. If I got up in front of the church and pledged that I would wait to have sex until marriage, I would have to stick to it. This was one of those times that my other life goal of learning to say 'no' was easy.

Secondly, I felt that sex was a part of a healthy relationship. It was called 'an act of love' for a reason. When Brook and I had expressed that love, it brought us closer together. I wasn't advocating that for everyone, but I knew it was right for me.

Finally, I didn't think I was going to Hell just because I enjoyed sex. I felt it was the balance of what a person did that determined if they were allowed into Heaven. No one was perfect, but I thought that if you did the right thing and were loving and kind, St. Peter would welcome you at the Pearly Gates.

For the next hour, we were told about the dangers to our souls and read the relevant scripture. I did end up agreeing to lead the little lambs into the church for their pledge. Reverend Jackson and his wife were pleased that they had persuaded me to do that.

What disturbed me the most was that Sun seemed pleased with herself.

Finally, the time came for us to enter the back of the church and walk up the aisle to the front, where the group would make their pledge. I could see the shock on a lot of people's faces when they saw me at the front of the line.

I knew in my bones that when I bailed, the impression it left on the congregation would not be favorable for me in the long run. In retrospect, I should have considered the optics of the situation and refused to lead them in.

I plastered a smile on my face and began the procession. When I saw my mom, I knew I couldn't go through with this. I was between a rock and a hard place. Either I had to go through with this or disappoint a lot of people.

What's the saying? Out of desperation comes inspiration?

I joined everyone in the line when we faced the congregation. Reverend Jackson was about to talk when I stepped forward and nudged him to the side.

"Reverend and Mrs. Jackson joined us today in Sunday school to prepare us for our pledge of abstinence before marriage. I was honored when they asked me, probably the poster boy for the need for the pledge, to lead everyone in today," I said.

It was clear that a few people agreed with my assertion.

"I wholeheartedly agree that waiting to have sex until marriage is the right thing to do. I want to congratulate everyone who is pledging today. I think it is an essential expression of your faith. I urge the teens who are not up here to consider joining them; if not today, then when you are ready. God loves us all. He will accept your pledge when you're ready, just as he takes you into his fold when you are baptized.

"God be with you," I said, turning to the teens, and then I turned back to the congregation. "And God be with you all."

With that, I made my hasty exit to join my mom in her pew. She grabbed my hand, and I could see that she thought I'd done well. I glanced around, and everyone had smiles on their faces as the teens made their pledge.

I knew after today that Sun and I wouldn't go out again. We would remain friends, but she should have known better than to try to manipulate me. I might have to take her out one more time because I'd asked her out, but there wouldn't be further dates.

---