Chapter One

I walked out of the locker room from my high school gym rather late. The other players had left after the football practice. The coach wanted to run over a few new plays to make sure I, as the quarterback, understood them before the playoffs. I was feeling guilty since my best friend, Tish, was waiting for me out in my truck.

It was dark. The winter of 1991 came early this year. I figured Tish would be huddled up in her blanket asleep as I started walking towards the parking lot.

Out of nowhere, a hooded figure ran towards me with a baseball bat. I heard Tish shout, “Scotty, look out!” I barely had time to see the movement before the figure was on the ground, kicking and screaming. Tish was holding him in an arm lock from which he was not going to escape.

“Get off me, bitch!” I recognized the voice as one of the school hoods, Jesse.

“What the heck do you intend to do with that baseball bat, Jesse?” I said as I motioned for Tish to release the moron. I had no doubts Jack sent his minion to take out my knees that way he could quarterback the playoff games.

“I wasn’t going to do nothin,” was Jesse’s comeback as he got up off the ground, rubbing his arm. “I should press charges against your crazy bitch, that is what I should do. I was just minding my own business when she took me down for no reason. You are one crazy, freak.” He said to Tish. I was used to Jesse's bad mouth; however, I was not going to stand by while he insulted my best friend.

With that, I slapped him hard across the face. “You better watch your mouth! You are the crazy one here. Did Jack send you to mess up my knees?”

“You both are crazy!” Holding the side of his face, Jesse whined, “I’m going to tell the coach you attacked me.”

“Let’s go – the coach is in the gym – It will be my pleasure to personally march your ass over there,” I replied grabbing the little shit under his arm.

Jesse wrenched free and took off for his truck. I grabbed the bat—giving it a perfect toss; I bounced it off the ground smacking Jesse behind his knees, knocking him down. He got up, running until he reached his truck and jumped into it. Jesse burned rubber and wheel hopped the rear tires of his truck as he exited the student parking lot. Predictably, his driveshaft broke. In disgust and fear, Jesse jumped out of his truck and ran into the city park next to the high school.

Jesse is definitely one of Jack’s minions. He is a weasel in every sense of the word. Jesse stands about 5’6” tall and weighs approximately 130 pounds. He has the mousey brown colored hair that most girls would dye to be rid of it. He is barely passing a couple of classes and the rest he is looking at F’s. The only reason he has not dropped out of school altogether is that he can peddle drugs on campus.

Jack finds him an easy mark to get his criminal acts accomplished when Jack doesn’t want to do it personally or get his hands dirty. Jack and his father campaigned for my quarterback position on the team for the past two years. Now that our senior year is upon us, they are getting desperate.

I know Jack is the reason I am no longer with Heather. He paid Lucy, the class slut, to undress and spread her naked body all over mine after Jesse drugged my soft drink at the team’s football party at Jack’s house. Jack had his camera ready.

No one knew Jack’s parents were going to be out of town. One of my more stupid moments was staying at the party instead of leaving the minute I found out it was unchaperoned.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not an Eagle Scout or anything like that. Nevertheless, I had a feeling that night was not going to end in my favor. No girls were invited except Lucy Loose, as we like to call her, and her slutty girlfriends. Jack wanted to take Heather away from me for a couple of years as well. Jack indeed planned his sneak attack better than the one Jesse just failed to achieve.

Of course, Jesse might have succeeded if Tish had not been watching him from my truck. Later that evening, while we were studying, she told me she saw Jesse drive up, stop next to Jack’s truck and get out to talk to Jack. She saw money pass from Jack to Jesse. Next thing, Jesse reached into Jack’s truck bed and took out the baseball bat. A couple of minutes later, Jack drove away, and Jesse positioned himself where he could see the gym doors.

Tish told me she followed Jesse at a discreet distance and sneaked up behind him without his noticing her at all. Tish has been training in martial arts for years. She is as quiet as a jungle cat when she is in ninja mode.

Tish also said, the moment I came out of the gym and started walking toward the parking lot, Jesse pulled his hoodie over his head and got a grip on the bat. As he leaped out of hiding and started running towards me, Tish tackled him from behind and took him down to the ground in an armlock. The rest is now history.

There is no way Jesse is going to complain to anyone, except Jack. I can only imagine how angry Jack is going to be when Jesse reports his failure. Jack is not one to accept anyone else’s incompetence. Jesse will get an ear full and maybe a bit more.

Jack has been a bully since grade school. He was always bigger than the other boys until I got my growth spurt. Suddenly, the boys on the playground had a champion against Jack. I wouldn’t stand for Jack pushing my friends around. Jack started to hate me, and I think one of his goals in life was to make me miserable anyway he could.

Jack, being the sheriff’s son, thought he was privileged and above the law. He took his role as little Mr. Deputy Dufus seriously. I don’t know whether his father encouraged his behavior. All I know is Jack made life miserable for a lot of the smaller boys. He would shake down the guys for their lunch money, and if they did not hand it over, he would beat them up. For some reason, he got away with his behaviors for a long time. I learned from early on small towns have their own rules. One rule is our Sheriff, and his family is not to be questioned under any circumstances.

I suspect Jack was getting a lot of pressure at home from his father. No doubt, the Sheriff was embarrassed his son was sitting the bench this entire year. Jack stands 6’0” tall and weighs about 200 pounds. He doesn’t work out enough to carry his bulk well. Frankly, Jack lacks not only the confidence and the skills to be an athlete. His character lacks the drive. The key attribute found in college quarterbacks.

The coach gave Jack a chance to show his skills as a quarterback in our junior year. Unfortunately, Jack did not seem to have the courage to stay in the pocket and take a hit with our pass plays. He was afraid of being sacked and would just throw the ball away, throw an interception or fumble. The coach finally sat his ass on the bench.

I overheard the coach telling the Sheriff more than once that the team was working hard to win the State Championship and Jack was not the quarterback for the job. I have a lot of respect for our coach to ignore one of our town rules and not to cave into the Sheriff.

My senior football season was special. The coach had the pass plays and the ground game that the other teams could not figure out. He said part of the reason for the success of the team was my arm, my legs, and my head. I hate to sound immodest; nonetheless, I do have a heck of a throwing arm. I played sports since before I could walk. Okay, I exaggerated. I played sports for most of my childhood. My dad would pass a football with me, throw baseballs for me to bat, and kick a soccer ball around the yard. You name the sport; he would take the time to explain and play the game with me patiently. Not only did he teach me sports, but he also taught me how to swim, hunt, shoot and survive in the woods. He even instructed me through my pilot’s license. Best of all he taught me sportsmanship and how to be a gentleman. My dad is the best dad ever. I know, I sound like a Hallmark card.

My dad is a bull of a man, too. He isn’t as tall as me. However, he is built. Even at his age, his middle is trim, and he sports a six-pack. Being an ex-Navy Seal, he encourages me to live an active lifestyle. He works out daily, and I am usually at his side.

I am purpose built to play football. I stand 6’3” tall and weigh 220 pounds when I am training. I have dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. Pretty typical for an Irish-American who is not a redhead. I wear my hair a bit long on the top and short on the sides. My mom says my naturally wavy hair is a blessing. I know that Heather liked to run her fingers through my hair all the time when we were together.

Heather was the love of my life. I’ve had a crush on her for years. We dated exclusively for two years. Heather is petite, a red-haired hotty with hazel eyes that flash when she’s mad. They have been flashing a lot at me lately.

I remember walking into Algebra class my sophomore year. Everyone was talking about this cute new girl and in she walked. It was love at first sight…for me; probably not for Heather. I guess I acted like an ass, trying to get her to notice me.

It wasn’t until after the homecoming game in our sophomore year that she finally acknowledged me. I was the quarterback even back then. The coach said I was a natural phenomenon. At any rate, I was pretty good. Heather made the cheerleading squad. Making the squad as a sophomore is unusual, she bragged.

At any rate, we won the homecoming game against Dobbins 43-0. I went stag to the Homecoming Dance and was brave enough to approach Heather while her girl-pals surrounded her. I guess I did not look as much like a fool after winning the game. She said she would dance with me—the beginning of our big romance.

For the next twenty months, Heather and I dated every Friday and Saturday night like clockwork. We would go to the movies, dances or out for a burger and a malt. In the summer, we would go to the lake and lay out on the beach. She was a knock-out in her swimsuit. It was hard for me to keep my hands off her. She was a good girl and told me ‘no means no.' I figured I could wait since we would no doubt get married someday.

Heather was the love of my life until Jack sabotaged our cutest couple calling. We were voted cutest couple our senior year for the yearbook. After we broke up, the editor needed to make a hasty replacement since the yearbook was due to be sent out to the publishing company. Ray and Rose Lee took the honor from us. Can’t complain since they are good together.

Everyone was talking about Heather breaking up with me. Heather’s girlfriends all thought I was a cad. Other girls were thrilled I was available once again. I will admit I didn't mind the flirting, it was incredible. It did hurt knowing I had no chance to get Heather back no matter how many girls threw themselves at me. She was just too mad to be jealous.

Once she saw the pictures of me in bed with a naked Lucy Loose, it was all over. It did not matter that I told her I had been drugged and the whole thing was staged. She just did not believe me. I moped around for several weeks.

Tish poked me in my side. She could tell I was thinking about Heather again. “Scotty, will you stop mooning over Heather. She is with Jack now, and you look like a whipped dog watching her all the time.”

Well, a whipped dog was not what I wanted to be. Heather is with Jack. I need to resign myself to that situation. I admit, though, it is hard for me to watch that creep walking my girl down the hall with his arm possessively around her shoulder. Tish keeps telling me Jack would dump her in a moment if Jack thought I was no longer interested in Heather. Tish challenged me to act like they don’t exist. I have tried. Tish is helping me to try harder.

Tish has been my best friend since 4th grade. Describing Tish in words without sounding like a predator is difficult. She is gorgeous. It wasn’t that she recently became gorgeous…she has always been gorgeous. Tish also holds a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo and Combat Hapkido. She is not only beautiful, but she is also dangerous.

I remember, this one time in Jr. High, when Jeremy, one of the school’s bullies had me pinned on the ground and was pounding the crap out of my face. Suddenly, Tish was on his back with her arms wrapped around his neck and her long legs locked around his waist. Tish tightened her grip and wouldn’t let go. Jeremy’s face was turning white and his lips purple. Jeremy was silently crying, desperately trying to shake her off and break free. Just before Jeremy passed out, Tish whispered in his ear, “touch, tease or interfere with my best friend, and you might not wake up the next time.” The lights went out on Jeremy but not before the fear of dying welled in his brain.

Tish is not only tuff; she is a knockout as I said earlier. She stands 5’10” in bare feet and weighs in at around 135 lbs. Her caramel-colored skin is flawless. Tish’s simple short hairstyle is highlighted with thick yet wispy feathers, jagged bangs, and a beautiful ultra-shine finish. Tish hates to fuss with ‘girlie’ stuff like her clothes and nails, however, makeup, now, that is another thing. Her skin color, hairstyle, green eyes and signature black cherry lipstick and smoky burgundy eyeshadow, makes her the most stunning girl in school. You can believe me when I say she does not need anything more.

Tish’s daily attire is black jeans and pull-over tops. If it is cold out, she adds her black leather jacket. The only ‘girlie’ thing about her, besides hair and makeup, is she buys shoes…well, boots… like there is no tomorrow. She must have 20 pairs or more. She really likes the ones with studs. To most people, Tish looks like a biker-chick. What I can tell you, Tish is definitely not a biker chick. Although, she does have a nice 1973 Ironhead Harley Sportster. Ok…so…Tish is a rather cool chick.

The playoff games are coming up, and I need to be at my best. I have no time to think about Heather. I am glad to have Tish to keep my mind on what is important. Tish’s comment about acting like a whipped dog and a few other derogatory terms help more than it hurts, but it does hurt.

The next games, our team had home advantage. St. Anthony came to us. The guys were revved-up, belly bumping and high-fiving in the locker room. The coach came in and gave us a pep talk.

The coach’s pep talk sounded like this: “We have practiced and worked hard to overcome all of the different looks their offenses and defenses will throw at us. We have the knowledge and know how to defeat them. We have the strength and stamina to outlast their best. To win…we must have the greater will…and we’ve got to believe! Now get out there and play hard, make yourselves proud! I want everyone where they are supposed to be on every play. I want glue on your hands—no fumbles—no dropped balls. I want my runners to run like the devil is chasing them. You got it?” The coach barked some more rhetoric and told us to get out there and fight.

We tore up the field winning 14-0 against St. Anthony on Nov 15th, sending us to the semi-finals. We bested Elton High 20-0 on Nov. 22 and ended up at the finals with Arceloa High this Saturday, November 30th at 9:00 am at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.

On gameday, the bleachers were filled with friends, family, and fans from both towns. Cars had been cruising down main street all morning with our school colors, maroon and gold on pendants flapping in the wind. The school band was assembled and playing loudly as the last of the people filed in to find standing room only. My parents, Tish and her parents all came together wearing our school colors. They sat on the 50-yard line 5 rows up on the center bleachers.

The temperature at game time was 55 degrees, and the wind was bad –25 mph straight down the field. None of us played in a game with that much wind, and neither team played on astroturf. The coach stopped me and said quietly, “We are going to make this a ground game. They will be looking for you to pass the ball. I want you to use your head and your legs.

We came storming out of the locker room led by our mascot with the cheerleaders leading the crowd in cheers of welcome. The noise was deafening however exhilarating. Arceloa was favored to win this game, and we weren’t going down without a fight.

The coaches for both teams were legends. They each coached over 25 years at only one school. Both coaches’ records were amazing—our coach, Jim O’Rourke’s record is 235-53-1 with four trips to State and one win in 1979. Arceloa’s coach, Terry Smith’s record is 178-84-2 with four trips to State. For sure, the entire state will be watching this game as this is the first time these two coaches have their teams playing against each other.

As the game started, our team was hyped up and ready. The kick-off was sent down to our 20-yard line. Tommy caught the ball on the run and zigzagged through Arceloa’s defense before being tackled at our 34-yard line. The wind was howling in our face making any pass risky. We set up our offense for the Pistol Wing-T which allowed us to have the fullback behind the quarterback and two halfbacks set wide to the left and right of the quarterback. With the two tight ends, this gave us a minimum of five option plays.

Our first down play was called the Buck Sweep Right. The right tight end setup behind our right tackle. The tight end and tackles job were to push all the right side defensive linemen to the left towards our center on the hike of the football. At the same time, the left halfback would swing right in front of me for the handoff and then follow behind the blocks of the fullback and the right halfback around the right side of the playing field.

Tommy Gillespie, our left halfback was a fireplug of a guy; he stood 5’ 6” and weighed 160 pounds. He was all muscle with enormous thighs. His lightning fast speed sent him around the right corner in an instant with a gain of 9-yards before Arceloa’s backfield took him down.

The second play would show us how tough Arceloa’s defense was prepared to play. We set up for the Guard Trap Left play. Our lineman to the left of our center would push the left side of the defense to the left, and the right-side lineman would push the right side of the defense to the right opening a hole up the middle for a handoff to Wally, our fullback. Our lineman did their job perfectly except our center tripped on his own feet and fell right smack in the hole. Arceloa’s backfield came toward us through the hole and took Wally down behind our line of scrimmage for a loss.

It was now 3rd down and 4 yards for a first down. The coach sent in a pass play to my surprise. We would set up for the Waggle play with Chuck, our right tight end. In this play, our offensive line would contain their defensive counterpart, and I would fake a handoff to Tommy, our left halfback. I would then roll out to my left and throw across the field to my right side to Chuck waiting on the right sideline. It all played out again as planned except a wind gust stopped the ball, and it fell short. I was upset at myself – we turned the ball over to our special teams to punt the ball.

Fortunately, our punter, Ray kicked the ball to their 5-yard line putting Arceloa’s backs against the goal line. With the wind at their backs, they came out throwing the ball. Our defense was awesome; they protected against the pass better than they had all year.

The rest of the first quarter was back and forth with us running the ball and Arceloa passing the ball. The defense on both teams was amazing.

At the start of the second quarter, Arceloa still held the ball with the wind now in their face. It was third and long and Chuck, who played both tight end on offense and cornerback on defense, was ready for a pass to their number one receiver. Just as soon as their quarterback released the ball, Chuck jumped in front of their receiver, catching the ball for an interception, running 46-yards straight down the sideline for a touchdown.

Our field goal kicker stubbed his toe on the astroturf in practice which meant we would be going for the two-point conversion. The coach sent in another pass play. It was a Wildcat Right Reverse play. Our offense line would line up offset to the left. Our right tight end would be lined up far right. On the hike, I would slide left handing the ball off to Tommy, our left halfback. Tommy would run straight right across the field to the right, turn and pass the ball to me on the left side of the field. I would then pass the ball to Chuck, our tight end, as he was rolling right into the end zone. Yay! Two more points! Their defense was really confused; running into each other as they tried to follow the ball moving left, right, left and then right again. The score was 8 – 0 in favor of Stanton!

Our punter kicked the ball to their 25-yard line where their kick returner was immediately tackled on the 22-yard line. Their next two pass play attempts ended in the quarterback being sacked. They ran around the left side of the field on the third down. Doug got his head on the ball knocking it free directly into his arms for a fumble recovery.

Our first down play was the Guard Trap play to the right, on their 25-yard line. The only difference was it would be a quarterback keeper play. I faked the handoff to the fullback then the left halfback. Using my bulk and legs, I barreled thru the hole on the right side of the line behind my teammates. Before I knew it, I was in the end zone dragging four of the Arceloa players behind me. We failed to get the two-point conversion and settled for a 14 - 0 lead at the end of the half. I could hear our crowd in the bleacher screaming and waving towel and pom-poms. I remember seeing Tish and my mom. Tish had her hands on the sides of her face with a big smile and my Mom was jumping up and down yelling "that’s my son, that’s my son."

The start of the third quarter had Arceloa receiving our kick. It was a very poor kick. Their kick returner Callahan got thru our line like it was butter. Our kicker, Ray, redeemed himself and tackled him at their 45-yard line. To our surprise, they ran the ball using Callahan as their fullback. He tore our linemen apart getting a touchdown on just two plays. Fortunately, they were unable to convert. The score was 14-6 with 12 minutes 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. It really took us back; in all our previous 13 games we never allowed a score in the 3rd quarter.

Coach O’Rourke called timeout. He gathered us up on the sideline to let us know he is proud of us and to reach inside ourselves for the will to take this game home. I rarely speak at these team huddles. I told the team, “I feel it! I feel it in my bones and in my heart that we will win this game and the State Championship!” We all broke the huddle with a ‘HOORAH!’

Arceloa punted the ball directly to Tommy. He ran his ass off straight-arming, juking, and jumping over every defender for an 85-yard kick-off return touchdown! Again, we were unable to convert – but the score set the opposition on their heels. Our score now was 20 – 6 and we still had 11 minutes to go in the third quarter. Our punter got off a great kick that placed them inside their 20-yard line.

Chuck and Doug defended or kept each pass attempt to a minimum and the front line sacked their quarterback two more times. On fourth down, their punter kicked the ball directly into the backside of one of his own blockers, popping the ball directly into Doug’s arms.

In his confusion, Doug began running the ball in the wrong direction before he bounced off one of our linemen. Realizing his folly, Doug ran the ball into the end zone for another touchdown. Doug may never live this one down. We called him ‘Wrong Way’ Doug from then on. Again, we failed to convert for the two points. ‘Geez,' I thought, ‘they are tuff in the red zone.'

We ended the third quarter with a score of 26-6. The fourth quarter opened with both teams running the ball, taking time off the clock. Whenever Arceloa’s quarterback tried to throw the ball, our defenders sacked him for a loss. They would sack him four more times for a total of eight sacks, breaking the all-time record for sacks in a State Championship game.

Each time we took possession of the ball we gained more ground getting closer to their side of the field. The coach decided to try the Guard Trap play this time to the right. It worked perfectly. I found myself in the end zone once again for my second touchdown.

The game ended with the score Stanton 32 and Arceloa 6. The team went nuts, and the crowd went wild. I gathered the guys together and told them how proud I was of them and how this was clearly a team win! I took the lead to walk over to Arceloa’s quarterback shaking each of their team members’ hands with my team doing the same behind me.

The coach praised us all for a great game; he awarded me with two of the game balls and the most valuable player trophy. I felt that the trophy belonged to Tommy or the entire defensive or offensive line. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jack throwing his helmet and his pads in anger.

When I saw my Mom and Tish, I handed them each one of the game balls and the trophy to my father. I thanked them for all their support.

I was the big man on campus for the rest of the winter and well into the spring of my senior year. I took it all in stride, being taught by my dad that team sports are just that—a team. I was no better than anyone else on the team. I tried to act like that was the case—deep down inside, I was proud. Yes, I was proud of my team as well.

Tish was always there to knock me down to size when I got too big for my britches. With all my swagger, I still had not found anyone to take to the Senior Ball. I did not want to date anyone except Heather.

My mom asked, “Scotty, the Senior Ball is not far away. Have you asked anyone yet?”

I told her that I had not and she told me I had better get the lead out of my pants. I don’t know what it is about the women in my lives. They keep worrying about my trousers.

“Scotty, why don’t you and Tish go as friends? I was talking to Dorothy today, and she said Tish wasn’t planning to go to the dance at all. What a shame for a girl to miss her Senior Ball. It would be nice if you asked her.”

“Mom, you are talking about Tish. She is my best friend. She is like one of the guys.” I whined. I knew, though, that once my mom made up her mind about something, I had best just concede.

Thinking about the idea made me realize it would be fun to go with Tish. I liked the idea the more I thought about it. I wouldn’t need to put on airs or act like anyone other than myself. It was the perfect solution.

I phoned Tish and ran it past her. Once she got over laughing her head off and listen to what I had to say, she agreed it might be fun. It was a date. Tish and I were going to the Senior Ball as a couple.

Tonight is the Senior Ball for the class of 1992. Mom rented the tux and bought the corsage for Tish. There was no backing out at the last minute like I wanted to do. Glad now I didn't.

Tish, as I said before, is drop dead gorgeous in a mysterious and exotic sort of way. When I saw her coming down the stairs, I almost forgot she was my best friend. Wow! She looked stunning in her long gown. It hugged every curve and her eyes caught where my eyes were looking. Awkward…. Don’t get me wrong. I noticed her curves before in those tight black jeans and snug tops. Most of the time Tish was…ah…well, Tish. Tonight ah…ah…Tish was a supermodel.

She had tiny diamonds in her hair that caught the light and glimmered. Her eye shadow and blush glittered as well. She seemed to sparkle all over. I came back to earth when she said, “Shit! I feel stupid. If I fall off these heels, you’d better catch me, or I’ll punch you!”

“What are best friends for” was the best come back I could handle, as I pinned the corsage onto her dress as carefully as possible. I did not want to stick her with the pin. I knew what I would be in for if I did.

I wanted to surprise Tish with a special flight from our hometown airport to Palwaukee Municipal where we would take a taxi to a famous seafood restaurant. I checked in with the aviation weather center and filed a flight plan with flight services. It was going to be a CAVU night. The skyline would be fantastic when we flew into Chicago. I told Tish my plans for dinner when we got into the car. Tish could hardly contain herself with excitement. When I told her, we would be taking the Crusader she became almost giddy.

As we drove to the airport to fly to the restaurant, I started to think about all my hours of flying. My dad teaches at the flying school part-time. Being an ex-Navy Seal pilot, he started to teach me to fly at a young age. By seventeen, I held a Private Pilot Single, Multi-Engine Land, Instrument Airplane, and Helicopter license. My flight school for graduation gifted me with two hours of flight time in a Cessna T-303 Crusader cabin-class twin-engine airplane.

Tish’s father flew helicopters during his time as a Navy Seal. Tish has some training and has soloed. She doesn’t have the hours needed to get her Private Pilot’s license. Her energy has been taken up by her martial arts training. I know she will want to fly more when she isn’t busy with everything else. In the meantime, she is my co-pilot.

Flying somewhere for dinner might be extravagant. I was thinking we only have one Senior Ball night in our lives. Since Tish and I decided to go together, I might as well make it the best prom night ever. To me, flying is about on the par with winning the football games. Flying is a step above football. There is nothing like being up in the clouds and leaving the world behind. To me, it is the only place where one feels completely in control and close to God.

I glanced at Tish again. She was incredibly beautiful. One can appreciate art with one’s eyes without having to touch it. That is how I feel about Tish. She is art, and I am not touching.

She caught me in the act of glancing over at her. “I know. I look like a clown. My mom helped me with all the extra makeup. I told her it was too much. She insisted I needed more in the evening…. I feel stupid.”

“No, Tish, you look great. Every guy at the dance is going to notice you in a different way.” I said this innocently, meaning it as a compliment.

“What do you mean? Notice me in a different way. If you mean they are going to see me as a sex object; you can turn around right now. I won’t go to the gym if that is what you are getting at. I am still Tish, and no one is going to treat me like a sex object!” She was almost foaming at the mouth as she said this.

 “Tish, you can’t be blind. You look great! No boy at our school would be stupid enough to treat you like a sex object no matter how sexy you look. They all know you could knock their block off. Believe me; they might look. However, none of them will even think about touching. Besides, I told you. I’ve got your back.” I said this to try to keep her calm. She isn’t the easiest person to get unrifled once her dander is up. “Come on, let’s go and have fun, OK?”

Tish seemed to calm down faster than usual. I suspect it had something to do with the gown she was wearing. How could she act like a hard-ass when she looked like cotton candy? I think even she knew her look did not match her attitude. You are what you wear or something like that-- once again, she would prove me wrong.

The early-evening sunset was perfect for flying. As we entered the Chicago air-traffic control space on the way to Palwaukee Municipal, we could see the Navy Pier extending into Lake Michigan off our right wing. The harbor was full of millionaire yachts. The high rises outlined the Chicago skyline and seemed to be twinkling a greeting. We could also see Wrigley Fields, home of the Cubs. That was always the most exciting for me to view.

My mom made a few phone calls, and I was assured a cab would be waiting for us at the airfield to take us to Bob Chin’s Crab House. The restaurant boasted some great crab meals. The fresh crabs came from different places around the world, and I wasn’t about to let Tish have anything but a fairy tale evening.

I had plenty of money from working an after-school job; still, Mom slipped me an extra fifty dollars. Little did Mom know Dad slipped me money as well. There was ample amount of money for whatever my best friend wanted for dinner. I told her anything on the menu – go figure – she ordered a salad and iced tea.

I wasn’t going to let her off that easy. I ordered a Colossal Shrimp cocktail, Kona crab salad for her as well as Bob’s favorite dessert sampler at the end of the meal. She said she never tasted anything that good before and loved all the items I ordered for her. It made me feel good to see her eat with such enthusiasm.

I let Tish fly most of the way back while I worked the radios with air traffic control. The flight back was equally pleasant. The stars were shimmering, and the lights below got us in the mood for the dance. I can’t say Tish was ready to dance cheek to cheek with me nonetheless I sensed she was starting to look forward to the evening instead of dreading it.

Arriving at the high school, I parked and went around the car to do my gentlemanly duty. Tish, ever independent, opened the door and was out without my assistance. She was cursing under her breath about being all tangled up in her dress. I took her by the arm and escorted her to the gym.

Entering the Senior Ball’s ‘Under the Sea’ theme decorated gym, I noticed I was right. Every guy's eyes in the gym were locked on Tish. I suspect half of them did not recognize her. The ones who did immediately recognize her knew enough to close their mouths and avert their eyes. Luckily, Tish seemed oblivious to the commotion she caused by entering the room.

We found a table with several of my pals and settled down to chat before dancing. I noticed Jack and Heather were seated at the table occupied mainly with cheerleaders and their dates. We were greeted amicably by my football pals and their dates. The girls almost immediately started to compliment Tish on her gorgeous dress, and I was fascinated to see her join in the girl-talk. I never heard her quite as chatty before with other girls. It gave me a chance to talk about football with the guys.

Chuck Landers, my male best friend, said, “Coach says he is going to miss us. We were the best football team he ever coached. I guess it isn’t every year he gets to brag about being the State Champions. How could we miss, with you as our quarterback?”

The rest of the guys joined in talking about the win over Orange Town and how close the game was with a score of 14-12. They seemed to want to flatter me with how great I was. It appeared to me it was a low scoring game and I reminded them close is not a great win.

“Hey, you guys are the ones who make the touchdowns. I just handoff and throw the ball.” I could be modest when I needed to be. It seemed this was not the time to honk my own horn.

“St. Anthony was a shutout. Who expected us to have such a large win over them in the semifinals?” One of the guys added.

Football talk would have continued for most of the night except we were interrupted as Meredith, the dog-crazy girl, came up to our table with Seth, her date. Meredith is always trying to get us to take a stray dog home. I guess she and her mother rescue them from the pound just before they are going to be destroyed. We know her heart is in a good place nevertheless, none of us really wanted more dogs. Most of us already have family pets, and we don’t need more. She can get a bit pushy about it. Therefore we usually try to avoid her. There was no avoiding her this time.

“Hi guys,” came her lead in. “Doesn’t the gym look great? I was on the decorating committee. I really want to know if you like it or not?"

I admitted silently, to myself, I hadn’t really given the decorations much of a look. I took the time to check it out. It did look good. The theme was something under the sea. I don’t know how I missed all the fish, seahorses, and seaweed dangling from the ceiling. I thought to myself ‘what dumb butt would climb up on a ladder just to hang that stuff.' Then I looked at Meredith, and the answer came to me—Meredith, of course.

“It looks great, Meredith.” I felt this was a safe thing to say. After all, how could she bring up dog adoption from an undersea theme?

“Did you know an experienced sailor is called a sea dog?” Meredith started to say more when I interrupted her. I found it hard to believe she steered the conversation to dogs from the theme of oceans…sure enough, she did.

“Excuse us for a moment, Meredith. I must get Tish and myself something to drink. Why don’t you sit down in our chairs for a while and chat with the rest of the group?” I pulled Tish up from her chair and hurried her away.

The team gave me a mean look as I left them saddled with Meredith and her campaign to find dogs homes. Meredith’s focus was now on them, and they knew I gave them a bum’s rush.

“What was that all about?” asked Tish.

“Meredith was about to start hounding us to take some of her rescue dogs. Hey, did you hear me trying to be witty? Hounding us, ha...ha…ha?” I chuckled at my joke. Tish wasn’t laughing.

“Don’t be mean, Scott. Meredith is passionate, and I admire her tenacity. She really cares about those dogs getting good homes.” Tish was bristling a bit.

“Don’t bite my head off, okay? I know Meredith means well, I get tired of her constantly pushing me to take a dog. She knows we plan to go to Chicago to start studying criminal law. How are we supposed to take a dog with us? We will live in a very small apartment or house, and the only dog that would fit would be some small yappy thing. If we are going to have a dog, we are going to get a big dog that can help us in our private investigator business. Until we can afford a big place, there is no room for a dog.” I was looking to the future as I talked to Tish about our plans to become partners after high school and working towards opening our private investigation office as Evers and McFarlan.

Tish is a natural candidate as my partner. She has a calm head on her shoulders—smart as a whip and all that, she also has a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo, Combat Hapkido, and she is learning Ground Survival and Savate. She is fearless which pushes me to be braver as well.

Don’t get me wrong; I am tough. My football training has toughened me up. I stand 6’3” and weigh a muscular 220 pounds. I am not trained in fighting like Tish. Nonetheless, I can throw a mean punch when I need to.

We found the soft drink and typical strawberry punch table. Tish wanted the punch drink, and I need a cold Coke. No one spiked the punch bowl yet. I guess ole Miss Sourpuss standing guard over the punch bowl deterred the pranksters, like Jack, the ass.

Speaking of Jack, the ass, I looked over and saw him groping Heather. I suspect he shared a bit of his dad’s whiskey in the car with her before they came in judging by how relaxed Heather seemed to be acting. It was out of her character to allow public displays of whatever. I can’t call it affection since it was inappropriate, at best and lewd at the worst.

I was totally disgusted and asked Tish if she would excuse me for a moment. I could not stand watching that Jack-ass touch Heather for another moment. She said she would stay put by the drink table if I would not take too long. I pretended to need to use the head and went towards the men’s room.

I came out a few minutes later to find Lucy Loose on the ground and her jerk of a date, Jesse, in a guillotine choke by yours truly, Tish, my date. I saw Jesse slump to the floor, obviously unconscious. I rushed to get Tish out of the gym before the principal knew what was happening.

“Come on! Now!” I said to Tish as I grabbed her by her arm. She flicked her arm free of me in an instant. She smiled when she saw it was me and allowed me to take her hand again and lead her out a side door. We ran for the car, and I drove away like a maniac.

Getting a mile or two away, I slowed down and asked her what in the hell happened while I was in the bathroom. I turned right onto the road leading to the county park and stopped the engine. I turned to give her my full attention.

"I minded my own business when Lucy that slut came slithering over to me. I was disgusted by what she said to me. I slapped her because it made me mad! Immediately Jesse came and grabbed me from behind. Well…” I interrupted Tish and said.

“Wait, back up. What did Lucy say to make you slap her?” I wasn’t following the events very well.

“OK, as I was saying,” Tish continued, “Lucy came up to me right after you left. She made some comment about how I would not have a date at all if she had not broken up Heather and you. I asked her how she managed to break the two of you up. I knew she and Jack sabotaged your relationship with Heather…I just wanted to hear it from her own lips.” “What else did Lucy say?” I asked.

“She told me you were crap in bed and I boiled over. I knew they got you ripped that night…and for her to lie about you…was more than I could stand…so I slapped her.” Now more to herself she muttered, “As if you would ever sleep with a walking disease bag.”

“And right after you slapped her is when Jesse came up behind you?” I was touched Tish would go to such lengths to defend my honor.

“Yep, you are right. Jesse came up and grabbed me from behind. He intended to hold me while Lucy took a punch at me. Before he could secure me, I flipped around behind him and caught him in a choke hold. He didn't even know what was happening. Lucy rushed up to break my choke hold, so I side-kicked her to the ground.” Tish chuckled.

I chuckled…no…I belly laughed. It was great seeing Jesse turning purple. It was even greater to see his lights go out.

We both laughed for most of five minutes before we could settle down. “You know the principal is most likely going to call your folks, don’t you?”

“I doubt it. I suspect neither Lucy or Jesse are going to declare I got the best of both. More likely they will come up with some other excuse for Jesse and Lucy being on the ground. Oops, they must have slipped on the spilled punch.” And our laughter started all over again.

I looked out the driver side truck window and saw the swings. I remembered how many times Tish and I played at this park when we were small. The old memory made me feel young again.

“Come with me, and I will swing you. It has been years since we played on this playground. It will be fun.” I wasn’t ready for the evening to end and I could not think what else we could do at that moment.

I opened the car door for Tish, and we walked hand in hand to the swings. The evening was warm and the end of our senior year was fast approaching. We listened to the crickets as I pushed the swing and watched Tish’s gown float in the gentle air.

As she leaned back, she could watch the stars blur past with the movement of the swing. No words were spoken for several minutes.

I took the swing next to her and pumped my legs back and forth to get the swing started. I noted I did not fit in the swing like I once did. Finally, I let the swing come to a stop and waited for Tish to stop also. As her swing gently slowed to a stop, I held out my hand to assist her out of the swing. I noted, she did still fit in the seat.

We walked along the path leading to the pond. Frogs were croaking until we got too close and then they became quiet.

Tish spoke first. “You know it is going to be expensive for us to attend Daley College. We both are going to need a part-time job at least on weekends. We will need to charge high fees when we get our P.I. License to pay for college.”

“For sure. Too bad neither one of us was born with a silver spoon in our mouths. I envy Chuck. His mama is rich enough he will be able to attend law school and never have any debts. He said he might visit us in Chicago. I know that won’t happen. He is such a mama’s boy. He will return here and set up his law practice. Just watch.” I did not mean for this to sound as derogatory as it did. After all, Chuck is my best friend. I know him like a book. He and his mother got very close when Chuck’s dad died.

Tish continued the thought. “Yeah, he is a mama’s boy. It would be fun to have a lawyer in town with us. You are right though; he will never leave his mom home alone. I guess we will need to find another lawyer in Chicago to keep us out of jail.” Tish winked, and I smiled.

I figured she wasn’t far off the truth. We were having enough trouble staying out of jail here in our small town, and we hadn’t even graduated yet. Heaven knows what kind of trouble we will be in when we are on the streets considering some dicey situations. Good thing Tish can fend for herself. Chances are, I will need her to keep me from getting my block knocked off.

The walk around the pond was comfortable. Being friends for many years has made it nice to be in each other’s’ company. Tish makes me feel contented. I don’t need to worry about her feelings or to coddle her. She is rarely ever moody or maybe I just never noticed when she was. Tish was just Tish.

Thinking about Tish taking down Lucy and Jesse this evening, I realized I had no knowledge why Tish became obsessed with martial arts. It prompted me to ask the next question. I wasn’t really prepared for her answer.

“Tish, I know you well, yet, I never understood why you got into martial arts in such a big way. You were always tough even as a little girl. Why did you decide you needed to be even tougher?” I guess Tish didn't much want to tell me since she did not reply.

I decided she wasn’t going to answer. Letting her off the hook since it was none of my business, I said. “You don’t need to answer. It was a silly question anyway.”

I suddenly became aware Tish was sniffling. Was she crying? Tish doesn’t cry. I was with her once when she broke her arm, and she did not cry.

I stopped and turned Tish by the shoulders to face me. She was crying. “What the hell? What’s wrong? Did I say something I shouldn’t have said? You know I am a big dope. Don’t cry. I’m sorry. I didn't mean whatever I said.” I stumbled all over myself trying to apologize because I was at a loss for what else to do.

Tish took my hand and led me to a bench. “It is nothing you did, you dope. It was my uncle….” She let the words drop and said nothing else. I was not sure if she wanted me to hug her or ask more questions. Therefore, I did nothing more than to continue holding her hand.

Tish started to talk softly between sobs. “I never told anyone this before, and you need to promise you won’t tell a soul. Do you promise?”

“Of course, Tish, I would never repeat a secret you told me. I have your back, and you have mine. Remember?” I tried to be reassuring. I never know if I am succeeding or not. Sometimes I feel inadequate. This was new to me. Tish never acted like a girl before.

“When I was ten, my parents needed to go away for a weekend. I don’t remember why they needed to go. They left me with my Uncle Joe.” Tish paused and took a deep breath before she continued her story. I sat still as a statue and waited—afraid of what she might say next.

“At any rate, the weekend started out fine. My uncle took me to see a Disney movie, and we had popcorn and candy. It was nice, and he was funny. When we got home, he said I needed to take a bath. I told him I was a big girl and I could take a bath by myself. He said he was in charge and he needed to make sure I was safe in the bathtub. He also said he needed to make sure I was very clean down there.” Tish looked down into her lap.

“Tish, it’s me, your best friend. You don’t need to be ashamed of anything with me.” I was starting to feel upset. I remembered her Uncle Joe, and I thought he was a nice guy. Now I wanted to kill him. I was too late. He was already dead. A strange thought was starting to surface, and I didn't like it. Uncle Joe was murdered, and his murderer was never found. His neck was broken…. Naw, Tish was not a murderer, she had every right to want to kill him. Especially, if what she was about to say was what I thought she would say.

“Tish, you don’t need to say anymore if you don’t want to. I have a good idea of what happened. I completely understand why you got into martial arts now.” I wanted to spare her any more shame or pain. Whatever she was feeling was really messing with my mind.

Tish said, “No one is ever going to take advantage of me again. No one!”

The ferocity in Tish’s voice did not really surprise me. I wanted to scream obscenities myself. Tish was good and decent. She was my best friend. What her uncle did to her should never have happened to Tish.

“Tish, I don’t know what to say except you were a victim. It was wrong on many levels. If your Uncle Joe were alive, I think I would kill him!” I meant every word of it. I hated to hear myself saying such things. I hated to think I could kill anyone. I knew deep down inside, under the right circumstances, I could.

Tish sighed again. She wasn’t crying any longer. I put my arm around her, and we sat in silence for a long time. What a way to end our prom night.