Read Online After Dakota by Kevin Sharp - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kevin Sharp
Tags: Young Adult
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court members no one cares about.
The marching band and drill team do their thing just as the first raindrops land.
The boys pull their jackets up over their heads. Up in the Jock section, two track runners do an Indian rain dance to cheers from all around.
“Those brownies were a ripoff,” Geoff announces.
The teams come back out, the crowds on both sides stomp the bleachers, the rain picks up force. Boom-boom-boom. Boom-boom-boom .
Cameron’s head and shoulders stay dry, while his jeans get so drenched they’re black. His socks squish when he moves his feet. Still no Rosemary – she must have made the smart move and sought cover.
HOME: 7
VISITORS: 20
The crowd restless now, booing.
Geoff shouts over the rain. “Do we really wanna stay for the rest of this nonsense?”
“It’s not that bad!” Cameron replies. He leans forward too far and water runs down his exposed butt crack.
“Bryce is missing out!” Donny says.
Geoff replies from under the second skin of his leather jacket, “Yeah, never thought I’d be jealous of Charlie Church and his prayer circle!”
Cameron wishes he could speed up time and end this nonsense. No one leaves Homecoming early, no matter how bad the score or the weather. Sitting here wet isn’t so bad.
The rain thick now, like watching the game through a curtain.
Geoff complains some more, but Cameron has bought a decent reputation through free pizza and tokens; maybe he isn’t up high on Mount Olympus, but he’s more than the nobody he used to be. He’s not going to sacrifice that hard work just to be dry. All that, and the girl that might still come back for him.
Any minute now the game will end – one flash of lightning and they’ll call it all off.
Boom-boom-boom. Boom-boom-boom .
HOME: 7
VISITORS: 23
Any minute now.
27
5:30 a.m. Bryce opens his eyes to the alarm, the first Saturday morning of October, the first day of the annual Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. The plan is to drive with Cam out to the staging area, the vast dirt field where the balloons go from limp canvases to magnificent flying machines. Bryce hears footsteps through the ceiling, his dad pouring the fifth or tenth cup of coffee today.
5:32. It would be so nice to pull the comforter up and sleep onward. After that he could eat Pop Tarts, do some drawing, play games, maybe get his homework done early.
5:33. Or go see a movie.
5:35. Stop thinking about Dakota. Think of another girl. Any other girl.
5:36. Jasmin in science claims she’s a real Gypsy, but she has blond hair and blue eyes. Man, the way she ate that frozen banana at the snack bar…
5:38. Bryce used to like frozen bananas until the time he, Cam, and Geoff rode The Scrambler at Uncle Cliff’s. One of those rides that do only two things: spin and spin faster. Bryce thought he’d waited long enough after eating. Wrong. At least he managed to throw up over the side of the car – no easy feat while moving that fast. Then when they stopped, Cam threw up inside the car!
5:40. The boys stood side by side in a lineup like criminals, while a disgusted employee hosed off their shoes behind the bumper cars. Bryce had seen lots of senior girls at the park earlier that night and was petrified that they’d walk by and witness this.
5:41. Do amusement parks have a designated vomit-hoser on the payroll?
5:42. Jerome, who used to work the games at Cliff’s (and would give cute girls free stuffed animals even if they didn’t win), was paralyzed when a drunk driver ran a stop sign and hit his car. The drunk flew out of his own car and got his face mashed up on the asphalt.
5:43. If you were paralyzed you’d get a lot of sympathy but you couldn’t do much of anything. Disfigured you could still live your life but people would avoid you. Tough call.
5:44. Come on – get up, pee, get dressed.
5:45. The water heater shudders and groans to life in the corner.
5:47. When Bryce’s dad was a kid, the family had a bomb shelter in their
The marching band and drill team do their thing just as the first raindrops land.
The boys pull their jackets up over their heads. Up in the Jock section, two track runners do an Indian rain dance to cheers from all around.
“Those brownies were a ripoff,” Geoff announces.
The teams come back out, the crowds on both sides stomp the bleachers, the rain picks up force. Boom-boom-boom. Boom-boom-boom .
Cameron’s head and shoulders stay dry, while his jeans get so drenched they’re black. His socks squish when he moves his feet. Still no Rosemary – she must have made the smart move and sought cover.
HOME: 7
VISITORS: 20
The crowd restless now, booing.
Geoff shouts over the rain. “Do we really wanna stay for the rest of this nonsense?”
“It’s not that bad!” Cameron replies. He leans forward too far and water runs down his exposed butt crack.
“Bryce is missing out!” Donny says.
Geoff replies from under the second skin of his leather jacket, “Yeah, never thought I’d be jealous of Charlie Church and his prayer circle!”
Cameron wishes he could speed up time and end this nonsense. No one leaves Homecoming early, no matter how bad the score or the weather. Sitting here wet isn’t so bad.
The rain thick now, like watching the game through a curtain.
Geoff complains some more, but Cameron has bought a decent reputation through free pizza and tokens; maybe he isn’t up high on Mount Olympus, but he’s more than the nobody he used to be. He’s not going to sacrifice that hard work just to be dry. All that, and the girl that might still come back for him.
Any minute now the game will end – one flash of lightning and they’ll call it all off.
Boom-boom-boom. Boom-boom-boom .
HOME: 7
VISITORS: 23
Any minute now.
27
5:30 a.m. Bryce opens his eyes to the alarm, the first Saturday morning of October, the first day of the annual Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. The plan is to drive with Cam out to the staging area, the vast dirt field where the balloons go from limp canvases to magnificent flying machines. Bryce hears footsteps through the ceiling, his dad pouring the fifth or tenth cup of coffee today.
5:32. It would be so nice to pull the comforter up and sleep onward. After that he could eat Pop Tarts, do some drawing, play games, maybe get his homework done early.
5:33. Or go see a movie.
5:35. Stop thinking about Dakota. Think of another girl. Any other girl.
5:36. Jasmin in science claims she’s a real Gypsy, but she has blond hair and blue eyes. Man, the way she ate that frozen banana at the snack bar…
5:38. Bryce used to like frozen bananas until the time he, Cam, and Geoff rode The Scrambler at Uncle Cliff’s. One of those rides that do only two things: spin and spin faster. Bryce thought he’d waited long enough after eating. Wrong. At least he managed to throw up over the side of the car – no easy feat while moving that fast. Then when they stopped, Cam threw up inside the car!
5:40. The boys stood side by side in a lineup like criminals, while a disgusted employee hosed off their shoes behind the bumper cars. Bryce had seen lots of senior girls at the park earlier that night and was petrified that they’d walk by and witness this.
5:41. Do amusement parks have a designated vomit-hoser on the payroll?
5:42. Jerome, who used to work the games at Cliff’s (and would give cute girls free stuffed animals even if they didn’t win), was paralyzed when a drunk driver ran a stop sign and hit his car. The drunk flew out of his own car and got his face mashed up on the asphalt.
5:43. If you were paralyzed you’d get a lot of sympathy but you couldn’t do much of anything. Disfigured you could still live your life but people would avoid you. Tough call.
5:44. Come on – get up, pee, get dressed.
5:45. The water heater shudders and groans to life in the corner.
5:47. When Bryce’s dad was a kid, the family had a bomb shelter in their
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