Charlie hoarsely whispered.
We all smiled at each other and steeled ourselves. There was a job to be done.
Suddenly Mr. Perkins’ car floated across the pavement, powered not by gas but by the grunts and groans of Jameson’s finest athlet e s. It was hard. My back, legs , and hands were screaming, but with all of the lifting we had done in the past, I told myself this car was just another barbell or bale of hay. By the time we had the car to the school, Ben had the double doors opened and the metal center bar out of the way. The car floated through.
“Turn it. Turn the back,” Nick ordered between huffs and puffs. We grunted some more and rotated the car. “Good. Wedge it tight… set it down …now !”
And that’s how Mr. Perkins’ Beetle happened to park itself sideways, inside the gym’s rear hallway, between the back bleachers.
We stepped back from the car, kneading our sore hands where the metal edges had pressed, trying not to laugh so we could survey our masterpiece.
“He’s gonna freak!”
“He’s gonna die!”
“He’s gonna come out and say, ‘Didn’t I park my car here?’”
“This is the best senior prank ever!”
“Look what we did, man! This is freakin ’ awesome!”
We slapped each other on the back one more time.
“Wait ‘till he finds his car!” Johnny laughed.
Once we thought about that, we all ran like hell .
#best prank ever
“Anything happen in school today?” Mom was loading the dishwasher with dishes from the after - game sandwich she always made for me. I almost choked on my milk. An hour ago I had been laughing hysterically. Now, my shoulders were feeling a little tight from worry.
“Sorry we couldn’t make the game,” Dad said, pouring a soda. “After next week we should be able to come.”
“No,” Mom warned him. “It’ll be two weeks before we can go.”
The phone rang while Mom and Dad did the parent thing and checked the calendar to see who was right.
“It’s me, Andy-O,” Johnny said. “Have you heard anything?”
My stomach dropped. “No. Should I have?”
“No. Just checking.” Johnny laughed. “That was amazing, wasn’t it? It sure beats anything you and I have pulled.”
“Those boys are strong. I mean, I helped, but I really think they could have done it without us.”
“Yeah. They’re beasts. We’ve got a lot of weight lifting to do before we hit varsity football,” Johnny said. “Anyway, remember: we were all with each other in the locker room after the game. We are our own alibis until our parents can vouch for us.”
I swallowed hard. It was a good plan as long as everybody stuck to it. We really didn’t have anything to worry about.
“I can’t wait until tomorrow. This whole thing is crazy.” I hung up, smiling about our evening.
“Who was that?” Mom wanted to know.
“Johnny.”
“Can’t you boys ever stop talking about the game?” Dad teased. “Come over here and tell us about it.”
So I did. And even though I don’t like lying to my parents, I especially added a lot of detail about what happened in the locker room until they picked me up.
***
The next day Johnny and I got to the gym as fast as possible. Since we spent most mornings checking in with Coach, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary except that morning we found Sizzle standing outside the door talking to him.
“Nobody’s allowed to go in the gym,” Sizzle told us, his face angry.
Coach suspiciously eyed the three of us.
“What?” Sizzle asked. “What’s going on?”
I followed his lead. “Yeah. Why can’t we go in the gym?”
Coach didn’t say anything for a minute, and then he looked straight into Sizzle’s eyes. “Is there anything you want to tell me, son?”
Sizzle threw his hands up in the air. “What are you talking about? What is going on?” Suddenly his eyes opened wide. “Did somebody do something to the gym?” Sizzle’s face clouded with anger. “They did, didn’t they?”
Johnny took his cue.
We all smiled at each other and steeled ourselves. There was a job to be done.
Suddenly Mr. Perkins’ car floated across the pavement, powered not by gas but by the grunts and groans of Jameson’s finest athlet e s. It was hard. My back, legs , and hands were screaming, but with all of the lifting we had done in the past, I told myself this car was just another barbell or bale of hay. By the time we had the car to the school, Ben had the double doors opened and the metal center bar out of the way. The car floated through.
“Turn it. Turn the back,” Nick ordered between huffs and puffs. We grunted some more and rotated the car. “Good. Wedge it tight… set it down …now !”
And that’s how Mr. Perkins’ Beetle happened to park itself sideways, inside the gym’s rear hallway, between the back bleachers.
We stepped back from the car, kneading our sore hands where the metal edges had pressed, trying not to laugh so we could survey our masterpiece.
“He’s gonna freak!”
“He’s gonna die!”
“He’s gonna come out and say, ‘Didn’t I park my car here?’”
“This is the best senior prank ever!”
“Look what we did, man! This is freakin ’ awesome!”
We slapped each other on the back one more time.
“Wait ‘till he finds his car!” Johnny laughed.
Once we thought about that, we all ran like hell .
#best prank ever
“Anything happen in school today?” Mom was loading the dishwasher with dishes from the after - game sandwich she always made for me. I almost choked on my milk. An hour ago I had been laughing hysterically. Now, my shoulders were feeling a little tight from worry.
“Sorry we couldn’t make the game,” Dad said, pouring a soda. “After next week we should be able to come.”
“No,” Mom warned him. “It’ll be two weeks before we can go.”
The phone rang while Mom and Dad did the parent thing and checked the calendar to see who was right.
“It’s me, Andy-O,” Johnny said. “Have you heard anything?”
My stomach dropped. “No. Should I have?”
“No. Just checking.” Johnny laughed. “That was amazing, wasn’t it? It sure beats anything you and I have pulled.”
“Those boys are strong. I mean, I helped, but I really think they could have done it without us.”
“Yeah. They’re beasts. We’ve got a lot of weight lifting to do before we hit varsity football,” Johnny said. “Anyway, remember: we were all with each other in the locker room after the game. We are our own alibis until our parents can vouch for us.”
I swallowed hard. It was a good plan as long as everybody stuck to it. We really didn’t have anything to worry about.
“I can’t wait until tomorrow. This whole thing is crazy.” I hung up, smiling about our evening.
“Who was that?” Mom wanted to know.
“Johnny.”
“Can’t you boys ever stop talking about the game?” Dad teased. “Come over here and tell us about it.”
So I did. And even though I don’t like lying to my parents, I especially added a lot of detail about what happened in the locker room until they picked me up.
***
The next day Johnny and I got to the gym as fast as possible. Since we spent most mornings checking in with Coach, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary except that morning we found Sizzle standing outside the door talking to him.
“Nobody’s allowed to go in the gym,” Sizzle told us, his face angry.
Coach suspiciously eyed the three of us.
“What?” Sizzle asked. “What’s going on?”
I followed his lead. “Yeah. Why can’t we go in the gym?”
Coach didn’t say anything for a minute, and then he looked straight into Sizzle’s eyes. “Is there anything you want to tell me, son?”
Sizzle threw his hands up in the air. “What are you talking about? What is going on?” Suddenly his eyes opened wide. “Did somebody do something to the gym?” Sizzle’s face clouded with anger. “They did, didn’t they?”
Johnny took his cue.
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