A Pinstriped Finger’s My Only Friend

Chapter 5

5SIX HOURS LATERWhat a day! Judd definitely has an afterglow going on as he sits at the dinner table with his family.

The pep rally left him with a major buzz. The "intervention" in Biology was such a minor bump, it didn't even put a dent in it. And once he got out of that class, the rest of his day just got better and better. In sixth period, Miss Holliday let him skate on a makeup history test and goosed his overall grade from a D to a C. (Woo hoo!) Then the cast sheet for the school musical went up, and guess who was right at the top in the lead freakin' role? (Yee-haw!) After that, basketball practice couldn't have been more awesome; Judd literally hit every shot he took, including a full-court (Say what??) long-bomb master blaster that was nothing but net. As if all that wasn't great enough, his after-practice date with Kaela (in her bedroom with nobody home!) was a mind-blowing spectacular that left him flying high on Cloud Nine.

(Not to mention Clouds Ten, Eleven, and Twelve!)

So it's understandable that his grin's a little bigger and he's maybe a little more...

(Obnoxious?)

...outrageous than usual at the table.

"...and then I got to speak at the mike, and I was like, inspired! The words just flew out of me!" Judd gestures with a forkload of homemade lasagna with bacon and extra mushrooms--his favorite dish. Sitting on the floor beside him, Sphinx the chocolate Labrador watches every move the fork makes with keen interest. "Everybody was screaming! People told me later it was the best speech they'd ever heard!"

Judd's father flashes a wry look in his direction. "Better than Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech? Better than Kennedy's 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech?

Judd's laugh is as good-natured as always. "The best pep rally speech they'd ever heard."

"Well holy crap!" Dad's voice is thick with sarcasm. "That's still mighty high praise, son!" He has close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair, a mustache, and a goatee. He's a tall, skinny guy with knobby everything and eyes so dark they look like they're rimmed with black eye shadow.

"I know, right?" Judd gets that Dad's yanking his chain but just keeps on self-back-patting. "I know it was the best I've ever heard. I wish you guys could've heard it!"

Just then, Judd's fifteen-year-old brother Nick speaks up. "Two of us did hear it, remember?" Nick grabs handfuls of his shaggy brown hair and rolls his bright green eyes.

"Chopped liver over here." Judd's sister, Brooke, waves her left hand unenthusiastically. She's thirteen, with the same inkwell eyes as Dad, only hers are painted on. She's an anime princess these days, tricked out in high-contrast cartoony makeup, short-skirted sailor suits, and red ribbons binding her jet black pigtails. "You do know we go to the same school, right?"

Judd ignores her. "I'll bet somebody recorded it on a phone. It was such a big event, someone must have done it."

"Maybe they'll post it online." Judd's mom says it while she's reaching for a hunk of buttered garlic bread. "Didn't someone do that last time?"

"That's right!" Judd lights up. "That'll rock! People will be totally into it."

Sphinx barks as if in agreement, but he really just wants a piece of lasagna.

"Especially after you actually win the state championship." Dad puts his fork and knife down on his empty plate and dabs a napkin at the corners of his mouth.

Judd leans back and folds his arms over his chest. "I wish you could've been there, Dad. If you could've felt the energy in that gym, you'd know we're gonna win it all."

"Judd. Son." Dad pushes his chair back from the table. "You know what the first rule of sports is, don't you?"

"'Go big or go home!'" Judd says it with certainty.

"Nope." Dad gets up and raises an index finger. "'Expect the unexpected.'" He smiles and nods. "Also the first rule of life, by the way."

"I thought you said it was 'trees don't grow on money,'" says Brooke.

"And I thought it was 'never give a sucker an even break,'" chimes in Nick.

"Try 'honor your father.'" Dad spreads his arms wide. "That one works, too, y'know. For once in your lives, give it a try."

"I don't think so." Brooke scrunches up her nose and shakes her head fast. "That doesn't sound like my cup of tea."

"I'll give you a cup of tea." Dad marches over and tickles her, pitching her into a giggling fit.

While that's going on, Mom smiles across the table at Judd. "You know we're all behind you one hundred percent, honey. You know we all believe in you."

"Absolutely." Judd flashes his grin. "And I couldn't do it without you."

"Really? You mean that?" Brooke shouts it between bouts of giggling.

"If it makes you feel better, than yeah. What the heck." Judd shrugs and gets up from the table. "More power to ya'." His voice and expression make it clear that he's kidding...

(But who knows?)

...even as he gathers up his dishes and turns his back on the family, heading for the kitchen.

(Do I know? We're in touch quite a bit, after all. Let's just say this...)

"I don't believe in you," says Nick. "You're not real. You're a figment of my imagination!"

(...if I do know...)

"Then I guess I should thank you, Nicky," Judd hollers from the kitchen, "for making me such an awesome, soon-to-be state champion figment!"

(...I'm keeping it to myself.)

Four hours later, Judd's lying in bed, head propped up on some pillows, talking on the phone. He's multitasking, playing a videogame with the remote controller in his right hand, but he isn't paying much attention to the score. He's more focused on the sweet, high-pitched voice filtering through the phone into his ear.

"I'm so proud of you," says the girl's voice. "I love you so much."

"I love hearing you say that." Judd keeps his voice low in case someone in the house is listening. "You're the best, Eva."

(Eva? Did he say Eva? But what about what about Kaela?)

"I wish I were there with you right now," whispers Eva. "I need to have you in my arms, Judd. I need to kiss you."

"I hear that." Judd hits the red button on the controller, blowing a spaceship to kingdom come. "I need to kiss you, too."

Her voice gets a little softer. "I've been thinking about last weekend a lot, Judd. About what we almost did."

"Me too, Eva." Judd zaps another starfighter. "It was pretty amazing."

"I think...I think I'm ready, Judd." Eva takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I'm ready."

Judd's grin gets bigger and more blissful than ever. He hits the red button on the controller five times fast, but he keeps his voice nice and calm and steady. "Are you sure, Eva?"

"I've never been more sure about anything," says Eva. "Let's make it really special, something we'll never forget."

"I like the sound of that," says Judd.

"After you get back from the state finals. How's that?" Her voice rises a little, sounding excited. "So you'll have something to look forward to. Something to inspire you in the big game."

"Perfect," says Judd. "I can't wait."

(But wait! But what about...)

Just then, his phone beeps with an incoming call. He checks the screen, sees who it is, and pops the phone back up to his ear. "Hey, Eva, can I call you back? I've gotta go."

"But I don't want you to." She sounds pouty.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I promise I'll call right back. Seeya!" With that, he switches from Eva to the other caller. "Hello?"

"Hey, baby." It's Kaela, sounding sultry. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Not much." Judd runs off another series of shots with the game controller, polishing off three incoming fighters with ease. "Just wishing this day would never end."

"I know the feeling." Kaela laughs in her deep, sexy voice. "So what was your favorite part?"

"All of it." The computer screen flares with light as Judd blows up a massive star carrier. "It was just a perfect day."

"Could be a perfect night, too," says Kaela. "Are you going to dream about me?"

"You know I will. But it might help if you tell me a bedtime story first."

"What kind of bedtime story?" says Kaela.

"You know the kind." Judd shoots down another fighter and tosses aside the controller. "My favorite kind."

Kaela giggles. "Once upon a time..."

And Judd lies back, grinning, because his own story is the best he can imagine, the best anyone could want, perhaps the best there's ever been.

He can't wait to see what's next.