Almost Perfect - Brian Katcher [17]
I turned to Tim, ready to gloat that I wasn’t afraid of Sage. Before I could say anything, he let out a loud fart so stinky that it covered the odor of the frog preservative.
He leapt to his feet with a grin on his face. “I feel like a new man!”
I hoped Sage really would show up at the game. I needed a change of company.
Time seemed to stand still as our center threw a desperate, longer-than-half-court shot with no time left in the half. For an agonizing second the basketball seemed to hover directly over the rim. Then gravity took effect and the shot went wide.
No big deal; we were down by twenty-four points.
Half the town had turned out for Friday night basketball. The tiny gym was stuffed to the gills as the Moberly Spartans wiped the floor with the Boyer Bears. Moberly was large enough that people actually had to try out for their team. At Boyer, anyone interested was pretty much guaranteed court time.
The cheerleading squad assembled at half-court and proceeded to perform the same three cheers they did at every game. I could see Tanya at the bottom of the pyramid.
For the third or fourth time, I scanned the seats for Sage’s lanky form. She had said she’d meet me here, but it looked like she had other plans. Maybe her parents had refused her, or maybe Tammi had tattled. Or she just didn’t want to go.
It didn’t matter. It’s not like I’d been looking forward to this all day. Not like I’d rushed home in order to take a shower and shave before the game. Not like I’d spent my emergency fund on a new shirt. Not like I’d spent the past hour barking at anyone who tried to take the seat next to me.
“Hey, Logan.” Tim had joined me. And, shockingly, he had what appeared to be a female with him.
She was a skinny girl with deep blue eyes, the only feature that kept her from being a true albino. Her short hair was almost white and her skin seemed to have no pigmentation at all. She was the sort of person who might catch fire on a sunny day.
“Logan, this is Dawn. Dawn, this is Logan.” Tim was grinning as if he’d just pulled her out of a hat.
I shook her hand. “Don’t I know you?”
“Maybe. I work at the Forum Eight snack counter.”
Ah, so that was where Tim met her. With the amount of money he poured into that place, I was surprised they didn’t provide him with a wife.
The cheerleaders eventually finished their routine, and the basketball team thundered back onto the court. Jack, who was not a starter, had been put in for the second half. He wasn’t especially good at passing, but the guy moved like a gas molecule and could dribble the ball like a jack-hammer.
The cheerleaders had converged near the exit. I recognized Tanya’s circular shape. I watched as a strange boy approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her neck. She turned and kissed him for an entire Boyer time-out. Apparently, I’d missed the boat with her.
Five minutes into the third quarter, Jack’s wildly flailing elbow connected with a Spartan’s face. A couple of the Moberly players didn’t seem to think it was accidental, and for a few seconds, it looked like there was going to be a brawl.
After the two coaches defused the situation, I turned to Tim to make a joke. Then I quickly turned away. For once, Tim had his lips wrapped around something besides a corn dog.
That was my cue to leave. Not only had Sage stood me up, but now Tim and Dawn were exchanging closed-mouthed little kisses and giggling. I grabbed my jacket.
“Hey, you leaving?” asked Tim when I stood up.
“We’re getting stomped. I’ll see you guys later.”
“You sure? We’re going to Mr. Pizza after the game.”
That had third wheel written all over it. I slouched out of the gym building and into the cold autumn night. The whole parking lot was filled to capacity with pickup trucks and vans. Every other vehicle had an NRA bumper sticker or one of those decals of Calvin pissing on something. I buttoned my jacket and prepared for the mile-and-a-half walk home.
I recognized Brenda’s car parked alone over by the middle school. That ugly gold Saturn with the unnecessary