Tuesday, October 13, 1987
After lunch

Jane Morgan fumed as she tried to clean up her shirt in the women’s restroom. How dare that Hallie Belden humiliate her like that! She just knew that witch had planned that lunchroom debacle. She had been innocently walking to her lunch table when that girl ran into her. Well, just wait until I get my revenge on her and all of her cronies. No one humiliates Jane Morgan and gets away with it.

It had to be the worst day of her life. First, she hadn’t made the Homecoming Court nominations on some tiny technicality and then her dad had failed to buy her a place on the ballot. She couldn’t believe that even her dad had betrayed her. Well, she would show them all.

She had to find Elizabeth and Hannah. Forget about Tiffany Kae. She had betrayed her by not making sure her application was done correctly. She looked down at her shirt and realized it was a lost cause. She’d have to run home and change. Hopefully, her father would sign a note for her absence.

Much to Trixie’s and Honey’s surprise, the rest of the school day was rather uneventful. Everyone was still abuzz about the nominations and the lunchroom drama, but even that had started to die down. When school was dismissed, the Homecoming Committee met in the cafeteria to assign hallways and go over the ground rules for the decorations.

Each class would have two hallways to decorate. The decorations had to be secure so they wouldn’t fall down during the week. Students needed to be able to access their lockers. In the past, each class had all week to get the decorations up. This year the committee had decided to limit decorating to one night. The class could plan ahead of time but the actual decorations had to be up by six o’clock that night.

The committee was excited because overall participation in Homecoming had increased this year. They had students who had never participated in any extracurricular activities helping with the decorations. Several students that excelled in art had stepped up and come up with some unique ideas for decorations, when in the past the decorations had consisted mainly of crepe paper and balloons.

The senior class created a headless horseman, Croton-on-Hudson’s mascot, being chased by a large eagle, Sleepyside’s mascot. They had somehow hung it from the ceiling above the lockers.

The junior class used strings of Christmas lights to spell out “Eagle Pride” above one set of lockers.

The enthusiasm was contagious. As the football team finished up practice, the players came to lend a hand. It seemed like everyone was helping out.

Well, everyone but Jane Morgan and company. They had volleyball practice and when they finished, instead of changing and helping, they decided they would continue to practice, but they took the practice to the hallways. They decided to try and keep the ball in the air as they walked down the hall. Before an advisor could stop them, they had knocked down half of the seniors’ decorations and damaged the tail on the headless horseman.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Jane smirked. “Did we do that?” She pointed at the damaged tail.

Steve Solberg, football co-captain, walked up to Jane and got as close to her face as he could without touching her. He didn’t say anything but just stared her down, daring her to blink. He scowled and Jane turned and stomped away. Hannah and Elizabeth followed her like lost puppies but Tiffany Kae stayed behind.

“I’ve had enough of that girl,” Tiffany Kae exclaimed as she looked at the damaged headless horseman. Someone had put a lot of effort into making it.

Steve stepped up to her. “Do you think it can be fixed?”

Allison Johnson, who had designed the headless horseman, joined them. “I think we can salvage this. Fortunately, it’s a clean break. If we get some clear packing tape we can fix the tail and then cover it with the paper and add a little paint. We can get this fixed by six o’clock.”

By Thursday morning, the Homecoming Committee was fed up with Jane Morgan and her cronies. Their antics on Tuesday had been dismissed by Principal Stratton as bad choices but not intentional. However, several of the floats had since been sabotaged. It wasn’t anything major, just enough to know someone had done something. The committee had decided that it would be better to just ignore everything. By acknowledging it, Jane would get the attention she so craved.

On Thursday morning, the ballots for court and queen were distributed during homeroom. Members of the committee went to each home room to conduct the election and make sure there was no cheating. Diana was assigned to Jane’s home room. As Diana explained the process to the class, Jane sat behind her, mimicking her. Elizabeth and a few other students laughed and tried to disrupt the class.

Finally, Steve Solberg spoke up. “Jane, will you quit acting like a spoilsport? All week you’ve been trying to ruin Homecoming because you didn’t follow the rules and then didn’t get your way. I think I can speak for the entire school when I say that we are tired of this foolishness. If you want to be miserable that’s your choice, but don’t drag the rest of us down to your level.”

A look of horror crossed Jane’s face. No one had ever dared to talk to her that way. She was Jane Morgan, and everyone looked up to her. If they didn’t, she would ruin them socially.

“I agree,” said Kathy Perkins. Kathy was a shy girl who was on the newspaper staff.

Jane looked down her nose at Kathy. “Who are you?” she asked disdainfully.

Kathy stood up, held up her head and said, “I’m Kathy Perkins, and I’m sick and tired of you bullying the entire school into going along with your ideas. You are no more or less important than anyone else in this school. Get over yourself.”

Steve slowly stood and started to applaud. One by one everyone in the room, except Elizabeth and Jane, stood. Then, to everyone’s surprise, even Elizabeth stood up. Jane looked around and then raced out into the hall, right into Hallie Belden’s arms.

Hallie had been heading to the gym to speak with the volleyball coach.

“Get out of my way,” Jane shouted. “Everywhere I turn you’re in my face. What are you doing, stalking me?”

Hallie stared at Jane, dumbfounded. Before she could even think of a response, Jane had stomped away. She shrugged her shoulders, picked up her books that she had dropped and headed on her way. She decided that she was not going to let that girl get to her, no matter what. She sensed that the best way to deal with her was to just ignore her. Jane was doing a good job of imploding on her own.

At the end of homeroom, the Homecoming Committee picked up all of the ballots and took them to Principal Stratton’s office, where he would keep them under lock and key until lunchtime, when they would tally the votes.

The football team had voted for the escorts at Wednesday night’s practice. They were supposed to vote on the teammates that added the most to the team. It was not necessarily the most talented members of the team who would win, but the ones who provided inspiration, leadership and went the extra mile. The coach would meet with the committee after the votes were tallied and then they would assign who would escort whom.

To no one’s surprise, when the committee members entered the office, Jane was hanging around. Several of the members tried to be polite and greeted her, but she brushed them all off.

She marched up to the counter and demanded, “Mrs. Ditmar, I want to see Mr. Stratton right now.”

Mrs. Ditmar rolled her eyes and said firmly, “I’m sorry, Jane, but as you know he is busy right now. You’ll have to wait until after the votes are tallied.”

“This is important. It can’t wait,” Jane insisted. “I have important information for him about voter fraud.”

Mrs. Ditmar tried to hold back a smirk. “This is not a national election; it’s for Sleepyside’s Homecoming Queen. The committee went to great lengths to ensure that the voting was fair. Now please, I have more important things to do than deal with your shenanigans.” She stood up and escorted Jane out of the office.

Jane stomped out of the office and started to rip down the closest decorations, but then thought better of it.

The Homecoming Committee had asked several teachers to tally the ballots for the Queen and her court. They wanted to make sure there were no concerns about rigging the election since many of the nominees were on the committee.

There weren’t any after-school Homecoming activities, but the football team would be holding a short practice under the lights. Once the team cleaned up after practice, they would lead off the snake dance. The snake dance was kind of like crack-the-whip except not on ice. People grabbed each other’s hands and ran down the street to where the bonfire was. Everyone was having a good time running down the street, with lots of teasing and chatter. As the snake made its way to the fairgrounds where the bonfire would be, Trixie noticed that Jane was not participating in the activity. She was standing by the pile of wood that would be lit in a few minutes. On top of the pile was an old outhouse. Next to the pile of wood was a stuffed dummy dressed in what appeared to be a Croton-on-Hudson football jersey.

After the football team ran by, Jane started to dump something out of a burlap bag she had been holding. All of a sudden, several girls screamed and started to run in all directions.

“Snake!” someone cried. Elizabeth fell, her head hit the ground before several people trampled her. By the time the crowd cleared, she had bruises on her arms and legs. Trixie and Honey were the first people to get to Elizabeth and offer help. There were still lots of screams but most of the crowd had stopped and all were concerned for Elizabeth. Several of the coaches also rushed to Elizabeth’s aid.

“I’m okay,” Elizabeth said through tears she was trying to hold back. She tried to stand.

“Just take it easy, Elizabeth,” Coach Evenson said. He was the newest member of the football coaching staff and all of the girls thought he was dreamy.

“I’m okay,” Elizabeth repeated as she tried to get up. “I just bumped my head.” She was trying her hardest not to cry.

Coach Evenson started to look Elizabeth over as Trixie and Honey helped her up from the ground. After she dusted herself off, Elizabeth didn’t look to be hurt as badly as she could have been.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Trixie asked. “What happened?”

Elizabeth shook her head as if to clear her mind. She couldn’t believe what she had seen. “I was running along with everyone else. As I passed the bonfire area, I noticed Jane standing nearby. She had a wicked gleam in her eye and was holding a gunny sack. The next thing I knew someone yelled ‘snake’ and everyone was running. I tripped and fell.”

Coach Evenson chose his words carefully, “Did you see Jane do anything? It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I want to make sure we get everything correct.” He might have been new to the school, but even he knew about Jane Morgan’s reputation.

Steve Solberg was standing next to Elizabeth. “I saw her there as well. She looked like she was dumping something out of the bag, but I can’t say for sure what was in the sack.”

Trixie glanced over her shoulder at the pile of debris. She noticed someone slowly moving away from the group. She turned to Diana and Hallie and whispered. “It looks like Jane is trying to get away.” Half the football team heard Trixie and before anyone knew it, they had surrounded Jane.

“Leaving so soon?” Jack Emerson asked.

Jane tried to push through the linemen. “Let me go. You can’t keep me here,” she demanded.

Spider Webster approached the group. “They might not be able to keep you here, but I can. I have several witnesses that say they saw you dump a bag of snakes in front of the crowd.”

Jane started to sputter. “They’re making it up. It’s all lies. Everyone is just out to get me. I don’t know why. I’ve always been popular. Everyone likes me.”

Spider continued as if she hadn’t said a word. “I’m going to have to take you down to the station and call your parents.”

Jane started to pull away. “You can’t do that, you have nothing on me. And even if I had let go of those snakes, it would have been an innocent prank.”

“I’d advise you to not say anything else,” Spider said. “I could charge you with all kinds of things. It will be up to Mr. Stratton, Elizabeth and the school board to decide if they want to press charges.”

Jane looked at Elizabeth in a panic. “You know I didn’t do what they are saying. You’re my friend. I would never do what they are saying I did!” she screamed. “It’s a conspiracy. Everyone is against me because I’m so popular.”

Elizabeth turned away from Jane as Hallie approached the group. When Jane saw Hallie she really lost it. “It’s all her fault!” she yelled, lunging at Hallie. “She’s the one who did it. I just know she did. She’s been nothing but trouble ever since she came to Sleepyside. Everyone thinks she’s such a goody-goody, like all of those stupid birds that live on Glen Road, but you’re all wrong. She is evil.”

If the situation wasn’t so serious, Hallie, Diana, Honey and Trixie would have laughed. As it was, they just stared at her in stunned silence.

As quickly as possible, Spider escorted Jane away from the activities. He then called in Officer Betty Jensen to accompany them back to the station.

When things calmed down, Honey approached Mr. Stratton. “Do you think we should continue with the bonfire?”

He thought for a minute, surveying the crowd of onlookers. He approached the cheerleading captain and football captain as well as the Homecoming Committee. Everyone agreed they wanted to continue on with the festivities. They had all worked so hard to get them organized and by now, all of the snakes had slithered away.

It took a few minutes, but soon everyone was excited about the bonfire. The coach gave a pep talk about the upcoming game and the cheerleaders led a few cheers. Then the football captains, under the guidance of the local fire department, lit the bonfire. Cheers went up when the starting linemen tossed the dummy into the fire, the dummy landing on the outhouse. As the dummy went up in flames the cheerleaders led everyone in the school fight song. Finally, it was time to announce the Homecoming Court and this year’s royalty.

Coach Evenson took the megaphone and glanced down at the sealed envelope that he had been handed. “I feel like I’m a presenter at the Oscars,” he joked as he opened it. As he glanced down at the list he couldn’t help but smile. He paused for a few seconds until someone in the crowd yelled for him to hurry up.

A drummer in the pep band started a drum roll. “The 1987 Sleepyside High School Homecoming Court is: Shelby Zander escorted by Mark Wolfe, Diana Lynch escorted by Roger Simpson, Claudia Brown escorted by Ty Scott, Nona Williams escorted by Tug Johnson.” Coach Evenson paused for a moment before he continued. “And your 1987 Homecoming King and Queen are Steve Solberg and Kathy Perkins. Congratulations to all members of the court and the nominees.”

The crowd erupted in cheers as the Homecoming court stepped forward to be recognized. As the pep rally concluded, Honey and Trixie ran up and congratulated the entire court. For a second or two they might have been a little disappointed in not being named to the court, but when they looked at who had been elected and the diversity of the court, they wouldn’t have picked anyone else to serve on it.

As the fire died down, the crowd began to disperse. The Homecoming Committee and a few other students stayed around while the fire department doused the remains of the fire. Arrangements had been made for the ashes and other leftover garbage to be removed in the morning.

As Honey, Trixie, Diana and Hallie headed back to their car, they began talking about the night’s events.

“Congratulations, Diana,” Hallie said. “I’m so excited you are on the court.”

Diana dropped her eyes in embarrassment as she looked from Honey to Trixie and back again.

Honey and Trixie noticed this and simultaneously wrapped their arms around Diana. “We are so happy for you,” Honey said. “The court is perfectly perfect.”

Trixie chimed in, “I agree. I was so excited to see Kathy Perkins elected as Queen. She’s just one of those people who is always willing to help out. She never says no, and yet I didn’t think a lot of people noticed.” Diana finally smiled and looked more relaxed.

“You are going to have so much fun on court,” Hallie said. She winked as she continued, “And now you won’t have to worry about getting all of the floats lined up because you’ll be riding on one.”

Diana started to say something, but Trixie stopped her. “Hallie’s right, and don’t you worry about it. We’ve worked so hard on the lineup all week the parade can practically run itself.”

As they arrived at the car Diana finally spoke. Her face turned serious as she said, “I knew that Jane would try to do something, but I never thought she would resort to something like that. I hope she finally gets what’s coming to her.”

“I’m just glad Elizabeth wasn’t seriously injured,” Honey said. “It could have been a lot worse. Then Jane really would have ruined Homecoming.”

They piled into the car. Honey was driving and Trixie took the front passenger seat, with Diana and Hallie climbing into the back.

“That’s probably what she wanted to do,” Diana said. “I wonder what her dad is going to do. In the past, he has always defended her, but he didn’t this weekend.”

Trixie turned around to look at Diana. “I know what you mean. I’m not going to worry about it though. I’m going to try to put Jane Morgan out of my mind. If I don’t, she wins by ruining Homecoming for my senior year. I know Spider and Mr. Stratton will do the right thing.”

“You’re right, Trixie,” Honey said. “And right now I can hardly keep my eyes open. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. There’s the alumni reception and then the parade and final pep rally as well as the crowning of the Royalty, and of course the game.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. “I just wish the guys could come home,” Hallie said. “I know they are all really busy with classes, but I think they would all be impressed with what you guys have done to make this such a fun week.”

“Jim said he was swamped with classes. He has a huge paper due next week,” Trixie said. “I know that school is important, but I’m sure going to miss him. I haven’t gone to a school dance without him since I was a freshman.”

The four girls continued to chat on the way home. Honey stopped to drop Trixie and Hallie off at Crabapple Farm. “I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock tomorrow morning,” Honey said. “We have to get to school early to go over the final parade lineup, get everything together for the final pep rally and then go to the tailgate party before the game.”

“It’s been a lot work,” Diana said, “But it has been fun and I liked that we were able to do something so big without having the guys tell us what we were doing wrong.”

They chatted for a few more minutes before Hallie and Trixie got out of the car and headed indoors.

The next morning Trixie was up before six o’clock. She didn’t realize how excited she was for Homecoming. After working on the committee for six weeks, the final plans were falling into place.

Diana was in the car with Honey when she stopped by Crabapple Farm. The girls talked all the way in to town, reminding each other of tasks that needed to be done throughout the day. They were some of the first people to arrive at the school, and they headed to the office to meet with Mr. Stratton to discuss the final plans for the day. Surprisingly, the outer office was almost chaotic. Mrs. Ditmar was rushing around from one place to another, which was totally out of character for her. Nona Williams and Ruthie Kettner were already there, waiting for the rest of the committee to arrive.

Meanwhile, Coach Smith, the head volleyball coach, was meeting with Mr. Erickson, the athletic director, about Jane in the corner of the office.

“She is off the team,” Coach Smith said. “Anyone who could do what she did doesn’t deserve to be on the team.”

“Well, she has been suspended for a week,” Mr. Erickson said. “Spider Webster hasn’t made a decision about pressing charges. Mr. Morgan not readily bailing out Jane didn’t help matters.”

Coach Smith looked up, saw the four girls standing in the office and quickly left the room.

“What’s that all about?” Trixie whispered to Honey.

Honey shrugged her shoulders. “Let’s get going. We have a lot to do before the bell rings.”

“Mrs. Ditmar, is Mr. Stratton available?” Diana asked.

Mrs. Ditmar shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs and said, “Yes, he said to send you back as soon as you arrived. It’s going to be a very busy day.”

Mr. Stratton looked up as the girls knocked on the door and then entered his office.

“Girls, you and your committee have done an excellent job. Especially last night. Your quick thinking when Elizabeth was down, as well as getting the festivities back on track, saved the night.”

“I just hope the rest of the weekend goes as well,” Honey said. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

The group went over the parade lineup and made a few last minute changes. They then discussed the crowning of the royalty, which would be done at an assembly just prior to the parade. Last year’s King and Queen, Tad Webster and Molly Winters, would do the honors. After the parade, the committee would help put the finishing touches on the alumni tailgate party. As they were wrapping things up, Mrs. Ditmar came in, a look of distress in her eyes.

“What’s the matter, Mrs. Ditmar?” Mr. Stratton asked.

“You won’t believe it,” she said. “Jane Morgan is waiting to talk to you. And she is not happy.”

Mr. Stratton tried not to show his frustration. “I’ll see you all later. Send in Miss Morgan.”

As the committee walked back to the reception area, Jane glared at them. She didn’t say a word to them, but when Mrs. Ditmar told her she could see Mr. Stratton, Jane stomped down the hall and into his office.

“Miss Morgan, what can I do for you this morning?” he asked.

“I’m here for a hall pass so I can go to my first class,” she insisted.

“I’m sorry. I thought you knew last night that you were on a one-week suspension,” he said.

Jane sputtered. “You didn’t really mean that. I mean, I’m the most popular student in the school. You can’t really be serious about a suspension. It was an innocent prank.”

Mr. Stratton gritted his teeth. “It was not an innocent prank. Elizabeth could have been very seriously injured last night. I don’t know how you have decided that you are above all of the rules, Miss Morgan, but you aren’t. The sooner you realize this the better it will be for you.”

Jane started to sob. For a change, the tears weren’t fake tears. She finally realized the seriousness of her actions and their consequences.

“I can’t be suspended,” she cried. “I will get so far behind in school that my grades will suffer.”

“I’m sorry,” Mr. Stratton said, “but I can’t and won’t change my mind. You were warned multiple times to behave and you decided to take things into your own hands.”

Jane started to plead again, but Mr. Stratton stopped her. “I’m done here. I have a lot of things to do today. You need to leave. Suspended students are not allowed on campus. And I’m warning you, if you show up at any of the Homecoming activities this weekend, I will have you arrested. I’m tired of all of your shenanigans.”

Jane started to say something but for once decided to just keep her mouth shut. She turned and quietly left the office and walked out of the school.

The rest of the morning went by quickly. At lunchtime the committee met one last time to go over the activities. Afternoon classes were cancelled for the day and the assembly went off without a hitch. After the royalty was crowned, the students headed out to the parade route as the committee checked the final lineup. In addition to the traditional class floats, marching band, and royalty floats, several of the committee members had approached the Chamber of Commerce about entering floats in the parade as well. The local businesses decided to team up with some of the clubs in the school to prepare their floats.

The Chamber had even donated trophies and prize money to the committee. Prize money for the best school floats would go to the treasuries of the winning organizations and the non-profit charity of the business’s choice. Thanks to the generous donations by Matt Wheeler and Ed Lynch, the donations would be substantial.

After the parade ended and the committee made sure that there were no issues, Honey, Diana, Trixie and Hallie made a quick trip home before the tailgate party. Ruthie and Nona were in charge of that activity so the girls didn’t need to be there until it began. They wanted to change into some warmer clothes as the evening temperatures were predicted to be in the mid-40s.

Earlier in the week they had planned to all go to Manor House to get ready for the game. The plan was for the girls to spend the night at Honey’s house so their clothes were already there.

Tonight, Trixie was driving the Bob-White station wagon. She parked beside the steps that led to Regan’s apartment over the garage and the girls piled out of the car, all still chattering about the day’s events. With their backpacks slung over their shoulders, they climbed the stairs to the front entrance of the house, opened the door, and headed straight upstairs to Honey’s room.

From the living room, a voice called out, “Look at that, we make all this effort to come home and they don’t even notice us.” It was Mart. Diana turned on the stairs and almost ran into Trixie as she bounded back down the stairs and into her boyfriend’s arms.

When Honey turned to see Brian standing next to his brother, she raced down the stairs as well. Hallie followed suit as Dan was standing on the other side of Mart.

As Trixie realized what was happening, she scanned the living room, sure that Jim would be waiting there as well. She tried to hide her disappointment when she didn’t see him and be excited that the rest of the Bob-Whites were home for the festivities. Slowly, she made her way down the steps and went over to greet her brothers. She gave Brian a big hug and then went over to Mart. He had a funny look on his face but gave his sister a hug without saying a word.

All at once everyone started to talk.

“What are you guys doing here?” Diana asked.

“I thought you were all too busy to come home this weekend?” Honey asked.

Dan just hugged Hallie and watched the chaos. He noticed Trixie trying to be excited but not quite convincing anyone and just smiled.

After a few minutes, Honey looked at her watch. “We have to get going,” she said. “We need to be back at the football field in less than an hour.”

The girls headed up the stairs once again. As they reached the top, the front door opened again. Trixie turned to see Jim barge through the door. He looked at the other guys and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good,” he said. “I made it back before the girls arrived.”

“Sorry to break it to you...” Mart started to say. He was interrupted by a squeal as a flash of something came down the stairs.

Trixie jumped from the third step and threw her arms around Jim.

“I guess I did miss the big arrival,” he said over the top of his best girl’s head.

After a few more minutes the girls headed for the third time up the stairs to change. This time they actually made it into Honey’s room.

Once inside, the girls started to chatter again, marveling at how the boys had managed to keep the surprise. It didn’t take long for them to change and freshen up. Instead of wearing their BWG jackets, they all wore heavy sweaters over turtlenecks in the school colors. To accompany their sweaters, they wore matching hats and mittens that Aunt Alicia had knit for them.

That had been Helen Belden’s idea. She had grown tired of having to deflect the conversation every time Alicia asked whether her niece and nephews and their friends like the garish sweaters she made. Helen had found some nice yarn, bought it and then asked Alicia to make the ensembles for the girls. The results had been appreciated by all those involved.

Soon the eight friends were loaded into the station wagon and heading toward the school. The conversation was lively as the girls filled the guys in on the week’s adventures.

“You wanna know the best part?” Hallie asked.

“What?” Dan replied as he put his arm around her shoulders.

“I really didn’t do anything to get revenge. Other than getting a few of the football players to nominate court candidates, that is. Jane Morgan imploded all by herself,” she explained.

There were a few moments of silence and then Diana said, “I wouldn’t say it was all just her. It was everyone finally standing up to her. From her cronies who were tired of doing her dirty work, to the people who finally stood up to her, and even her father, they all played a part. No one was evil. No one did any harm, they just made their voices heard. She’s the one who didn’t know when to stop, and now not only does she miss out on her senior year Homecoming, but I would guess the week’s suspension may also affect any senior awards she might have been considered for.”

“It just goes to show you that your actions can have a long-lasting effect,” Jim commented.

Finally, Mart said, “Enough of this talk about Jane Morgan. She doesn’t deserve all this time. Let’s go and enjoy the game and the food.”

The tailgate party was a huge success, with alumni and students alike participating. Money raised from the event would go to the school’s general scholarship fund. In addition, several alumni made personal donations to the fund as well. As a result, the school would be able to award five additional scholarships to graduates in the spring.

Spirits were high at kick-off time and the players on the field felt it as well. It was an exciting, well-played game and the lead changed hands numerous times until the fourth quarter. Then, senior captain and Homecoming King Steve Solberg took a hand-off from quarterback Ty Scott on the Sleepyside 15-yard line. Taking advantage of some key blocks, Steve broke away and ran 85 yards down the field to score the go-ahead touchdown. The team secured the victory with two minutes left to play when Ty dove through the line to score from the one-yard line. Not only did the team win the game, they secured the conference title.

After the game, everyone headed over to Wimpy’s to celebrate the win. No one really sat down at one table but Mike and his staff were still able to get everyone their correct order. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves and, at least for the night, the cliques had been dissolved. Kathy Perkins seemed to have blossomed overnight. Without losing who she was, she had gained the confidence to break out of her shell.

Tiffany Kae, Hannah and Elizabeth were each sitting at different tables conversing with others. Every so often one would seek out the other across the room as if to see if the trio was still friends. What they realized was you could never have too many friends, and that their opinion was no more or less important than anyone else’s.

Dan and Hallie were sitting in a booth across from Nona Williams and Ty Scott. Hallie was contentedly leaning into Dan and his arm was stretched on the bench behind her. She sighed.

“What?” Dan asked.

Hallie looked around the room. “Mart’s right, revenge can be saccharine sweet, but it’s even sweeter when you don’t have to do anything for it to happen.”

“That’s not revenge,” Dan said. “It’s Karma.”