by Tim Mettey
**
Our first football game of the season was here. I was as nervous and excited as if I were playing. The stadium was packed like normal. The roar of the crowd was just as deafening as last year and the lights were just as bright. Off in the distance, thick mountainous clouds were illuminated with heat lightning, as if God was excited for the game too. Henry Theasing, Ester’s husband, was leaning up against the fence, talking to Coach Hoff just outside the tunnel. He waved me over to congratulate me on another accomplishment, becoming the youngest coach in Winsor’s history. It was difficult to blow him off because he was with Coach Hoff, so I thanked him several times and then went out onto the field to stand next to Riley while the team stretched. I hated talking about myself.
The game went by so fast; we won by 24 points. Our defense was just as strong as last year, but now we had an extremely potent offense that made it look like we were in a position to repeat as state champs. Our offense was led by Eric and surprisingly, Bryce. Eric had thrown him a total of three passes that all resulted in touchdowns. No matter where Eric threw the ball, Bryce was there to make the spectacular catch.
When I got home, Riley, Genevieve, and Cora were sitting in our family room. I wasn’t sure how Riley beat me home, because he was still talking with some of the coaches when I was getting ready to leave.
“So what are you guys doing here?” I asked, hoping they were just talking about the game. I wanted to go get cleaned up so I could go over to Elle’s. I didn’t feel like talking about any Thusian stuff. I stood between the hall and the family room, trying to make whatever it was faster by not sitting.
“Nicholas, you made plans without letting us know,” Cora said.
“What are you talking about? You saw me at the football game, and I just made plans to go to Elle’s after the game. How was I supposed to tell you?”
Riley spoke, “No, we mean going to the rock quarry for that party.”
It hadn’t even dawned on me to tell them about it. “Sorry, I totally forgot.”
“It’s okay this time, but we have a problem now. One of us has to go with you,” Riley said, reminding me.
“Anyone can come. I will give you the location and you can all hang out around the party, but don’t be seen.”
“That’s the problem,” Cora said. “Someone has to actually be with you. If someone tries something at the party, we may not get there in time. From the outside it will be tough to get through all of those people. Xavier made one attempt to kill at the last quarry party. We can’t give him another chance. Remember, he needs others to be around so you will sacrifice yourself for one of them. A party like this gives him plenty of opportunities to kill you off.”
“Nicholas, you have to be focused on finding the 4th. Being blinded by love isn’t helping anything,” Genevieve said.
I ignored her. “Well then, who should I take? I can’t take my aunt or a teacher—” I paused, realizing who was left.
“You will take Genevieve,” Riley said.
“You want me to take the coach’s wife to a high school party? That is going to be awkward.”
“Listen, Nicholas,” Cora said. “I know it might be strange, but I agree with Riley on this. Genevieve would blend in the most. This is for your safety.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll give you plenty of space if you want to get personal with Elle.”
“Okay, that’s enough, Genevieve,” Riley said in a threatening tone. He turned back to me. “Nicholas, there is only one other solution: don’t go to the party.”
“That won’t work. They are looking to kill other Thusians too, remember? Not just us. I’m sure there will be dozens of Thusians there, and also maybe the 4th. I have to go,” I said, fishing the pack of Tic Tacs out of my pocket. “Fine. Genevieve can go, but only if she parks the attitude at the house.”
“She will,” Riley assured me. I avoided looking at her and went upstairs.
Later that evening at Elle’s, I had to break the bad news that Genevieve was coming to the quarry party with us. Cora decided I should tell people that she and Riley were going out of town for some college reunion stuff, and we felt bad leaving Genevieve at home alone in a new city.
It didn’t seem to bother Elle at all. She simply said, “That’s great. She will have so much fun with us.” I was glad she thought it was great, because I was dreading it.
