I looked at my watch. It was almost six thirty. At first I’d been worried that I wouldn’t have things ready before they arrived. Now I was worried that nobody was going to show up. It was a good plan, and I’d done all the preplanning and the work to set it up. I just hoped we had enough people willing to help. I guessed that depended on how many people showed up. If Kia got in touch with everybody and they all came, we could definitely do it.
Then I had a terrible thought. When we dropped Kia off at her house, she was still angry at me. That was partly because I refused to tell her my plan. Really, I didn’t want to tell her with my mother in the car. But getting Kia angry was never a smart thing to do. Maybe she wasn’t coming back. Maybe she’d decided not to call anybody. Then it would be only Lailah and me, and no matter how hard we worked, we wouldn’t be able to complete the project with just two of us.
A car pulled into the parking lot. It was Kia’s parents’ car. It stopped and Kia got out—and Lailah got out the other side! That was the last thing I expected, the two of them sharing a ride. As they started to walk over, two other cars pulled in and more members of the team climbed out.
Kia had obviously made the phone calls. I felt bad for thinking that she wouldn’t have done it. Even when she was mad at me, she would still follow through on something she’d committed to doing.
As everybody walked over, I noticed that while Lailah and Kia were in grungy clothes, all of the guys were wearing our school basketball jerseys and their basketball shoes. Greg was even carrying a ball. What did they think was going on?
More cars pulled up and more of the guys got out—all of them wearing their jerseys.
“Hey, Nick,” Greg said, “where’s Mr. Roberts?”
“At home I guess.”
“What’s he doing at home?”
“He usually doesn’t talk to me much about his personal life,” I replied.
Greg looked as confused by my answer as I was confused by his questions.
“But how can we have a practice without Mr. Roberts?”
I looked at Kia.
“I told them all that we were having a practice to get them here,” she explained.
“Why did you tell them that?”
“I couldn’t tell them what was really going to happen because I didn’t know,” she said. “Somebody wasn’t willing to share it…remember?”
“You mean there isn’t going to be a practice?” Greg asked.
“No practice.”
“So what are we doing here?” Greg questioned.
“It’s something really cool, right, Nick?” Lailah asked.
“Hopefully. Let’s wait until everybody is here, and then I’ll explain it to everybody at the same time.”
“Where do you want this one?” Kia asked. She and Lailah were carrying a piece of sod between them.
“Here, I’ll take it.”
I took the sod and dropped it to the ground, right inside the line. I unrolled it, pushed it into place and then tapped it with my foot so it was exactly in the right position.
“How many more pieces do you think we need?” Kia asked.
“Maybe twenty or so…no more than thirty pieces.”
“That’s good. I’m getting tired,” Kia said.
“And dirty. Really dirty,” Lailah added. “I’m never going to get the dirt out from under my nails.”
“Lucky thing your nails are a lot shorter now,” Kia said, and they both started laughing, together, like friends.
“I’ll go and get another piece,” Lailah said.
She left, leaving Kia and me alone.
“You two seem awfully friendly.”
“We are teammates.”
“Weren’t you the one, just a few hours ago, who told me you don’t have to be friends just because you’re teammates?” I asked.
“Yeah, but things can change. She called and asked for a ride and we started talking.”
“And what did you talk about?” I asked.
“For starters, did you know that she sort of thought that you and I were like boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“That is so stupid! You’re a girl and you’re my friend—my best friend—but you’re not my girlfriend. More like my sister.”
“That’s what I told her. Anyway, we are in the same class, and we are teammates and the only two girls on the team. And it’s not her fault that boys act goofy around her…well, not completely her fault.”
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t act any different around—”
Devon came up with a piece of sod. “Where do you want this one, boss?”
“Any place inside the line works.”
Greg was right behind him with another piece.
“We’re not going to get in trouble for this, are we?” Greg asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“How would this get us in trouble?” Kia questioned.
“It is sort of like we’re doing vandalism,” Greg said.
“Vandalism?” Kia said, sounding offended.
“We’re not breaking anything, or stealing anything. It’s not like we’re spray painting a wall.”
“She’s right. We’re not even close to a wall.”
Greg still looked worried.
“If there is a problem—and there won’t be— but if there is, then I’ll say it was all my idea and my fault,” I said. “I’ll take all the blame.”
“Thanks, that’s nice of you.” He dropped the piece of sod he was holding and started to put it into place.
Kia moved close to me. “Do you think we will get in trouble?” she whispered to me.
“Probably not, but if we do, I’ll just ask for forgiveness,” I said, giving her Mr. Roberts’s line. “The more important thing is whether this is going to work.”
“It looks good…I guess.”
“I just wish we had a better angle,” I said.
“We could climb on the roof.”
“Not high enough and too far away. And we still couldn’t tell if it’s big enough.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“First we have to finish up. Let’s get going. There’s not much left to do, but there’s not much light left either.”