Saturday, October 26th, Afternoon

Baxter realized that he was holding his new clothes under his arm. He thought about them, especially his jeans. He knew that if he didn’t wash them, the seams would chafe the insides of his thighs.

He took them to the laundry room and — finding it empty — put them in the washer, set it to Normal Load, put in two detergent pods, one-third capful of liquid softener, and pressed the Power and Start buttons.

He checked the dryer. The clothes he’d washed earlier were there, and they were dry. He’d have to find out who moved them and thank them. It was probably Elizabeth. He removed the clothes from the dryer and took them to his room. He folded them and put them in the box for Groveland.

Baxter sat down at his desk and tried Mike again, and again got his voicemail. He left a quick ‘Just checking’ message and went into the family room to watch TV. Amazon Fire TV had the movie Geography Club, so he sat back and watched. It was about some gay kids in a high school that wanted a club for themselves with no one else knowing it was a club for gay kids. So they named it the ‘Geography Club’ — he thought the idea was funny, and he enjoyed the movie.

He heard the signal from the washer, paused the movie, and transferred his clothes to the dryer.

Later, when Baxter pulled his new clothes out of the dryer, he was pleased that they felt softer than when they were brand new. He hung his new jeans and khakis on hangers and put the gym clothes in the drawer with his older gym clothes. Looking at the older ones, he added them to the box marked Charity Donations and kept only the new ones. He pulled out two new sets, including socks and his new gym shoes, and put them in his duffel bag ready to take to school on Monday.

He checked his watch. ‘Time to try to reach Mike again,’ he thought. He reached in his pocket, and when he pulled out his phone he almost dropped it when it vibrated and played his ringtone song.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Mike! I got your messages. My folks and I went out to buy me some new gym clothes and sneakers and jeans and shirts and stuff. We went to McCaulou’s Department Store in Lafayette to get them. They have all the right colors for Las Lomas. They also have them for the other high schools and middle schools in the area, too. I also got new gym shoes. I’m coming tomorrow, I’ll be there at twelve-thirty. I’ll be ready to go swimming and meet your folks and your sister. When my folks called your house they talked to Vincent, and he invited them, and me too, of course, to all have dinner at your place. Do you know what we’ll have to eat? My folks are bringing the dessert. I’ll bet you’ll never guess what it is!”

He finally seemed to wind down, so Baxter started to talk before Mike could get going again.

“It’s nice to talk to you, too, Mike! I’m good, thanks for asking. How are you? That’s good. What’s new? You don’t say; that’s interesting. I got new gym clothes and jeans and khakis and shoes today, too. And Dad got me a hamper for my dirty clothes to put in my closet. I washed some of my old clothes that didn’t fit anymore and folded them to take to Groveland to see if any of the guys there want them and some to donate to the second-hand store near school. We’re having ribeye steaks grilled on the barbecue and grilled veggies and salad with avocado. And I guess that your folks are bringing an apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert.”

Mike was laughing, and then so was Baxter. “You should have heard yourself, Mike. Talk about a motor-mouth. I don’t think you even stopped to breathe. You keep that up, and someday you’re going to fall on the ground unconscious from not breathing enough. Anyway, before you get going again, let me answer your main question again. We’re having ribeye steaks cooked on the barbecue grill, stuffed baked potatoes, grilled veggies, and salad with avocado and bacon and tomatoes with blue cheese dressing.”

“Sorry about my motor-mouthing. I was just so eager to talk to you. And eager to come over and go swimming with you and your sister tomorrow. And your guess about the dessert is a hundred percent correct.”

“I’m eager, too. It’s going to be cool for us to meet each other’s families. And to go swimming with you in our pool! Did you want to play tennis, too?”

“Sure, if we have time. I’ll bring my racquet. Should I bring a can of balls?”

“We probably have enough, but just in case, that’s a good idea. Oh, and bring some jeans and a shirt in case it cools down tomorrow evening.”

“Okay. You know, I’ll bring a couple extra balls. Just to be sure we have plenty to play with.”

It sounded like Mike was holding back his laughter. Baxter bit his lip so he wouldn’t be tempted to laugh.

“Nah, you can leave them home. I have more than enough for us to play with.”

There was silence at the other end of the line. “Hello?” Baxter asked. That was enough to make Mike burst out laughing.

Baxter bit his lip again. “What’s so funny?” he asked in a nonchalant voice that he hoped sounded normal.

Again, there was silence, but it was ended by Mike. “You did catch on. Didn’t you?”

“And you actually thought I wouldn’t?” Baxter laughed.

“Nope. But you gotta admit, it was pretty funny.”

“Yeah, I’ll agree with that. Uh… one thing I forgot to tell you. When I asked Elizabeth to go swimming with us tomorrow, I suggested that she invite a friend. She did, with Pop’s approval, and a girl named Maria King is coming over. Elizabeth says she’s really cute. She’s in the eighth grade at WCI.”

“Sounds perfect. That way we can play some pool games. It’s always better when there are at least four people. Do you have any pool toys, like pool water polo?”

“I’m not sure what we have, but I remember when I took the tour of the Choi home a few weeks ago, Elizabeth told me there were pool toys. I’ll ask her about them, and we’ll make sure they are out and ready for us to use tomorrow.”

“Cool. I better get my homework finished so I don’t have anything left that I’ll have to do in the morning. See you tomorrow, Baxter.”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing you, Mike. So long for now.”

Elizabeth knocked on his doorframe. “Baxter?”

“Hi, Elizabeth.”

“Hi. I finished my reading for my history class. You want to go for a walk around the neighborhood? I don’t think you’ve seen much of it.”

“You’re right. I actually haven’t seen any of it. Let’s check with the folks and let them know what we’re going to do, then you can lead on!”

After getting Rob’s okay, they left the house. When they got to the street, Elizabeth said, “Let’s turn right and walk up that way for a while. It’ll all be new for you since when we’re driving in or out, it’s always in the other direction.” They started on their stroll.

“Say, I have a question for you. Do we have some pool toys like a net and ball to play pool volleyball, and foam whiffle bats to play Marco Polo?”

“Yeah, we have all that and more. Like, we have the setup for pool basketball and one for pool water polo, too.”

“That’s great. So, now we’re walking what… south?” Baxter asked.

“Yeah. We’re walking away from downtown Walnut Creek. Sort of south-ish.”

“Do you have any friends who live around here?”

“A few. Most of the kids who live in this neighborhood are high school age and go to Las Lomas. The house across the street from us is where Paul Callison and his family live. He’s a senior at Las Lomas and plays basketball. You can see the basketball backboard and hoop on their garage. We play horse. I even win sometimes!

“Two houses down and on our right is where Taylor Brown lives. He doesn’t like his first name because he says it sounds like a last name. He wants us to call him Tay, so everyone does. He’s a sophomore at Las Lomas. He has a brother, Kelvin, who wants to be called Kel, and I don’t know why. He’s in the seventh grade at WCI.

“The house down there across the street with the big Japanese maple tree in front, that’s where Larry Phelps lives. He’s a freshman at Las Lomas. Do you know him?”

“Yes, he’s in my English 1 class.”

They continued down the street with Elizabeth naming more kids who lived on Orchard Lane and the cross streets, which Elizabeth said were mostly cul de sacs because of the hills.

“This seems like it’s a popular street for families with middle and high school-age kids,” Baxter commented.

“Yeah, it is. It’s a long street, and now we’re at where it ends at San Miguel. Let’s head back.”

They turned and headed north. As they were approaching home, Elizabeth pointed across the street. “Hey, there’s Paul. He’s shooting baskets. Lemme introduce you.” They ran across the street then walked up the driveway at the Callison’s house.

“Hi, Paul!” Elizabeth called. He shot a basket, grabbed the ball after it swished through the net and bounced on the driveway, and turned around.

“Hi, Elizabeth. Who’s your friend?”

“This is Baxter, my new foster brother. Rob and Vincent are adopting him, and then he’ll be my real brother.”

Paul walked down the driveway and shook hands with Baxter. “Welcome to the neighborhood. I’ve seen you at school. Couldn’t miss the very cool red hair and freckles.”

“I’ve seen you at school, too,” Baxter said. “On the basketball court during seventh period PE. Standing next to you makes me realize either you’re really, really tall or I’m really short! I’d say it’s because of both of those. I heard one of the coaches say that you’re six-foot-seven.”

Paul grimaced. “I’m six-foot-five,” he growled. “I don’t know who’s spreading the misinformation that I’m six-foot-seven. It’s embarrassing, and I’m always trying to correct people. Which coach did you hear saying that?”

“Coach Reynolds. He was recruiting freshmen in my PE class to go out for the freshman basketball team. He said something like,” and he changed his voice so it sounded gruff the way Coach Reynolds spoke, “‘you don’t have to be six-foot-seven like Paul Callison to play basketball.’ So you can blame him. But please don’t tell him I snitched on him.” Baxter grinned. “I’m wondering, why do you care about two inches in height?”

“Let’s say I’m meeting with a college recruiter and he’s been told that I’m six-seven. Then he measures me and sees that I’m actually six-five. He’ll think I’ve exaggerated my height. Then he’ll wonder if I’ve also exaggerated how well I can play basketball, too.”

“Wow, now I understand why it’s a huge deal for you,” Baxter said.

“I think I need to sit down and have a serious talk with Coach Reynolds about my height. And I’ll never tell Coach Reynolds you were the one who told me he’s spreading the story that I’m six-foot-seven.

“Let’s sit down,” Paul said, pointing to a wall that was shaded by trees in his front yard.

“So, Baxter, when will you officially be Elizabeth’s new brother?” he asked.

Baxter briefly explained how it worked and about being fostered by the Chois now, and then later they would be able to adopt him.

“So, how long does it take until your adoption will be final?”

“About six months.”

“Wow. That’s a long time.”

“That’s my opinion, too,” Baxter said. “Whatever, it is what it is. It’s worth waiting because so far, Rob and Vincent are fantastic parents.”

Paul’s mother walked out and stood on the front porch. “Paul! Phone call for you. It’s Logan.”

He stood. “I’d better take this call. It’s probably about our practice on Monday. I’ll see you at school, Baxter.”

“See you, Paul.”

“Let’s go home,” Elizabeth said. “I think it’s time for a snack.”

“That’s a good idea,” Baxter replied.

Sunday, October 27th, After Breakfast

After a big Sunday breakfast with Eggs Benedict, something that was a brand new — and delicious — experience for Baxter, Rob told him something else that was brand new for him.

“Baxter, you and I are going to set up the pool and the tennis court so you and Elizabeth and your friends can enjoy our backyard. This will be a training session, so you’ll know what to do in the future.”

Baxter grinned. “Great! I don’t know anything about getting the pool ready to use, but I’ve been swimming at school, and I’ve been playing tennis, so learning everything about the pool equipment is going to be really interesting. What do we have to do with the tennis court, other than sweeping the leaves and dusting off the court?”

“Your guess about sweeping the court is correct. Also, the net has to be adjusted. I’ll show you how that’s done. The pool is a little more complicated because there’s equipment that you’ll learn about. There’s also sweeping of the pool.” Rob looked at Baxter to see his expression after hearing what he’d just been told.

“I think you probably mean cleaning the leaves and dust off the pool cover before we open it.”

Rob laughed. “Baxter, you constantly surprise us with how quickly you catch on.”

Baxter blushed at the compliment. He still found it hard to acknowledge praise. But he responded, “Thank you. I love you guys. And Elizabeth, too.” He grabbed Rob in a hug, then released him and hugged Vincent.

Vincent was going to drive Elizabeth to church. She’d invited Baxter to go with her, but since he’d been assigned the setup duties, and since Mike was coming over for the first time, he wanted to stay home and help get everything ready.

He helped Rob set up the pool first. “How do I sweep the pool cover? Can I walk on it?” Baxter asked.

“You can’t walk on the pool cover; it’s there to protect little kids and small animals that get on the cover accidentally and to keep dirt and leaves from getting into the pool,” Rob said. “To clean it, there’s a pool cover pump that we’ll set up and move into the center of the pool cover then we’ll plug it in and turn it on. We’ll pump pool water through a pressure hose and wash the leaves and dust off the pool cover into the center of the pool cover. The pool cover pump sucks it through a hose into a drain at the outside edge of the pool deck. When it’s cleaned we can remove the pool cover pump and put it away. The sun will dry the pool cover, and the pool cover is ready to be retracted. While that’s being done, you can sweep the leaves and dirt off of the pool deck.”

Rob showed Baxter where the pool cover pump and pressure washer were stored, how to hook them up, how to use them, and to remember to put them away after the pool cover had been cleaned.

“This was fun!” Baxter said when he was finished. “How long will it take until the pool cover is dry?”

“It’s sunny and warm, so a half-hour, maybe.”

“When should I open the pool cover?”

“You should retract the pool cover just before we’re ready to use the pool. That way, the water temperature should be just right.”

There was a printed checklist on the door of the equipment room. Baxter learned how to turn on the pool heater, check the temperature of the water, checked that the chlorine was at the correct level, and stepped through how to flush the filter.

Rob explained the basis for setting the temperature for the pool heater. “You set the temperature based on the chart next to the checklist. The values on the chart are based on both the outside temperature and the current water temperature. There are two other factors, but they are built-in to this chart. Those are the volume of water and the surface area of the water in the pool, which are always the same. Right now it’s 76 degrees outside, and the water temperature is 72 degrees. The chart shows that with the current outside and water temperatures you should set the pool heater to 84 degrees. You need to check the temperature of the water until it reaches 82 degrees. There’s a flashing red light — you can’t miss it — that lets us know that it’s reached that temperature. Then you can set the pool heater to 78 to 80 degrees. When you’re ready to swim, you can retract the pool cover. When you retract the pool cover, the water temperature will go down because the surface area is exposed.”

Rob showed Baxter how to turn the pool lights on and off. They wouldn’t need them today; they only used them when they were swimming in the late evening or at night, and that would usually be in summer when the weather was a lot warmer.

Baxter swept the decking around the pool and, since it was mostly leaves, put it in the green trash can used for recycling food scraps and garden waste.

“What pool toys do you want to use?” Rob asked.

“Pool water polo for sure, maybe pool basketball, but I’m not sure how that would work. Marco Polo can be fun. What else is there?”

“There’s pool baseball, but that’s usually not popular because someone has to be out of the water chasing the ball. We do have water polo, but that requires that the players are very good swimmers. How is your swimming, Baxter?”

“I’m good. I took the swimming proficiency test and passed with a 100% rating. I also took the lifesaving class and passed that with at 100%, too.”

“Wow, that’s great. You know, none of that was in your file from Groveland.”

“It wouldn’t be. It’s in my Las Lomas High transcript, though. You should get a copy of that. I’m sure you can by calling the district office.”

“I’m embarrassed. We already have it, but all we looked at were your grades from your classes at Las Lomas, and your grades on the transcript we got from Walnut Creek Intermediate.”

“I don’t know how often they update the records. I have a copy of my test results for both swimming and lifesaving. I’ll make a copy of each for you.”

“Thanks, Baxter.”

“Oh, by the way, I found out about ‘sounds like a plan.’” Baxter told Rob what he’d learned with a brief Google search.

“So, it is fairly new,” Rob said.

“Uh-huh,” Baxter said. “One thing that was almost more interesting than finding out what that phrase meant was what Google did to get the information. They’ve scanned millions of books and can search for and categorize words and phrases. So they looked at fiction and then at non-fiction and got the results of how often it’s been used and when. There’s a chart from those searches on the Google website that had the results for ‘sounds like a plan.’”

“That’s interesting. I knew that Google was scanning books, but I thought they were only older books that either hadn’t been copyrighted or where the copyright had expired. I suppose they can scan any books they want to use for research. As long as they buy a copy of each one,” Rob said.

“Why don’t they just borrow the books from the library?” Baxter asked.

“I suppose that would work, too. But then maybe Google would have to get the publisher’s okay to scan the borrowed books. And libraries don’t have every book that’s been published, not even all the recent ones. They can’t afford to have them all.”

Baxter nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Alright, enough musing on what Google might or might not do. Let’s finish getting ready for our guests this afternoon. Let’s sweep the leaves off the tennis court, and I’ll show you how to check the tension and height of the net.”

“Okay. That sounds interesting. I never thought about that before, but I can see how it would be important.”

By the time they’d finished, Baxter had learned how to turn on the pool heater and check the temperature of the water, how to check the chlorinator, how to clean the filter, how to clean, retract, and extend the pool cover, and how to check the height and tension of the tennis net. Then he swept the tennis court so it was ready to use. Everything was ready for Mike and Elizabeth’s friend Maria to arrive.

He went to his room and shut the door, then pulled out his Speedos, the maroon ones with a vertical gold stripe at each side. He thought about putting on his jockstrap and cup, so he tried it to see what it looked and felt like. He stood looking at himself in the mirror when he heard a knock at his door, and he called out, “Who’s there?”

It was Elizabeth.

Baxter opened his bedroom door. “Hi. I was just trying on my Speedo. I’m trying to decide if I should wear my jockstrap and cup with it or not.”

“Not being a boy, I don’t have a clue what that means. Like, why would you do that, or not do that?” she asked. “And what’s a jockstrap?”

He got another jockstrap and cup to show her. “A jockstrap is sort of like a thong made out of different material, and there’s a hard plastic cup that goes in the pouch. That way, if I’m playing tennis and get hit in my nads by a tennis ball, it won’t damage me or hurt as much.”

“What are nads?”

“Gonads. My testicles. They are very sensitive, so if they get hit, it’s very, very painful.”

“I think it’s good to be a girl!” Elizabeth said. “So, why would you want to wear those in the pool?”

“Someone might accidentally kick me in my crotch. That happened one time during PE when we were swimming, but I think the guy did it on purpose. He was a real prick. Anyway, it hurt like hell, and I went to the nurse, and I was all black and blue down there. She said I couldn’t have PE for a week, and I had to sit in the library during seventh period. I used the time to do my homework, but it was so boring!”

“How’s it feel when you’re wearing the jockstrap under your Speedos?”

“Tight.” Baxter laughed. “It holds everything in, but there isn’t any extra room in the cup. Like if I was to get an erection. That would be very uncomfortable.”

“That’s probably TMI,” she said, “but it’s interesting. Girls never learn much about boys and their parts.”

“You’ll learn a lot more about them when you get to Las Lomas. We have our sex-ed class in PE at the beginning of each semester.”

“I’m glad I’ll get to take it next year. Too bad they don’t teach sex ed in the eighth grade yet. They’re supposed to start next year. When you’re twelve or thirteen, that’s an important time to learn all about this stuff.”

“The sex-ed class at Las Lomas is good. Of course, I only saw the boys’ version of it, and I didn’t talk to any girls about what the girl’s version was like.”

“What makes you… oh, never mind. That’s probably way too personal.”

“Don’t forget, we said we were going to ask and answer questions. So what?”

“What makes a boy get an erection?”

“At my age, anything at all!” Baxter laughed. “Look at boys in the hallway at school. Some of them are carrying their bookbag hanging in front, covering their crotch. That could be innocent, or because they have a backache, but more likely it’s because they got hard — they got an erection — and they’re trying to hide it. The worst is when a boy gets called to do something at the whiteboard, and he’s hard, and all the guys and all the girls can see the lump in his crotch. He’ll get razzed about it by the guys no end. But it can happen to any guy, anytime. That’s why some guys wear briefs. Those can hide the lump better than boxers or boxer briefs.”

“I thought it would be because a guy was looking at a girl, or at another guy, or at porn, things like that.”

“It does happen if a boy does those things. The porn part would only be at home, though. Not at school.”

“Do you get them often?”

“Yes. Like, I have one now. Probably because I’m wearing the stupid jockstrap and cup, and we’re talking about it.”

“Can…”

“NO! I won’t show you. You can’t ask me that!”

“That’s not what I was going to ask! I wanted to know, can you tell in advance that it’s going to happen?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes they are spontaneous, which means they just happen. Especially when a guy is starting puberty. That’s when it happens the most. It can happen a lot to guys between thirteen and sixteen. At least, that’s what we were told in sex ed this year.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take off this jockstrap and cup now. It’s too uncomfortable.”

“Could I just see what the jockstrap part looks like when you’re wearing it? I assume I wouldn’t be able to see any of your boy parts.”

“It’s probably a bad idea, but I’ll go ahead and show you just that. Then you’ll have to leave.”

“Okay. Should I close your bedroom door?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Don’t want Dad or Pop getting the wrong idea.”

Baxter pulled off his Speedo.

“That jockstrap on you doesn’t look anything like a thong!” Elizabeth said. “It looks like something they would use for torture in Medieval times.”

“It often is like a torture device when a boy is wearing one. Especially the cheap ones. This is one of the cheap ones they bought me at Groveland. I’m going to throw it away.” Baxter picked up the one he’d used to show her earlier. “This is a good one. It’s designed to wear with a cup. The cup has soft rubber rim all the way around the edge to keep it from cutting into my groin. It has to fit snugly in the pouch of the jockstrap so it won’t move around. When we had PE, we had a fitting for our jockstrap and cup for when we play tennis. That means they were fitted individually for each of us. Some guys wear briefs over their jockstrap to hold things more securely.”

“Do you know if girls who play sports have to wear something like this?” Elizabeth asked.

“I don’t have a clue about that. You could ask your PE teacher. Now it’s time for you to say goodbye so I can get this thing off. I’m not going to wear it in the pool today.”

“This has been very interesting and educational. If you hadn’t told me and shown me, I never would have found out about these things. Thanks, Baxter.” Elizabeth left Baxter’s bedroom and closed the door behind her.

The Speedo felt a lot better without the jockstrap and cup. He pulled on some board shorts and a tee, slipped on his new pool shoes, grabbed a bottle of sunscreen lotion, sunglasses, and his cellphone, and went out into the backyard. Since he wanted to get some sun, he spread the sunscreen on the unprotected parts of his chest, head, neck, shoulders, arms, and legs, and as much of his back as he could reach, then flopped down on one of the lounges. He set the timer on his phone for seven minutes; he’d reset it to seven minutes again after he turned over to tan his back. Baxter tended to burn instead of tan, so he limited his time in direct sunlight.

As he lay in the sun, he thought about the talk he’d just had with Elizabeth. She seemed interested about boys and their parts. It was probably curiosity because now she had a brother.

Baxter had absolutely no interest in girl parts. He’d seen pictures of them, and because they didn’t intrigue him, it had convinced him he was definitely at the gay end of the spectrum.

When he heard the alarm, he set it to repeat the seven minutes and turned over to get a little color on his back. Then he realized that he didn’t have enough sunscreen on his back. Maybe Elizabeth would apply it for him. He got up and went inside. She was willing, and they came outside. She spread the sunscreen on his back and shoulders and the back of his arms and legs even though he’d already done that. He turned on the alarm for seven minutes and lay on his stomach.

“Shall I check the water temperature?” Elizabeth asked.

“Sure, if you don’t mind.”

After a few minutes, Elizabeth announced, “It’s 82 degrees. That’s close to perfect. By the time everyone gets here, it should be right on.”

“What’s the temperature supposed to be?”

“Dad says it’s 80 or 81 degrees. That’s warm enough that we won’t feel cold, and cool enough that we won’t get cramps if we’re doing a lot of swimming.”

“Okay. This is all new to me. I never had a pool before. And it’s different than the pool at Las Lomas; that water always feels cold, and I end up with goosebumps.”

“Let me know what you think our pool temperature feels like when you get in the water,” she said.

“Okay, will do.”

The seven-minute alarm sounded, so he sat up and turned it off. “Enough sun for now,” he said.

“You have skin that probably sunburns pretty easily, don’t you,” she said.

“Yeah, unfortunately. That’s the curse of a redheaded kid with freckles.”

They heard the doorbell. “Maybe that’s Mike,” Baxter said, sounding excited.

“Or Maria,” Elizabeth said. “You can stay where you are, and I’ll answer the door.”

It was Maria, and Elizabeth let her in. She was wearing her bathing suit and had a clear plastic bag with her other clothes. Baxter stood up.

“Baxter, this is my friend Maria King. Maria, this is my brother Baxter.”

Instead of shaking hands, Maria hugged Baxter; he hugged her, too, then stepped back.

“Hi, Maria. Welcome. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Thanks. I’m looking forward to getting in the water and cooling off.” She stared at Baxter. “Nice Speedos! Are those the Las Lomas High school colors?”

“Yes. Maroon and gold.”

“I like those colors. I’ll be glad when I start at Las Lomas High next year. My dad’s a big football fan. He graduated from Las Lomas. He’s glad they’re going to be in the football playoffs this year.”

“I’m glad, too,” Baxter replied.

Then he thought about what that meant. ‘Now I’ll be able to go to football games. That’s something else I wasn’t able to do when I was at Groveland.’ He made a mental note to talk to his dad and pop, and to Mike, too, about going to the football games. And maybe basketball games, too. At least, the home games. ‘That will be so cool,’ he thought. ‘Especially since the football team is winning!’