Cold Weather, Play Warmer

Chapter 3

Yes. That just happened. Leni got in early. And I don't know what to make of that. Oh wait, I know one thing that everyone would fight for: a room all to themselves! I could spend a whole day on the fact that LENI GOT TO GO TO COLLEGE FOR FREE, but...yeah.

And yet, there's a bigger problem: I heard all that at dinner. I never came down to hear the news when they first came home. Not a good idea to come down for the first time in the evening. So, you can imagine the response to my late dinner arrival, "Sorry I'm late! Had a rough run in with the homework."

"Oh?" Luan piped, "So rough, you had to run through dinner?"

"What? It's just a few minutes."

"That's just it," Lori said, "Today's a few minutes, tomorrow will be more, what's it gonna be like a week later?"

"Not only that," Lola said, "What happened to your face? You look like a defluffed pillow that got calves by a skunk."

"It's nothing," I tried to fin my way out, "Just holed up on the finals."

"Well, I'm glad you're here because I have something I wanna share with you!" Leni did not pay any mind to the atmosphere in the room. She just shoved her acceptance letter in my face, "I'm in! I got in with Lori!"

"Oh, that's wonderffffffffuuuuuuu..." I read it, wolfed down my meal in one bite, and then went outside to vent my disbelief very loudly. Maybe that was the puberty, because I didn't come back in until an hour later.

"Dude, where were you?!" Luna barged downstairs as soon as I came in! "You bailed on me again!"

"I did?"

"Yeah! Remember? The guitar? The solo?"

"Oh. Aw, man. I dunno what's happening to me."

"Well, you'd better figure it out, bro. Your cutting in major time with us and Clyde."

"Sorry...I'll work something out." Or so I said.

That atmosphere progressed all the way through the month of June, when I had more time to-oh no. There was more.

-MID JUNE-

I finally got to start on Lisa's present. One weekend, I went straight to Clyde's house as soon as I woke up...and subsequently caused an explosion that didn't raise the roof. Just...turned Clyde's backyard into Ace Savvy's worst nightmares. And yet that wasn't the worst moment of the day. Come lunchtime...

"And then, One-Eyed Jack and Ace are forced to fight their most trusted allies!" We were going over the latest episode.

"I still can't believe that, after all the villains were taken out, how could it have been Ace all along?!"

"It's the battle of pride vs friendship! Who will-"

"Speaking of friendship," Howard walks in with a bunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, "There's something we need to talk about."

To be honest, I kinda knew he'd been hinting at it since Spring Break what happened. I just never paid it any mind because I firmly believed it was a lie we concocted. Oh no. No no no no.

"What is it, Mr. McBride?"

"Well...Clyde told me you had to find a reason to get this operation into motion."

"Yeah..."

"Lincoln..." Clyde said, "That lie you told...it's no longer a lie."

"Huh?" My mind was still on the chemical process that I didn't have a clue what he said.

"Yeah, I think it's better if you see it for yourself..." Until he gave me a letter.

I read it three times. I didn't know what to think. I know I could still hang out with Liam, Zach, and Rusty, but...whew.