“Well, she wasn’t joking. She saw the song I posted earlier today and her agent reached out to mine. She wants to fly me to L.A. to work on a few more songs. Her husband is the vice president of Angel Records. I don’t want to get ahead of myself,but this could be a pretty good thing. She knows I don’t have a lot of availability, and I won’t make this a regular thing, Josie. But I might need you to cover me for a couple weekends.”
I’m practically jumping up and down. Levi is so incredibly talented, and this is the opportunity of a lifetime. He’s penned some songs on the charts, but writing an album for Cassia? He can’t pass it up.
“Are you crazy? If they want you there for a month, we’ll figure it out,” I say. And we would. I have no idea how, but I’d come up with a plan. My brother deserves this and I’m not letting anything stand in his way.
“Hell no,” he answers, laughing. “I’m having a hard enough time gearing up for two days. A month would do me in. But seriously, Josie, thanks.”
“Always,” I tell him. “We’re in this together.”
We hang up and I turn toward Mel. “He’s really doing this. They’re not going to want to let him go. He’s that good.”
“I know,” she agrees as we walk out the big double doors and into the cool fall night. “And that means you need to stick with your plan, girlie. You’re graduating in May with all the degrees. You’re going to be the best school librarian the state of Maryland has ever seen. You are going to parent the hell out of those kids while Levi’s off making music. And you know how you’re going to do it all?”
“With copious amounts of sugar and a steady diet of caffeine?”
She laughs. “Yes. And by tutoring your ex-boyfriend. I know it sucks, but he’s your ticket to those magic three credits that will get you everything you want and need. I don’t know what he was thinking with that bullshit he pulled tonight, but you need to put it out of your mind. You can’t let him get to you, Josie. You have too much riding on this.”
Mel’s right. I can’t lose sight of what I owe Levi and the life I’ve worked hard for. I give her a smile as we walk toward her car. There’s a tacit agreement between us that she’ll drop me at my place before heading over to Will’s. And if Van comes in at three in the morning smelling of perfume and bodily fluids, I have no doubt she’ll make his next trip to Drip a memorable one. He takes his coffee black, but I’m sure Mel will doctor it up with syrupy sweetness. Revenge by beverage is a beautiful thing.
12
Van
Pete stands before us at the whiteboard, marker in hand while Booker clicks his way through a PowerPoint. I’m not a captain because my grades would never have allowed it, but I’m standing stoically at the door, my arms folded across my chest. This is a serious meeting, after all.
I’ve heard every detail before, but the new guys haven’t, and we need to get them up to speed.
Our biggest rival is a small university in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania.
Sure, Coleridge is a bigger school.
And Claybrooke has won the Frozen Four twice.
But Woodcock University has become a threat over the last few years, and our freshmen need to know what they’re up against.
Booker clicks a button on his laptop and the screen turns lime green. One more click, and neon purple letters appear.
Woodcock University
Nickname: School of Cock
Colors: Lime Green and Purple
Location: Pennsyltucky
Mascot: Bushtit
Battle cry: (We’re) Tough Titties
Santos reads the words, and to his credit, he doesn’t crack a smile. This is serious business. But the freshmen aren’t having it.
Deano’s shaking his head. “Hold up. The school’s name is Woodcock, and their mascot is the bushtit?!? False. There is no way either of those things is real.”
“Oh, they’re real alright. And what’s worse is they’re fucking good. They’re fierce competitors and we need to dismantle their game and take them down.” Ollie’s channeling his inner preacher, but the guys still aren’t biting.
“Lemme get this straight—the bushtits are fierce?”
Will can’t stop laughing, but Ollie’s dead serious. “No, they’re fucking songbirds. But the team? The team is fierce.”
