Uncle Michael moves a few feet closer as if he knows I’m going to need a hug once this is over.
“As most of you know, I take school very seriously.” There are claps and cheers throughout the crowd, but I hold my hands out and they quiet down.
“I wanted to take as many AP classes as I could, but I didn’t schedule everything right. By the beginning of this last semester, I realized I still needed half a credit in PE. But I also wanted to take Law Studies, so I thought, I’ll just do off-campus PE. And I chose golf.” From their expressions, they’re clued in that this is not going in the direction they thought it was. “But I didn’t give it the time or attention it deserved. I missed too many classes. So this past week, I’ve been working a golf tournament at the new country club right outside of town, trying to make up my hours.”
Mom’s confused, trying to figure out how I was in two places at once. I will definitely hear about this later.
“But I screwed up there, too. I thought I was helping someone, but I really messed up because I didn’t understand the rules. They asked me to leave. And I didn’t finish my time there, and my coach won’t sign my form, so I won’t be graduating next week with everyone else.”
Everyone is talking at once now.
“I’m sure we can talk to your coach,” Dad says. “What’s his name?”
“The school can’t stop you from graduating just because of PE, can they?” Aunt Patrice asks.
“I’ll call up to that school,” Uncle Sal says. “I know a guy up there.”
I clear my throat, quieting them down again. “I can take the class over this summer. It won’t affect my admission to LSU. It’s okay.”
Stepping down from the chair, I’m hoping that will be the end of it. But it’s not. Not even close. My grandparents, my parents, my aunts and uncles, and even some of my cousins surround me to offer suggestions or condolences or to just plain commiserate. It’s twenty minutes before there’s only Charlie, Wes, and Sophie around me.
“That was harder than I thought it would be,” I say, rubbing a few stray tears away.
Sophie wraps me in a big hug. “I think it was very brave.”
“I’m sorry you won’t be graduating.”
I turn around to see who said that, and it’s Leo. He’s back in the clothes he was wearing when I first saw him at Nonna’s, but he’s got the LSU golf team hat on.
Charlie, Wes, and Sophie congratulate him on his tournament finish and then make themselves scarce, leaving us alone.
“Is that the reason you didn’t want to tell me why you were working the tournament?”
“I was embarrassed. I mean, I work so hard for four years and the whole thing comes down to a PE class?” I let out a nervous laugh. “I guess you heard all that?”
“Yeah,” he says. “If you hadn’t told them how the club ended up in my bag, they wouldn’t have asked you to leave and you’d have gotten your hours.”
“That wasn’t even a choice. There’s no way I could let them kick you out for something I did.” I pause a moment, then add, “I’m really so sorry.”
He’s shaking his head. “It’s the stupidest rule out there. I’m sorry I was a jerk last night. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
I give him a friendly push against his chest. “Hey, it was my fault.”
He grabs my hand and keeps it there, pressed up against him. I feel his heart beating as fast as mine. “But I didn’t know that then. All I knew was you were the only thing I was thinking about when I should have been thinking about my game, and I was mad at myself.”
“I was pretty distracted by you, too.”
“Thanks for inviting me to your party,” he says.
Frannie wedges herself in between us and whispers, “Hide me!” But Dallas and Denver see her and now they’re chasing her as she runs circles around us.
I’m having the most romantic moment ever and I’m completely surrounded by my chaotic family. I can’t catch a break.
Once my cousins move on to another target, I slide my hand into Leo’s and say, “I’d like to reintroduce you to my family.”
He gives me a smile and says, “I’m not promising I can remember everyone’s name.”
“It would be a miracle if you did,” I say, laughing.
