I led the way towards the field where there were a handful of people already gathered. They stood in small groups, talking animatedly with one another. I noticed quite a few familiar faces. A decent chunk of the football team seemed to be here. Their large presence made it odd that Kai didn’t hear about it himself.
“What are we waiting for?” Kai whispered in my ear with a familiar hint of anxiety in his voice.
I waved him away and scanned the crowd for the one person I banked on seeing tonight. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Dakota in the crowd. Silas and Kai followed me around as if I knew where I was going.
Instead of finding Dakota, I found a few people who seemed in charge. A group of three people with bright orange vests stood in the middle of everyone. A dark-skinned girl with long Havana twists shook her head as she spoke to the two guys standing across from her. She looked annoyed, with her hands on her hips and a frown.
One of the guys next to her had short, brown hair and held his hands on his head. His eyes were half-closed as he spoke, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else than here. The other guy was as dark as the girl. He wore an easy smile on his face as he tossed a football back and forth between his hands. When he looked in our direction, he recognized Kai and gave us a nod of acknowledgment.
“So, everyone gets an invitation now?” the brown-haired guy mumbled when we moved closer.
The girl turned around to look at us. When her eyes fell on Kai, she looked hopeful and more welcoming than the guy. “You’re the new coach’s kid, right?”
Kai straightened a little. One had to know him to notice he was taken aback. The girl who stood before us made him falter. I didn’t blame him. She was beautiful, with dark, wide eyes and full lips.
“Yeah, that’s me,” he said in a steady voice.
“Have you seen Dakota? We’re waiting on him to start.” She stepped closer to us as she spoke. “He hasn’t been answering our texts.”
“Can’t say I have.” Kai glanced at me like I’d have a better answer.
I stuck out my bottom lip and shook my head. “Haven’t seen him either.”
The girl’s shoulders sagged, but she tried to recover quick enough to make a cheery first impression. “Sorry. I should have introduced myself. I’m Yara, the pushover who was convinced to help put on this event.”
“It’s her official title,” the brown-haired guy joked. The other guy laughed, stopping in an instant when Yara shot them both daggers.
“Emmy.” I was the first to grab her outstretched hand.
Yara looked sweet. She pulled off her orange vest with a matching dark orange turtleneck underneath, which convinced me she was also brave.
“That’s David.Hisofficial title is asshole,” she informed, ignoring the amused look he gave her behind her back. David was lean and wore a smile that read ‘trouble.’ I didn’t have to know him to figure he probably broke a lot of hearts for fun.
“And he’s Kevin.” Yara nudged her chin toward the black guy. Kevin gave us a salute. He looked like the kind of guy my mom would like me to bring home. Kevin kept his beard and hairline perfectly trimmed.
“What exactly are we waiting to do?” Silas voiced our collective question.
Yara stared at us for a second. “Oh, you’re new new. Right. Sorry.”
“New, new,” David repeated with a chuckle.
“Kevin?” Yara pleaded, out of patience.
“I got you.” Kevin shook his head at his friend and nudged him away.
“I was only teasing, Yara,” David said before being corralled towards another group of people.
She sighed and gave us a look like we were already friends in on the joke. I enjoyed it when people did that.
“We’re here for Haley’s night,” Yara explained.
“Haley’s night?” Silas shoved his hand into his pockets, looking more and more disinterested in this event every second. I got it. He wanted to get drunk and flirt with as many people as possible. I wanted to do the same, but a simple night was healthier for us in the long run.
“It started as a senior tradition,” Yara continued. “But since seniors kept inviting lower-class men, it’s more of a start of the semester tradition these days. Every fountain on campus was donated by an alumnus from the sixties, Avis Haley. He was a chem major and super into experimentation that earned him a reputation on campus.”
Kai sighed and said under his breath, “I see where this is going.”
“In his honor,” Yara continued, not noticing or just not addressing my brother’s comment. “We race against the clock in teams to see who can dye the most fountains with their team’s color.”
