Escaping Reality

Chapter 21: Friday Frenzy

Lola directed me to the nearest thrift store where I purchased a Hawaiian shirt, straw hat, and some leis. We made our way to the game where Lola snuck me in so I didn't have to pay the entrance fee since I wasn't a student from either participating high school. Because it was a playoff game it was held at the events center and it was packed with high school basketball fans. Even though Lola graduated a semester early her name pulled enough weight to score us front row spots.

As we shuffled through the crowd a few people offered congratulatory pats on the back. A couple of murmurs were thrown my way thanking me for the party or letting me know how much fun it had been. I was even greeted with a couple of fist bumps and high fives from dudes I had never seen before. Somewhere in the mix, I was even passed a flask that I had to grudgingly turn down. Word must travel just as fast here as back home.

I wouldn't label myself an attention hog but I wasn't going to turn it down. I tried to play it cool but I struggled to hide my huge grin. Never had I been greeted with even a fraction of this enthusiasm at my high school. Granted I wasn't throwing any parties back home, it still would have been nice to experience at least once.

The game tipped off and my grin was swapped for an open mouth, spewing cheers and insults alike. It was a weird feeling to be at a game that I had no stake in. I was cheering for Tyler and the rest of the team but we had only had a single blurred conversation. It didn't matter to me who won, I had no loyalty to either team which made cheering a little more fun. Additionally, it was funny how passionate the student section was about their team and I wondered if this is what my friends and I looked like to outsiders when cheering on our teams back home.

It wasn't even a close game. Lola had told me that because they were an elite private school they could recruit kids and that they were as restrained by practice schedule regulations and such that many public schools faced. They scored the first bucket and didn't let up the rest of the game. It was a trouncing.

In reality, the game experience was pretty similar to back home, except the team didn't suck. Midwest basketball is nothing compared to big city basketball, it was faster paced, more physical, and all-around more entertaining. Indiana might be an exception but South Dakota was certainly not churning out a high volume of stud basketball players. Skill aside, it was the same cheering, screaming, and laughing I was used to back home.

Tyler had had a solid game, posting 19 points and 8 assists along with 5 rebounds and a steal or two. The other standout was Nico, the starting power forward. He was just a sophomore but was already getting offers from standout schools like Arizona, Mizzou, and Wisconsin. Tonight he had a stellar game putting up 31 points with 13 rebounds.

The student section rushed the court and we created a human tunnel for the players to run through. Nico led the team, making it obvious he was the glue guy, and they were pretty fired up as they danced their way through to the locker room.

"AFTER PARTY AT MY PLACE!" Nico screamed as he reached the end of the tunnel looking back at everyone.

I turned to Lola confused.

"Wait, you guys just announce your parties out loud like that here?" I asked

"Not usually, Nico's parties are a special case. His parents know that all the high school kids party so they host, provide the drinks, supervise, and take away everyone's keys. They are super chill and don't care what anyone does and they offer rides home to kids or don't want to or can't sleepover."

"Woah that's so cool. Why are they so chill, are they super young or something?"

"Nico's dad is a nationally hired graphic designer and also owns a couple of local coffee shops. His mom is the dean at a smaller Miami university. They each spend a lot of time with high school and college kids and have seen the consequences of drunk driving and disaster house parties and know that kids are going to find a way to get alcohol so they figure why not try to regulate it and make it safe. Nico's parties have never been busted for noise complaints or anything and nobody has ever driven after his parties drunk. Most parents around town know about it and actually support and encourage it over the alternatives"

"Sooo, does that mean we're going to Nico's tonight," I asked.

"You bet your ass it does" Lola answered, giving my butt a light slap.

A couple of the bystanders gave us funny looks. Apparently, it wasn't normal behavior for mysterious quiet Lola. I smiled, let them give us funny looks. We left the arena all on a victory high. As a student section let out collective hoots and hollers as we got in our cars headed to Nicos.