When we got home from the trip, we needed to catch up on schoolwork and reacclimate ourselves to our normal lives. Granted we were still in training, but I think we were all a lot less worried about the upcoming competitions. For one, they were normal school competitions, so they were a lot less intense. The less intensive routine of it all meant that we would actually be able to relax a little. And they were a lot shorter too. That meant that we didn't have to be away for so long.
On top of preparing for the upcoming competitions, we had to study for our exams and try to just be normal people. Now that I was trying not to stress too much about things, I felt like I was actually able to be somewhat calm. I mean, it was hard to not stress about all the major things that were coming up for us, but I wanted to make sure that I was not going to get overly stressed about things like I did last time. I knew that it was hard on the others when I got like that.
Coach wasn't worried about the upcoming state championships either. I think that the invitationals had given him a newfound confidence. Hell, it had given the whole team a lot of confidence. Our school was most likely going all the way to nationals. And that would be another thing that just brought prestige to the school.
Oh, the prizes from the competition had arrived. They came three days after we got back. I guess Mr. Gray and his team wanted to make sure that things were handled quickly and efficiently. There were certificates of award and trophies for the eight of us. Katie, Makai and I all got the individual awards of one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships and two hundred thousand dollars. It didn't come as actual cash but as a check that was made out to us personally. On top of that, Katie, Alexis, Cassie, Whitney, Ben, Ryan, Makai and I all got the same prizes for the team's number one spots. And Faith, who finished the individual tournament in fifth place, received seventy-five thousand dollars in scholarships and seventy-five thousand dollars for her 'cash' prize. Jenell, Charlie and Toby all received consolation prizes for having attended the event as well. They got ten thousand in scholarships and five thousand dollars in 'cash' prizes. I don't know if Mr. Gray did that for everyone that was there and didn't place in the top ten, but if he did that meant that he had spent a lot more than I expected on the tournament.
On top of the awards for the twelve of us that went to the tournament, Coach Dickson received his award. He had gotten a check for one hundred thousand dollars that was made out to him personally. And on top of that, there was a check made out to the school for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That was the award that went toward our school's athletic program. I had already heard the coach crying with happiness as he thought about how they were going to be able to upgrade so many things throughout the entire school. New lockers, better equipment. There was so much that he was thinking about, and I knew that it was enough to make him and the principal dizzy.
I honestly couldn't believe how nice and generous Mr. Gray really was. He was such an amazing person, and I knew now more than ever that I wanted to work for him. With him, I would have a comfortable work future. He would see to that for us all.
When we had all gotten home and told our parents about the prizes we had won and how things had gone, leaving out the stupid shit that happened with Sandy Shorts, they were all very happy. I remember that after I called my mom and dad after getting back home, they came rushing over and wanted to celebrate with us all. Mom had made Dad carry in a massive box that was filled with food and she started to cook all of our favorite foods. And I do mean all of ours. My favorites, Makai's favorites, Ben's favorites and Ryan's favorites. She had learned enough about the others over the last several months that she knew what they liked just as much as she knew what I liked. She could be heard singing and just talking to herself as she joyfully celebrated our victories. She was the best mom in the world and I couldn't have asked for anyone else to have adopted me.
While Mom cooked, Dad sat and talked to us all about what had happened while we were gone. He wanted to know how everything went and he was curious to learn about Mr. Gray as well. When he found out how much we had all won, tallying it all up, I swear his jaw dropped so hard that it bounced off of his chest. That was kind of funny to see in all honesty.
The six of us sat together and talked most of the night as we made our way through all of the food that my mom had made for us.
"Mom, you are the best cook in the world." Ben groaned happily as he took another bite of the delicacies that were sitting before him.
"I'm happy to hear that, Ben." Mom smiled at him. "Both about the food, and that you called me mom. I can't believe that I now have more kids that I can treat like my own." She looked around at Makai, Ben and Ryan. "You're all good boys, and I am so glad that you have each other."
"I am just glad that we have you, Mom." Ryan smiled at her. "You're the best."
"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" Dad joked with him upon hearing Ryan's words. "I love you guys too, you know."
"Yeah, we know that Dad." I assured him. "But Mom is the one that cooked the food. Our stomachs are drawing our loyalty over to her."
"Oh, is that so." He chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Then I think that I need to up my game here. I think it's time for me to make my super secret, ultra special, highly sought after dessert." He was eager to bring the others over to the Dad side. I thought that was funny and I wasn't going to stop him.
"What is this super secret, ultra special, highly sought after dessert?" Makai looked at me with worried eyes. "How come I have never heard of it before?"
"Well, it's a hodge podge dessert really. One day Dad couldn't decide what it was that he wanted so he actually mixed a lot of things together. He spent a lot of time on it, and he's perfected it over the years, but it is pretty good, surprisingly."
"What do you mean 'surprisingly'? It's the world's best dessert." He was being really confident now.
"What's in it?" Ryan asked Dad with curiosity. Food was definitely a turning point for him, especially if it is a sweet dessert.
"Well, it has cookies, brownies, chocolate cake, spiced apples, ice cream, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate sauce, and whatever else he decides to put in it at the time. It's like pie, brownies, cookies, cake and a sundae all rolled into one. It doesn't sound like it would be good, but I assure you, it is." I tried to explain things to them, but I don't know if I did a good enough job.
"OK, I officially want some of that. When can we get some of it, Dad?" Ryan asked with eager eyes.
"Heh heh heh." Dad laughed triumphantly. He knew that he was pulling them all over to the Dad side. "I will get to work on it this weekend. I will bring it all here and then assemble them for you. Does that sound good?"
"Oh yeah. I want some as soon as I can get it." Ryan was nodding happily.
"I am definitely going to look forward to it." Ben agreed.
"I think it will be interesting." Makai looked at me then at Dad.
"You know I already like it, so I will be looking forward to it as well." I grinned at my dad to let him know that we all loved him too.
"Good. You boys just wait. You will soon say that I am the best. Ha ha ha." He was such a dork sometimes, but I still loved him. Plus, who wouldn't want to get some super amazing dessert.
Dad lived up to his word as well. He came over on Friday around dinner time. Mom was with him and cooked for us all again, though not as much food as last time. Once we had all eaten our meal, Dad rushed into the kitchen and made the desserts for us.
Of course, Ben, Ryan, and Makai all loved the delicious sugary overload that they were eating. They conceded and said that he and Mom were equal in their hearts. That was enough for my dad though. It made him happy to be praised by them.
After we all finished that sugary contraption though, we started to crash from the food coma. I think that we all went to bed early that night and slept until noon so that we didn't wake up with a sugar hangover. It was a good start to the weekend though.. I had no complaints about it at least.
When we got home from the trip, we needed to catch up on schoolwork and reacclimate ourselves to our normal lives. Granted we were still in training, but I think we were all a lot less worried about the upcoming competitions. For one, they were normal school competitions, so they were a lot less intense. The less intensive routine of it all meant that we would actually be able to relax a little. And they were a lot shorter too. That meant that we didn't have to be away for so long.
On top of preparing for the upcoming competitions, we had to study for our exams and try to just be normal people. Now that I was trying not to stress too much about things, I felt like I was actually able to be somewhat calm. I mean, it was hard to not stress about all the major things that were coming up for us, but I wanted to make sure that I was not going to get overly stressed about things like I did last time. I knew that it was hard on the others when I got like that.
Coach wasn't worried about the upcoming state championships either. I think that the invitationals had given him a newfound confidence. Hell, it had given the whole team a lot of confidence. Our school was most likely going all the way to nationals. And that would be another thing that just brought prestige to the school.
Oh, the prizes from the competition had arrived. They came three days after we got back. I guess Mr. Gray and his team wanted to make sure that things were handled quickly and efficiently. There were certificates of award and trophies for the eight of us. Katie, Makai and I all got the individual awards of one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships and two hundred thousand dollars. It didn't come as actual cash but as a check that was made out to us personally. On top of that, Katie, Alexis, Cassie, Whitney, Ben, Ryan, Makai and I all got the same prizes for the team's number one spots. And Faith, who finished the individual tournament in fifth place, received seventy-five thousand dollars in scholarships and seventy-five thousand dollars for her 'cash' prize. Jenell, Charlie and Toby all received consolation prizes for having attended the event as well. They got ten thousand in scholarships and five thousand dollars in 'cash' prizes. I don't know if Mr. Gray did that for everyone that was there and didn't place in the top ten, but if he did that meant that he had spent a lot more than I expected on the tournament.
On top of the awards for the twelve of us that went to the tournament, Coach Dickson received his award. He had gotten a check for one hundred thousand dollars that was made out to him personally. And on top of that, there was a check made out to the school for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That was the award that went toward our school's athletic program. I had already heard the coach crying with happiness as he thought about how they were going to be able to upgrade so many things throughout the entire school. New lockers, better equipment. There was so much that he was thinking about, and I knew that it was enough to make him and the principal dizzy.
I honestly couldn't believe how nice and generous Mr. Gray really was. He was such an amazing person, and I knew now more than ever that I wanted to work for him. With him, I would have a comfortable work future. He would see to that for us all.
When we had all gotten home and told our parents about the prizes we had won and how things had gone, leaving out the stupid shit that happened with Sandy Shorts, they were all very happy. I remember that after I called my mom and dad after getting back home, they came rushing over and wanted to celebrate with us all. Mom had made Dad carry in a massive box that was filled with food and she started to cook all of our favorite foods. And I do mean all of ours. My favorites, Makai's favorites, Ben's favorites and Ryan's favorites. She had learned enough about the others over the last several months that she knew what they liked just as much as she knew what I liked. She could be heard singing and just talking to herself as she joyfully celebrated our victories. She was the best mom in the world and I couldn't have asked for anyone else to have adopted me.
While Mom cooked, Dad sat and talked to us all about what had happened while we were gone. He wanted to know how everything went and he was curious to learn about Mr. Gray as well. When he found out how much we had all won, tallying it all up, I swear his jaw dropped so hard that it bounced off of his chest. That was kind of funny to see in all honesty.
The six of us sat together and talked most of the night as we made our way through all of the food that my mom had made for us.
"Mom, you are the best cook in the world." Ben groaned happily as he took another bite of the delicacies that were sitting before him.
"I'm happy to hear that, Ben." Mom smiled at him. "Both about the food, and that you called me mom. I can't believe that I now have more kids that I can treat like my own." She looked around at Makai, Ben and Ryan. "You're all good boys, and I am so glad that you have each other."
"I am just glad that we have you, Mom." Ryan smiled at her. "You're the best."
"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" Dad joked with him upon hearing Ryan's words. "I love you guys too, you know."
"Yeah, we know that Dad." I assured him. "But Mom is the one that cooked the food. Our stomachs are drawing our loyalty over to her."
"Oh, is that so." He chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Then I think that I need to up my game here. I think it's time for me to make my super secret, ultra special, highly sought after dessert." He was eager to bring the others over to the Dad side. I thought that was funny and I wasn't going to stop him.
"What is this super secret, ultra special, highly sought after dessert?" Makai looked at me with worried eyes. "How come I have never heard of it before?"
"Well, it's a hodge podge dessert really. One day Dad couldn't decide what it was that he wanted so he actually mixed a lot of things together. He spent a lot of time on it, and he's perfected it over the years, but it is pretty good, surprisingly."
"What do you mean 'surprisingly'? It's the world's best dessert." He was being really confident now.
"What's in it?" Ryan asked Dad with curiosity. Food was definitely a turning point for him, especially if it is a sweet dessert.
"Well, it has cookies, brownies, chocolate cake, spiced apples, ice cream, whipped cream, nuts, chocolate sauce, and whatever else he decides to put in it at the time. It's like pie, brownies, cookies, cake and a sundae all rolled into one. It doesn't sound like it would be good, but I assure you, it is." I tried to explain things to them, but I don't know if I did a good enough job.
"OK, I officially want some of that. When can we get some of it, Dad?" Ryan asked with eager eyes.
"Heh heh heh." Dad laughed triumphantly. He knew that he was pulling them all over to the Dad side. "I will get to work on it this weekend. I will bring it all here and then assemble them for you. Does that sound good?"
"Oh yeah. I want some as soon as I can get it." Ryan was nodding happily.
"I am definitely going to look forward to it." Ben agreed.
"I think it will be interesting." Makai looked at me then at Dad.
"You know I already like it, so I will be looking forward to it as well." I grinned at my dad to let him know that we all loved him too.
"Good. You boys just wait. You will soon say that I am the best. Ha ha ha." He was such a dork sometimes, but I still loved him. Plus, who wouldn't want to get some super amazing dessert.
Dad lived up to his word as well. He came over on Friday around dinner time. Mom was with him and cooked for us all again, though not as much food as last time. Once we had all eaten our meal, Dad rushed into the kitchen and made the desserts for us.
Of course, Ben, Ryan, and Makai all loved the delicious sugary overload that they were eating. They conceded and said that he and Mom were equal in their hearts. That was enough for my dad though. It made him happy to be praised by them.
After we all finished that sugary contraption though, we started to crash from the food coma. I think that we all went to bed early that night and slept until noon so that we didn't wake up with a sugar hangover. It was a good start to the weekend though.. I had no complaints about it at least.
