“Apparently he grew a winter garden. He has quite the green thumb. Plants love him, as do cows.”
“Did you have steak?”
“We did.”
I smiled. The First Dates podcast was quickly becoming my favorite of all the ones I’d been listening to lately.
There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see my mom, her mouth moving.
“What?” I asked. I pulled out my earbuds. “Sorry. Can you start over?”
“I was just saying, you seem to live in those earbuds lately.” Mom held out the packing tape to me. “I found this in the stockroom. Thought you might need it.”
“Thanks.” I took the tape and set it down next to the box. “So …”
My dad walked over and held out his hand. “Can I borrow that tape for a second? This box is full.”
I threw the tape to him.
“So?” Dad asked, obviously realizing I had been about to say something.
“We’re recording a podcast at the Fall Festival this year.”
“Oh yeah?” Mom said.
I nodded. “There will be an audience and everything. I don’t think it’s going to be as long as our normal podcasts. Kind of a special edition. But if you guys want to come …”
“Of course we do,” Mom said.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Dad added.
“Okay. Good.”
Mom smiled. “Good.”
I held up my earbuds. “Guess I have more studying to do, then.”
“Hello, lovely listeners. It’s Victoria and Kat here, once again ready to tackle your problems. Tackle. Do you like what I did there, Kat?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Because the big Fall Festival game is this weekend.”
“I got it. Very clever.”
“I thought so. Anyway, after you hit our listeners with our disclaimer, we’ll intercept our first call.”
“Are you going to do that the entire episode?” I asked.
“Of course I am.”
I chuckled. “Okay, we may be full of bad puns today but we are still not professionals.”
“Do you mean bad punts?” Victoria joked.
“I walked right into that one.”
“You really did.”
“But, remember, if you have a real problem, please call 911 or any of the emergency numbers listed on our website. And thank you, Young Industries, for your sponsorship. They have been serving Lakesprings for decades.” I tried not to make a face when I said this.
“Okay, first caller, what can we help you with today?” Victoria asked once the call was patched through.
“Hi, this is Tamara Sorres.”
It was so rare to hear someone say their name on the show that I almost told her that we’d edit it out.
“Tamara Sorres, our student body president here at Sequoia High?” Victoria asked.
“Yes,” Tamara said.
“What can we do for you?”
“I’m inviting you and Kat to participate in one of our Fall Festival Week activities tomorrow. You have been requested by popular vote.”
“Really?” Victoria asked. “Which activity?”
“Dunk tank.”
I laughed. “People are requesting to dunk us?”
“Yes, actually. In large quantities.”
“Sounds fun,” Victoria said.
“I’ll pass,” I said.
Victoria clicked her tongue in disapproval. “No, she won’t. We will both be there. So bring on the baseballs, Sequoia. We don’t go down easily!”
“You realize by the time our listeners hear this, we will probably have been dunked many times over,” I said.
“I maintain my declaration,” Victoria said.
“Lunchtime,” Tamara said. “See you then.”
“Wait!” Victoria said, before Tamara could hang up. “You did call in to an advice show. Any advice we can give you today?”
“Uh …” Tamara was clearly caught off guard but seriously considering the question. “How do you get people you carpool with to chip in for gas?”
“I think you just did,” I said.
“I agree,” Victoria said. “Ask. And now you have. Good luck with that. And, people, come on, if someone is giving you a ride every day, don’t be a cheapskate.”
Tamara hung up and Victoria looked over at me. “You ready to get wet tomorrow?”
“Not particularly.”
“It’ll be fun.” The phone board was lighting up. “Hello, caller, you’re on the air.”
“Hi. It’s me … I don’t remember what you named me,” Diego said.
I smiled.
“Looking for Love,” Victoria said. So she was able to recognize his voice now, too.
“Oh yeah. Still not a huge fan of that.”
“We can change it out for your real name, if you’d rather,” Victoria said in a voice I hadn’t heard her use before. Was that her flirting voice?
“I’ll stick with the love one.”
I laughed.
“How have you been?” Victoria asked. “The listeners missed you last week.”
“Yes, I didn’t really have an update so I didn’t call in.” Was he trying to make it clear for our audience that he hadn’t reached a busy signal?
“Our theme this week is the Fall Festival,” Victoria said, even though it really wasn’t, she had just made it into that. “Have you asked your lucky girl to be your date?”
“I don’t think my … she, I don’t think she’s into football.”
I wouldn’t say Alana was into football but she also wasn’t not into it. She’d been to her fair share of games, if not for the football, at least for the social aspect.
“Are you?” I asked, curious. Alana thought that answer was no, but maybe she was wrong.
“I don’t play, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“But are you a fan?”
“I can cheer with the best of them.”
“The festival’s not only about football, anyway,” Victoria jumped in. “Don’t forget about the carnival after. If your crush isn’t into football, maybe she’s into fun.”
“Maybe,” he said, with a smile in his voice.
“But you haven’t asked her?” I pressed. I’d told him to have patience, but this was getting ridiculous. I needed him to ask her. To squash my silly crush permanently.
“Actually, I sort of did,” he said.
“You did?”
“How can you sort of ask someone?” Victoria shook her head.
“I was trying to be clever and thoughtful, do something that meant something to her, but I think she said no in a really polite way.”
“Did you ask in code or something?” I asked. Alana would not have said no unless she didn’t realize she was being asked.
“In a way, I guess.”
“You need to just ask her straight-out at this point,” I said.
“But I think I got my answer.”
“If your girl is saying no,” Victoria said, her flirt-voice still in place, “you have a backup right here.”
I coughed.
“Who?” he asked.
“Me, of course,” Victoria said.
“Oh. Well … uh … thanks.”
“I thought Brian asked you in rose petals,” I said to Victoria.
Victoria giggled. “He did, it was cute. Good luck to you, Looking for Love. We’re all rooting for you.”