I found the Davis family stuffing their faces.
“You need to get to the buffet. This food is fantastic,” Brook said.
She was right. I think the governor must have some serious funds for his campaign if the buffet was any indication. There was a full salad bar; beef, pork, turkey, and shrimp; a pasta bar; and ice cream sundaes. I attacked the salad bar and loaded up on peel ’n’ eat shrimp. While I was eating, Hana, Riley, Amy, and Jett showed up with Angel, their manager.
“I see you found the food,” Jett teased.
“Get some, it’s not bad,” I said as I hugged all the girls.
Brook had finished eating and appeared by my side.
“I want you to meet my friend Brook,” I said.
“As in girlfriend?” Hana, the one with black hair, asked.
“No, we’re just good friends,” Brook said. “Which one of you is Jett?”
I’d never told Brook about Jett and me spending some time together. The only person who might have known was Halle, and even then, either Fritz or Trip would have had to tell her. My money was on Trip. When she figured out which one was Jett, Brook took her away for some girl-talk.
I pointed out Max to Angel so she could get the band’s equipment set up. Then I showed the girls the buffet and made my return trip for ice cream.
I smiled when Ms. Dixon came in. She was here to support her dad. She came over and took my ice cream from me.
“Hey,” I complained.
“Don’t be a baby. Remember, you might need me to like you at some point,” she teased.
It was nice to see her in normal mode as opposed to scary-lawyer mode. I returned to the ice cream station and made another sundae for myself.
“Why are you here so early?” I asked.
“I volunteered to help. They told me I’m to make sure people know where to go.”
“You should be good at that,” I said with a straight face.
“Easy, Tiger. I could tell all the girls that you’re single and looking.”
“I
“To be in high school again. Wait, let me change that. I had way more fun in college,” Ms. Dixon said.
I honestly couldn’t imagine her having fun. She was always focused on her job. Well, I guess I did remember her taking my mom shopping, but I wasn’t with her then. It was good to see her relaxed.
◊◊◊
An hour before the band was to go on, they opened the doors. They had free hot dogs and sodas, which the college students were not going to pass up. The band and I were busy as soon as the people began to pour in. People would get me to sign a photo or three, and then I’d stand up, and they’d get their picture taken with me in front of the poster. Brook was kept busy, as they wanted her to snap the shot with their phones.
The band had just as many fans, except their fans were all guys. Angel also had CDs and t-shirts for sale.
When there was a lull, Angel came over and got her picture taken with me. The next thing I knew, the girls in the band all came over to get a group shot. We did a couple, and then I pulled up Brook and all the volunteers for some photos. Then another group of college students came in, and we were busy again.
Max came out and said they were ready for the band, so we went on stage. Being shy, I grabbed the mic and stepped to the center of the stage.
“You ready to have some fun?!” I called out.
They’d set it up so they were only using half the arena. The stage was pushed back to give people room if they wanted to be in front. I would guess there were probably close to three thousand people there. They seemed ready, by their response.
“I’m David A. Dawson, and I’ll be your host tonight. Some of you might have seen me in the movie
I was a little surprised when I got a few cheers.
“Take your shirt off, Stryker,” a girl called out.
I ignored her and continued.
“I’m sure you didn’t come out to see me. We have a special treat before our governor and Senator Dixon talk. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this band perform before. You might want to come down and dance a little because they’re a lot of fun. I give you Birthrite!”
The band broke out into the Violent Femmes’
I walked back out front to do my signing and photo job. The girls were killing it; they were the perfect college-crowd band. The only thing missing was several kegs of beer.
◊◊◊
The plan was for the girls to play for thirty minutes, and then the politicians would talk. Word must have gotten out that the band was good because people from all over campus started to show up. Max was ecstatic and let the girls play for an extra fifteen minutes. Governor Higgins found me finishing my job of being photographed and handing out pictures to registered voters. He wanted a picture of the two of us. I convinced him to take one with Ian, Ava, and Brook. I thought Ian would have kittens, he was so happy.
