[HHHobo]

Interlude

There were three weeks left before Spring Break. Most members of the club were going away for the two weeks off. Some were headed south for sun and sand, others were going west or north for sun and snow. I was looking forward to our trip to Florida. I love all there is to do there – beach, amusement parks, water parks. Now my dad is teaching me how to play golf. He’ll take me out to the course a couple of times while we’re down there. I don’t even mind having my sister around. We actually get along pretty well, but can’t avoid typical sibling fights.

The group still ate lunch together every day at school. We didn’t talk very much about sleepovers. The winter term had worn us out on that one. We did think we would try to get one more in before school was out. Memorial Day weekend wouldn’t work, because it was the weekend before exams. Tentative plans were made to do a sleepover the weekend after exams, as a celebration of the end of school. I had to do some thinking, so I could collect on the forfeits some of the girls owed me. Molly, Rachel, and I also dreaded what the streak would be that Brianna postponed from MLK weekend.

I was seeing more and more of Veronica. Many afternoons we would do our homework together. Usually we would do something together on the weekend. The weather was warming and we were able to play some tennis together. She’s a good athlete, so it is an even match. I resisted the temptation to make a bet with her. While I enjoyed being with her, I wasn’t really sure how she felt about a lot of things. I had kissed her a couple of times, but it was all very innocent. We were both going very slowly. It was so different from the activities of the club.

We were talking about the club during lunch the Wednesday after the last sleepover. Libby wondered if we should add new members for the following year. Colleen added that there would be some new ninth graders in the fall that we used to have sleepovers with before we formed the club. “Who are you thinking of?” Bridget asked.

“The ones who took part the most were Cheryl Moscowic, Abby Jensen, Amber Schultz, and Jon Sherman,” replied Colleen.

“They were all a lot of fun,” noted Rachel.

“If we take them, the girls will still outnumber the guys by a lot,” complained Brian.

“YEH!” Brianna spoke emphatically.

I didn’t say anything. I really liked that aspect of the club. I really didn’t mind being manipulated by the girls. I found it exciting, even if it was often embarrassing.

Molly interjected, “With more members we wouldn’t have to have everyone available to have a sleepover.”

The discussion went on for a while, but the sentiment was in favor of expanding the club. We all liked the four proposed members. We just needed to figure out how and when to invite them. It was finally decided to ask them right away and have them come to the final sleepover of the year.

“Of course we have to initiate them this year,” Brianna proposed.

There was enthusiasm for this. I cautioned them to be careful. We had become far more daring over the year than we were in middle school. We should be careful how far we went with them. “They’’ get to see some of you doing my forfeits,” I explained. “They will also get to see Brianna’s streak for Molly, Rachel, and me.”

Brianna giggled at that and did agree that we should plan carefully not to embarrass the new members very much. She then asked when we should contact them. Most agreed that the sooner, the better was the name of the game. We appointed Bridget, Libby, and Molly to be a committee to approach Cheryl, Abby, Amber, and Jon.

The next day they reported back that all the rising ninth graders wanted to join the club, even when they heard that there would be an initiation. “You know,” I noted. “None of us was ever truly initiated.”

“All the forfeits and dares we had to perform more than count for an initiation,” complained Colleen.

“But it still wasn’t an official initiation,” insisted Brianna.

There was some heated debate and we finally took a vote. By a score of five to three we decided that an initiation was required of every member of the club. The eight old members and the four new ones would all be initiated at our last sleepover of the year. We decided that the initiation should be a surprise. We split up into pairs by flipping coins. I got paired with Brianna. Rachel and Colleen ended up together. Molly was with Libby, and Brian teamed with Bridget. We drew again to see who we would initiate. Brianna and I got Rachel and Colleen.

We also decided it would be a good idea to meet with the new members before the sleepover. In fact, we decided to do it as soon as possible. “How about a bowling party this weekend?” Bridget asked.

“Let’s have some tame bets to give the new members a little taste of things to come,” suggested Brianna.

We all agreed and the same three girls were to do the calling that evening. All of the eighth graders were available for Saturday afternoon, so we scheduled it. I had to reschedule a date with Veronica. She was a little disappointed, but we would be able to get together Sunday for a study date. She was OK with that.

Toward the end of the first week after Presidents’ Weekend, Brianna asked what everyone’s plans were for the summer. No one had much of anything going on. I had two weeks of soccer camp in early August, but the rest of the summer was wide open.



(I've reached the end of what is the continuous part of the story. There is more written, but it occurs ahead in the future. I will try to write the parts in between and post them, but I am very busy right now, so the rate of posting will be slower. I do appreciate all the nice compliments, and I want to finish the story for all of you. Just be patient, and I'll keep the story going as long as I can.)