Page 24 of The New Guy
“She can hang with us,” I hear myself offer. Babysitting is like a foreign country I have never thought of visiting. But anyone can sit next to a kid at a game, right? “She’ll be fine. Nice, wholesome entertainment. Except…” I glance down the row of players. “I predict some foul language.”
Gavin actually laughs. “You think?” He looks at the time again. “Lord, I wouldn’t even ask, but…”
“It’s fine,” I insist. “Have your sister text me if she shows up. Let me give you my number.”
His sheepish eyes flip up to mine as he hands me his phone so I can text myself with it. “I’ll owe you big after this.”
“Nah,” I say, waving that idea away with a flick of my hand. “I’d say we’d come out even.”
Maybe I’ll feel like less of an asshole if he lets me do this favor for him.
I doubt it, though.
* * *
It turns out that babysitting Jordyn is super easy—just as long as you’re available to answer about four thousand questions.
Per minute.
“How did they hang that scoreboard from the ceiling? Why doesn’t the ice melt? How do they get the lines paintedunderthe ice?”
I know this last one. “It gets painted by hand on the floor at the beginning of the season. The ice is clear, so you can see through it.”
She bounces in her seat. “Do you ever get to drive the Zamboni?”
“No ma’am. I don’t have a Zamboni license.”
She giggles. “Can we have cotton candy? Daddy would say yes.”
Oh boy. “Let’s put a pin in that until after we eat some real food. Are you a burger person or a hot dog person?”
“Oooh! Hot dogs. But no mustard because mustard is gross.”
“Noted.” I pull out my phone and text Gavin.Any food restrictions? There has already been a request for cotton candy and hot dogs. Absolutely no mustard.
He replies immediately.God, anything goes tonight. Although cotton candy plus a soda will result in a level of hyperactivity you will probably not enjoy. I’ll pay you back for whatever.
I put in my food order with Leo, who’s headed to the concession stand, just as the players take the ice for warm-ups.
“It’s starting!” Jordyn shrieks. “Oh, a spotlight! That’s fancy. The other team has white jerseys? That’s boring. I hope they lose. Why does the goalie have a big fat stick? How come she’s scratching up the ice with her skates? Are they gonna play music the whole time? OH LOOK! HI DADDY! HIIIIIII!” She jumps up and down and waves frantically as Gavin sets up behind the players’ bench, with his first aid kit.
“He probably can’t hear you because there are so many people here,” I point out.
“It’s okay,” she says, flopping back down in her seat. “But will you take a picture of him? I can show the kids at school.”
“You’re the new kid in class, huh?” I pull out my phone.
“Yeah.” She makes a face.
“Hard to make friends?” I use my camera to zoom in on Gavin’s ridiculously attractive face. I take the photo for her, and then zoom out some and capture one of him with the players, too.
“All of them are already friends with each other. It’s someone’s birthday tomorrow, too. Some party they were all talking about, at the American Girl store…” She makes another grumpy face. “I’ve never been there.”
“I bet you’ll go there someday,” I say quickly. Even if I don’t have the first idea where or what that is. “I’ve been the new kid a lot. The trick is to smile a lot even when you don’t want to. And don’t try to figure out who’s going to be nice, and who’s mean. Just bring, like, a Hershey’s Kiss for everyone in the class. Including the teacher. Everyone likes to feel included.”
She frowns thoughtfully. “I dunno if you can just bring candy to school when it’s not your birthday. My birthday was in the summer.”
“Okay, okay.” I think for a moment. “What about bringing it because theymissedyour birthday. Who doesn’t like an extra birthday chocolate?”
