accordion players?â
âThat would be even cooler. We donât have to worry about anything until after the parade.â
I looked at my watch. It was just after nine. The parade was scheduled to start at ten and would be over before eleven. We had two hours of peace. There was a loud whoop as another firefight of tomatoes beganâat least relative peace.
âIâm not worried about our fathers,â Keegan said. âBy the time they even notice what weâre doing theyâll see weâve made a wad of money.â
âAnd Owen?â
âWhatâs he going to do, fight me here in front of everybody?â
âHe could.â
âLet him show up. Iâm armed and dangerous,â Keegan said as he held up a tomato.
I was pretty sure that Keegan was just joking around...pretty sure.
chapter eight
I sat on my skateboard. My clothes, board and body were completely covered with tomato stains. Dave and Sam werenât much better. Keegan had been hit as well, but he wasnât nearly as coated.
The initial rush of customers had ended and there were only a few people waiting in line. I thought it was going to be just kids, but lots of adults had come to toss tomatoes as well. Right now the people waiting in line were alladultsâwell they were like twenty or so.
We were taking a short break. We needed a breakâit hurt when a tomato caught you in the face, no matter how squishy it was. And twice I was knocked clear off my board and skidded into the pavement. A helmet and knee pads provided only so much protection.
âParade is getting ready to start,â I said.
âAlways a highlight for me,â Keegan replied.
âReally?â
âYeah, right,â he said.
I walked over to the fence and rested my arms on the top of it. The street was now blocked off, and there was no traffic. Along the sidewalk, on both sides, people were lining the route. There were whole families sitting together on the curb, older people with lawn chairs and coolers. There were clusters of older kids all standing around, trying to look like they werenât too interestedâbut they were here.
People were licking ice cream cones or eating hot dogs or drinking pop. A lot of people also had cameras and video recorders. That was stranger than just watching the paradeâthinking that it was going to be so memorable that youâd want to capture it for later viewing. Unless those people had really low expectations, they were going to be deeply disappointed.
The local cable company was taping the whole thing as well. There were camera people situated along the parade route. That didnât say as much about the parade as about the fact that there was nothing else happening in town.
âI just canât believe that this parade draws such a big crowd,â Keegan said.
âYear after year after year,â I said.
âPretty well everybody in town is here.â
âNot just our town. My father told me that people come here just for the festival, book a hotel and stay for the weekend.â
âSome people need to get a life,â Keegan said. âDo you know what would really get an audience?â
I was almost afraid to ask.
âA contest where you push over port-apotties,â Keegan said.
âIâd pay to see that,â David said with a laugh as he and Sam joined us at the fence.
âI guess the secret is convincing Owen to ever go inside one again,â I added.
âNo, that would be easy,â David said. âJust have Keegan go inside, and Owen would follow. I get the feeling heâs going to follow you everywhere until he finally catches you.â
âWhy does everybody think it was me?â Keegan asked.
Both David and Sam burst into laughter. âLike who else would be that stupid?â David asked.
âI prefer the term brave.â
âNo, heâs right, stupid pretty well sums it up,â I
The 12 NAs of Christmas, Chelsea M. Cameron