The Battle of Jericho (12 page)

At ten minutes before midnight, Jericho noticed that all of the Warriors of Distinction had assembled in the front of the room near the band. Madison signaled the band and picked up the microphone. “We just want to welcome everyone here tonight, and we're gonna do the Warrior chant for you. Hit it, brothers!”

The Warriors huddled very closely together and began to stomp their feet in a rhythm. Jericho could almost feel the thunder on the polished floor. Then they began, their deep bass voices chanting proudly and loudly:

You don't know what time it is—
It's time to get live!
It's time to represent!
Warriors rock! Warriors rule!
You don't know what time it is—
It's time to get live!
It's time to represent!
Warriors rock! Warriors rule!

Jericho had heard the chant many times in school—at football games, in the locker room, in the main hall before school, even on the street corner by the bus stop, but never in such close quarters and never with such balled-up anticipation churning inside him. He found himself whispering the words with them, mesmerized by the rhythm and the young men who chanted them.

Josh stood next to him, dancing by himself to the rhythm of the chant. “You crazy, Cuz,” Jericho said, laughing.

Then Rick took the microphone and said, “May I have your attention, please? Very soon our celebration will be over and the new year will begin. We want to thank everyone for your help in making this year's service project the best ever. Just before the stroke of midnight, we will count down to the new year, the lights will go off for thirty seconds, and you may share a private moment with your date. When the lights come back up, the party is over, and the pledge invitations will be available on the table in the hall. If you are invited to pledge, all the necessary instructions will be found inside the envelopes. Once again, we thank you, and hopefully, we welcome you.”

Jericho looked at Arielle. She grabbed his hand.

“Would everyone please come to the dance floor for the last dance of the evening?” Rick asked.

Jericho glanced at Kofi and Josh as they all found places on the dance floor. The band played a jazzed-up version of “Auld Lang Syne,” and Jericho held Arielle close as they danced. “I don't care about the Warriors of Distinction,” he whispered in her ear. “I found you.”

She didn't reply, but held him closer as they danced.

The music faded and ended, the lights were dimmed, then Rick yelled into the microphone, 'Ten! Nine! Eight!”

“Seven! Six! Five!” Everyone in the room yelled it with him.

“Four! Three! Two!” Jericho and Arielle spoke as one as they looked into each other's eyes.

“One! Happy New Year!” The whole room cheered, then the lights went completely black.

Jericho pulled Arielle very close to him and kissed her gently—once, twice, three times. Those thirty seconds seemed to Jericho like just an instant.

The lights came up slowly. Jericho stared into Arielle's eyes and did not move. He wanted to kiss each eyelash. A full minute passed and other couples had started to file out of the room, but Jericho was content to stay right where he was. He wanted time to stop. But his thoughts were interrupted by November and Dana, who whispered something to Arielle.

“What?” Arielle said, breaking away from Jericho.

Dana repeated, “While the lights were out, someone put his hand on my butt!”

“How do you know it wasn't Kofi?” Arielle asked.

“I had both his hands in mine.”

“You think it was Eddie?” Arielle whispered.

“What's up with him?” November asked. “Why is he messin' with you?” Jericho realized she had no idea what was really going on.

“Did you tell Kofi?” Jericho asked.

“No. I don't want to spoil tonight with a fight. Besides, the lights were out. It could have been anybody,” Dana replied with a heavy sigh.

“Tell Kofi later, and watch your back—for real!” November warned.

Dana nodded and headed back to Kofi. Jericho, a little annoyed that the romantic mood had been broken, suddenly felt a sense of dread about the weeks to come.

Everyone moved into the hallway quickly, in a hurry to search the table for envelopes with their names on the front. Jericho took his time, not wanting the evening with Arielle to end. They walked slowly out of the room, holding hands, not saying much.

At the table Jericho scanned the names on the envelopes. On the far right-hand side, he saw “Jericho Prescott” handprinted in gold letters on the large black envelope. Next to it was an identical envelope that said “Joshua Prescott.” At the end of the table was one labeled “Dana Wolfe.” Dana picked hers up slowly, a huge smile spreading across her face.

“What's up with that, girl?” November screamed, clutching Dana's arm. “How'd you pull that off? You're gonna be a pledge?”

Arielle joined her, exclaiming, “How'd you get asked to pledge? This is too deep! Did you know about this?” she asked Jericho. He just shrugged.

Dana grinned slyly. “Sometimes it takes a great group of men to recognize the power of a woman.” Madison actually smiled at her with what looked like a bit of admiration, Jericho thought. Then Dana looked directly at Eddie Mahoney, who was standing next to the table. He was
not
smiling.

“You ain't in yet, sweetheart,” he said quietly. “I intend to make your life a living hell.” Dana turned away from him, took Kofi's hand, and headed for the escalator.

Jericho and Arielle followed them out into the crisp, cold darkness of the new year.

“WOO HOO! IT'S OFFICIAL! WE'RE IN!” JOSH
shouted to several middle-aged couples who also waited for the valet to bring their cars. They either smiled or looked annoyed at the teenager who was making so much exuberant noise. Josh suddenly hugged the very surprised, tuxedo-clad elderly man who stood next to him. “I love you, man!” he shouted deliriously. 'I love everybody tonight!” The old man chuckled and actually hugged him back.

Jericho and the others cracked up. “You a trip, man,” Kofi laughed.

“Wait till I tell Dad!” Josh exclaimed. “He's gonna pop with pride! He'll be proud of you, too, Jericho,” he added. After they climbed in the car he opened his envelope and read the invitation to them by the dim glow of the dome light as Jericho drove home. It read:

You have been selected
By a panel of your peers
And are cordially invited
Go become a warrior of Distinction

“Awesome!” November exclaimed. “This is like off the hook, Josh! What else does it say?”

“Let's see. We have to turn in a medical form from our doctor, pay a pledge fee—shoulda known that was coming—and there's a bunch of meetings we have to go to.”

“Hey, Josh, won't your dad tell you
anything?”
asked Arielle as she turned round to see him better. “What good is it to have a dad who knows all the secrets and then won't help you out?”

“He says the secrecy is what makes it a great organization, and the reason it's lasted so long. Otherwise it would be just like any other club,” Josh replied.

“Well, Dana seems to be aiming to make it like no club we've ever seen,” Jericho commented.

“For real, though!” Arielle said. “The first woman ever!”

“If she survives,” Josh said with a laugh. “I bet they don't make it easy for her.”

“I heard Eddie Mahoney threaten her as she picked up her invitation,” Jericho told him.

“What can she do?” Josh asked. “She
did
ask for this.”

“I don't know, but I bet it was Eddie who had his hands all over her,” Arielle replied. “I think there's something wrong with him.” She shuddered.

“Dana knows how to kick butt, even Eddie's,” November reminded them.

“You guys will look out for her, right?” Arielle asked.

“Yeah, sure. But what could happen? How bad could it be?” Josh reasoned, his usual good mood returning. “If somebody as lame as my dad can get in, it's got to be a piece of cake!”

“When is the next Warrior party?” Arielle asked, changing the subject. “Does it say anything about that?”

“Girl, you're just a party animal!” Josh replied. “No, it doesn't say, but I'm sure there will be a party when all this is over.”

“Good,” she said.

Then November added, “And find out what other community projects they do the rest of the year. They could do a book drive, or a—” Josh cut her off with a kiss.

“Enough,” he said gently. “Let's just enjoy the moment. We can't save the whole world tonight.” She giggled and snuggled close to him.

Jericho drove November home, then dropped Josh off at his house. He finally pulled slowly into Arielle's driveway. He didn't want this night to end. “Well, I promised your mom I'd get you home safely and at a decent hour.”

“I'm glad you got your invitation,” she said quietly.

“Me too. I talk big, but I woulda been hurt if I hadn't gotten it.”

“Especially if Josh and Kofi got invited and you didn't.”

“I didn't want to say anything, but we kinda knew ahead of time,” Jericho admitted.

“Did you know about Dana?” she asked.

“Sorta. I think they were forced to do it. I heard she threatened them with lawsuits and exposure and stuff.”

“I gotta call her as soon as I get home!” She scooted over and looked directly at him. In the chilly moonlight Jericho could barely see her eyes. “I'm proud of you, Jericho,” she said softly.

“I'm no big deal.”

“Don't be hatin'—especially yourself.”

“Josh is a good athlete and his father was a Warrior. Kofi is super smart and knows all that computer stuff. Me, I'm just Jericho—large Jericho.” He bowed his head. He couldn't believe he was saying this to her!

“First of all, you got your invitation, so they must think you're all that,” she reasoned.

“Yeah, I guess you're right,” he admitted.

“Besides, you've got something that Kofi and Josh
don't
have,” Arielle whispered.

“What's that?” he asked. But he knew what she was going to say.

“You got me!” she replied quietly, moving even closer to him.

He touched her chin with the tips of his fingers, then kissed her gently. “And that,” he whispered, “makes my life magic.”

“This has been the best night of my life,” she said softly.

He kissed her once more in the darkness of the car, then got out and walked her to the door, where he kissed her again.

“Good night,” he whispered.

“I'll talk to you later,” she said, “and Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year, Arielle.” Jericho walked back to his car, glancing happily at the moon and breathing in the cold night air.

TWO DAYS AFTER THE NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY,
as far as Jericho was concerned, it could have been the middle of summer, even though the weather had turned bitterly cold. Nothing could erase his good mood, even though Geneva had tried her best to do so. He had pulled his hat down over his ears and headed out the door to his car.

“Maybe you shouldn't go, Jericho,” Geneva had said as he was walking out the door.

“I'm just going to hang with Josh for a little—maybe go get something to eat.”

“You know you get careless when you two get together,” she said, although Jericho could not figure out how she came to that conclusion. He tried to stay calm.

“It's not even snowing,” he said reasonably.

“Yes, but it's cold. You be careful, you hear me?”

“I will, I promise,” he mumbled, determined not to argue with her.

“You know you're still a new driver, and I really don't trust you in this weather.”

“I'll be careful.”

“You know you have a tendency to drive too fast.”

Jericho wasn't sure how she would know that—she had never ridden in the car with him. “I've never had a speeding ticket,” he reminded her.

“You just haven't been caught yet.”

He took three deep breaths. “I don't speed, Geneva,” he said softly.

“The roads are pretty icy,” she said as she peered through the curtains out the window.

“I promise I'll drive very slowly and carefully,” Jericho had said through clenched teeth.

But she went on and on. “Don't play your radio and be sure to wear your seat belt.”

Jericho sighed. “Okay, Okay! Can I go now?”

“Okay, I guess.”

Jericho left before she had a chance to think of something else. He scraped the windows while the car warmed up, then he climbed in and savored the smell of the inside of it. It reminded him of auto shows and crayons for some reason—maybe because when he was little all he ever drew pictures of were cars. He carefully put it in reverse, popped in a CD, turned it up as loud as it would go, and headed down the icy streets to Josh's house. He stopped in front and honked twice. It was too cold to get out.

“What's up, Cuz!” Josh said as he opened the passenger door.

“Where's your hat, man? It's two degrees out here!” Jericho said as Josh climbed in.

“You sound like my mama! What do you care if I freeze my ears off?” Josh asked jokingly.

“I don't care if you freeze your buns off, man, but that glow-in-the-dark hair you got might stop traffic!” Both of them laughed.

“Where you want to go?” Josh asked.

“I dunno. I'm hungry, I guess. What about you?”

“Man, I'm always hungry! Mom's on this health food kick, so I gotta get junk food any way I can. Last night she fixed carrot salad and asparagus to go with some kinda fish. It was pretty disgusting.”

“Geneva's got her faults, but at least she can cook.”