11. Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
O ctober sweeps in, carrying a breath of anticipation. Crisp mornings promise hope of hoodie season. The first changing leaves whisper of the vibrant colors that will soon paint the town. Campfire scent lingering in the evening air assures the return of all things cozy.
Every year on the first Friday of October, the city of Brooklyn hosts a fall festival in Center Square. College students and town residents alike flood the retail-area-turned-autumn-wonderland for a festive evening of pumpkins, photo ops, local shopping, and apple everything.
This year, I’m attending the festival along with the freshman Bible study group that Sofia is part of. Parking is always sparse, so I planned to pick up Sofia and three other girls to carpool.
I spend extra time curling gentle waves into my hair before assembling my perfect fall outfit: cream sweater, plaid skirt, and sheer black tights. I debate for a while between wedge booties or knee-high boots, finally settling on the latter.
Checking my reflection in the mirror, I instantly feel happier. “Welcome back, fall fashion,” I say out loud. “I’ve missed you.”
Making the carpool rounds, my car gets louder and more enthusiastic with each passenger added. We arrive at Center Square, where I quickly find a tight parallel parking spot that everyone else was apparently too intimidated to take. Sofia applauds as I whip into the space.
“Lana would never,” Sofia jokes.
I laugh. “We all have our different strengths.”
We make our way through the festival, stopping for apple cider donuts and hot cocoa right away. My heart feels light as we make easy conversation in between taking pictures and shopping at the local booths set up around the perimeter.
I’m taking a photo for a random couple that stopped me when I hear my name.
“Teegan? Hey!” Brooks calls, stepping into my peripheral vision.
The couple thanks me as I hand back the phone. I take a moment to compose myself before turning to Brooks, who’s looking much too attractive for my own good. He’s wearing those black jeans and gray button-up like it’s his job.
I shake all thoughts of attraction to Brooks from my mind. “Hi! Enjoying your first Brooklyn fall festival?” He didn’t mention any plans to be here when we were all chatting about the weekend at small group on Wednesday. Otherwise, I would have prepared myself.
“Absolutely! This is the kind of small-ish town experience you don’t necessarily get up in KC,” he says. “You would know that already, of course.”
“Are you here by yourself?” I inquire.
“No, I’m here with the other teachers on my team at school. We teach the core subjects to half of the eighth-grade class. We thought it would be fun to come and freak out our students by proving that we exist outside of school. I saw you and thought I’d come say hello,” Brooks replies, giving me a one-sided smile.
“And who is this?” Sofia’s enthusiastic voice asks behind me.
Oh great. Sofia loved to openly tease Lana about Mateo when she found out they were dating. The last thing I need is Sofia’s mischievous meddling with Brooks.
“Wait a second—aren’t you one of the teachers who’s always at The Hangout on Tuesdays?” Sofia says, head cocked and eyes narrowed. “Mr. Murphy?”
“Yep, that’s me. You’re Sofia, right?” Brooks asks.
Sofia nods before looking between us. “How do you two know each other?”
“We’re in church small group together!” I blurt at the same time that Brooks says, “We went to high school together. ”
Sofia’s eyebrow raises at me. I huff a laugh. “Brooks and I first knew each other in high school, but we lost touch. Now we’re in the same small group at church.”
“ Mmmhmm ,” Sofia hums. “How serendipitous.”
“Lana would be impressed by that five-dollar word,” I tell Sofia, scrambling for a way to end this interaction with Brooks. “We’d better go find the other girls.”
“They’re right over there,” Sofia says with a smirk, angling her head over my shoulder.
I glance back. “They sure are!” I turn to Brooks. “Great to see you. Enjoy the rest of the festival—don’t skip the donuts!”
“See you tomorrow, Teegan,” Brooks says with a smile. “And see you on Tuesday, Sofia.”
He walks away with a final glance over his shoulder.
“What’s tomorrow?” Sofia asks, a sly grin taking over her face.
“Our small group is going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow night,” I tell her.
“To the spooky corn maze? Sounds like a perfect date,” she says.
I roll my eyes, probably with too much gusto. “It’s not a date, Sof. Our entire group is going.”
“But you wish it could be a date,” Sofia adds, mischief increasing.
“I did not say that! No!”
“Teegan Murphy—has a nice ring to it,” she says.
“Quit it, Sofia. We’re just friends. More like members of the same friend group,” I chide, pulling her arm toward the other girls.
“I’m just saying, the way his eyes sparkled at you looked more than friendly,” Sofia concludes. She mercifully turns her attention to the other girls.
This is not helping my heart keep its distance! Ugh, why do freshman girls have to be so boy crazy!
I pull up to the pumpkin patch on the outskirts of Brooklyn at 5:30 p.m., parking right next to Natalie as she’s getting out of her car .
“This is going to be so fun!” she says. “I haven’t been to the pumpkin patch in ages.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever been here,” I reply. We begin walking to the big barn entrance to pay the fee. “I always go to the fall festival in Center Square, but I’ve never made it out here before.”
“I’ve definitely never done the spooky corn maze—I’m a bit of a scaredy cat,” Natalie says sheepishly. “I looked it up online, though, and it looks like it’s not a full-fledged haunted corn maze. Nothing jumps out at you. At least, I hope that’s true!”
I laugh. “It will be fun. Safety in numbers!”
As we join the rest of our small group members, I try to avoid eye contact with Brooks outside of our initial greeting.
Everyone disperses to food trucks to get some dinner before we play the festival games, and we plan to walk through the corn maze in smaller groups once darkness falls.
Catherine wins the pumpkin ring toss game, but Brooks annihilates us all at basketball. I rally everyone to race on the adult tricycles, garnering hysterical laughter as we take over the small track and basically turn it into a bumper cars experience. We take turns riding tubes down the mega slide, cackling at our shenanigans (and possibly earning some glares from the employees).
My heart is filled to the brim. This is exactly what I needed in my life. Peers who encourage me in my faith but are also friends I enjoy spending time with.
As if sensing my thoughts, Joy walks beside me on our way to the corn maze. We slow to an ambling pace. “I’m really glad you joined the group, Teegan. You bring such a special dose of energy. I always enjoyed talking to you after church, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you better.”
“It’s been a lifesaver for me this semester,” I respond. “This group is exactly what I needed. Thank you for including me. I know I’m not the only one who’s grateful that you and Caleb formed this group.”
By the time Joy and I catch up, Natalie has already started through the corn maze along with Candace and Brian. Sarah, Catherine, Jason, and Will are making their way through the entrance right as we arrive.
Leaving Brooks and me to join Caleb and Joy. Of course.
Brooks’ smile is all mischief as he turns to us. “Ready to be spooked out of your mind?”
Joy laughs. “I don’t think it’s quite that scary. More moody than anything.”
“The experience is what you make it,” Brooks replies.
We walk through the arched entrance to the pitch-black maze. After allowing our eyes to adjust, there’s enough light from interspersed lanterns to make out the corn walls but not much else. There’s fog being pumped in by machines and spooky music playing quietly over speakers buried in the stalks of corn.
I stick close to Joy in order to avoid proximity to Brooks as we make our way through the maze, frequently turning around at dead ends. Caleb and Brooks occasionally try to scare us by pointing out spooky shadows or making eerie noises. However, Joy and I laugh at their attempts, enjoying the experience.
We must be nearing the end of the maze, given how long we’ve been exploring, when one of the LED lanterns flickers off. I don’t know if that’s an accident or a planned part of the experience, but it’s creepy either way. We’re in near total darkness, and I can’t help but inch slightly closer to Brooks’ presence next to me as we cautiously make our way forward.
“BOO!” Caleb jumps out of the darkness in front of Joy and me. Both of us scream, and I reflexively reach out to grab on to Brooks. His arm quickly wraps around me, pulling me against his chest.
And now my heart has two reasons to beat wildly.
The perfection of Brooks’ accidental embrace is too much. I jump back from him as Joy vigorously scolds Caleb for scaring us. Caleb apologizes and takes Joy’s hand to continue through the maze, although she continues giving him an earful.
“You okay?” Brooks whispers in the dark.
“ Mmhmm ,” I reply, abruptly turning away from him. He’s quiet the rest of the way through the maze, his light-hearted banter missing from the otherwise serious ambiance. Thankfully, we make it to the exit in a few minutes.
Now, I just need to escape from Brooks’ presence altogether, because my attempts at emotional distance are coming up short.