Chapter Twenty-Two #2
“The correct answer is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It premiered in July of 1990,” Kekoa announced as employees went around the restaurant, writing down each team’s answers.
“Fuck!” Kahale yelped as I caught the tail end of Jer, slapping him upside the head.
“I told ya that it was 1990!” Jeremy whined.
The air whooshed out of me as I was enveloped in a hug between Emily and Kalani. When the surprise from the physical contact wore off, I laughed excitedly.
“Next question,” Kekoa announced. “What Wisconsin town did the blended family of the Fosters and the Lamberts live in, in the show Step by Step?”
I took the whiteboard from Kalani and began writing before glancing up to see Jeremy’s face beet red.
When time was up, I proudly held up our board, which had the correct answer: Port Washington. The Tiki Titans had guessed Madison.
“Suck on that!” Kalani taunted.
“Beginner’s luck,” Jeremy pouted.
“What is the name of the diner that is featured in almost every episode of Seinfeld?” Kekoa asked.
Jeremy slammed his fists down on the table. “I should know this! I’ve seen every episode at least twice!”
Kalani laughed wickedly as I wrote down my answer. Kahale noticed the other two hadn’t even conferenced with me and gasped.
“She’s a shark!” Kahale narrowed his eyes.
“I knew it!” Jer pointed a finger at me and then turned to Kelly. “Your girlfriend is a fuckin’ shark, and you knew this!”
“Nah, brah. I had no idea she was this brilliant.” Kelly’s smile was sly as he winked at me, and all I wanted to do was kiss him right there in front of everyone as the Seinfeld diner was revealed as Monk’s Café.
It had been two hours of intense trivia, and it seemed like we were winding down to the final question of the night.
The boys had known more nineties trivia than I had expected, but they weren’t as good as me.
Team Sparkling Siren was in 1st place because I hadn’t missed a single question.
We had smoked them, and there was no way they could make a comeback, leaving two men with their heads in their hands.
Kelly was relaxed, completely unaffected by the inevitable loss.
“This is the most fun I have ever had at trivia!” Emily cheered with her soda that they had been secretly spiking all night. I found out early on that the diner did not have a liquor license, but that didn’t seem to stop anyone from having a good time.
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had when winning a bet. Porn-stache for you two,” she taunted, pointing at Kelly and Kahale, “and no-stache for you, sucka,” she said as she flipped off Jeremy, and I almost did a spit-take with my non-spiked Coca-Cola.
“I’m going to be the only guy at the station without a mustache. Even the freaking probie has a decent stache.” Jeremy was rubbing his eyes. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was crying. Maybe he was.
Jeremy whipped his head up as if he had just had an epiphany. “Double or nothin’,” he proposed desperately. “If you guys win this last question, we lose. We have to suffer for six months instead of three. But if we win, you have to go get us Uncle Benny’s shrimp. Every weekend for a month!”
He might as well have been speaking a foreign language. What was with this shrimp deal? Kalani winced at this, like the idea physically hurt her.
“No way! We are at least fifteen points ahead of you. There’s nothing in it for us.” Emily shrugged them off.
“We’ll do all the laundry. For six months,” Jeremy seemed legitimately frightened. Like losing his mustache would be as painful as losing a limb.
“Brah,” Kahale slapped Jer’s arm. “Nobody likes a sore loser.”
“Reese has to get one wrong. We can do this,” Jer pleaded. Kelly laughed, and both guys glared up at him. He had participated, but I could tell he didn’t care if he lost. He seemed to be enjoying it.
Emily and Kalani exchanged a look, and then they ushered me in.
“What do you think?” Kalani asked me.
“Me? I’m not the one with much on the line here,” I admitted. “I have no idea who Uncle Benny is or why this shrimp is such a big deal.”
“No, but you are the MVP here. We believe in you. Do you believe in yourself?” Kalani asked.
I knew my strengths, and this was one of them. I wouldn’t let them down. “I’m unstoppable,” I said with a confidence I’d never felt before outside of a hospital setting.
The girls nodded and exchanged a silent look.
We pulled away as Emily said, “We accept, with one small change. When we win, you have to get us Uncle Benny’s shrimp every weekend for the next month.”
Jeremy bit his lip nervously.
“Deal or no deal?” Kalani pushed.
“I don’t kno—” Kahale started to say.
“Deal,” Jeremy said.
“Brah!” Kahale smacked the back of Jer’s head. “You fucked us!”
“Are we ready for the final question of the night?” Kekoa asked as the crowd cheered.
I felt my heart pound as we all waited in anticipation. I wanted to make the girls proud. They had accepted me even when they didn’t know I had something to offer.
“What was the name of Corey Matthews’s long-time girlfriend and eventual wife in the TV series Boy Meets World? Bonus point if you know the meaning of her name,” Kekoa announced, and my stomach dropped.
My eyes were on Kelly as he laughed immediately, slapping his teammates on the back.
I jumped into action as I wrote on the whiteboard. My hands were shaking as I wrote down my name. The name that had always felt like a heavy weight on my back—a name I’d always tried to hide.
For once, my name felt meaningful.
My fingers turned white from how tightly I was clutching the board, and all I could hear was my own heart beating in my ears.
“Time!” Kekoa announced.
I quickly flipped our board around and held it up high.
Topanga: where the mountain meets the sea.
Kekoa announced the answer, and the girls leapt to their feet, erupting in victory.
I barely noticed.
All I could see was Kelly. His ocean eyes locked in on my mountain gold ones.