Game-Time Decisions
When we walk through thefront door, my dad has returned to watching the game like this is just another casual Saturday and not the world’s most unexpected reunion.
“Hi, Mr.Breland,” Yumi calls, removing her shoes easily with one hand.
I leave mine on, knowing I’ll have to drive her home as soon as we’re done here. “Dad, Yumi’s here,” I declare uselessly.
The TV goes mute. “Yumi! Welcome back, hon.”
She steps through the living room threshold, bright smile unfaltering on her face, even as she spots my dad’s makeshift bed on the couch. I watch her covertly scan his yellowed skin and the lines of exhaustion that should’ve taken at least fifteen more years to form. He isn’t the man she used to know.
“Thanks, Pops,” she says, pulling out her old nickname for him like she’d never missed a beat. She leans down for a hug, my dad’s too-skinny arms wrapping around her.
“Good to see you, kiddo. Congrats on graduating. Where are you headed come fall?”
“UNM.” She smiles. “To study journalism.”
“Journalism, huh? The world will always need more goodjournalists.” He looks between us, cutting to the chase. “So who’s going to tell me about thisAdventureversething?”
“Well,” I hedge. “We got a call from production. They had a team drop out at the last minute, and they really liked an audition we sent in last year.” I give him a pointed look.Do not ask.“So, they asked if we could fill in.”
Relief floods his face. “Oh, that’s all? You made it sound much more dramatic, Noe.”
“I was in a rush!” I protest. “But, uh, no. That’s not all, actually.” I look to Yumi for help. A more mature person would deliver their parent this news by themself, but I’m not a more mature person.
She bravely takes up the mantle, smiling at me. Even though I know it’s fake, I still savor it. “It’s an all-couples season,” she says.
“Oh.” He looks between us. “Oh. Are you two—”
“No,” Yumi and I interrupt simultaneously.
“That’s part of the problem,” I say. “We aren’t, but we’ll have to pretend to be.”
My dad sits up a little straighter, his disbelief evident on his face. “You’re going to pretend to be a couple. On national television?”
Yumi nods. “It’s the only way we can compete.”
He processes the information, his gears visibly turning. “And what happens if they find out you aren’t a couple?”
“They won’t,” I say quickly.
He gives me the most Dad Look that ever Dad Looked. “Whatever you say,” he singsongs knowingly.
“Dad, c’mon. Don’t jinx it.”
He holds his hands up in surrender. “Sorry to be a wet blanket, but it’s not like either of you are the greatest in a high-pressure situation.”
I gasp. “Hey!”
Yumi jumps in. “We both know that what Noelle lacks in chill, she makes up for with stubbornness.”
I swivel to face her. “Don’t you start!”
She just shrugs, grinning. Atme. I’m having emotional whiplash. “It’s true,” Yumi says. “We know it’s crazy, but it’sThe Adventureverse. We can’t say no to that. Plus, the prize is two million this season.”
My dad’s brows arch. “Well, that’s a damn good incentive.”
“And we’ve thought about it a lot,” I add, deciding not to mention that almost all of that thinking occurred over the last forty minutes.
