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All I Have To Give Chapter 11 �Okay, ready to meet everyone?� I asked my parents the next morning as we were walking up the long driveway. I tried to ignore that they weren�t listening very well, they were gaping and staring at the gigantic house in front of them. AJ ran out of the house then and headed straight for me, not slowing down. �Shelby!� he yelled picking me up and spinning around. �Aaah! AJ, put me down!� I gasped, closing my eyes. When he did, I held on to his arm to stability. �AJ, this is my mom and dad. Mom, Dad, this is AJ.� We headed inside. Not a lot of people were there. I went in the kitchen where thankfully, all the Carters were there. �Hey guys!� I said cheerfully. �Mom, Dad, this is Jane, Bob, Aaron, Angel, Leslie, BJ, and Nick,� I pointed out. �Hi,� they said politely, shaking hands with everyone. �Well, Nick, you�ve certainly grown up,� my mom observed when she looked at Nick. �I�m actually a little surprised you and Shelby are still friends. Are you still as close as you used to be?� He nodded and Jane laughed. �Those two are almost joined at the hip.� Nick and I grinned at each other. �Yup, Nick is my bestest friend,� I agreed. AJ came in then and Marissa was right behind him. �I�m going swimming!� he announced. �Anyone coming?� �Me!� I exclaimed. My parents had started talked to the Carters, so I took off my clothes I had over my bathing suit and threw them on the couch in the living room and ran outside. I was right behind Marissa and we both didn�t stop just jumped in the pool, and when I came to the surface, everyone was in the pool. Aaron, Angel, and BJ had come, plus AJ and Nick. We started splashing each other and had a splash fight. I was sneaking up on AJ, when I heard someone yell, �Cannonball!� and there was a huge splash. I looked towards the sliding glass door and saw a blonde girl I didn�t recognize, then I saw Brian surface, and I also saw he hadn�t taken his clothes off. �Hey guys!� he said happily. �Yo Frick!� Nick said just as happily. Nick and Brian were best friends. �Hey Frack! Hey Bone! Hey AC! Hey BJ! Hey Brat! Hey Angel!� he said splashing each of us as he said hi to us. We all looked at each and then all splashed him at the same time, and said, �Hey Rok!� He looked surprised, then grinned. He got out of the pool and walked over to the blonde. �This is Leighanne,� he told us all. �Hey Leighanne!� we all chorused. �Hi,� she said shyly. I bet she was a lot like Brian. Shy with people she didn�t know, then really hyper once he knew you. �You two gonna swim?� Marissa called over. �I just did!� Brian told her. �In swimsuits?� I asked. �You wanna?� he asked her. I didn�t hear her say anything, but I saw her lips move. �We�ll be back!� he called to us as he walked inside. I heard him yell, �Sorry Jane, I�m wet, but I gotta go upstairs!� I sat on the edge of the pool. �I wonder if anything�s gonna happen this time,� I wondered aloud. �Yeah,� Marissa agreed, swimming up next to me. �Every year something�s happened. I just hope nothing ever happens to me.� I nodded vigorously. �Me too, but I�ve been to these things every year, and nothing�s ever happened to me. I think my due time is about up.� �Yuh-huh Shelby!� Nick demanded. �Something has happened to you!� �What�s that?� �One time you got chased around the yard by a few bees.� �I didn�t get stung.� �One time you slipped on the pavement.� �I fell on my butt.� �One time you dropped the bowl of hot beans.� �I jumped out of the way.� �You�re dead meat girl.� �I know. Okay, now I�m scared,� I laughed. �Aww, nothing�s gonna happen to ya. Nothing has before, plus, nothing really, really serious has ever happened to anyone. Just some cuts or burns.� Nick sounded real sure of himself. I sure hoped he was right. Brian and Leighanne came out then, and Brian jumped in again. Leighanne came over and sat by Marissa and I as the rest of the guys fooled around in the deep end. I was right, she was really nice and cool once she lost her shyness. Soon, everyone was there. Kevin had come up behind us girls, and shoved us all in the pool when he arrived, so we had chased him around the yard with the hose. Howie had just scared us shitless when he came behind us and yelled something incoherently in Spanish right in our ears. Around 1, Bob finished cooking the hamburgers and hot dogs. My dad had stood by him and they had talked and about the same time, all the moms came out of the house carrying side dishes. After I got my food, I went and sat in the middle of the yard, and all us girls made a circle to ourselves and the guys did the same. I saw Nick was sitting almost directly behind me, so I picked up some potato salad and chucked it over my shoulder, but I didn�t look where it landed. I soon found out. �Holy shit!� I heard AJ yell. �A blob of food just fell from the sky right into my beans!� So, I picked up some macaroni salad, and did the same. �Who threw that?� I heard Aaron yell. �That fell on my hot dog and now it looks all lumpy!� I couldn�t help it, I burst out laughing. �Shelby!� AJ yelled and I turned around just in time to see him jump up and run over to our circle and he tackled me. I screamed since I certainly didn�t think he�d tackle me. We all stood up and started �beating each other up.� It was like one big fight of 12 people. But, as quick as it had started, it stopped and we all sat down in one big circle eating. I peaked over my shoulder and saw all the parents staring at us. �Hi!� I called and waved, grinning. Everyone else looked over and called hi. After we finished eating, we cleaned the yard up, and sat around and talked for awhile, to let the food settle before swimming again. We al jumped in when we could, and Nick drug in the inflatable mattress. Marissa and I started swimming after it, trying to get on it. I got on and tried to stand up, and I felt Marissa yell, �I want it!� and she pulled the thing out from under me. Soon, everything was going in slow motion. I went flying backwards, and I saw everyone watching me. I next felt my head hit something very hard and everything went black.Next: Chapter 12 |