Andrew had amazed me. Actually, I was still in shock at how thorough he'd been about Jabari snow.
Placed on my hand one Sunday morning was Jabari's schedule and routine for the entire month.
Unfortunately, my new respect for Andrew didn't last very long. It died when I realized his intel wasn't that different from what dad had gathered about Jabari. Of course there were a few changes to his schedule, but Jabari was somewhat consistent in his affairs. Maybe too consistent even.
If he wasn't trying to climb an unclimbable mountain, he was breaking the record for the longest a person could hold his breath underwater. And if he wasn't doing that, then he was jumping off a cliff somewhere.
Living on the edge like a mad man, that's what dad had written in the Jabari journal. Dad had also said he was the easiest to impress and that I had it in me, whatever that meant…
Anyway, Andrew had forced me to prepare before going into battle. How he put it.
Everyday after school I was ordered to return immediately, which meant I spent little time with Tyler. It made me sad, and I questioned why I was really doing this. Thankfully, Ty didn't mind. He had a lot to do with basketball practice and his new extracurricular; working in a shelter. The first time I saw him in his blue striped apron, i laughed at how cute he looked. The spoon in his hand and the hair net did a wonderful job completing his look. I would have joined him, especially because he asked me to, but I had to excercise.
Because Tyler was so busy, I had all the time in the world to rehearse what I'd say to Jabari when I saw him.
It was a simple plan. Cliche to its core. Jabari liked to go for runs, and so, now I had to like going for runs. Andrew had narrowed down the park he'd be the next morning, and though it wasn't certain how authentic his guess was, I couldn't sleep that night.
My heart was beating out of my chest. Two times I woke Andrew up and told him I wanted to call it quits because I wasn't ready, and twice I'd talked myself into doing it because I told myself I could do it. Andrew simply sighed, going back to sleep.
I turned and rolled, my bed feeling a little uncomfortable for the first time ever.
"Oh God, please, please, please, help me. Dad, if you're up there, I kind of need your help too."
It was ludicrous how I only remembered to pray at times like this. But this was all I knew. Praying kind of helped. I didn't think I had a relationship with God, but I was taught to believe in his existence. Of course, my faith had hit rock bottom when he took my dad away from me…
"Sophie… hey, Sophie…"
I didn't realize I'd slept off until Andrew woke me up.
I groaned, still feeling sleepy.
"Rise and shine. It's time, Sophie. Let's go make history."
My eyes shot open and immediately I was wide awake. It took barely seconds before my nerves became a wreck. But for some reason, I felt… prepared?
I looked out my window, it was pretty dark.
"What time is it?" I said with croaked voice.
"Time to make history. Time to make history."
I rolled my eyes, "what time is it, you psycho."
My outburst wiped the smile off Andrew's face. "Oh, it's six."
I groaned. "Isn't it too early?"
"We have to be there before he arrives. Else we'll look suspicious. Let's go. Hurry up."
"Chill. I'm coming."
***
It was exactly seven fifteen when we arrived at Denmark park which was farther from my home than I realized. Thanks to dad we didn't live in a shabby neighborhood, but the park for the rich and famous was quite different.
Denmark park was one of the most famous parks in the state. That is, famous for housing celebrities who were always in shitty disguises. They thought a hat and glasses made them look different, but with closed eyes I could still recognize all my favorite celebrities. Jabari lived in the complex just opposite the park. Most of the occupants were celebrities. It was odd that he decided to live among celebrities. I wasn't the only one who thought so. I didn't give it another thought though. He had a right to live wherever he wanted. Even if it was a cave.
I'd expected Jabari to be in a disguise too, but to my shock he looked… normal. Then again, he wasn't really a celebrity.
Jabari was exactly what I'd seen on Google. A five ft eight Caribbean man with a sexy stubble on shorts and a tee shirt. His shoes were obviously designer. An original. He was a Nike ambassador after all. Nothing about his appearance surprised me. What surprised me was his nonchalance as people stared at him. He stretched his legs, pulling them behind one after the other. Then He jumped three times before he started to jog.
It was little wonder Jabari was so carefree. He was the third and last child of the Snow's. His older brother was CEO and it seemed their family lived amicably because there were hardly ever talks of a power struggle.
"You just have to run past him. Like really sprint. You've got this. We've been preparing for this for a while now. You can do this." Andrew said in my ear as we sat closely on the park bench.
Why Andrew was repeating himself was unknown to me. His idea of a pep talk did nothing but annoy me. We'd talked about the plan to get Jabari's attention a million times already. I knew the drill. Sprint past him, pretend to have hurt myself, when he comes to help, strike up a conversation about the marathon I was preparing for. The same one he participated in every year.
"Are you ready?"
I wasn't. Not even a little, but we needed the money and a part of me, a very little part that seemed to be growing with each second that passed, was excited.
Here I go.