Heirs of the Magi News Flash!

***Heirs of the Magi News Flash!*** Winter has, for the most part, been mild so far - or awesome for the month that Cassie and Michael spent in summertime-Australia! They are home now and will be working from home for most of the time until Easter. The hometown work will include getting ready for their next trip, but there will be a lot of fun to get in on and share with their favorite people - including their March Break trip to Florida adventure. All of your favorite Magi Masters will continue to work and play while their future plans unfold; so... ...Visit Witch Falls often to keep up with all of their latest stories; and Happy Reading!

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Cassie's Journal - September 5, 2014



My Friday night updates are going to start with a football report for the next few months; and there’s even more to write about tonight than last week – particularly with the off-field action.

First of all, I have to wonder if Vanessa and Nora are feeling any better about not making the cheerleading squad now that we’ve had two games in a row where we had to deal with rainy weather.  Maybe not, but the glamour of the ‘job’ is wearing off fast for Rowen and me – even if we are still having fun with the other girls while cheering for our boyfriends.  We had a lot to cheer about tonight too; so let’s talk football for a minute before getting to the off-field news.

Maple Valley is probably our single biggest division rival, and while that is a good-natured competitiveness between our schools; winning the game is a big deal for both teams.  I’m sure that our rivals were probably hoping for better results this year than they’ve had lately while Kyle was on our team; though I doubt that was still true once they heard about the results of our game against Clairmont.  It didn’t take long for our team to prove that our first game wasn’t a fluke; though Maple Valley also soon found out that our game play was quite a bit different than it had been with the team built around Kyle.

I was particularly fired up right from the start of the game because my amazing boyfriend got that great start to the game for our team started with a forty-three yard touchdown catch and run that left two of the Maple Valley defenders looking shell-shocked.  Jeff had used Tim and Caleb to get the team moving up the field until then; so it had also been the first play directed at Michael and he’d been completely overlooked until it was too late.  I just wish that we were allowed out onto the field to share hugs and kisses with our boyfriends at moments like that; but I suppose the games would take a lot longer if that was an option. ;^)

There was still lots of reasons for our fans to cheer for our team after that first big play of the game, and Michael was kept involved in the game; but that was his last touchdown for a while as the Maple Valley coaches and players suddenly found it necessary to do everything they could to slow him down.  Unfortunately for them, that just gave Jeff lots of chances to let loose with Caleb, Tim, and Lucas.  We gave up a fairly quick field goal, but then Tim wrapped up our second drive of the game with his first touchdown catch of the night and then Caleb broke a nice run for a touchdown that again surprised Maple Valley after Jeff had been focusing on the passing game most of the time until then.

That gave us a twenty-one to three lead going into the second quarter.  Maple Valley came back with a touchdown to close the gap briefly before Tim ended our next drive with a twenty-five yard touchdown; and Lucas punched in a six-yard score for our fifth touchdown of the first half.  Maple Valley opened the second half with a touchdown that had their fans temporarily excited until Jeff then hit Michael for another long touchdown just a handful of plays later – this one for thirty-four yards.  With a forty-two to seventeen lead at that point, Coach Robinson put the scoring brakes on our team; and we kicked field goals from then on even while piling up a lot of yards for each drive.  That made the rest of the game seem closer than it was with our team just barely out-scoring Maple Valley twelve-to-ten; but the point of that was to avoid a blow-out on the scoreboard.  Fifty-four to twenty-seven was still a big win for us; and most of the Maple Valley players and fans went home disappointed.

I say ‘most’ for that because at least one fan was very happy – and it had absolutely nothing to do with the game.  He was a happy camper because he has a date for tomorrow night with one of the Ridge River Raiders cheerleaders.  Lance Caldwell had waded into ‘enemy’ territory early in the game with some buddies to check out the local girls – including the girls on our squad; and ended up spending most of the evening doing his very best to get Jenny’s attention while watching her more than he watched the game.  His efforts were rewarded, and Jenny definitely smiled more brightly and showed off a bit more while flirting with him.

Jenny doesn’t really know much about Lance yet, so agreeing to go out on a date with him tomorrow is definitely a step or six farther than I’d be willing to risk with someone I’d just met – if I was single like she is.  He’s easy enough on the eyes, but I wouldn’t say that he’s extraordinary compared to a lot of other guys; and certainly not in the same class as the best-looking guys in our town – Michael and Tim included.  He’s also something of a departure from Jenny’s boyfriends to date because while he seems to be in good shape; he was dressed to impress and looked as though he hasn’t experienced much in the way of manual labor in his life.  So what attracted Jenny to him over other guys who were obviously interested in her too?  Honestly, I have no idea.  The sum of her girl talk after the game while we were getting changed before she ran off to spend a little time with him before he went back to Maple Valley added up to “he’s hot; in Grade Eleven; and about to turn sixteen.”  That’s a magic number with her right now; since that translates into old enough to drive.

Tammy Morris wasn’t at all surprised at Jenny’s reaction to Lance, so maybe she knows Jenny better right now than I do; but I’ll also guess that Emily will not be thrilled with the date news.  Jessie is way too easy-going to say much about it; but then there’s also a chance that he knows Lance’s family; since he seems to know everyone in the area – just as Miranda does.  That’s bound to happen when you’re the only fix-it shop around in a part of the country where people still believe in trying to fix things instead of throwing them out and buying new toys.  That is getting harder to do these days; but Jessie is adapting as needed too.

That’s not really a story I need to write about here, though; and there’s other news from the game that I should get on with reporting.  Since the next story could help cut back on my personal teen drama; I’m all for the potential for this little piece of gossip.  Okay, it actually isn’t gossip beyond Rowen and me – and probably Vanessa and Nora; but it will be soon.  Vanessa, Nora, and Elliott were at the game tonight, and sitting near enough to where we were cheering for our guys that I could see and hear them.  It’s why I caught a few stray whispers they exchanged about Paul Sparks; and Vanessa started paying more attention to him after Paul made a really good defensive play against Maple Valley during their first possession of the game.  He plays Safety on defense, and while he only rotates in on offense for special plays; he’s one of the faster guys on our team – after Michael, Tim, and Caleb.  Anyway, after he blew up an attempted long play; Vanessa kept an eye on him for the rest of the game; and made a point of tracking him down and congratulating him after the game.

I won’t suggest that it’s love at first sight for them because their little brothers are best friends.  For those of you who might not remember by the time you read this, their brothers are Tommy and Julian – the boys who spent so much time with Dawn and Jillian while they were here this summer.  We probably wouldn’t be speculating too wildly to guess that Paul was off of Vanessa’s radar due to the little brother issue.  From what I saw tonight, she’s definitely not looking at Paul as nothing more than the older brother of an annoying brother’s pest-best friend.  I’d like for Vanessa to be happy, but I’ll also be honest and admit that I’m only writing about it because there’s a good chance right now that she’s about to be too distracted to be annoyed with Rowen and me.  If she and Paul do get together, she’ll also get that inside track to the popular teens that she wanted to get through being a cheerleader.

For tonight, that would have meant going to the after-game party at Jeff and Tammy Morris’ house.  While that wasn’t totally new for Tim since he’d been to those parties after Kyle’s games before; it was an experience for Rowen, Michael, and me.  Fortunately, our snowed-in weekend with Tammy and her family had made a special bond between our families – even if we aren’t really close friends; so hanging out at their house for the first time with all of the guys on the team; our fellow cheerleaders; and our collective girlfriends and boyfriends was a blast.

That doesn’t mean that we had an all-night party or anything, and we weren’t in any danger of having the cops called on us; but we did celebrate the two-win start to our season, and even being a bit crowded because we were indoors due to some off-and-on rain showers; that just added to the entertainment and fun.  Rowen and I got to spend quite a bit of time with Michael and Tim, but when they were busy; we hung out with Rebecca, Jenny, Carolyn, Tammy, and some of the other girls.  There was music, lots of snacks and drinks, and as usual when a group of guys get together; video game competitions.

The good news with the party is that we’re included with that group of friends now, but the bad is that Michael and I missed out on having any alone time opportunities that we might have had if we’d just been able to go home after the game.  We also missed out on dinner and a football game night with my family; though even some of the guests for that didn’t stay for the entire game.  Rain and an lop-sided score will have that effect on spectators sometimes – especially when it involves unhappy babies or toddlers – or uncomfortable pregnant women.  I can relate, since it wasn’t much fun being wet a lot of the time during the game for me tonight – though at least it wasn’t cold too.  Let’s not go there; and hope that doesn’t happen to us this season.

Instead of any alone time, Michael and I had to settle for a fairly short goodnight hug and kiss on my front porch; and we also needed to leave the party before most of the older teens due to our junior curfew.  I’m not complaining about that; and was ready to go home by then anyway – even if Tim wanted to stay and party on.  Michael and I offered to walk Rowen home and make sure she got some goodnight hugs and kisses if he wanted to stay, but he’s learned enough to choose correctly and pick walking her home over ongoing gaming with the guys.

Of course, he might have gone back after that; but if he did; he wasn’t admitting that to the rest of us while we walked most of the way to my house and Rowen’s together before splitting up when we got to Riverview.

Mom and Dad were in bed by the time I got home, so I only stopped in to Ethan’s and Ehlana’s rooms to kiss them goodnight before coming up to my room; and I got ready for bed right away before cuddling with Mandy and getting to work on my computer.  Taking the weekend off from the work and studying wasn’t an option; but I did cut back a bit so that I can still be done before three o’clock – if barely.  I don’t have anything interesting to report from my studies or family business work; but I should do a family kid and teen update for school since I haven’t done that yet this week; and I had email reports waiting for me tonight from most of my cousins.

That didn’t include Chris and Martin, but Dawn sent me a report that included a little bit of news from her older brothers.  Chris is in Grade Twelve and ruling the school with his buddies.  I’m sure having his own car helps with that quite a bit; and Martin is happy to go along for the ride.  Having access to a set of wheels when you’re in Grade Ten – even when it’s through an older brother – is practically a guarantee for some peer points.  Dawn hates to admit it, but her brothers are probably more popular than Violet was in high school; and even with their ‘catch and release’ girl policy; that doesn’t seem to deter the eligible girls from chasing after them.

Dawn and Jillian had a good week in Grade Eight; and they’re ruling their school with their friends too this year.  They also have some boys trying to make moves on them already; but they haven’t been caught and Dawn doesn’t sound as though she’s in any hurry to be caught.  While I have football and post-game parties going on here, that doesn’t seem as exciting as the action Dawn, Jillian, and their best friends have planned this weekend.  They had a sleepover tonight; are going shopping at the Mall tomorrow; and will either be going to a matinee or evening movie on one side or the other of dinner at a restaurant.  That’s going to be way more fun than the yard work day I have in store for me tomorrow.

My junior cousins might be Mall-hopping and going to movies with their friends this weekend too, but if they are; they didn’t include that news in their updates.  Jaimie and Kaitlyn both advised me that they love their teachers and are glad to be back at school where they can see their best friends every day again.  Jaimie is in Grade Four and Kaitlyn is in Grade Two.  They’re both popular, and it’s no surprise that they’re also among the best students in their respective classes too.  On the Johnson side of the family, Kara is in Grade Two as well this year, her brother, Eddie, is in Grade One, and their cousin, Nicole, is starting Kindergarten this year.  Their updates came from their mothers, so other than the basics; I don’t have much on how they’re enjoying being back at school so far.

The only cousin update I have almost nothing on is for Jonathan.  What I do have came from Christina; and that was really just a side-note.  He’s in Grade Eleven now, and while he’s only a handful of months older than Martin; they’re on opposite sides of the cut-off – and is where Martin wished he was compared to Chris instead of being two grades behind.  There was also no news about girls in his life; which has me wondering how he’ll feel when he finds out that Jenny’s already moved on and will be dating a new guy this weekend.

I am so glad that I won’t have to deal with that kind of thing, but I’ve mentioned that before; so let’s not go there again.

instead, I’m going to do a micro-update for the rest of the day; wrap this up; and head off to dreamland while I still have time for a nap before it’ll be time to get up and moving again.  The forecast rain didn’t get here this morning, so Tai Chi by the river was an option; and Michael again stayed for breakfast before we split up and got ready for school.  With just a four-day school week, we were on the Day One schedule today to even the week up; and the class work part of the day was fairly uneventful.  Michael, Rowen, Tim, and I did our homework right after school at the computer store; and then it was time to split up and get ready for the game – including getting something to eat.  Michael did that at my house, and we dipped into some cold salads that Mom was getting ready for their meal to go with the burgers we cooked up on the grill.

We were at the school by six for our respective warm-ups and the rest of the pre-game action around the school and field; and you have the highlights of the football action already.  I haven’t really said much about the cheerleading, but even though we had fun; there’s only so much a person can write about the same cheers and a half-time routine before it gets redundant.  That’s why I’ll skip that this week and save any news from the squad for more interesting moments – like we could have at our first away game next week.

That’s all I have for tonight, and I’m way-past ready for that nap time; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!