Change Your Ticket

It’s no secret that Parker and I have had fights before. Ninety percent of our almost year long relationship was us fighting and then not talking for weeks. This had to be the worst fight to date, even worse than when he didn’t tell me he got accepted to USC. The worst part of it all is that I had no idea how to fix it.

“Guess who just tried to call me,” Miranda said, bursting in my room. She sat opposite me on my bed. Her hands crossed and her eyebrows furrowed. “Parker.”

Just hearing his name said out load made me wince. Parker hadn’t called Miranda since he moved down to California which only meant one thing, he didn’t know what to do either.

“Did he sound okay?” I asked.

“I don’t know I hung up on him before he could say anything but hello.”

“Miranda!” I groaned.

“Josylne are you kidding me? He hasn’t called any of us in weeks and I’m who he decides to call. He’s being a child.”

“He’s not being a child,” I defended.

“I don’t know why I even bother. You two were clearly made for each other you’re both so stubborn it’s ridiculous.”

There was a shifting of weight on my bed before the my bedroom door slammed shut. I just had an act for making people upset with me lately. I wasn’t too worried about Miranda though, she’d get over it.

With Miranda gone I returned to wallowing in my own misery. I pulled my laptop on my lap, opening it up to my most recent page. Of course, that page being the USC Football page. Since the fight I haven’t watched a single game but I have been checking Parker’s stats. He was doing good which only made me wonder if he missed me at all. Back home, when we fought his game suffered but not now. Maybe he had moved on.

On the verge of another mental breakdown I dialed Max’s number. On the second ring he picked up and within fifteen minutes him and Ava were ushering me back to his house. This is how things had been the past couple weeks. Me crying, calling Max, and then crashing his date plans with Ava to sit and cry in his basement.

“I’m sorry I ruined your guys’ plans again,” I whimpered.

“Jos It’s fine,” Ava said. She smoothed out the back of her skirt before sitting down next to me. She was dressed up meaning I ruined one of their nicer dinner dates.

“No it’s not. Just ‘cause I ruined my relationship doesn’t mean I should ruin yours too,” I huffed. “Just take me home.”

“No.”

“Max if you don’t take me home and go out with Ava everything will be ruined.”

“What are you talking about Josylne?” Max questioned. “Ava and I aren’t going anywhere and you aren’t ruining our date.”

“We’re here for you Josylne,” Ava whispered.

After crying for another half hour I managed to pull myself together, or rather stop the tears. I was still a mess. My hair was in a messy bun and my eyes were swollen. I would be embarrassed to look like this in front of my friends had it not been such a weekly occurrence.

“Have you talked to him?”

“No.”

“What if he’s moved on?” I whimpered, tears threatening to spill.

“Josylne why would you even say something like that?” 


“‘Cause, when we used to fight he’d be a mess on the field. We nearly lost a game because we weren’t talking and now he’s playing the best quarters I’ve ever seen.”

“I thought you weren’t watching the games,” Ava added.

“I’m not, but I see the stats on the website.”

Silence fell between the three of us. If I hadn’t been so preoccupied with wiping the tears from my eyes I might have noticed the scheming that was going on between Max and Ava. Instead, I watched as the both of them typed vigorously on the laptop before analyzing the screen in front of them.

Old Josylne would have gotten up to investigate the matter but this Josylne was too tired to even move. This Josylne was broken more than she had ever been before. This Josylne just wanted everything to be better.

Without realizing it, I managed to drift to sleep. I only woke up to the sound of Max’s printer and an exchange of high fives between my two best friends. Once the paper was done being printed the both of them glanced back at me, smiles plastered on their faces.

“What are you two up to?”

“Promise you won’t get mad,” Ava said.

Nothing good ever came from those words. In fact, it almost always meant I was going to be mad about something. I prepared myself for the worst before promising them I wouldn’t get mad.

“We figured out how to fix things between Parker and you,” Max said handing me the piece of paper. “Consider it an early Christmas gift.”

Confused, I let my eyes fall to the paper in my hands. With every word I read I was in more disbelief than before. This was a plane ticket confirmation, not just any plane ticket but one to Los Angeles. I turned the paper over to reveal a confirmation for one ticket to the USC vs Norte Dame for Thanksgiving day.

“You guys are insane. I can’t accept this.”

“If there is two thing the both of you love more than each other it’s football and grand gestures.”

“You are going to go to LA. You’re going to see Parker play in the biggest game of his season and you’re going to fix everything.”

“I can’t just leave, it’s Thanksgiving.”

“Your parents are going to be in New York with Miranda and Jayden for his game. They’re okay with it.”

Well there went that excuse. In all honesty I wanted to go. There was no better Thanksgiving than going to see Parker play, not even going to Disney World could compare. But I couldn’t just go. There was too much uncertainty in our lives for me to jump on a plane and fly across the country.

“He won’t even want to see me. I’ll ruin Thanksgiving.”

“Are you forgetting who we are talking about here? This is Parker, he’s in love with you Josylne.”

“I’m afraid of planes,” I said, trying yet another excuse.

This caused the both of them to chuckle.

“You’re going,” Ava said, eyeing me.

“I can’t just show up on the field like he did when he flew home.”

“No, but you can show up in his dorm room after the game,” Max said.

“Come on, we have some planning to do.”



The flight to Los Angeles should have been terrifying with the amount of turbulence I experienced, but the looming thought of Parker walking out on me scared me more. For the past week, Max and Ava have been planning this whole disastrous idea. The winning plan appeared to be I fly out to LA Thanksgiving morning (which I did), drop my bags off at some cheap hotel close by (hopefully I won’t have to stay there), and then go to the Colosseum to see Parker play.

The hotel wasn’t as bad as I had imagined it to be. At least it wasn’t at twelve in the afternoon, the night would sure bring out a different element. With any luck, I wouldn’t have to sleep here and if I did Parker would be joining me. The only thought running through my mind was that this better work. I was putting myself more on the line than I ever have before and I was scared.

Once I was situated in the hotel I made my way over to the Colosseum. Since it was a rival game the place was packed, decked out in both teams colors respectively. Some pretty serious tailgating was going on in the parking lot but I b-lined for the entrance eager to find my seat and destress.

The Colosseum was huge. I had no idea how anyone could play on that field down there and not be the least bit nervous. Mass High played in stadiums the fifth of the size of this place and we were always nervous. My seats were on the twenty yard line which wasn’t the best place to view Parker but given they were bought at the last minute it was perfect.

The stadium was fairly empty when the boys emerged to begin warm ups. I was sort of relieved when USC’s team went to practice on the opposite side as where my seats were. The thought of Parker seeing me before he was meant to made me nervous. Scratch that seeing Parker in general made me nervous. I absentmindedly chipped at my painted nails before my eyes landed on the number I had once painted on my cheek.

The game was intense, had it not been for my still healing leg I would have been jumping up and down the entire time. Parker managed to play in the second quarter and I couldn’t help the smile that blossomed to my face at the sight of him on the field. If only he knew how proud of him I really was.

As the end of halftime I approached I decided this was my the proper time for me to leave. If I was going to make it to Parker’s dorm by the time he made it back I needed to leave now. I knew from my research that the Colosseum was a few miles walk from USC but with my foot situation I figured it would be easier for me to call a taxi. Thankfully there was already a line of them waiting for the end of the game.

“Are we winning?” The taxi driver asked.

“They were a field goal away when I left.”

“S’going to be a good game. Why are you leaving early?”

“I have somewhere to be on campus.”

The drive to campus was short leaving with no time to back out of this insane scheme that was planned for me. Thanks to Jason, Max had managed to get Parker’s dorm room number confirmed. As I wandered around campus looking for the dorm building, I prayed that Parker’s roommate had flown home for the week or was at the game. The last thing I needed was some stranger in the middle of whatever Parker and I were going to discuss.

After twenty minutes of walking I found Parker’s dorm building and found his room. I knocked a few times and was relieved when there was no answer. Thankfully, the dorm was unlocked allowing the plan to continue. The room was how I imagined it to be, clothes lying everywhere and a familiar scent of boy hovering around. From the looks of it Parker appeared to be the cleaner roommate, something I never would have guessed. Parker wasn’t much of a decorator but he did have several pictures scattered around his area. Most of them of the team, ones I had taken after games at the diner. It was the one sitting by his bedside that made me choke up. The same picture I had laying by my bed side, the one of him, Lexis and I at Disney World. Feeling the panic building inside of me I grabbed my phone and dialed Max’s number.

“I can’t do this!”

“The game’s almost over, what do you mean you can’t do this?”

“I’m in his dorm room. I’m not strong enough to do this Max.”

“You never would have made it to his dorm room if you didn’t want this Josylne.”

“But what if he doesn’t want to see me. What if he asks me to leave, Max. I can’t have him hate me.”

“He won’t do that and if he does, you’ll get on a plane like you did this morning and fly home to us. If that’s the case, Ava and I will have endless ice cream waiting for you.”

“You’re the best Maxxy.”

“I know. Now take a breath and go get your boyfriend back.”

With all the pacing I had been doing my leg began to throb. I decided to sit in Parker’s desk chair figuring it was a better option than lying on his bed. Max had said the game was almost over so I logged online to check the score. Sure enough the game was over and they had managed to win by one field goal. Their kicker must be thrilled, I know I would be.

The panic began to set in again as the conclusion of the game hit me. Parker was going to be back in his dorm in as little as an hour. I was going to be face to face with the love of my life for the first time in weeks. I was going to get to hear his voice for the first time since this damn fight.

I stayed preoccupied on my phone until I heard the muffled sound of voices approaching the door. If it wasn’t for the damn cast on my leg, I would have jumped out his dorm room window. Instead, I was held prisoner in this tiny room with the looming threat of a break up over my head. My breathing stopped as the doorknob to the room began to rotate. Within seconds Parker was standing in front of me and for the first time in weeks I felt numb.

“Happy Thanksgiving?" I said and instantly wanted to slap myself.

"What the hell."