(Realized way too late that I changed Carson to Carter. That was another name I originally considered, and I got confused. I'm just changing it back.)
"So, how are you going tell your parents that you just won your household a trip to Hawaii?" Karyn asked.
Jo grinned. "I have no idea, but I can't wait to see their faces."
"I just wish I'd won something, too," Karyn sighed. "Even if none of the other stuff was as grand as a tropical vacation."
Her friend put her hand on her shoulder as the two of them gravitated towards the punch bowl. "Well, Kar, I kinda hid it from you, but the tickets say their for my family plus one guest. So, I think you won something after all."
Karyn nearly tripped over her own heels, and Jo laughed in delight at seeing her surprise. "S-Seriously!?" She squealed with excitement, getting a few sideways glances from nearby teens. Not caring, she threw her arms around the other girl, and the two of them bounced happily together for a while. "Oh, thakyouthankyouthankyou!!!"
"Okay, let's get a hold of ourselves," Jo chuckled, straightening her hat. "Maybe celebrate with some punch?" She led the rest of the way to the two punch bowls on the snack table and got each of them a cup. Raising their drinks, they shared a toast.
As Jo finished off her punch and set her empty cup aside, someone bumped her out of the way to get at one of the snacks. Turning, she found herself looking up at Carson, one of the few boys at school and notorious jerk. "Hey, you could've said excuse me," she snapped.
Unexpectedly, Carson mumbled, "Sorry." An apology from him was very rare. As if realizing his slip, he tried to cover it with a half-hearted leer. "I mean, sorry, babe, I was just distracted by your cannon balls. I got a cannon, myself. Wanna put them together and see if they go boom?" Even he winced at his own horrible pickup, but it was the best he could do on short notice. Nonetheless, the pirate girl was really hot, so he had to try, at least.
Karyn snorted. "Get lost, Carson. She's not interested."
To everyone's surprise, Jo stepped up to Carson and put a gentle hand on his chest. "Oh, be nice, Kar. This is Becca's last big party before graduation. Let's not be so mean."
"Huh?" Both Karyn and Carson said in unison.
Jo blushed, but she shook it off and turned to the stunned boy. "Carson, where's your partner in crime?"
Carson glanced around. "I dunno. He went off somewhere with that chick, Rebecca."
"So Dave goes off with the hostess and leaves you by yourself," Jo shook her head. "Typical."
Face going red, Carson objected. "Hey, I'm no kid, y'know. I don't need anybody holding my hand or anything."
"So, you want to be alone tonight?" Eyes narrowing, Jo crossed her arms under her breasts and cocked her exposed hip.
The boy slumped. "No."
For her part, Jo met eyes with Karyn. Frantically , the blonde shook her head no, but she recognized that look in Jo's eyes. The girl was far too compassionate for her own good.
Sure enough, Jo took the boy's hand and said, "Look, Carson, we haven't really gotten along these last few years, but I can't stand seeing you mope around by yourself. How about this: I'll be your girlfriend for the night if you can behave yourself and stop bothering the other girls. Agreed?"
"Jo, don't!" Karyn blurted out. Her friend simply waved off her protest and watched the boy for his answer.
Five seconds passed before Carson could regain control of his jaw. Then, he managed to nod.
"Good," said Jo. "Shall we go?"
"Yeah," Carson nodded, eagerly putting an arm around the blonde buccaneer's waist and pulling her close. "Sure thing, babe."
Gingerly, Jo settled herself into his embrace and walked with him towards the next room. Deep inside, she wondered why she was doing this for someone like Carson. Then again, she had always been a sucker for charity cases, and without Dave around to act as the brains, Carson seemed to be a bit easier to handle.
Who knows? He might actually turn out to be tolerable.
