The Incident III

Andrew changed in the locker room alone and quickly headed to the field.

When he stepped onto the field, he was greeted with the usual cheers from his school's crowd. Noticing his family in one of the best seats, he quickly waved at them before starting his warm-up with the rest of the team.

This time, he noticed something different about his family's seating arrangement. His parents and little sister were sitting apart from everyone else, along with his grandmother, DeDe. Cam had no choice but to support Mitchell and not leave him alone.

The Dunphys greeted DeDe but then returned to their seats next to Jay, Gloria, and Manny.

From a distance, Gloria shot DeDe an angry look but said nothing. She knew that DeDe was also Andrew's grandmother and had every right to attend the game if she wanted to.

As for Jay, he acted as if DeDe didn't exist. The best thing to do was ignore everything that had happened and never bring it up again.

What they didn't know was that DeDe wanted to meet with them to talk about the incident at Christmas dinner and receive everyone's forgiveness so they could "move on."

After both teams had finished warming up, it was time for each school's cheerleading squad to perform. Since it was the final, both squads had guaranteed time to showcase their shows.

Regina led her cheerleaders and, as usual, put on a spectacular performance, completely outshining the rival squad. Veronica was no longer part of the Palisades School cheerleading team.

Since Regina had reported her to the principal for blackmail, Veronica had not only been suspended from school for two days but also expelled from the cheer squad for trying to take Regina's position. It had been a widely discussed topic at the time, though Andrew hadn't paid much attention to it.

"Aren't you going to record the cheerleaders' show, Mr. Pervert?" Lauren asked, looking at Howard, who was holding the camera but wasn't recording or even aiming it at the cheerleaders.

"No…" Howard replied, slightly frowning at Lauren.

"Oh, is that maturity? Good for you," Lauren said, acting surprised just to get on Howard's nerves—and she succeeded.

What Lauren didn't know was that Howard wasn't recording because the cheerleaders were wearing winter-adapted uniforms. Instead of short skirts, they had on thermal leggings, and some were even wearing team jackets over their uniforms. So, Howard had no interest in filming them.

"Shut up, tomboy. I'm sure you'd love for someone to record you while dancing—oh, right… you suck at it," Howard said, starting another argument with Lauren.

'Here we go again…' Leonard and Cara thought, sighing.

Leonard pulled Lauren away, while Cara did the same with Howard to stop them from arguing, especially with the game about to start.

The game began. Not only would this match decide the regional or sectional champion, but it was even more important because the winner would qualify for the state playoffs, set to take place in January after the winter break.

Despite facing their toughest and most skilled opponent yet, it didn't take long for Palisades to gain the upper hand. From the very start, Andrew dominated the field, leading an unstoppable offense against the opposing defense.

However, it wasn't as overwhelming as in other games. Andrew focused on quick, precise passes, gaining yards through the air rather than running the ball himself.

In the first two quarters, he threw four touchdown passes, connecting with his receivers—two to Alan, one to Steve, and one to Jason. They then went for the kick, successfully converting and earning an extra point after each touchdown.

By halftime, Palisades had put up 28 points, while Huntington Park High School had only managed 7.

Andrew wasn't in the mood to play defense today. He didn't want to waste energy and preferred to focus entirely on the offense, partly because he wasn't at 100% due to his lack of sleep.

Taking off his helmet, he slumped onto one of the benches near the coach, running a hand through his messy hair as he tried to stifle another yawn.

The team gathered around as David started his tactical speech, but Andrew barely listened, still feeling the weight of exhaustion.

Despite his efforts to hide it, his yawn didn't go unnoticed. In the stands, murmurs quickly spread.

"In the middle of a final, completely destroying the other team, and he yawns like it's just another routine game… That's insane," Zach muttered, frowning in a mix of confusion and admiration.

Pippa and the others, watching from a distance, had also noticed.

Howard, who recorded that moment—knowing it would be a highlight in the YouTube video—couldn't shake the thought of Andrew's family incident. He murmured thoughtfully, "I wonder what he's like when he's drunk."

Leonard nodded slowly. "Yeah… He always has endless energy, competes like his life depends on it, is so disciplined he seems like a robot with his diet and training… and now imagine him drunk."

"Andrew mentioned there's a wedding video, meaning there's footage of him drunk and knocking out his grandma. He's going to show it to me tomorrow," Pippa said with an amused smile.

"What?! That bastard! I asked to see that video, and he refused instantly" Howard exclaimed indignantly. "But he shows it to you without hesitation," he added.

"Well, obviously. I'm his girlfriend," Pippa replied casually.

"This is blatant favoritism. It's not fair! I want to see it too," Howard said, crossing his arms.

"Well, you can come and watch it with us tomorrow," Pippa offered.

"Alright, we will!" Howard said instantly.

"The only problem is Andrew actually letting us watch it too," Leonard said, unsure. It seemed like Andrew was embarrassed to show a video of himself drunk and knocking out his grandma.

"Don't worry. I always end up convincing him when I want something," Pippa said with a confident smile.

"You have powers we will never have," Howard said with fake admiration.

Pippa just laughed.

"Why do I feel like we're completely out of the loop here?" Zach asked Cara and Lauren, who barely understood the conversation.

The talk about the video of drunk Andrew didn't go unnoticed. Nearby, Andrew's family—Phil, Claire, Jay, Gloria, and the rest—overheard the words "Andrew drunk," "wedding video," and "knocked-out grandma," and all their heads immediately turned in their direction.

"Oh, I want to see that video too! That was one of the best nights of my life. Andrew and I were a legendary duo that night," Phil said excitedly.

"I don't know if 'legendary' is the right word. It was a disaster. Besides my mother's drunkenness, Andrew drunk was just as bad, and one of his friends brought a football, which only made things worse," Claire said, clearly disagreeing with Phil.

"Oh, please!" Jay exclaimed with a loud laugh.

"That kid did what we've all wanted to do for years! Watching DeDe go down like a sack of potatoes was the highlight of the wedding!" he added, laughing even harder.

Gloria nodded, flashing all her teeth in a wide grin, clearly delighted at the memory. "Oh yes, it was like watching a dream come true. That bruja (witch) deserved it. If Andrew hadn't done it, I would have," she said.

"Looks like everyone got a front-row seat to him being drunk," Leonard commented.

"Of course, and let me tell you, it was magnificent. I had never seen Andrew so relaxed and fun. He danced, sang, gave emotional speeches… and then, when DeDe started insulting Jay and Gloria—boom! Tackled to the ground!" Phil recounted the event as if it were the most entertaining thing in the world.

"Don't you guys have the video? It's your wedding, you don't need his permission!" Howard said, now more eager than ever to see it.

"No. Andrew made sure to take it and got his friend to hand over the only copy. I hired the kid because he wanted to make some money with his new camera. But he was an amateur, so I also hired a professional to film the wedding properly. But that guy didn't capture what really mattered," Jay explained, talking more than usual.

"Let me guess, he didn't record drunk Andrew in full close-up like Steve did," Pippa said.

"Exactly. And he also didn't catch all the chaos when DeDe started insulting people and making a scene before getting knocked out," Jay nodded with a grimace, regretting hiring such a useless videographer.

Gloria smiled mischievously and said, "The most important part of the wedding."

"We need to see that video. Pippa, you're his girlfriend—please convince him to let us watch it too," Claire said, looking at Pippa.

"Didn't you say it was a disaster?" Phil asked.

"Well, yes, it was a disaster… but an entertaining and satisfying disaster," Claire admitted with a shrug.

"Come on, Pippa, this is family history," Phil insisted enthusiastically. "Andrew never lets loose like that. It was legendary. He should upload it to his YouTube channel—it would go viral, and everyone would get to know his cool uncle. Me."

Jay nodded with a satisfied smile. "And I want to see DeDe falling again. It brightens my day."

"Alright... I'll do my best to get Andrew to let us all watch it," Pippa finally said. Though now, she wasn't so sure—it was too many people, not just Leonard and Howard anymore.

A chorus of cheers and satisfied expressions echoed around her.

"You all should be thanking me," Alex suddenly interjected, adjusting her glasses. Everyone turned to look at her curiously.

"Why?" Leonard asked.

"Because if Andrew ended up drunk, it was thanks to me… Though Haley and Andrew's idiot friends deserve a little credit," Alex revealed with a smug smile.

Alex needed the help of Andrew's friends to distract the adults and get the alcohol to slowly get her cousin drunk. She also relied on Haley to convince him to take the drinks, since it would have been suspicious if she were the only one offering him shot after shot.

"You? You got your cousin drunk?" Claire said in disbelief, furrowing her brows at her daughter.

"Oh, please, Mom. Andrew played a prank on me before the wedding. I had to get him back," Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"We'll talk about this later, young lady," Claire said in a low, stern tone.

Alex huffed and crossed her arms. She knew punishment was inevitable, but at least she would get credit for making the wedding far more interesting.

Since everyone would see the video, they would find out she was the mastermind behind the plan. If she was going to be punished by her mother, she might as well get recognition for getting her cousin drunk and making the wedding way more entertaining.

The final game resumed, and the group stopped talking about the wedding video, focusing entirely on the match.

Palisades School's dominance remained firm in the last two quarters, although this time they focused their offense on the running game.

Andrew continued leading the offense with precision, delivering passes to Archie and Reggie, who consistently advanced on the ground, scoring three additional touchdowns and successfully securing two-point conversions each time.

By the end of the game, the scoreboard displayed a crushing defeat: 52-15 in favor of Palisades High School.

Huntington Park High School was unable to repeat last year's feat and claim the regional championship. They were outmatched in every aspect of the game, only managing to improve slightly on offense, as Andrew was not on defense.

With this victory, Palisades High School was crowned CIF-LACS (Los Angeles City Section) Division 5 champions, securing their first-ever qualification for the state championships, where they would face the champions of the other nine CIF sections.

After the game, an awards ceremony was held, where trophies and medals were presented to each player on the team, along with individual awards for the best players of the Division 5 section tournament. Andrew was honored with several of these awards, standing out as one of the tournament's most valuable players.

This victory marked the first title in Palisades School's history and a historic milestone for the team as they stepped into uncharted territory: the state championships.

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