Free Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game by Katie Ashley Page A

real. But
if the last twenty-four hours had proven anything to me, it was to
expect the unexpected.
    The night wore on, and the crowd started to thin. I
was going to be at the funeral home for the long haul since I’d
agreed to help “sit up” with Jake’s urn. It was Jake’s grandparents
who had given us the idea of “sitting up” with Jake. They were
practically mountain people who lived way out in the boondocks up
in North Georgia. I’d gone to their farm once with Jake. The
further we drove along the backwoods roads, the more uncomfortable
I got. I was on edge the entire weekend straining to hear banjo
chords and waiting for some toothless hillbillies to come ass rape
me like in that movie Deliverance .
    Anyway, Jake’s grandparents said there was a
tradition back in the day where family and friends sat up all night
when somebody died. I guess it made more sense when there weren’t
funeral homes, and you would have felt kinda funny turning off the
lights and leaving a dead body in the living room.
    Jake’s brothers were all for “sitting up”, so the
rest of us decided it sounded like a good idea and a good send
off.
    It was around eleven when Jake’s parents gathered up
their things to head home. Jason turned to me. “Hey man, Jonathan
and I are gonna walk Mom and Dad out, but we’ll be right back.”
    “Okay,” I said.
    Jake’s parents had barely gotten out the front door
when the shit hit the fan. It was at that moment that Avery and
Presley decided the icy stares and pissed body language wasn’t
cutting it anymore. They were finally going to duke it out over who
was going to be Jake’s ‘unofficial widow”’.
    Surprisingly, Avery made the first move. “I just
don’t know what you’re doing staying here, Presley, unless it’s to
service Jason and Jonathan during the night or some of the other
guys here!”
    Presley smirked at Avery. “At least I’m in touch with
my sexuality, and I could give Jake what he needed.”
    Avery jerked her chin up. “Yeah, Jake, half the
school, and even some of the faculty!” she spat.
    “You bitch! You know that rumor about me and Senor
Martinez is a lie!”
    “Then why did he transfer schools?”
    “Because that skanky ho Amanda Montrose gave him a
blow job on Cinco De Mayo last year.”
    A shriek went up in the middle of the crowd. Amanda
grabbed up her purse and stalked past Avery and Presley in a
huff.
    “Whatever,” Avery grumbled.
    Presley stepped forward to stand toe to toe with
Avery. “Let’s get this straight once and for all. I loved
Jake, and he loved me. He only dated you for
appearances.”
    “No, Jake loved me .”
    “Oh yeah, then why didn’t he go to prom with
you?”
    “Because I was already going with Caleb Evans.”
    “No, it’s because Jake didn’t ask you. He asked
me!”
    “Yeah, so he’d be guaranteed to be screwed.”
    Their voices were getting louder. Some of the others
looked at me, urging me to be referee for the fight. I sighed.
“Avery, Presley, listen. Fighting like this isn’t gonna solve shit.
You’re both tired and overemotional right now. The whole school
knows that Jake cared for both of you, so it’s really useless to
argue about it,” I said, trying to step between them.
    Presley knocked me out of the way right before Avery
slapped her. Everyone, including Presley, stood motionless, in
shock. It seemed Avery’s grief had completely dethawed her usual
Ice Princess demeanor.
    Suddenly, Presley grabbed Jake’s urn and pressed it
against her ample cleavage. “He was mine!”
    “No, he was mine!” Avery countered, grasping at the
urn. The two pushed and shoved back and forth. Suddenly, the urn
went flying through the air.
    It smashed against carpet. “Jesus Christ!” I
yelled.
    Jake, or what was left of Jake, lay scattered along
the carpet.
    Mr. Whitfield rushed into the room. “What in the hell
is going on in here?” he demanded.
    Everyone refused to answer him. His eyes widened in
horror. “My