A hundred pictures of Aliyah fluttered in the breeze. Staff members handed them out at the beginning of the meet-and-greet. When they offered Kelvin one, he declined. He brought a flyer for the event instead. They used an old photo of her to promote the festival. She held a skateboard in two pieces like she ripped it in half. He planned on framing it and placing it beside their selfie at the Dome.
Was it cringe? Probably. Did he care? Nope.
The line stretched back to the grandstand. Security helped direct everybody into a single file. Kelvin ducked behind a bigger gentleman to hide. A young girl rode on the man’s shoulders, waving a copy of Triple Flip. Blending in was easy here. A lot of people wore Rip City hats or shirts.
For the signing, they set up a small table in the halfpipe. A backdrop stood behind her for pictures. Markus watched the front of the line, spotting Kelvin a few people back.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Shh… Don’t tell.”
The girl ahead of him said she wanted down for her picture. They all huddled together while her dad knelt on one knee. Telling by his grin, he must’ve been a fan, too.
Aliyah took a drink of water before returning to the table. She nearly spit it out after seeing Kelvin in line.
“Boy, what are you doing?”
He handed her the flyer. “For old time’s sake?”
She snatched it. “You are such a dork.”
She shook her head as she signed. He got it back with one word scribbled across the bottom: Dork!
By the end of the festival, Kelvin stuffed a goodie bag full of trinkets. Anything with the name Rip City on it was fair game: keychains, stickers, wristbands. Aliyah also pulled some extra shirts for him, as well as a name-brand hoodie.
Everybody piled into the Escalade at sunset. By then, most of the vehicles had cleared out. A couple people on the sidewalk snapped pictures.
“We did it,” she said, “I’m exhausted.”
Kelvin scooted in beside her. “You crushed it, by the way.”
“You say that like I competed.”
Tiffany climbed in last. “Great job, everyone.” She tossed her tablet up front then nudged Kelvin with her elbow. “You, too, Kel.”
Aliyah nudged him back. “Hey, I want to take you shopping tomorrow.”
He jostled between them. “What? No need. With everything I got today…”
“Come on, now.” She bumped into him. “I made double for this, and you were a big part of that. Let’s celebrate.”
Tiffany elbowed him again. “Come on, dude. Take the win. She doesn’t do this for everyone.”
Kelvin felt like a pinball.
It was awesome.
They drove out of the parking lot with the windows rolled down. The sun baked the interior that day. Aliyah took off her button-up to keep cool. She said the outfit was hot.
It was.
“I hate to ruin the mood–” She grabbed his hand. “But I do have some bad news.”
“Alright, hit me with it.”
“Laura wants to meet tomorrow. I know that’s supposed to be our day, but I was hoping you’d wanna come with and help us get a jump on things?”
She gripped his hand, and he squeezed back.
“Are you serious? That’s not bad news. That sounds incredible, like a day in the life of Aliyah Gavins?”
She laughed. “Something like that. We can check out the set, get lunch, go shopping.”
“Hell yeah. You know, me and Laura really hit if off last time, so I’m sure she’d love to see me.”
Now Tiffany was the one to laugh. Aliyah reached over and slapped her leg.
“We’ll have to do something big tomorrow night then.”
“Nah, no we don’t. We can just chill on the balcony. That’s always a good time.”
She hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. The bill of her beanie brushed against his neck.
“Alright then. That sounds good to me. Let me know if you change your mind, though, okay?”
The wind whipped through the backseat. Tiffany pulled her phone out to send an email. In front, Markus and Jamal argued over which route to take. Parts of Highway 2 were under construction. Aliyah soon fell asleep on his shoulder, snoring softly.
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