Once upon a time, there was a man named Andrew Francis. Andrew was born into rich family. There was his dad, Derek, the president of a very important company. He had a mother named Susan and two siblings. These siblings of his were not very nice. Edward was his older brother. He worked for his father and was extremely rude, self-centered, and cocky. And then, there was Renee, the spoiled bratty baby of the bunch. She was spoiled rotten. Renee being the snotty eighteen year old that she was got everything she wanted. The family always fought like crazy. Most of the time everyone sided against Andrew.
When Andrew was twenty six, his parents decided that he should take over the company along with his brother Edward, but that wasn’t his dream. His dream was to become a teacher. Andrew was always being taught by private instructors. They helped him learn a lot, but he wasn’t satisfied with all the knowledge. He wanted to help other children learn many things too. He did just that. He graduated college and became a teacher. That outraged the rest of the family, but regardless of his decision he was still family. So they continued to keep in contact with him.
One day, his mother called him up and said that she was having her social event of the year at the Minneapolis High School Football Field to honor her husband. Andrew’s dad had graduated high school from Minneapolis. Not only was it a place of excitement for Andrew’s father, but also a place of sadness. You see, Derek was injured his senior year on that football field. Derek was supposed to play in college and maybe even go to the NFL. He was that good, but with one slip of his foot, he was done playing football for his entire life. So Susan wanted to honor her husband and also play the annual game of basketball with the Calloways, the Francis’s life long enemies. The Francis’ had won four years in a row and they weren’t about to give up their winning streak now.

Andrew was now a teacher at the Minneapolis High School where he taught Geometry. On a bright and sunny Tuesday morning, the school board hired a new teacher to be across the hall from Andrew. So he decided to get there early to meet the new face and welcome him or her to the building. Turns out, it was a good thing he decided to meet this new teacher because she was the most beautiful woman Andrew ever laid eyes on. She looked vaguely familiar. Her name was Miss C. Angela C. to be exact or at least as exact as she could be without telling her full last name. Andrew thought it was odd that she wouldn’t tell him, but nonetheless he was polite and still was quite fond of her.
Over time, the two became good friends and even started going on dates. Andrew remembered that Sunday was his mother’s social event. He thought it would be a good idea to invite Angela to go with him as his date. So later in the day Andrew asked Angela and she said that she was already invited to a social gathering that day. Andrew was crushed, but he told himself that everything would be okay because the Francis family was still going to play the annual game of basketball and that happened to be his favorite sport.
On that Sunday morning, he woke up early and showered. He had to make sure he looked his best for his mother. So he dressed up in his best suit and tie and packed a change of clothes for the basketball game later in the day in the high school gymnasium. He arrived early to help greet guests and set up along side Renee and Edward.
First on the itinerary was to set up for the chairs and tables. Except for some odd reason, the current high school football team was practicing, which meant everything would be behind schedule as the Francis’ hadn’t even started setting up. So, everyone sat and watched in the bleachers until they were done practicing. Then, they started to set up the tables. Edward and Andrew heard a loud screech. It was Renee. She had just broken a nail. She whined and complained. She said she wasn’t going to help set up anymore, but Edward and Andrew needed help. They tried and tried to convince her, but she just wouldn’t help any longer. Finally, their mother came over to them and asked about the commotion. Renee as usual whined and complained so she got out of helping. “She still gets her way,” Andrew thought. “Oh well, I guess some things never change.”
Finally, they finished setting up and started the ceremony. Susan stood up and started giving her speech about Derek. Andrew was caught daydreaming after his mother said, “Hello everyone. Thanks for coming. My name is Susan Francis.” His mother was not very interesting to listen to. She had a whiny, scratchy voice, which Renee also inherited. So Andrew started looking around at the audience of a hundred or more. He saw a woman. She looked very familiar, but yet different. He thought he had known her from before, and then he figured it out and said to himself, “Angela. Miss C. ANGELA CALLOWAY! I can’t believe this!” She looked so different with her non-teacher wardrobe. She was all dressed up in her new fall dress that Andrew had helped pick out. She was beautiful as always.
After the ceremony, they had cake and punch. His mother came " to him and asked, “Where’s your date? I thought you were bringing a date.” He decided to keep the Angela thing quiet. Boy, would the family have a fit about that! Plus, they weren’t exactly over the whole teacher thing so he decided it was best to keep quiet. “Oh, she couldn’t come today. She had a family party to go to.” His mother looked at him and said, “Sorry, love. Maybe another time. I’d sure like to meet her. She sounded lovely over the phone.”

Andrew went and found Angela and dragged her behind the bleachers. He wanted to know why she hadn’t told him. Angela said, “I wanted to, I really did, but our families are enemies. I didn’t want to ruin it right off the bat for us.” Then, Andrew told her that they should probably tell their families. They decided they would. Tonight, after the basketball game.

As two families got ready for the game, Andrew couldn’t stop thinking about Angela and Angela couldn’t stop thinking about him. The game was about to begin. They all shook hands and the game began. The score was tied throughout the game until the last half. The Calloway’s were behind by seven. Jane, Angela’s sister, called a timeout because her phone was ringing. So both families went into their makeshift locker rooms. The Calloways’ had Mrs. Fisher’s room and the Francis’ had the weight room. Jane ran into the Francis’ locker room. She said she had an emergency so she had to leave the game. They needed another player on the Calloway team to make the teams fair. She looked around the room for volunteers and timidly Andrew raised his shaking hand. Jane left. Then the family cornered Andrew against a wall and his father said, “Listen, son. This is our chance. Tell them to make a play that we can score on. Don’t let us down.” He didn’t know what would happen next, but the game went on. Andrew played hard. It was much easier being on the same team as his sweetheart.


In the last quarter, the two teams were tied. They both took another time out to strategize. In the Calloway locker room, there was a cricket. A noisy cricket. No one could concentrate, but they had to pick a play that would make them win. Andrew thought about his father’s words. Then Angela. The Calloways were so close, and they weren’t going to give up now. That darn cricket! It was so annoying. The pressure was on. The cricket was chirping away. Andrew suggested a play. The cricket chirped in agreement. The others rejected it. Angela said, “No, let’s go with his play. I think we have a shot with it.” So they decided to take their chances. The Calloway team was going to be so mad if the other team won because of a stupid cricket.


The game continued. The score remained tied. The pressure was on and the players were growing weary. There was thirty seconds left on the clock. It was still a tie ball game. The Francis’ had the ball, the Calloways took it back. Angela had the ball. She passed to Andrew. There was five seconds left. He had to make the shot. Angela would be mad if he didn’t. After all, she got her family to side with him. But what about his family? What about them? And that stupid cricket. Of all things to think about, it was that annoying creature. It made him forget what he was going to do. Was he supposed to shoot or pass the ball? He couldn’t remember. That darn cricket! Then he snapped out of it. He heard Angela yell, “Shoot!” He made it. Thank God! Andrew relaxed a little and cracked a smile when Angela came up to congratulate him. Then he remembered his family. The smile faded. He went back to the locker room and prepared for a lecture. Instead, everyone was quiet so he quickly put his things away in his gym bag and left. He felt the small rectangular box. He took it out and put it in his pocket. He bumped into Angela on the way out. He gently grabbed her hand and led her to the front of the school. She wondered why he was so quiet. She tried to start a conversation, but he shushed her. He got down on one knee, and said, “Angela, will you marry me?” Angela squealed with delight and said, “Yes, yes. A million times yes!” And with that, the family feud ended and Andrew’s family gave him a break. All because of Andrew making the winning shot, which almost didn’t happen because of the tiny, obnoxious creature. In the end, they all lived happily ever after, even the cricket. The End.