Wednesday, two days before the fateful weekend...

"So, Ja'Marco," began Alex Callaway, the oldest of five boys, as he, Ja'Marco, and several other young men (not counting the younger Quitman heirs as well as Reichen and his friends, Martin, and Joseph) enjoyed a gourmet steak-and-seafood luncheon during an extensive lunch period. "We know that this weekend is going to be memorable for you once you learn about your family legacy. I bet you're really excited to finally be let in on the games in this town of ours."

Ja'Marco looked up from his small salad appetizer. "I'm just keeping things simple, to say the least," he commented, staring into the sea-green eyes of the basketball captain. "But contrary to belief, I am interested in the surprises. As a matter of fact, I do love surprises. They're so...well, surprise-y."

Lachlan snickered. "Clever," he purred.

Sure enough, it was two days until the planned three-day weekend as Melinda and Frederich had arranged for Ja'Marco to meet up with the young heirs of the oldest families in Glenview Valley. Despite his original plans to catch up with the reading while wanting to learn more about the town's history, he knew that his family wouldn't give him peace until he complied. So after a morning spent in classwork, he was sitting down to the planned luncheon with the young heirs, his four paramours, and his half-brothers and cousins in a private dining room of Chandler's Bistro.

"We must admit that you've been a bit hardy when you first came here over the summer," Colton Devens, the co-captain of the soccer team, noted with a bit of sharpness in his tone. "From what we learned, you were ready to jump ship and head back to California thanks to spending time with Freeman and her gang trying to scare you off."

"No doubt that he heard about some of the false rumors spread to smear our school," Bradenton remarked. "He's been spending most of his life with his circle of nobodies that's basically nonexistent since one of them joined our ranks..." He motioned towards Martin, who only smirked. "while the others basically saved face and left town."

"And besides, Jay's in need of some proper friends who can continue to coax him out of that shell so he can unleash his true potential," Joseph added. "The more time he spends with us and less time with the lower-echelons who want to scare newcomers away, the better off he'll be."

Yeah, but at what cost? Ja'Marco thought as he snuck a glance at two well-dressed young women giggling at something on the phone.

"Ja'Marco," Felix said, making the teen in question snap out of his reverie. "This weekend's going to be when you'll soon see what it's like to be a part of our sacred brotherhood. Not only that, you'll soon meet somebody who's been keeping his eye on you for the longest- someone whom has helped us and this town become what we all are today."

"I'm looking forward to it," he commented as the main courses began to arrive and the men started to dig in.

"Now, this Friday is when you'll be spending the day at my place," Lachlan reminded as he cut into his porterhouse steak while looking at Ja'Marco. "Me and thr guys have been commissioned by your Mom and her family to keep you occupied until the brunch on Saturday at your home. From there, we'll all troop out to the beachside barbeque where we'll showcase the BIG reveal!"

"Which will be kept in secret," Reichen reminded. "No need to give things away to spoil the surprise."

"But of course," Ja'Marco replied before taking a bite of his baked potato. "I waited this long to finally get some answers, although I'm not sure about what they are yet, I can wait a little longer."

Logan Beckworth, one of GVA's resident bad boys, chuckled darkly. "No need to let the pessimism try and defer you into hiding into your shell again, bro," the redheaded jock said in a snake-charmer purr. "Let your mind be free and let your soul find freedom in being sensual, dominant, masculine, and passionate about your true self. There's no telling what you might find once you do so."

"Definitely," Isaac remarked with Ivan nodding in assent. "If you stayed in California, you wouldn't have been part of a brotherhood who wants you to succeed. Trust in the Triton Mystique, Ja'Marco. Trust yourself."

Ja'Marco smiled wanly, already tired of hearing the reminds of letting himself be successful and bold over and over again. "I'll keep that in mind," he said.

"Good," Colton purred as he and his classmates let their eyes flash sea-green in power, making Ja'Marco gulp. Freaky, said teen thought to himself.

The meal continued on with chit-chat flowing freely right down to the dessert. Thirty minutes later, it was time to head back to class as Adam and Alex had the pleasure to drive him back to school. "You did good today, bro," the former said. "And you proved to our fellow brothers that you belong with us. By this time on Saturday, you'll be making more friends and establishing more contacts in the future. You're bound to open a LOT of doors if you allow yourself to, Ja'Marco. Continue to trust in our plan and you can't go wrong."

"I'll bet," Ja'Marco said sotto voce. And once I do learn the truth, I'll have to make the ultimate decision that could change the games completely.

***************

Meanwhile...

"All right, y'all," Melinda announced as her family and the Quitman men settled down in the spacious conference room of the main office. "All the details for this weekend have been arranged and there's zero room for any errors no matter how big or small. The events for this weekend will start off with all of us setting things up while my son's with Lachlan and his friends on Friday and will end on Sunday where we'll explain everything to him."

"What about those nobodies who will be on our tail?" Francis asked, his voice hard as he and his brothers stared down at the older woman. "I know that Nassau already set the record straight with them and their families; but I think that the preacher's son will still try and crash the events."

"We'll be around their home to keep them busy," Gianna piped up, Ciara nodding in assent. "If they wanna go out, then my cousin and I will be on their tails to keep them away from Ja'Marco if they know what's good for them. And we'll have the police on standby to have them arrested if they do get fresh on us."

"What about the Yuen duo?" Mara asked.

"They're not going to be a problem," her husband assured her. "Last time that Pops and I checked, they said that they're going to let things be. They'll be out of town visiting family in Boston, from what I know."

"As for Jeremiah, we-"

"What about me?" came the countrified voice of the older man in question as he stood in the doorway with a scowl on his face.

Joel sneered. "We're just making sure that you or the other nobodies won't try and ruin this weekend by crashing," he said in a gruff tone. "And we will not hesitate to have you arrested and banned from teaching ever again if you dare do anything to ruin my grandson's future."

"As if, you old coot. If anything, whatever that you're planning when it comes to my nephew could put him in danger," Jeremiah shot back. "I dunno what y'all are up to, but it's not going to fly by with me or my nephew. And if it does involve something regarding the devil, you better believe that I'm invoking Jonah and Lizzadine's spirt to keep him away from the likes of all of you."

"Be mindful what you say to the Hedares, Mr. Colby," Frederich warned. "You're on thin ice as it already is."

"I will. Just be mindful of what can happen if Ja'Marco doesn't like what's going on under his nose. And if he plans to run away from home if he does find out about your misdeeds, I will only say that I told you so. I'm watching all of you, so mind yourselves or else you will get hurt."

"Is that a threat?" Wayne asked darkly, standing to his feet as he clenched his fists.

"No, sir. It's a promise." With that, Jeremiah sauntered away, shutting the door behind him.

Rose shook her head. "Something tells me that Colby is planning to find out about the whole story himself so he can tell the others," she said crisply. "I think it's time that we finally take things to a new level."

"Quite," Ciara agreed. "Ad for Adamson, Turner, Thade, and Freeman? Maybe they can do more good for us than they can realize. If we play our cards right...we can have them on our side for the perfect ace in the hole."

"Possible," Ferguson remarked, "but we'll have to call a true ourselves before we can do anything."

"Why?" Melinda groaned.

Francis smiled, eyes glowing in power. "Who else we can recruit if push does come to shove this Friday?" he asked.

As the realization of the idea sank in, gentle reader, a silent arrangement was about to form before Melinda herself would make one phone call. And that was all it took for things to take shape.

Ooh, wee! I smell the tea being boiled and ready to be steeped! You can bet that the final five chapters are going to be game-changing, starting with Chanel's confession that takes place in the next chapter!

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