Unsolved Mystery...

Well, my weekend had it's excitement, but that's just a normal weekend for me. I'll begin by saying that I did not lose to any nerds in poker. I did not play poker and stuck to the blackjack tables. Just as well, the girl (guy?) that was dealing hated me and dealt me 15 on every hand... I had fun though, plenty of chickens, lots of cookies, and Penny were there to comfort me.

Saturday rolls around and I return to Houston with Nick so he can find a 4-Runner to purchase. It seems that taking your roommate car shopping with you isn't seen as a very hetero thing to do... I'm pretty sure the salesman at the first dealership we went to thought we were "together." Asking us if it was our first car, asking what we were looking for, etc. I didn't help by pulling out Rafiek's card when the salesman asked for Nick's landlord's information. We're just roommates... So at the second dealership we go to, I introduce myself as Gavin, Nick's brother. Nick was taken by surprise, I explained later that being brothers is not gay and informed him that my middle name was Lee. Now, I don't know why I created a whole new name when I think Christopher David Cleavelin would have been just as believable... Oh well, why not.

Now Sunday was as eventful as ever. I attended church, helped paint the college auditorium (which is looking pretty sweet, especially my wall), but the main event of the day was going to be our potluck. I had some potroast in the slow cooker and some others were bringing side dishes and desserts. Tiffany and Gage brought a tasty cake and delicious cinammon muffins. Kevin whipped up some mashed potatoes, Kasey brought some bread, Jason brought the drinks, and I added some corn. It was a good meal.

Afterwards we hung out a little bit, but slowly people begin to leave until it was only me, Nick, Gage and Karen in the living room. Dooley was in his room, playing with guns sure enough. The silence was broken by the cock of a gun. Gage and Karen jump and look at us wide-eyed. Nick and I laugh, Nick adds, "I think it's funny that we're complely used to it and we don't even budge anymore..." A few minutes later, a loud BANG is heard in Dooley's room. Nick turns in the chair, knocks the lamp over, and falls backwards onto the floor. That got his attention. What the heck was that? He has trouble standing, but finally manages to open the door and run out. I follow, along with the girls. Soon, I come back inside, while the other kids are hesitant to do so. I am met by the smell of gunpowder as I walk down the hall. Dooley meets me halfway, walking around disoriented. "What the...what...what was that...What just happened..." he mutters as he examines the wall. What is he looking for, bullet holes? Dooley's whole body is shaking and his eye is twitching. He goes back to his room and I stand there with a "What?" look on my face, the other kids enter and we return to the couch... Dooley returns to the living room with his laptop case in his hand, ready to leave for work, but still shaken up. "What was that?" I asked. He tells us that it was a firecracker and he didn't know what happened, his body still shaking and his lip quivering as he spoke. I said, "Did you light it?" And he says he did, but thought he could extinguish the fuse before it blew. Why did he not know what had happened if he was the one that lit it, why was he so freaked out when I came back in, how did he not blow his fingers off? After he left, I told the others the strange behavior I had witnessed upon entering the house and I was sure the firecracker was a cover story. I investigated, searching for bullet holes in the walls, ceiling, furniture, but found nothing. I also searched for firecracker pieces that would surely be all over the carpet if one had gone off, but also found nothing. There's no way he could have cleaned up all the mess that a firecracker would have left, but I checked the trashcans just in case. No luck, no clues. What really happened on the night of July 24th? More importantly, am I safe living in my house? We may never know. It's yet another unsolved mystery...