Love For A Game

Chapter 29

Game seven is set to be on Saturday afternoon at five. The week leading up to that is exam week. I only have to write four, since my four afternoon classes are electives.

On Tuesday, I have English and Science. In my English exam, we must write an essay on how the play Macbeth compares to To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't see any sort of comparison, so I bullshit my way through it. Knowing I won't get a good mark on it, I hand it in. English isn't my best subject anyway.

Science goes a lot better. I breeze through the multiple choice questions, and the answers to the calculation questions come straight to me, like I've known it all along. I hand it to Mr. Gillespie, confident in myself.

The next day, I have History and Math. The history exam is full of World War Two questions, about Hitler, and the raids of Dieppe and Juno Beach. The long answer question asks me to write an essay on someone who committed an act of bravery. I went off the board and picked Desmond Doss, an American combat medic who got almost a hundred wounded soldiers, including himself, off of Hacksaw Ridge in Japan. He isn't Canadian, but I thought he'd be cool to talk about.

My math exam goes over exponents and bases, a along with Quadratics and algebra. It isn't easy, but I think I do pretty well on it. Eighty percent or higher, I think.

On Friday I get an invitation to attend a party that Warren Bates (a popular junior) is having tonight. On the invitation is an address for what I would assume is his house, along with the acronym BYOB. It means to bring your own beer. It seems that drinking will be a part of it.

I know that I shouldn't go, with it being the night before a big game and all, but I think I could use some fun. I decide that I will go. Nicole tells me the same thing later when I see her.

***

I drive up to Warren's house at eight. I park well away from his house, to avoid traffic afterward, and use an abandoned parking lot a block away. Nic and I get out of the car and begin walking to the house.

"Should we be doing this?" She asks me.

"No," I say sullenly. "We shouldn't. But we're here now. Kinda past the point of no return, huh?"

"I think so," she replies. "You already told him you were coming."

"I mean, we could leave now, before it's too late."

"Nah," she says. "We're already here. We shouldn't leave."

The door to the house is already open. Nic and I walk up and step inside.

Warren sees us and greets us with handshakes. "Glad you guys could make it," he says.

"Thanks, Warren," I say and we walk into his living room.

We find Noel and Melanie sitting in a chair. Mel is in Noel's lap.

"Hey guys," I say.

Noel looks at me. "Jordan! How's it goin', bud?"

"I'm good," I reply. "You?"

"Perfect," he says.

Melanie jumps off his lap, and goes off to talk with Nicole, leaving Noel and I alone.

"Big day tomorrow," he says, and sighs.

"Yup," I reply. "It's finally here."