Confessions of a Teenage Caffeine Addict

9 // Five Years and Counting

What a shame we all became such fragile, broken things. —Paramore

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KATIE

DECEMBER // WEEK 3

I stood twenty feet above the ground on some precariously unstable platform watching a bunch of moronic boys chase after some stupid puck they considered to be "life itself." I moved the camera back and forth monotonously, trying to capture every precious detail as Mr. Crowley put it. Isabel was about to launch into one of her tangents pertaining to none other than, yes, Jacob Roswell; thankfully the final buzzer rang, reverberating through my entire being. Somehow, I managed to climb down from the platform without breaking every bone in my body or the stupid video camera. I left Isabel with some goodbye, something along the lines of: Text me later!. I wanted to give this godforsaken, way too expensive video camera to Mr. Crowley and get far away from this damned hockey rink. Some vaguely familiar guy wearing glasses with fire engine red hair passed me and saw me holding the video camera.

"So you're the girl who wanted to tape the Mansfield game so badly, huh?" he asked, stopping and folding his toothpick arms across his skinny chest.

"I didn't want to tape this game to begin with. I was forced!" I snapped at the stranger.

"Bradley Cranston," he stuck his hand out, dismissing my foul mood. "I'm in Mr. Pin's English class with you."

"Katie Hawthorne, nice to meet you, Bradley." I shook his hand somewhat reluctantly after shuffling the cumbersome camera to my other arm. "You were the guy that gave the clever answer today about the skull on the front of Hamlet," I recalled. I didn't make an effort to get to know many people in my classes. I just sat there, trying to get through the day.

"I take my Pin Points very seriously, and besides giving witty answers I also happen to be the guy who usually tapes the hockey games. Mr. Crowley said that some girl really wanted to tape the game tonight... I'm assuming that girl would be you." Bradley gave me a friendly smile and it was at that point that I noticed just how many freckles he really had. I thought about counting them all, but that would be staring which is frowned upon... and also extremely weird.

"I swear I didn't even want to take your job. I'm really sorry," I laughed. I looked Bradley over. He was tall and lanky, towering over me, like most people. In addition to his awkward height, he was pale and though his glasses were slightly too big for his narrow, long face, they kind of made him look like a cute nerd.

"Does this mean I get my job back for the game against Ashford next Tuesday?" he asked me with a grin.

"Of course. It's all yours, Bradley. Sorry for even taking it in the first place," I apologized though I'm not sure why because I had not done this job willingly.

"Don't worry about it. Just make sure it doesn't happen again." He tried to be stern with me, but it's impossible to be mad at me; I'm practically the size of a kitten and I look nothing but innocent.

"I hate hockey," I told him pointedly.

"Well it's probably best then that this isn't your new job," he shrugged as if saying he actually liked hockey. "But you're going to want to take that video camera to one of the coaches. They're usually waiting by the locker rooms."

I gave Bradley a grateful smile. "Thank, see you around," I replied before rushing off to find my pitiful excuse of a father.

I thought about the game on my way to the locker room. We won by two goals, and I have to say that it was kind of exciting. We were ahead by 1 with two minutes left to go in the third period. The other team pulled their goalie out and put an extra player on the ice in a last-ditch effort to tie it up. They almost scored but our goalie was on fire. The other team almost scored and I think I even gasped, but with ten seconds left, we scored, securing the win and the crowd went crazy. Isabel informed me that Jake had scored twice, even though I knew that already because I couldn't take my eyes off him the entire game. He was number 27, thank you again Isabel... At times, Isabel had to remind me to move the camera and stop staring at Jake.