CHAPTER EIGHT: the calm before the storm
The team was gathered around a long table, eating breakfast before they left to fly out to the junior goodwill games. don tibbles had told them he had a surprise, which she assumed was the stand covered with a red sheet to the left of the table.
andrea sat between julie and adam, the two girls engaging in conversation as adam watched andrea talk, listening intently to both girls with a smile on his face.
"-and then one of our old teammates knocked him down, but the goal still went in!" andrea finished, recounting the story of their peewee win to julie, who nodded along.
andrea turned to adam. "i was so worried, you know."
adam smiled, and he was sure his heart was beating so loud that she could hear it. he took her hand partly to reassure her, and party because he wanted to. "don't worry, andy. im fine."
charlie watched them from down on the other side of the table. guy, who sat beside him, followed his gaze. "whatcha looking at, charlie?"
charlie snapped his eyes away, looking at guy and then down to his food, stirring his yogurt cup around with his spoon. "nothing."
guy debated on whether or not he should say anything, before speaking up again. "you have a thing for andrea, huh?"
charlie vehemently shook his head. "no, no i just... i mean, don't get me wrong, she's funny, and i like it when she gets flustered and pretends she's angry at me, she's, like, really good at hockey, not to mention she's really pretty and-"
guy cuts him off. "and you like her."
"yeah." charlie gives him a smile that is a mix of sheepishness, embarrassment, and admission. "but apparently she hates me."
guy looked around to make sure nobody was listening, leaning a bit closer to charlie. "just between me and you, i don't think she hates you anymore."
charlie sat up straighter. "really? she told you that?"
guy hesitated. "well... no. she definitely used to dislike you, but lately she seems... i don't know, she just seems to tolerate you more."
charlie nods, taking this in as his gaze falls on her and adam again. she's back in her conversation with julie, when fulton jokes from across from her. she points an accusatory finger at him, saying something that charlie can't hear, earning laughs from those around her. adam is just staring down at her with a smile on his face, looking lost in thought.
"do you... do you think she and banks like each other?" charlie asks guy, hoping for a second opinion that will make him feel better.
guy watched them for a second. "i mean, they've been best friends forever. it does kind of look like he likes her..."
who wouldn't? charlie thought.
"... but i don't think she knows it. i mean, she definitely cares about him, they are best friends, after all. but i don't think she likes him in the way he likes her." guy finished.
charlie slightly freezes as andrea catches his eye. she hesitates, unsure of what to do. if it was any other day, she'd send him a fierce scowl, but just yesterday, they had been laughing and skating and dancing.
she landed on sending him a very small, tight-lipped smile.
don tibbles entered the room, catching their attention as he walks towards whatever is hidden under the sheet.
"are you guys ready? okay, three, two, one... ta da!" he exclaims as he pulls the sheet away, revealing a large, cardboard sheet that looked like the design of a wheaties cereal box... with their faces on it.
the kids murmured, mostly about how cool it was to be one of the (many) faces on the big red box. dwayne pointed to the display. "hey, y'all! that's us!"
"duh, really?" fulton jokes, causing andrea to smile and earning a few laughs from the others.
don clears his throat. "today, it's a wheaties box. tomorrow, it's video games, action figures, lunch boxes- the sky is the limit! now, just to make sure that everybody knows who you are, try on one of these!"
he pulls out a red, blue, and white jersey from a box, the letters U.S.A printed in bold text on the front. andrea noticed the excessively large hendrix promotion lining the back, and she can't help but feel the slight bit less excited.
"brought to you by those wonderful people at hendrix!" he added, beginning to toss jerseys out to their owners.
andrea caught hers, studying it. it was nice, good quality. she didn't know what the big deal was, it just... it wasn't a ducks jersey.
Class with miss mckay wasn't as boring as andrea had predicted. the team sat outside, some on the grass, some perched on rocks. the wind was warm and light, just a small breeze that was barely noticeable.
"ancient greece was the beginning of western civilization. see, in greece, they didn't have professional sports, or wheaties boxes." miss mckay explained. "so the athletes competed for another reason. anybody?"
goldberg answers first. "falafels?"
some people laugh, others shake their heads, andrea just simply wondering what a falafel even was. she assumed it was a food, but she'd always been a picky eater.
charlie raised his hand, miss mckay promptly calling on him in hopes of a better answer than goldberg's. "pride?" charlie said.
"that's right." miss mckay nodded. "the various city-states waved their flags and wore their home colors proudly."
"did america always dominate?" fulton asked, clad in his team u.s.a tracksuit, just like the rest of them.
some people laughed, dean quick to defend fulton, obviously having had the same question.
miss mckay smiled. "no, america wasn't around back then. don't forget that compared to other countries, america is still young, forming its own identity. america is a teenager, just like you."
jesse looked up. "like us?"
their tutor nodded. "you bet. a little awkward at times, but always right there on the verge of greatness."
"I don't know but i've been told!" coach bombay sang from his seat in his little golf cart, team u.s.a rollerblading behind him.
the team repeated after him. "i don't know what i've been told!"
andrea skated towards the front, beside fulton and dean. she'd talked to the two boys at breakfast, and though she already knew fulton, she began to become a little bit more fond of dean. on the outside, he was a big, mean, goon.
but as she hung around him a little bit more, she could see he was only mean to those who pushed around him and his friends. it was his way of taking care of those close to him. he could also be pretty funny.
she glanced behind her quickly, spotting charlie towards the middle of the group. he wasn't looking at her, thank god, because she couldn't deal with the embarrassment and the teasing that would come if he caught her staring.
he wore his tracksuit like the rest of them, a simple white t-shirt on underneath. his hair was fluffy, like it always was, a smile on his face. though it pained her, andrea couldn't help but think he looked good.
not that he ever had looked bad. andrea always thought he looked- what was she doing? stop thinking about charlie! she forced herself to look away.
"team u.s.a's gonna win the gold!" bombay continued, altering the lyrics.
the team kept skating after him, calling out again. "u.s.a's gonna win the gold!"
"listen up and listen good!"
andrea sang with her friends. "listen up and listen good!"
as they continued the song, her mind wandered, nerves twisting her stomach as she prayed the tournament would go smoothly.
she would later find that god didn't seem to be listening.
AUTHOR SPEAKS!
a bit of a filler, but whatev