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."
"You know, even if we lose, we still worked hard to get here."
"No. Losing isn't good enough. We need to win, Noel."
"I know," he says. "I'm just saying that you can't beat yourself up if we lose, Jordan. It isn't all your fault."
"I get that, but losing isn't possible. We would be forever known as the team that had it, but let it slip through their fingers. I don't want that. I know that you don't, either."
"You're right, Jordan. I don't. But don't let the pressure get to you. Yes, you're the captain, but you aren't alone. The rest of us have your back. You don't have to carry this weight by yourself."
"Thanks, Noel," I say. "It helps to hear you say that. I've just been feeling a lot of stress, you know? With the game tomorrow, the provincials, and then that's it. It hurts knowing that there are only a few games left. I don't want to leave anymore."
He puts his hands on my shoulders. "Jordan, you're going to play junior next year. You must. It is your destiny, Jordan. The rest of us will manage. They want you to go. I want you to go. It'll hurt our team, sure, but you need to follow your dream. Jordan, chase it. You might not get this chance again."
"God, you sound like Mr. Miagi," I say, laughing.
"Jordan-San," he says with a mock Asian accent. "You must take your dreams, and run with them." He then bows, which makes me laugh harder. He starts to laugh too.
Suddenly, someone comes bursting into the room. "Everyone needs to get out!" He yells. "There's a massive fire downstairs!"
I rush to the kitchen. I begin to fill a pot with water, and bring it downstairs. The fire is bigger than I imagined, and it is spreading fast. I know that salvaging this is impossible. We need to get everyone out, and fast.
I need to find Nicole.
I see Warren in the kitchen. I thrust the cordless phone into his hands. "Call 9-1-1! Now!" I say to him. He nods and rushes off.
I find Nicole in the living and rush to get her out. We also find Noel and Melanie, and get them outside too. Once we are out, we stand outside with everyone else.
"This us bad," I say to Nic.
"How did it start?" She asks.
"Drunkenness is my guess."
"Go figure."
Suddenly, we hear a girls scream. My eyes go wide.
"No," I hear Warren say.
"Someone has to go in," someone says.
"Not me," another says. "You kidding?"
"I'll go," I say.
Noel taps me on the shoulder. "Jordan, are you sure? That's very dangerous!"
"It's fine," I say. "I'll be right back."
I rush in the front door of the burning house. The stairs are still intact, but barely. I feel like I could get up there okay, but getting down might be tricky.
I run up the stairs, and barely make it before the stairs fall away behind me. Guess I'm finding an alternate route to get out.
I check each individual bedroom, coming up empty at each one. I finally find the girl in a bathroom, crouched in the corner.
"Help me!" She yells when she sees me.
I get to her and help her stand up. We move towards the bathroom door, but it erupts in flames in front of us.
"The window," she yells. I kick in the window, shattering it. I look out the window, and see that's it about a ten foot drop.
"We have to jump," I say to the girl. "Land on top of me. That way you won't get hurt."
She nods to me. We take a running start, and dive out of the window together.
We land on the grass outside with a thud. Pain spreads through my back and shoulders as the girl lands on top of me. She stands quickly, and slowly helps me up.
"Are you okay?" She asks me.
"Yes," I say. "I think so."
"Thank you so much," she says, tears welling up in her eyes. "You saved my life."
"I'm glad you're not hurt," I say. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," she says. "I'm glad someone saved me."
"You're Warren's girlfriend, aren't you?"
"Yeah. Did he get out okay?"
"Yes. He kept asking people to come in and save you."
"What a superstar."
"He's in shock," I say. "His house is burning down right in front of his eyes. Cut him some slack."
"I know, I know."
We walk back to the front of the house. We are greeted by our friends. A fire truck has arrived, and they are currently trying to hose down the house.
I meet Nicole, and I drive her home. I then drive home.
"You smell like smoke," my dad says. "What happened?"
"Fire," I say. "Whole house up in smoke."
"Shit. Take a shower then. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Dad. I'm gonna get some sleep."
I shower quickly, washing off all the smoke and grime. As soon as my face hits the pillow, sleep overtakes my body.
______
The song on the side is "Goodbye Stranger", by Supertramp.