Shaking his head, Mike knelt on the floor. “Mark, if I rip myself in half, I’m going to blame you.”
Mark patted Mike on the shoulder. “Well, whatever you do, you better make it look good.” He looked past Mike and motioned in that direction with his head.
Mike turned to find the rest of the group in the gym had gathered to watch. “Oh, God!”
Donnie caught his eye and nodded, urging Mike on.
“Here goes nothin’.” Mike lowered himself and lay face down on the floor. Deliberately, he stuck his arms out from his sides at right angles and placed his feet together. Tommy moved to one side while David made his way to the other. Mark and another boy took their places by Mike’s feet. Glancing upward, Mike spied Gwen standing partly obscured behind the circle of faces. Her expression was passive and betrayed nothing but interest.
Lying face down, Mike closed his eyes and tensed every muscle in his body. “Okay!” he breathed. Slowly, the four boys began to lift. Mike could feel pressure on his chest and stomach. It felt as if he were going to tear in half. The boys continued to lift until Mike was about a half metre off the floor. He began to tremble as they moved slowly ahead until finally he collapsed with a sigh.
“All right!” Tommy shouted, patting Mike on the back as he rolled over and sat up. There was scattered clapping and a few whoops from the group standing around. Donnie was smiling, wide-eyed, as he applauded furiously.
“That was great, Mike,” Mark said. “Most people don’t even get off the floor the first time they try. You’re built like Tommy and me. Thick and thick! You’re an airplane expert just waiting to happen.”
Tommy and the other guys laughed.
The group scattered and continued to practise the different events. Mike stood and rubbed his chest.
“Hey,” Tommy said, “your girlfriend’s about to do the high kick. Watch this. She’s really good, but, hey, I’m amazing.”
Mike gave Tommy a playful shove and turned to watch. Gwen was alternately lifting her knees as high as possible as she warmed up.
“What exactly is she supposed to do?” Mike asked Tommy.
“Well, see that little toy seal hanging in the air from that pole?”
Mike nodded.
“Gwen has to jump in the air and kick it with one of her feet. The trick is, she has to land back on that same foot and regain her balance. If she lands on the other foot or loses her balance and puts the other foot down, it doesn’t count.”
“You’ve got to be kidding?” Mike murmured. “That toy seal’s higher than her head.”
“Just watch.”
Gwen walked up to the little seal and gazed at it intently. It was as if she were staring it down or trying to intimidate it. The seal was suspended slightly higher than her head. Slowly, she backed away and stopped. She started to rock back and forth, and the muscles in her calves balled up and relaxed. Suddenly, she jogged forward and exploded upward, kicking as she lifted off. The toes of her right foot extended above her head, striking the seal and sending it spinning upward before she landed expertly back on her right foot. Holding her arms out at her sides, she stabilized herself on her right foot and gained control before she lowered her left foot to the ground.
“Unbelievable,” Mike said.
“Your girl’s quite the athlete,” Tommy whispered in his ear. “I bet she was thinking about that kiss right before she jumped.” Mike punched Tommy in the arm, and Tommy grabbed him around the neck. They jostled for a moment or two before they settled down and laughed at each other.
“Let me try that lacrosse racket,” Tommy said, pointing at Donnie, who was still holding both sticks.
Mike moaned. “They’re called sticks. Just like hockey sticks. If you call them rackets again, I might have to beat you up a second time.”
Tommy snorted. “You beat me up? I almost killed you back there.” They bumped each other repeatedly as they hustled to the far end of the gym with Donnie. When they got there, Mike and Donnie dragged the net out of the storage room and set it up under the basket.
“Now that’s one strange, ugly-looking net,” Tommy said. “It looks even stranger than the rackets.”
Mike scooped up the ball and ran away from the net. Turning, he fired the ball overhand without hesitation. It ripped into the top left corner of the net.
“Jeez!” Tommy gasped. “Give me that stick, Donnie.” Donnie handed Tommy the other stick. He held it in his hands, pushed his fist into the pocket of the mesh, then held it up facing Mike.
“Pass the ball, Mike. Let me take a shot.”
Mike lightly tossed the ball, but instead of catching it, Tommy swatted it just as Donnie had his first day. The ball bounced across the floor and back at the pocket of the stick.
“Okay, I guess it’s harder than it looks,” Tommy said.
Mike retrieved the ball and instructed Tommy to let the stick give as the ball hit the pocket. This time he caught it easily.
“Oh, yeah!” Tommy yelled. Turning, he reared back and fired the ball. It sailed straight out of the stick and hit the roof of the gym. The surprise on his face was priceless. “Okay, okay, so I need some practice. Toss it here again.”
Tommy was determined, and over the next few minutes he had Mike pass him ball after ball. Each time his shots were visibly better. Soon he was hitting the net every time. He was a natural athlete.
“You’re looking good, Tommy,” Mike said. “You’ll get better in no time. Here, let me show you a few things.”
Tommy passed the ball, and without stopping, Mike shot in quick stick fashion as the ball hit the pocket of his stick. It sunk into the net. Tommy shook his head. Scooping the ball out of the net, Mike fired it in once more from behind his back, then underhand, and finally side arm.
“Okay, Tommy, try to take it away,” Mike challenged.
Tommy grinned and moved in front of Mike. He swatted hard at Mike’s stick, but Mike quickly swung it over his shoulder and then off to the side. It was as if the ball were glued in the pocket. Soon everyone in the gym had gathered around and was watching with interest.
It was no use. Even when Tommy managed to strike Mike’s stick, Mike maintained control by cradling the ball. Then Mike passed Tommy the ball and quickly made him lose it or swatted it out of his stick. Soon some of the other boys wanted to try, and the sticks and ball were handed around as everyone had a turn.
“Hey, Gwen, do you want to give it a shot?” Mike asked.
Caught off guard by Mike’s question, Gwen flushed. She hesitated to turn away, then stopped. “No thanks, Mike.” She didn’t smile, but she didn’t frown, either. “You did better at the airplane than most people when they try it the first time.”
Mike opened his mouth, but no words came out. Donnie was laughing over Gwen’s shoulder. She turned quickly, gathered her things, and left the gym. Feeling a hand on his right shoulder, then on his left, Mike turned to see Tommy and David standing on either side of him.
“Isn’t young love just wonderful, David?” Tommy asked.
“It sure is, Tommy. I think Mike and his woman should go on a date. I don’t think she’s called any of us by our first names in years. Hmm … Gwen Watson. It does have a nice ring.”
That night Mike lay in his dark bedroom, hands supporting the back of his head, eyes focused on the posters on the walls. He didn’t really see them. Instead he replayed the events of the day in his mind. The Arctic Sports were awesome, and Tommy, David, Mark, and Gwen were all unbelievable athletes.
Gwen. A queasy warmth rippled through his stomach. He touched his cheeks. The heat had risen and settled there. Gwen had actually talked to him today. It was fleeting, but she did say something nice. Mike rolled over, reached for the shortwave radio, turned it on, and scrolled through the channels. Even though he couldn’t understand a word, he liked to stop for a few seconds to listen to some of the different languages he ran across. The sports were unbelievable, too: hockey, basketball, soccer, and of course lacrosse. After
briefly listening to a few games that were underway, he found what he was looking for.
The Toronto Rock were playing the Buffalo Bandits in the Air Canada Centre. John Tavares played for Buffalo. He was a terrific forward and was the NLL’s leading scorer of all time. Mike listened intently as he absorbed the flow of the game. Tavares scored, and Mike shook his head. When he listened to lacrosse games on radio, he seemed to feel the matches more than he did when he watched them on television. He didn’t tell people that because he didn’t think they would understand. Closing his eyes, he sank back into the intensity of the game, a grin on his face.
CHAPTER 15
The next few weeks were a lot of fun. Mike had six lacrosse sticks at home. Each day he brought them to the gym after school, and the guys took turns fooling around with the ball. They caught on fast. Mike, for his part, looked on with amazement as they practised the different events for Arctic Sports. There were various kicks of different heights, the kneel jump, the airplane, the one-hand reach, the knuckle hop, and the head pull. All of the events were extremely difficult, and Mike realized even more what incredible athletes his friends were. He tried each of the events and was pretty bad at them, with the exception of the airplane. It seemed each time he tried that event he went a little farther than before. The boys were all impressed. After one particularly good try in which he covered a decent distance, Gwen even said, “Good one, Mike,” as she walked by. She still wasn’t that friendly, but the hate she had exhibited before seemed to have cooled somewhat.
With his short, compact build, Tommy was unbelievable. The height he achieved in the kicks was out of this world. Mike understood now why Tommy got such incredible hang time on the basketball court. But the most amazing thing happened one day when they played a quick game of three-on-three lacrosse.
It had become a pattern each day. Mike and Donnie arrived after the Arctic Sports guys were in the gym. They set up the lacrosse net at the other end and began shooting the ball around. Donnie was still pretty terrible but was obviously having fun. Mike could tell it made him feel part of the crowd to be there and play a little.
After a while, Mike joined the other boys to practise the airplane and some of the other Arctic events. At the same time some of the guys fooled around with the lacrosse sticks. About twenty minutes before their time in the gym was finished, everyone took turns playing three-on-three lacrosse, trying to make five passes before they scored on the net.
On the day the amazing thing happened, Mike, Donnie, and Mark played against Tommy, David, and another boy named Dennis Selamio. Mike was standing farthest away from the net when Donnie trapped a loose ball beside the net. He yelled at Donnie to pass the ball out so they could set things up. Donnie tried to lob the ball to Mike, but Tommy intercepted the pass. After briefly hesitating, Tommy hurtled toward Donnie and the net. Donnie’s eyes grew huge behind his glasses, then narrowed in determination. He set his feet wide apart, bent low, and held his stick out in front, ready to bump Tommy off the ball. Donnie was too stationary, though, and Mike knew all Tommy had to do was make a quick move to blow past him before passing the ball.
Tommy was at full speed, charging straight for Donnie. Mike tensed as he realized Tommy had no intention of deking around Donnie. He was too close, and a head-on collision was inevitable. Donnie closed his eyes and prepared for the impact. As if in slow motion, Tommy pushed off with his muscular thighs and left his feet. Lifting himself into a tuck, he narrowly cleared Donnie’s head and landed in a full run on the other side. When he pulled up beside the net, he turned and laughed.
Donnie stood facing away from the net, eyes tightly closed, stick held at arm’s length in front of him. As laughter erupted around him, he opened his eyes and squinted. Turning slowly, he spotted Tommy doubled over, still laughing beside the net. “You jumped right over my head, didn’t you?”
“I sure did,” Tommy said. “Cleared your brush cut by, oh, maybe a millimetre.”
“You could’ve taken my head off!”
Tommy, who had stopped laughing for a moment, broke out again in laughter so hard that he fell on his butt and rolled around.
When Donnie realized everybody else was sniggering, chuckling, or tittering, including Mike, he wailed, “It’s not funny!”
Mike started to feel bad and walked over to his friend. “Donnie, I wasn’t laughing at you. I’ve just never seen anything so incredible in my life. What Tommy did would be amazing to see in a real game. Can you imagine?”
“Yeah, actually, I can. I just lived through it, if you didn’t notice.”
Tommy approached the two. “I’m really sorry, Donnie You’re a good sport. I promise I won’t do it again. When a friend tells me not to do something, I stop.”
Donnie glanced at Mike, then back at Tommy. “Well, I guess it’s okay, Tommy. I know you weren’t trying to hurt me or anything.”
Mike shook his head. “That was awesome! My buddies in St. Albert would never believe something like that could happen.”
Tommy seemed a little embarrassed. “Hey, Mike, I was just fooling around. I have to go now, but we’ll catch you tomorrow. This lacrosse stuff is actually a lot of fun.”
“Tommy,” Mike said, “do you think you and Donnie and some of the guys would like to come over sometime and watch lacrosse DVDs? I’ve got some from NLL games that show some pretty mind-boggling stuff. It might be fun.”
“I’d like that,” Tommy said. “See you guys later.” He turned and jogged away.
Mike focused his attention on Donnie. “You up for that, too, Donnie?”
Donnie was staring after Tommy and didn’t seem to hear Mike.
“Earth to Donnie,” Mike said, grinning.
Donnie finally came out of his trance. “Tommy said I was his friend. None of these guys have called me their friend before. They hardly ever talk to me.”
“I told you, Donnie. All it takes is for people to get to know you. Then they realize what a great guy you are. Let’s get out of here I’ve got a pile of homework to do.”
CHAPTER 16
Boys, bags of chips, and bottles of pop were scattered everywhere in the living room of the Watson home when Ben walked in one night after work. As soon as Mike spotted his father, he got up from the DVD player and grinned. “Hey, Dad!”
The room became quiet as all the boys glanced at Ben.
“Hey, Mr. W!” Donnie chirped.
“Hey, yourself, Donnie,” Ben said.
Mike motioned at his father. “Guys, this is my dad.”
“Hey, everybody,” Ben said, waving.
There was a rumbling of hellos and some waves as the boys shyly acknowledged Ben.
“You guys make yourselves at home,” Ben said as he threaded his way through the bodies to get to the stairs. “I’m heading up to change out of my uniform. I’ll see you in a bit.”
When Ben returned downstairs, he took a chair from the kitchen and joined the boys, who were watching a portion of a DVD where all the big lacrosse hits were being shown.
“Jeez!” David Elanik cried. “They can’t do that. That guy wound up and gave the other guy a two-handed chop.”
“Oh, yes, they can,” Mike said. “In lacrosse you can cross-check, and as long as it isn’t too vicious, they let you hammer a guy like that.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Mark Kikoak said.
“I’m not kidding. Ask my dad. You can cross-check or body-check. Either way.”
Everybody turned toward Ben, who cleared his throat. “Well, you guys are watching the National Lacrosse League. They let a little more go at that level than at the level you boys would play. But you’d still be able to cross-check, hit, and chop each other a bit like you see on TV.”
“Oh!” the boys shouted collectively as two players sandwiched each other at full speed, sending their sticks into the air as they fell heavily to the floor.
“Oh, man, I’d love to play this game,” Mark said.
“It’s even rougher than hockey.”
“That might seem to be the case,” Donnie said to everyone’s surprise. “However, statistically there are far fewer injuries in lacrosse than hockey. This might interest you guys, too. I’ve been surfing the Net. Lacrosse was our only national sport before they officially added hockey. It was invented by aboriginal peoples, and one game could last for days. It was like a big game and party all at the same time. Box lacrosse came later, and though it looks rough, more guys get hurt bad in hockey and football. Most of the injuries in lacrosse are smaller stuff. Right now it’s one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.”
The room was silent for a moment, then Tommy shouted, “Oh, my God! Did you see that!”
Everyone’s attention was on the television again. Donnie looked around sheepishly. Ben caught his eye, nodded, and smiled. Seeing some form of validation, Donnie grinned and resumed watching the television, too.
As they followed the action on the screen, Mike faintly heard the doorbell ring and his mother greeting someone at the back entrance. His attention drifted back to the screen, and he let go with a “Yaaaa!” as a Rochester Nighthawk player scored a great behind-the-back goal. It took a few seconds, but he finally realized the rest of the room had grown quiet.
When Mike turned away from the television, his smile faded. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen were his mother and Gwen Thrasher.
“Well, aren’t you boys lucky,” Jeannie said cheerfully. “This beautiful young lady says she’s come to watch the lacrosse DVDs, too.”
Mike didn’t know who blushed the most, though he did see Gwen’s face redden. His own face was hot, so he figured it was beet-red. When Mike turned away, he caught sight of Donnie, whose cheeks were a deep reddish-brown, while his eyes were the size of hubcaps. Later Donnie told Mike he was feeling “sympathetic embarrassment.”
Gently, Jeannie pushed Gwen into the room. “Well, Gwen, I see some room by Mike over at the TV, so make yourself at home. I’ll get you a glass of Coke and bring in some more chips.”
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