Page 67 of Voices

My current sculpture is the biggest piece I’ve done. As I pull the sheet off, I step back and admire my work.

From the front, I have an oversized anatomical heart cradled in large hands. Walking around to the back, fingers dig into the heart. I recently started adding a jagged tear down the center and once I start airbrushing, I plan on adding black blood dripping out of it. I’ve been working on this piece since the end of summer and won’t be finished until Christmas.

Putting my earbuds in, I turn on my rock mix on and crank the music up loud enough to drown out the other students and let my hands have a mind of their own for the next hour.

As I step out of the building covered in a layer of sweat and dust, I spot Noah right where I left him.

Did he stay there the whole time?

He looks up from his phone as I get closer and smiles. “Ready to go watch some grown men chase a rubber disk on knife boots?” He laughs.

I hide my smile as I shake my head at his hockey description while we start toward my townhouse.

Thirty minutes later I’m freshly showered and dressed. I have Shane’s hoodie in one hand and the Gannon U hoodie we got at Freshman orientation in the other. I’ve had it for two years and have only worn it once. I really don’t want to wear it since it’s white but I’m not sure if it’s ok to wear Shane’s when only hockey players own them.

I walk out to ask Noah what he thinks but run into Lily walking into my room.

“Hey. I thought we were meeting you at your apartment.”

She’s gone all out on her outfit. Her hair is in cute space buns, her makeup is perfect, and she’s wearing a black romper thing with a golden four-leaf clover shimmering on it. There are also traces of gold everywhere. Her hair and eyeshadow have thesame shimmering stuff that’s all over her light brown skin. Even her Louis Vuitton boots have gold throughout the design.

“I was too excited to wait so I got a ride from my roommate since she has to pass by to get to work. You look good, Jax. I’m glad to see you remembered where the shower was,” she winks.

I know she’s teasing but I don’t think she gets how much effort taking a shower is when you feel like you’re drowning all the time.

“You look cute, Lily.” I hold up the two hoodies. “Which one should I wear?”

I already know she’s going to pick Shane’s hockey hoodie, but I need someone else to tell me to wear it.

That it’s okay to be seen in it.

“You know Shane would love to see you wearing his hoodie at the game. It’s almost like wearing his jersey but only you two know who’s it is. You’ll see.” She grabs the white one and tosses it back in my room before taking the other and pulling it over my head. “There. Perfect! Now let’s go. I’ve never been to a hockey game but if it’s anything like getting into a football game, the lines are going to be long.” She grabs my hand as we walk to the door.

Noah is by the door giving me a weird look. His arms are crossed over his chest but it’s a relaxed stance with him leaning against the wall. His head is tilted to the side, but he looks almost angry as he watches us approach. I try to pull my hand from Lily’s, but she grips it tighter as she smiles at me letting me know she doesn't care what he thinks.

I slide my feet into my black and grey checkered Vans and pat my pockets for my keys, wallet, and phone. Noah steps to the side as he opens the door for us but as I pass him, he makes a low growl sound. I look over my shoulder at him as he glares at me.

What did I do to him?

I know he likes Lily, but he’s never been rude to me over it. I look over at Lily to see if she heard him but she’s talking a mile a minute in her excitement for the game. Noah walks up behind us as we wait for the elevator. I try to shake my hand free of Lily’s again but as her hand loosens, she laces our fingers together. She’s still talking excitedly as I hear Noah let out a harsh breath. She stands next to me as we ride the elevator down with Noah on her other side.

The walk to the hockey rink is quick since Lily is speed walking. I give my name to the guy at the ticket booth, and he prints out three tickets and tells us where the seats are located.

“I’m starving,” Lily says as we walk through the main doors.

There are people everywhere and it’s so loud that it’s hard to think clearly. Lily squeezes my hand as we walk around the long line for food, another line for the bathrooms, and an even bigger line at The Knight’s Lucky Clover gift shop. She walks quicker then stops to look at our tickets in her hand.

“This is us!” Her huge smile takes over her face.

We walk hand in hand through the curtain.

The ice is so bright and cold that I can feel it from here. We walk down until we are two rows behind the player benches. I let Noah go first so I’m not sitting next to someone I don’t know, and then Lily slides in so I can have the aisle seat. I pull my hood up as the chill from being this close to the ice hits my skin.

“I’ll go get you something to eat since we still have thirty minutes,” Noah says to Lily. “What would you like? I saw pizza, nachos, hot dogs, burgers, and candy.”

She looks at me, but I shake my head. She smiles and then tells Noah what she wants. He slides past us and back up the steps. Lily nudges me as the two teams come flying out of the opening behind the benches. I spot Benji first as he races to the net and starts a big circle around half of the rink with the team following behind him. I see Kane and remember him from whenI went on the team website, that’s Shane’s friend Matt. I don’t know Asher or Ryder’s last names though.

They stop skating and half the team takes shots at the goalie while the others stretch. I bite my lip as I try to find Shane but I don’t remember his number and I haven’t seen a jersey with his last name on it.

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