Whenever You Need Somebody
~ a series of dabbles ~
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I had spent the last three days deep cleaning the house, in hopes that my doorbell wouldn't ring until the place was completely spotless. Every year, the players hand-deliver season tickets. I had moved to Pittsburgh this summer solely for the reason of being able to attend all the home games, and you better believe I had gotten a season ticket. My view consisted of the Penguins bench and the back of each player's jersey. I would always be looking for number 87. To say I was excited would be putting it lightly, seeing as I had been looking forward to this day for years. I had even taken few days off of work at the research center, just to make sure I didn't miss my ticket being delivered.
I was casually lounging on the sofa playing my Super Nintendo when the doorbell rang. My heart immediately started to race.
Was it them? Which players would it be?
I prayed that it would be Sidney, but I knew my luck wasn't that good. I quickly dashed over to the door, and looked in the mirror by the coat rack. I fixed my hair, and took a few deep breaths.
"You can do this," I repeated a few times to myself.
A few more deep breaths, and I slowly opened the door. There, on my porch, stood Sid the Kid. My jaw slightly dropped and my eyes grew as wide as pucks. To my surprise, his eyes grew just as wide in return.
"Hi, uh, are you Marina Kingsbury?"
I couldn't even speak, so I just dumbly nodded my head and moved out of the way so that the montage of people could enter my home. There was Sid, a new rookie player that had just been traded to us, and two PR people with their phones out. No doubt updating Facebook and Snapchat for the team's account.
The music from Super Mario World was still blasting from the speakers on my TV, so I quickly fumbled for the remote and muted it. The silence was almost deafening.
"Sorry about that," I stuttered, "I was in the middle of a speed run."
Sid quickly apologized, but he seemed a little confused as to what I was talking about.
I shook my head, "Oh, it's okay. I can always restart it. So, um, season ticket, huh?"
Sid laughed nervously, "Oh, right!"
He pulled it out of the envelope that the rookie handed to him. One of the PR personnel motioned for us to stand closer, and I could feel my face heating up faster than an oven.
"Just need a couple of pictures," She excitedly told us, "We can even take some on your phone for you."
I fished my phone out of my back pocket and tossed it to the rookie. Sid wrapped his large arm around my small shoulders, and I took a small step closer to him. I could feel my body shaking, and my nerves were starting to get the best of me.
"Alright, on the count of three," The PR lady held up the phone and I put on the best smile that I could muster, "One, two, three!"
I could hear the camera shutter clicking a few times. Whenever she lowered the phone, I exhaled the breath that I didn't know I had been holding.
"So, you do speed runs? Do you do them for Games Done Quick?" The rookie asked me.
I cocked my head, surprised that he knew about GDQ.
"Actually, yes. I've competed in the past with some Castlevania games. I'm really just doing Super Mario World for fun."
The rookie seemed really impressed at my video game collection, which was neatly displayed on the shelves that were built into the wall behind the TV. He shuffled over there, awing at some of the good titles.
"You have such an awesome collection! Some of these are hard to find. How long did it take you to get all of these?"
I scratched the back of my head, "Well, it's been a few years. I think I started in 2010? I started doing GDQ when I was in college, so that's when I started collecting."
I turned to Sid, and he seemed just as awestruck as the rookie, but not by the games. I quickly realized that he was looking behind me at the poster of himself that I had hung up in a sleek black frame. I mentally slapped myself for not taking it down. He was smiling at me, and I was confused as to why. Did he like the fact that he's my favorite player?
"Would you mind demonstrating your speed run skills with one of the Castlevania games? I'd love to see you in action," The rookie asked.
I nodded, "Sure, I don't see why not."
I trotted over to the NES shelf and got the first Castlevania game.
"I've done this one in about 17 or 18 minutes. The most recent GDQ record is 15 minutes. I still have quite a ways to go," I looked at the PR people who were standing around, "I hope this is okay. I'm sure y'all have a lot of other people to go see."
The lady shook her head, "Actually you're the last person on the list for Sidney, so you're good."
I offered all of them seats, and I went into the kitchen to get them water bottles. When I came back, the rookie had already started up the game and took a seat on the couch. There was a spot for me between him and Sidney. I sat down nervously, and I grabbed the controller.
"Alright, can one of you time me?" I noticed that Sid already had his timer app open, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Count me down from three, please."
Sid counted down, and I pushed the start button.
.
.
"And stop the timer."
Sid pushed the button, and showed it to me.
"16 minutes and 32 seconds. That's better than what you originally said your time was. Congrats."
His smile was almost too much to bear.
"Thank you," I said nervously.
The rookie patted me on the shoulder. "We'll have to hang out sometime again, so that I can watch you speed run more games. That was too awesome!"
I slowly nodded. What an awkward situation to be in.
"Alright, guys. Sorry to break up the fun, but it's almost time for practice," The PR lady stated as she and the other guy got up. The rookie seemed pretty bummed, but he whipped out his phone.
"Hey, is it okay if I get your number? My little brother is big into retro video games and watching speed runs, so I know he would love to meet you sometime."
I nodded once again, "Yeah, that would be awesome."
As I relayed my number to him, I failed to notice Sidney Crosby nonchalantly typing my number into his phone, too.