I went straight home from the mall that night, and began to brain storm. I remembered that I had an envelope in the back of my sock drawer. To my dismay, it only held a five dollar bill, but it was a start.
I sighed, and thought about our couch, and recliners...spare change? It was worth a shot.
After scavenging for almost half in hour in the living room, and my parents' home office, I found a nearly two dollars in couch. It was a little discouraging. I had turned over every cushion, even moved the couch to make sure that there was nothing under it.
"Seven Dollars, and Five Hundred Ninety Two to go." I mumbled to myself, throwing the change onto my dresser. Who was I kidding anyway? I needed a job.
I decided to skate around for a while, kind of clear my thoughts. Suddenly it occurred to me...Jan! He had been running the shop all by himself ever since Hans died earlier this year. I kept thinking that the idea was too good to be true, but still, I found myself skating over to the shop, just as the sun was setting in the skyline of the twin cities. I took my skates off at the back door and entered the shop, I found Jan in the back room reading the news paper.
"Guy, it's good to see you!" He exclaimed.
"Hi Jan." I smiled.
"I haven't made it to a game in a while, how is the team doing?"
"Really well. Reginals are after Christmas, in January. Were seated first."
"Congratulations. I remember how hard it was to change coaches at the beginning of the year."
I nodded. I noticed that Jan seemed tired. The sparkle that his blue eyes usually held was gone.
"How are you, Jan?" I asked, softly.
"I'm tired Guy." He answered. "Very very tired."
I looked down.
"It's a few weeks until Christmas, you know. This is always the busiest season of the year."
"Maybe....maybe I could help?!" I offered.
Jan looked up. "Would you be willing?"
"Sure." I nodded. "As much as I could."
"And I could pay you!" He exclaimed.
'Yes!' I thought. now THIS is what I had been getting at.
"I can come in every day after practice, and work until curfew, and weekends-"
He cut me off. "Oh this is wonderful! This is what I've been waiting for. I- I've needed help for a while, it's just been hard for me to admit, especially with Hans gone."
I understood, and I sympathized....just not too much. I was happy. There were two weeks until Christmas, if I could work for Jan from 5:00 to 10:00 every day after school, and then all day on Saturday and Sundays, which would be probably nine or ten hours...." For two weeks, and he paid me say $6.50 an hour...I did the math quickly in my head. I could make nine hundred dollars!? That couldn't be right...but it was. I wouldn't even have to work that much. That would still leave time for studying, and hanging with the ducks. This was perfect.
I stayed and talked with Jan for a few more minuets, he told me that I could start tomorrow, which was a Sunday. All of the ducks had done a little work around the skate shop at one time or another, and I was familiar with the way things were run, so I could get right to work. It all made perfect sense. I was so excited. I would finally be able to afford the perfect Christmas gift for Connie.
When I got back home, there was a message on my answering machine from Charlie.
"Hey Guy, we played a game of pick up earlier, everybody was trying to find you but....well, call me when you get this."
"nine eighteen PM- beep." The answering machine screeched in the stupid automated voice. There was another message.
"This is Charlie by the way, I don't think I left my name with the other message, but I figured you'd know who it was, but you know, just to be safe....I gotta go."
I laughed, as I picked up the phone and dialed Charlie's number. He answered the phone on the second ring.
"Hey." I replied.
"Oh, hey...where have you been?"
"Around." I answered.
"Oh, okay." Charlie shrugged.
There was a moment of silence.
"Did you wanna talk about anything, or-?" I trailed off.
"No, not really, I just kind of wanted to know where you'd been, but if you don't want to talk you don't have to."
I frowned. "Um, okay."
"I was thinking that tomorrow maybe you and me and Connie and Linda could go to the movies or something. I mean, it's Sunday so nobody's really doing anything right?"
"Actually I am."
"For real, what are you doing."
"I'd....rather not say." I hesitated. What was this, an interrogation? Usually I confided in Charlie, but this just didn't feel right. I was getting a little weary of having to tell Charlie everything. What can I say, I'm a private kinda guy.
"You'd rather not say?" Charlie laughed.
"Charlie come on, you don't need to know everything that's going on in my life."
"I always have before!" He exclaimed. It was true. Charlie was exactly one day older than I was, he and my mother had been best friends all through highschool. He knew me frontwards, backwards, up and down, everything.
I was at a loss for words. I couldn't think of anything at all to say, so the best option seemed to be hanging up, which I did, and folded my arms, sitting back in my chair.
'Maybe it's better this way'. I thought. If Charlie was mad at me, he wouldn't need to know what I was doing, or want to hang out, because I had already decided that wasn't going to let anything get in the way of this.
I sighed, and thought about our couch, and recliners...spare change? It was worth a shot.
After scavenging for almost half in hour in the living room, and my parents' home office, I found a nearly two dollars in couch. It was a little discouraging. I had turned over every cushion, even moved the couch to make sure that there was nothing under it.
"Seven Dollars, and Five Hundred Ninety Two to go." I mumbled to myself, throwing the change onto my dresser. Who was I kidding anyway? I needed a job.
I decided to skate around for a while, kind of clear my thoughts. Suddenly it occurred to me...Jan! He had been running the shop all by himself ever since Hans died earlier this year. I kept thinking that the idea was too good to be true, but still, I found myself skating over to the shop, just as the sun was setting in the skyline of the twin cities. I took my skates off at the back door and entered the shop, I found Jan in the back room reading the news paper.
"Guy, it's good to see you!" He exclaimed.
"Hi Jan." I smiled.
"I haven't made it to a game in a while, how is the team doing?"
"Really well. Reginals are after Christmas, in January. Were seated first."
"Congratulations. I remember how hard it was to change coaches at the beginning of the year."
I nodded. I noticed that Jan seemed tired. The sparkle that his blue eyes usually held was gone.
"How are you, Jan?" I asked, softly.
"I'm tired Guy." He answered. "Very very tired."
I looked down.
"It's a few weeks until Christmas, you know. This is always the busiest season of the year."
"Maybe....maybe I could help?!" I offered.
Jan looked up. "Would you be willing?"
"Sure." I nodded. "As much as I could."
"And I could pay you!" He exclaimed.
'Yes!' I thought. now THIS is what I had been getting at.
"I can come in every day after practice, and work until curfew, and weekends-"
He cut me off. "Oh this is wonderful! This is what I've been waiting for. I- I've needed help for a while, it's just been hard for me to admit, especially with Hans gone."
I understood, and I sympathized....just not too much. I was happy. There were two weeks until Christmas, if I could work for Jan from 5:00 to 10:00 every day after school, and then all day on Saturday and Sundays, which would be probably nine or ten hours...." For two weeks, and he paid me say $6.50 an hour...I did the math quickly in my head. I could make nine hundred dollars!? That couldn't be right...but it was. I wouldn't even have to work that much. That would still leave time for studying, and hanging with the ducks. This was perfect.
I stayed and talked with Jan for a few more minuets, he told me that I could start tomorrow, which was a Sunday. All of the ducks had done a little work around the skate shop at one time or another, and I was familiar with the way things were run, so I could get right to work. It all made perfect sense. I was so excited. I would finally be able to afford the perfect Christmas gift for Connie.
When I got back home, there was a message on my answering machine from Charlie.
"Hey Guy, we played a game of pick up earlier, everybody was trying to find you but....well, call me when you get this."
"nine eighteen PM- beep." The answering machine screeched in the stupid automated voice. There was another message.
"This is Charlie by the way, I don't think I left my name with the other message, but I figured you'd know who it was, but you know, just to be safe....I gotta go."
I laughed, as I picked up the phone and dialed Charlie's number. He answered the phone on the second ring.
"Hey." I replied.
"Oh, hey...where have you been?"
"Around." I answered.
"Oh, okay." Charlie shrugged.
There was a moment of silence.
"Did you wanna talk about anything, or-?" I trailed off.
"No, not really, I just kind of wanted to know where you'd been, but if you don't want to talk you don't have to."
I frowned. "Um, okay."
"I was thinking that tomorrow maybe you and me and Connie and Linda could go to the movies or something. I mean, it's Sunday so nobody's really doing anything right?"
"Actually I am."
"For real, what are you doing."
"I'd....rather not say." I hesitated. What was this, an interrogation? Usually I confided in Charlie, but this just didn't feel right. I was getting a little weary of having to tell Charlie everything. What can I say, I'm a private kinda guy.
"You'd rather not say?" Charlie laughed.
"Charlie come on, you don't need to know everything that's going on in my life."
"I always have before!" He exclaimed. It was true. Charlie was exactly one day older than I was, he and my mother had been best friends all through highschool. He knew me frontwards, backwards, up and down, everything.
I was at a loss for words. I couldn't think of anything at all to say, so the best option seemed to be hanging up, which I did, and folded my arms, sitting back in my chair.
'Maybe it's better this way'. I thought. If Charlie was mad at me, he wouldn't need to know what I was doing, or want to hang out, because I had already decided that wasn't going to let anything get in the way of this.