Adam sat in the school library at 2am in the morning, not being able to stand the sound of Guy's snoring. It was not unusual for Adam to be up in the early hours of the morning, working on Advanced Mathematics homework. "Damnit!" Adam cursed softly as he realized that he had messed up on one of his long, complicated problems and that he had to start all over again. This would take him another hour, at least. Adam stifled an angry yawn. He took AdMath because he had a natural aptitude for it and imagined that he would major in Mathematics in college. But sitting in the library, working on his homework at 1am for what seemed like the 4th night in a row, Adam asked himself what it was all for. Now he would be exhausted during practice AGAIN and Coach Orien would get on him.
At least he had performed well at the Blake game. Adam was in top form tonight, able to read and dissect play situations and all the possibilities in an instant. After he had scored his fourth goal, Adam heard Russ yell, "Dude is in the ZONE tonight!" while laughing with glee. Adam was satisfied that he had given the guys from the All-America committee something to chew on.
His thoughts returned to the Math assignment in front of him. "I can't do this anymore tonight" Adam muttered to himself as he shut closed his book and quickly gathered his papers. Adam had to get out of the library NOW because he was feeling suffocated, all of his odd feelings mixing together for a mysteriously maudlin mood.
He sucked in a huge breath of cold, crisp air as he stepped outside and starting walking back toward his dorm room. As he walked Adam tried unsuccessfully to sort his troubled, confused feelings. He thought about Player of the Year. Of Tamsin. Adam even thought about his frustration towards the maddening math assignment. Adam realized that he had everything that anyone could ask for. Talent that had gotten him an athletic scholarship to the University of Minnesota and could eventually get him into the NHL. Brains. A well-to-do family. Great friends. A coach who cared about him. A fantastic girlfriend. Be it as it may, Adam still felt unfulfilled—unsatisfied. There was no way to justify these feelings, but they existed and Adam didn't know what to do about it.
Adam stopped in his tracks abruptly as he heard a faint crunch sound behind him. "It looks like we have here a rich preppie all alone and unprotected. What does it look like to you, man?"
Another man's voice sounded behind Adam. He was too frozen to turn around. "It looks like we could use another drink--on this guy's tab. What do you say, kid?"
Adam forced himself to gather some courage and turned to face the voices behind him. Two burly, unshaven goons looked at him like they were the predator and he was their prey. Adam was tough—playing hockey did that to you—but Adam felt the inescapable pull of fear in his heart. There was no one around—that's what he got for walking at 2am. These guys were wasted and looked angry—Adam would have to suck up his pride and think first of his safety.
"Hey, guys, I don't want any trouble. Just take my wallet and go on your own way." Adam reached into his pocket and held out his wallet, making sure to remove his driver's license and credit card as stealthily as he could.
"Look at this guy. He thinks he's too good for us." One of the burly men looked like he was working himself up. Adam knew it was no use trying to make peace with these guys—they wanted to hurt something, someone tonight. He did the only reasonable thing he could think of—he slugged one guy in the face and kneed the other in the midsection and ran. Enraged, the two men started chasing after him, murder in their eyes. Adam was fantastically conditioned and was confident that he could outrun these guys, whose senses were addled by liquor. Adam was only about 300 feet away from his dorm building. He could make it there. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he ran for his life—and then he tripped. As Adam fell, he knew that it was over. There was pain in his head as one of the guys kicked him. They kicked him over and over again and he lay, truly helpless for the first time in his life.
At least he had performed well at the Blake game. Adam was in top form tonight, able to read and dissect play situations and all the possibilities in an instant. After he had scored his fourth goal, Adam heard Russ yell, "Dude is in the ZONE tonight!" while laughing with glee. Adam was satisfied that he had given the guys from the All-America committee something to chew on.
His thoughts returned to the Math assignment in front of him. "I can't do this anymore tonight" Adam muttered to himself as he shut closed his book and quickly gathered his papers. Adam had to get out of the library NOW because he was feeling suffocated, all of his odd feelings mixing together for a mysteriously maudlin mood.
He sucked in a huge breath of cold, crisp air as he stepped outside and starting walking back toward his dorm room. As he walked Adam tried unsuccessfully to sort his troubled, confused feelings. He thought about Player of the Year. Of Tamsin. Adam even thought about his frustration towards the maddening math assignment. Adam realized that he had everything that anyone could ask for. Talent that had gotten him an athletic scholarship to the University of Minnesota and could eventually get him into the NHL. Brains. A well-to-do family. Great friends. A coach who cared about him. A fantastic girlfriend. Be it as it may, Adam still felt unfulfilled—unsatisfied. There was no way to justify these feelings, but they existed and Adam didn't know what to do about it.
Adam stopped in his tracks abruptly as he heard a faint crunch sound behind him. "It looks like we have here a rich preppie all alone and unprotected. What does it look like to you, man?"
Another man's voice sounded behind Adam. He was too frozen to turn around. "It looks like we could use another drink--on this guy's tab. What do you say, kid?"
Adam forced himself to gather some courage and turned to face the voices behind him. Two burly, unshaven goons looked at him like they were the predator and he was their prey. Adam was tough—playing hockey did that to you—but Adam felt the inescapable pull of fear in his heart. There was no one around—that's what he got for walking at 2am. These guys were wasted and looked angry—Adam would have to suck up his pride and think first of his safety.
"Hey, guys, I don't want any trouble. Just take my wallet and go on your own way." Adam reached into his pocket and held out his wallet, making sure to remove his driver's license and credit card as stealthily as he could.
"Look at this guy. He thinks he's too good for us." One of the burly men looked like he was working himself up. Adam knew it was no use trying to make peace with these guys—they wanted to hurt something, someone tonight. He did the only reasonable thing he could think of—he slugged one guy in the face and kneed the other in the midsection and ran. Enraged, the two men started chasing after him, murder in their eyes. Adam was fantastically conditioned and was confident that he could outrun these guys, whose senses were addled by liquor. Adam was only about 300 feet away from his dorm building. He could make it there. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he ran for his life—and then he tripped. As Adam fell, he knew that it was over. There was pain in his head as one of the guys kicked him. They kicked him over and over again and he lay, truly helpless for the first time in his life.