One Minute Till Tomorrow

Chapter Two

Game Day

The gym buzzed loud with people. A breeze ran through the already cold air. I shoved my hands in my pockets and headed to the gym. I was late to the game but I didn’t really care. The first five minutes weren’t that exciting anyway.

When I walked in the gym there was an entry way. In front of me there was a line for tickets. Behind that, a line for concessions. I passed both lines—after paying for a ticket—and went into the gym.

In the far right corner the band blasted Final Countdown. The visitors’ section was cheering wearing purple—the color of the school’s arch-enemy. On the left bleachers, our school chanted and cheered, all decked out in silver and yellow, our school’s colors. I looked through the crowd of my school trying to find Caleb.

The other team—the panthers, I think?—had a free-throw. The crowd went silent as we waited for the team to shoot. Caleb took the free-throw silence as an opportunity to call out my name. “GWEN! GWEN OVER HERE!”

Everyone looked towards me and the guy shooting the free-throw glared at Caleb then glanced at the ref, acting as if it never happened.

I gave an embarrassed smile and made my way up the left set of bleachers, the top row, and closest seat to an aisle. Great.

By the time I got up to Caleb, the guy shooting the free-throw and missed. It was one of those free-throws where you only shoot once. The game continued. I sat my purse down on the seat and stood beside Caleb—none of the high-schoolers where sitting, you stood, end of story. “Caleb, what are you thinking? Are you trying to do some “I have to get kicked out of every game” thing like in Looking for Alaska? Seriously, you’re not Chip—I mean, the Colonial.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’ve never read Looking for Alaska? John Green? Seriously?”

Caleb smiled. “Seriously. What’s it about?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ll just have to read it. Anyway, I was referring to the Colonial. He’s this guy who goes to this crappy private school. Their basketball team sucks but he still cheers loud and obnoxious during free-throws. He has a goal to get kicked out during every game.”

“Sounds like a great guy!” Caleb smiled at me and I smiled back. “So, what do you know about basketball?”

“Close to nothing. I know that you run across the court trying to get the ball in the opposite net. But other than that, nothing. I don’t really like sports.”

“Don’t like sports? First you don’t eat meat, second you don’t like sports, what’s next? You hate America?!”

I shrugged. “You never know,”

“Gwen Lighton you are very mysterious in every single way and I am intrigued to learn more about you.”

I smiled. “Well, Caleb… Prior?” I know, I know, Divergent it was worth a shot.

“Caleb Bryans. With a Y,”

“Well, Caleb Bryans with a Y, you are very strange in every way and I am delighted to learn more about you.”

“I wasn’t joking though. I do want to learn more about you. And I won’t stop learning about you until I learn why you were at that camp.”

“I wasn’t joking either. I want to know why you were at camp too. But let’s start small. Something less… troubling. What are your hobbies?”

“Hobbies?”

“Hobbies,”

“I’m in a band. I play bass with this really hot chick. She’s like, hot. But not as hot as you… Shit! Did I just say that! God damn! I’m such a freak!”