The name of the game | ONC 2022 ✔

Chapter 4

We walk through business class and into economy. Mom finds our seats and we sit. Mom has the window seat and I sit next to her. The seat on the other side of me is where Dad would've sat. Mom hands me her purse.

"Can you put it in the storage thing?" She asks.

"Sure," I stand and reach. I open the locker and put Moms purse in there.

"Thanks honey," Mom says as I slip back into my seat.

"No problem, Mom," the plane is getting louder as more people board. You can hear lockers opening and closing. Seatbelts click and children ask when the plane will fly. Sometimes, through the noise, you can faintly hear the pilots talking. The seatbelt light goes on and the noise level lifts. Mom and I click our seatbelts in. We watch the safety video, and then we are flying.

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We sleep for most of the flight. I wake up just as we are landing and before Mom, so I wake her up.

"Mom, we're here," I gently shake her awake.

"That was quick," Mom rubs her eyes.

"We still have a few minutes," I point out. All around us, people are preparing to leave. Parents are packing up their kids stuff. Business people are closing laptops.

Once the plane lands, I grab Mom's stuff out of the locker, and we leave.

"Did you have a good sleep?" I ask Mom ask we wait for our suitcases.

"I did, thank you. What about you, honey?" Mom grabs her suitcase.

"Yeah," My stuff hasn't come through yet, so we wait.

"You excited to see the boys?" Mom asks.

"Can't wait," I see my case come through the flaps and grab it. "Ready?"

"Let's go," Mom and I step outside into the glare of the sun. Mom flips her sunglasses onto her eyes, and I pull my hand up to shield my face. The hot sun beats down on us. Heatwaves glimmer above the tarmac.

"They said they would send a car for us," Mom scans the parking lot.

"Who did?" I ask.

"The center," Mom answers.

I look through all the cars I can see, but none bear the logo that's imprinted in my memory.

"Let me give them a call," Mom rummages in her bag for her phone.

"Let's look through the lot first," I suggest.

"Okay then," Mom puts her phone back in the bag, and we walk around the parking lot.

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The familiar gray building is exactly the same as it was when we left town. Mom and I thank our driver and go up the concrete steps to the iron doors. We scan our cards and push the doors open. The scent of hospital overwhelms me. The interior is white and pale blue. On one side of reception is a long hallway. The other side has a desk, which Mom goes to. I look around the room and hear footsteps.

"ASH!" Cole sprints toward me, Jake following.

"Hey guys," I drop my stuff just in time. I get bowled over by Cole and Jake lands on top.

"How have you been?" Jake asks. My response is muffled by Cole's heavy frame.

"Get off me, you child," I push with all my strength and Cole rolls off me. Poor Jake is squashed underneath. Cole sits up and so does Jake. I follow suit and we look at each other.

"That was awesome. Let's do it again," Cole says, and Jake and I burst into laughter. We stand, brushing off our clothes.

"How about no?" I say, and we all laugh again.

"I vote for Ash's idea," Jake offers.

"You guys are no fun," Cole crosses his arms and pouts.

"There will be plenty of time for fun once Ash has unpacked," Mom leans against the wall watching us with a smile.

"Okay, let's go," Cole and Jake lead the way through a twisting maze of corridors. Endless doors with different names flash past. Cole stops in front of a guest room.

"Here you go, Mrs. Murphy," he opens the door for Mom.

"Thank you, Cole," Mom goes inside. "I'll text you when it's time, Ash," I nod and Mom lets the door close.

"Let's go, so you can unpack," Jake and Cole take me to an elevator.

"We got promoted to 3rd floor," Cole says.

"Nice," I say, and we go up to the 3rd floor.

After yet another long journey through more hallways, we reach my room.

"I'm across the hall and Cole is on your right," Jake points to the door with my name on it. "They moved all the stuff you left in there,"

"Thanks guys," I open the door and am hit with the smell of my old cologne. The bed is facing the window and underneath it is a desk. My old dresser has been pushed to the end of the bed and some of my stuff sits on it. A note is on my pillow, and I drop my suitcase on the floor. I sit carefully on the bed and open the note.

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"Come on Ash," Cole grabs my arm and pulls me. "Let's go to the beach,"

"I'm not done yet," I whine.

"You can do that later," Jake says and grabs the pencil from my hand.

"I won't have the artistic feeling later," I say and try to grab the pencil back, but Cole grabs my other arm and pulls me out of the chair.

"Let's go buddy," Cole drags me out the door.

"Beach time," Jake says and takes my other arm off Cole. Together they drag me all the way to the elevator and then down to the 1st floor.

"Fine, I can walk," I say and Jake lets go of my arm, but Cole still hangs on.

We walk all the way to the beach, Cole still dragging me.

"Here we are," Jake says. "You can let Ash go now,"

"Nope, he might run," Cole says and if possible, grabs me even tighter.

"I don't think he will," Jake says.

"I won't," I say, and Cole lets me go. I don't run. Instead, my eyes search the cliffs until they find it. The cliff that put most of my dreams on hold.