The name of the game | ONC 2022 ✔

Chapter 7

Drawing started as a way for me to escape. Escape the pain that came with 2 broken legs. Stuck in a wheelchair and inside was no fun. Then when we moved, it was a way for me to return.

Turns out that when you have nothing to do, you learn skills really well. My first few drawings look nothing like the ones in frames on my dresser top. The one currently on my desk is a pretty good representation of the cliff. The scene is exactly as I remember. Jake, Cole and my shadows lined up, with our arms around each other. The sky is a nice pink color, fading to purple just at the edges. A few gray charcoal lines need to be erased, then it will be perfect. I pick up the rubber and carefully start to rub out the lines.

A few soft knocks on my door and I turn around.

"Come in," I say and put the rubber down. Cole walks in. His messy hair has been pulled back into a tight french braid.

"Give me a hand," he says and gestures to his head.

"But you look so pretty," I say, teasing him.

"I always look pretty," Cole pulls a model pose with his hands on his hips. He kind of does look like a model, though, in his leather jacket and jeans. His blue eyes stand out from the tanned skin on his face.

"Stop staring and help me," Cole says. His fingers fumble with the rubber band tying the French plait in place.

"Turn," I say and pull the band until it comes off.

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"How was the pool?" Mom asks at dinner. We are the only ones in this dining area.

"Not too many people," I say.

"But they were all looking at us," Cole stuffs a piece of garlic bread into his mouth.

"What did you do?" Mom asks.

"Nothing to cause trouble. Just a synchronized dive," Jake says.

"Our signature one," I say.

"It was very in synch," Cole adds, reaching over to grab the water.

"Didn't you swallow enough of that on the slide?" I pull the jug out of reach.

"Not nearly," Cole stretches just a little further and manages to grab the jug out of my hands. He smirks at me triumphantly as he pours his glass. But he isn't paying enough attention and the water overflows onto his plate.

"Damn," Cole stands and grabs a bunch of napkins. He chucks the soaked ones into a small pile beside him on the table.

My eyes meet Jake's brown ones, and we share a smile. He passes his now empty glass to Cole.

"Can you give me a refill?" He motions to the water jug.

"Wasn't your glass full just a minute ago?" Cole asks while pouring Jake some water.

"You must be dreaming," Jake says, and sips his water the way a British person would sip tea in movies.

"That water probably woke you up," I say and stab my fork into some lettuce.

"I was already awake," Cole sits down again and pulls his chair in slightly.

"If ya say so, buddy," Jake pats Cole on the shoulder and returns to his food.

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The rain beats relentlessly against the window. I twirl a pencil in my hand, an empty sheet of paper sits on the common room table in front of me. Cole scrolls through some app on his phone and Jake stares out the window. Faintly, you can hear music under the pounding of the rain. The rain is like a drum, noisy and loud. The silence in the room doesn't exactly help either.

"Why is it so quiet?" Cole murmurs.

"I don't know," I answer.

"Because the rain is depressing," Jake says from over by the window.

"And Ash is leaving tomorrow," Cole adds.

"We still have the morning," I say.

"What if it's still raining?" Cole asks.

"Then we do something inside," Jake answers.

"Look how well inside activities are going for us." Cole gestures in the room.

"I have an idea," Jake smiles and waves us over to the window.

"What," Cole and I drag chairs over and sit next to him.

"Pick a drop,"

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I shove my clothes into my suitcase, leaving only clothes for tomorrow.

"Do it nicely, Ash," Mom frowns at me from the door. She walks over and stands beside me, rubbing my arm.

"What's the point? They're all just going in the washing machine when I get home," I point out.

"At least separate the lights and darks then," Mom kisses my forehead and leaves. I hold up the 1 light blue singlet and frown at it. I drop it back in the suitcase and go over to my desk. I pick up the drawing and carefully slide it into the plastic cover. It's a picture of the raindrops on the window, all gray and black. I drew it after Cole had to go see the doctor.

We spent the afternoon like children, watching raindrops race. We kept count of who had the most wins and Jake made a certificate. Cole pinned it to his pin board. After that, we watched kids movies and ate popcorn. We all tried to throw popcorn into our months. We laughed when Cole missed his mouth and hit his forehead. Jake was surprisingly good at it and only missed a couple of pieces.

Then the rain stopped, we ran outside and splashed each other in the puddles until we were all soaked. We stood outside the center with our arms around each other, laughing when Mom came to take pictures. She had a kind of sad smile as she told us to smile.

"Go inside, or you'll catch a cold," Mom had shooed us back inside, and we took turns taking showers. I looked out the window while I waited and saw Mom walking somewhere, coat pulled snugly around her.

Now Cole and Jake were in their rooms, and I was packing. We had the morning together tomorrow, and then I had to leave. If it was sunny, we would go to the beach. If the rain was pounding, we have a big plan to pull one last stunt.

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Cole bangs on my door.

"You ready for dinner?" He asks. I nod, and he pulls me out into the hallway.

"I'm going to get Jake," Cole bangs 3 times on Jake's door.

"Just give me a minute," Jake opens his door. He has dressed ready for our dinner out in a black dress shirt and black dress pants. A silver chain loops in his neck and rings line a few of his fingers. He's taken Cole's style and is pulling it off really well.

I'm dressed in Jake's usual style, white dress shirt and black dress pants. No jewelry except a single simple earring.

Cole has taken a page out of my book. Black jeans, and a white t shirt with a black leather jacket. A small stud earring and 1 ring to accessorize.