Escaping RiverCreek

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Welcome to RiverCreek

Life. That's a funny term in some parts of the world. They say to live life to the fullest, or live like you're dying.

In a suburban community about an hour away from Minneapolis, life just isn't easy when you know everyone there. Most of the residents who don't leave remain to work in their families' businesses scattered around town. Those who graduate from college make the drive from RiverCreek. It's their way of staying out of the city, thinking it's a safer place for their children with its low crime rate.

Every year it's the same old thing repeated, and to most around town, it doesn't seem to age. The Catholics hold an extra midnight Mass. The Baptists put on a play in front of their church. The Methodists gather together and sing Christmas carols on the corner.

The few atheists go around and fling objects at anyone participating, trying to cause a ruckus. The sheriff usually lets them off with a warning and community service in lieu of paying a fine.

The only other thing that matters in this town is the high school varsity hockey team. It makes a deep run into the state playoffs almost every year. The team hasn't won a state title since the late 1980's, when most of the current roster was born. That's where this story begins, with Cory Dubois, the team's second-best scorer and leader in goal assists. He is an above-average student dreaming of one day becoming a general surgeon. He dreams of the day he can finally escape RiverCreek.

Cory is of French-Canadian descent. He is six feet tall with medium brown hair and hazel eyes. He has the typical athletic lean build from all his years of playing on the ice.

His best friend growing up, who always has his back, is an African American kid, Rick McGuiness. Rick, who wears his hair in cornrows, is also in great shape. He runs the one-hundred-meter dash for the track team. The two are nearly inseparable. They always make sure the rich kids don't get too rowdy when the races go down every Friday night near the point where the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers meet.

It's a usual snowy December night, and the kids are at their hangout spot. By the time Cory and Rick arrive, the festivities have already started with a hockey game out on the edge of the banks, where the ice is the thickest.

"C'mon Rick, I'm late!" Cory calls out, popping the hatch to his '93 Toyota Celica.

"Go on, bruh. I'm coming. Gotta finish up business with my girl first," Rick says, holding his hand over his cell phone.

Cory shrugs it off, snickering to himself, and hurries down to the ice.

"So, baby, we still hooking up when I come over after I watch my boy mop the floor with Frankie and his boys, right?"

"Oh, you know it! I've been waiting all week for my parents to go caroling so I can get alone time with my boo."

The only thing Rick can do is smile his cheesy grin. "All right, cool. I got the love gloves, so get ready to rock the boat, baby."

They share a laugh; then Rick closes his flip phone and gets out of his all-wheel-drive navy-blue Chrysler Minivan to cheer his best friend to victory.

With no refs to monitor the action, the game gets violent, with lots of hard hits as the boys get rough and rowdy. They use it as an excuse to fight since it's always the hometown kids versus the rich snobs.

"You're going down this time, Cold Core," Frankie threatens, skating behind him and using his stick to cross-check him between the shoulders. Cory hits the ice hard enough that his helmet slips off. Stopping over him, Frank and his cronies laugh.