False Start (Boyxboy)

15: THE BRINK OF CALAMITY

Most of us wanted to shower off the smoke smell before bed. I let everyone go ahead of me, then took my time shampooing twice and just standing there for a while. Even after the hot water turned icy, I jogged in place and tottered in circles, stalling while willing myself to wake up. Once I was towel-dried, I put on my warmest set of socks and pajamas, wriggling my hoodie on overtop, then met Keiji in front of the bathroom mirror.

We rubbed windows into the steam on the glass, cheesing at each other's reflections as we scrubbed at our teeth.

Yo teased us on his stroll out, saying, "Geez, what are you losers doing?"

We simply chuckled, in a silent agreement to linger until we could scheme in peace.

The door swung shut behind him, the last to go, and we simultaneously spat our toothpaste into the sink, leaving the tap running to drown the sound of our whispers.

"Okay," Keiji rasped out, talking with his hands, "Since I have the bottom bunk, I'm going to try and creak open the window."

I pointed my toothbrush at him. "Are you an idiot?"

"Got any other ideas?"

There's no way we could prance out the front door, past Coach's bunk, and not be noticed.

A gulp slid down my throat. "Nope."

"I'll take my time, and if it works, I'll crawl out first. If someone hears me, I'll just say I wanted cool air and abort the mission."

Butterflies caused me to clutch at my stomach, casting skeptical expressions my friend's way. "This better be worth it."

He placed both hands on my shoulders, sneering into my eyes. "It will be."

I led the way out, and he spanked me with his rolled up towel as we went. In spite of the worry, my mouth was fixed with a lopsided grin.

At the top of the window, I twisted the two knobs into an unlocked position, as swift and inconspicuously as possible. Everyone burrowed themselves beneath their covers, some sticking earbuds in their ears, and Coach said, "Lights out! One more run in the morning and we're out of here."

Then we were enveloped by darkness.

The following hour was one of the longest of my life. I laid flat on my back, feeling the prickles of sweat exuding beneath the excessive layers of cloth I was cocooned in, imaging all the ways that things could go wrong. I feared that any movement made would cause someone to stir from sleep, so I stuck to one rigid position, even when the discomfort began to drive me insane. It felt like my ears literally perked away from my head as I listened out for snoring, instead hearing the faint lyrics of Hiro's blaring rock music and every swallow, yawn, and turn of my teammates.

There's no way this will work, I thought. It's way too quiet.

After half an hour of waiting, one guy got up to use the restroom. Internally, I cussed like crazy.

Back to square one.

But it actually worked out to our advantage. Keiji used the grating of the bathroom door to disguise the sound of his first yank on the window. To me, that initial pop was as loud as a gunshot, and every one of my muscles tensed up. Shit, shit, shit, repeated in my head, and I rarely swore.