The Blackout

1

avery

I LOOKED AROUND the lively table at Fiorella's Pizzeria, grinning at my teammate's laughing faces. We'd gathered to celebrate our championship win. The excitement from the game the night before still lingered. The team chattered excitedly, replaying the most suspenseful moments from the game. Someone suddenly dropped the morning newspaper onto the table in front of me.

"We're in the newspaper!" Kiara exclaimed. The table erupted into gasps and cheers. My grin grew as I picked up the paper. Sawyer leaned to read over my shoulder and her eyes widened as we saw the picture on the front page. It was us standing together, arms around each other, lacrosse sticks held high. 

Local Girls' Lacrosse Team Seals Champion Title

"Holy shit," I grinned, nudging Sawyer. "We're famous." Sawyer laughed, her cheeks flushing with pride. Her eyes darted away.

"Oh, please. You're the famous one."

I scoffed. "Are you joking? You scored that last goal. You're quite literally a hero!" Sawyer looked away sheepishly.

"Anyone could have done it. You made half the points that whole season. I would have made more if I didn't get that penalty." I rolled my eyes—all good-naturedly, of course.

"Would you stop blaming yourself and accept that we won?" She smiled. The team chimed in, congratulating us on our win. Dorothy analyzed the game, Kiara cracked jokes, and I joined in, chattering with everyone. Sawyer listened quietly, her smile soft but genuine.

Coach Burk, sitting at the head of the table, smiled proudly. "You girls deserve this celebration. Order whatever you want—it's on me!" We cheered, already browsing the menu. We'd all been to Fiorella's plenty of times, given that our city wasn't exactly large. The familiar aroma of melting cheese and fresh dough wafted through the air, making my mouth water.

As we ordered and waited for our food, the conversation flowed easily. I teased Lorelai about her lucky socks. Sawyer playfully defended her odd favorite pizza topping. 

As we finished our lunch at Fiorella's pizza, Coach suggested we cap off the celebration with a trip to the nearby arcade. The colorful, neon atmosphere and upbeat music enveloped us. We spent the afternoon immersed in games. Kiara dominated at air hockey while Lydia and Rose engaged in a heated Pac-Man rivalry. Sawyer and I teamed up for a round of Dance Dance Revolution. Our coordinated moves drew cheers and exaggerated applause from the others.

After exhausting our game credits, we gathered at the prize redemption counter to exchange our tickets for rewards. The counter and back wall was cluttered with colorful prizes ranging from gourmet candies to gigantic stuffed animals. The attendant, a boy with dark brown hair and eyes, greeted us from behind the counter. His name tag read "Nolan". 

"Hey. How many tickets you got?" He asked, smiling and leaning on the counter. I handed over our pile of tickets with Sawyer's help.

"We've got a ton." 

Nolan's gaze flicked to our lacrosse jerseys, still clad on our shoulders from the lunch celebration. "Oh, hey, you guys are the champions, right? I saw your picture in the paper today." Sawyer and I exchanged a grin.

"Yep. That's us," I said. "Local celebrities." Sawyer shook her head and smiled.

Nolan laughed. "Congrats on the win. That game-winning goal was crazy work." Sawyer blushed, darting her eyes away.

I nudged her playfully. "Sawyer's our most valuable player."

His gaze shifted back to her, his interest piqued. "That's insane. You're crazy skilled. I'm guessing you're quite the athlete."

As she brushed it off, a prize—a disco ball—tore loos from the hook on the back wall and plummeted toward the floor. In a blink, Nolan reaches back and caught the disco ball with no problem. 

Sawyer's eyes twinkled. "Wow—quick reflexes. That was an amazing catch." 

Nolan set the disco ball on the counter and smiled, his eyes crinkling. "I guess I have good timing." As we redeemed our tickets, Nolan remained friendly and chatted with us, sharing stories about working at the arcade. I could tell his easygoingness comforted Sawyer. Usually, it took a bit to warm up to her.

"I've worked here for a year now," Nolan explained. "Actually a really great job. I get to see kid's faces light up when they win big."

"So like gambling for children?" Sawyer asked. Nolan laughed and we finished redeeming our tickets. We left the arcade, arms loaded with prizes and grins still plastered on our faces. "Thanks, Nolan," Sawyer called as we departed. Nolan waved goodbye, his smile lingering on her.

My mom gave us a drive back to my place before she had to go back to work. As we drove, Sawyer and I sat in the backseat, admiring the newspaper with our faces on it. Sawyer's eyes sparkled. "I'm going to take this page and frame it on my wall."

She carefully tore along the fold, separating our championship article from the rest of the paper. As she turned the page over, though, our smiled faltered. An eerie headline stared back at us.

The Visionary Eludes Capture: Five Years and Counting

I shivered. "That guy's case gives me goosebumps. He's a creep." I shook my head.

Sawyer raised an eyebrow. "You think you could take him?"

I grinned, trying to sound braver than I felt. It's what gave me confidence. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I could, actually."

Sawyer chuckled and shook her head, looking back at the paper. "I doubt it." Her expression went serious. "But hey, it's been five years. Maybe he got caught. Or just kind of quit."

I nodded, though feeling doubtful as a nagging unease lingered. The Visionary's crimes were infamous—calculated, brutal, and just entirely disgusting.

As we pulled up to my house, my mom let us out. "I'll be back late, girls. Are you sleeping over again, Sawyer?" She nodded.

"Probably."

"Okay. There's popcorn on the counter if you want some. Other than that, leftovers in the fridge. Love you, girls."

"Love you," I called back to my mom as Sawyer called, "Bye, Kristy." Mom pulled out of the driveway and we went inside, keeping our championship article and tossing the rest of the newspaper in the recycling.