AAOOOSC! #10

Chapter 24: "We JUST Went There."

After Sidney and "Matt-in-Ryan" dropped off "Galchenyuk-in-Zadorov" to Tommy Gorman in Ottawa, they returned back to the music room in San Diego to grab Nathan and Jonathan with Brandon, Joseph, and Nick. The three Gulls' skaters seem more creeped out than shaken up by the supernatural experience they just saw. And the two other faculty workers are long gone.

"Where to now?" Brandon asks, gazing around his teammates and friends, except for Sidney.

They are standing on a concrete-made terrace next to the music room, that is aligned with another building's roof level. The night has already mostly swept through the Californian city, closing in a strip of light in the west.

"Well, we can go back to GHP headquarters and celebrate the great news!" Sidney exclaims, jumping up with his arms out to his sides.
Brandon scoffs and rolls his eyes away from his rival.

"GHP headquarters?" Matt, who already disengaged from Ryan, has a happy face. "Isn't that like the GWHP headquarters?" He turns to Ryan for support.

"GWHP headquarters?" Jonathan makes a confused look.

Ryan chuckles. "Yeah, but that's a whole other story." He waves his hand in the air aimlessly.

"A whole other story with Maxi almost dying...," Joseph mutters to himself, looking down with his hands in his pockets.

"Wait," Nick pipes in lazily, "can we go first eat? I can go for a bacon hamburger at Cali Comfort..." He smiles dreamingly at the sound of that.

Joseph glares at him. "We just went there."

"We can eat the GHP headquarters!" Sidney tells them. "Come on, let's go!"

"Whoa... This is so cool...!" Matt exclaims with his eyes scanning the dim hallway that connects the entrance to the main room.

"The ladies' headquarters seem more vibrant than this," Ryan points out, looking at the different shades of gray the walls show.

"'The ladies'?" Jonathan asks in bewilderment.

Ryan turns to him. "Yeah, the GW--"

His voice is cut off by the faroff yells that are coming from the other side of the tunnel.

The group stops strolling and stares at the light at the other end where the shouts are coming from with puzzlement.

"What's going on over there?" Nathan questions with worry.

"I don't know...!" Sidney walks ahead toward the shouting and goes into the light; the others follow him.

The main room looks exactly the same. But next to the dining table is the source of the bickering: Pekka and Carter are in the middle of a heated argument with wild hand gestures and facial expression.

"If only you would've--!"

"It's not my fault that I--!"

"How could you not--?"

"It's harder than it seems--!"

"Do you even know how to--?"

"Can you please just--?"

"Ahem!"

The two goalies stop going at each other's throats and turn to face Sidney.

"Sidney!" Pekka's eyes widen. "You're back!"

"Yes, I am!" He smiles largely. "So is Nathan and Jonny! And we made new friends!" He turns around and raises his arms out at the five Gulls players, who are being led into the room by Jonathan and Nathan.