The Exchange

Chapter 27

With the holiday season just around the corner, winter had already begun in Bloomington. I really wasn't sure what else I expected given the fact that it was fucking Minnesota, but it was all I knew. A gentle coat of snow covered the ground for Thanksgiving, and it was only going to get worse later in the season.

Minnesota winters were harsh, but they were nothing compared to me.

Viktor was very Swedish, so he was a little confused when we told him that there was no school on Thursday and Friday that week. Then he got upset because he didn't wish everyone at school a happy Thanksgiving.

It made me want to throw up.

Every year since I was about five, I helped Mom with preparations the night before Thanksgiving. Of course, a five-year-old wasn't much help, but she always tried to build me into a functional human that would one day kind of have a chance at succeeding in life.

As I peeled some potatoes to mash, Melissa came into the kitchen. She sat down without saying a word, which was pretty much normal for her.

"So how is that list coming along?" Mom asked.

This time, I had a good answer for her. "I think you'd be proud of me. I'm almost halfway done, but I'm not really sure what else I can say about him. You can only harp on how much potential he has for so long."

"You could always talk about what you like about him as a person, not just as a hockey player," she suggested.

Of course, I knew that, but it was just going to suck.

"That's true. I'm sure I'll figure something out eventually. You know I always do," I said.

She chuckled. "Yes, you do." Her eyes lit up, and she changed the subject. Thank God. "Oh my god, you will crack up at this story from my shift yesterday. There was this guy who came into the ER complaining of chest pain and a persistent cough. He told us that he'd been sick for three weeks, so we tried to narrow down what he was sick with. No fever, no headaches, no stomach problems, so it was pretty weird."

"Just chest pain and a cough? That's it?" I asked.

Mom nodded. "So we sent him to go get an X-ray done on his chest, and they found little dots all throughout his lungs."

I looked up from the potatoes. "What were they?"

"I guess he must have been eating Nerds by dumping them into his mouth straight from the box, and he inhaled those, and they got trapped in his lungs."

People who worked in the emergency room had the best stories. From violent car crashes and suicide attempts to Nerd-infested lungs, I lived for Mom's stories.

I laughed. "How is that even possible?"

"I have no idea. So long story short, don't inhale Nerds. Don't smoke or snort Smarties either," she said.

"I'll keep that in mind." There was actually a pretty decent chance that I would need that information for Blaine at one point or another.

A pair of footsteps wandered into the kitchen, and at this point, I didn't even need to look to know who they belonged to.

Mom spoke before I did. "Good morning, Viktor."

"Is it tomorrow?" Viktor asked, and I laughed.

I snuck a glance at him. His blond hair was untamed, and dark circles shadowed his bright blue eyes, which flitted across the room to finally fixate on me.

Clearly he found a good way to spend his evening off of hockey practice by taking a nap. The team as a whole looked like a force, and as long as Viktor could get his shots on net, he could easily be a star. Matt was really good, David was even better, but Viktor? I'd never tell anyone, but everything Matt ever said about him was true.