AAOOOSC! Wheatie Bits!

E. 1. "Newest Of The Prairie" (4/5)

A bitter breeze whips through the narrow, dim alley Papa Crosby's resides next to.

Nolan is striding down the damp, rocky asphalt, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets and a scowl clearly seen on his face.

That Kale guy needs to go, he rants mentally. He keeps asking me all these questions that has nothing concerning him. He needs to learn to keep his nose out of my business and focus on what he needs to fix, like himself.

He flicks his narrowed eyes down as an idea forms. I think I should just ask to be moved to another stall...or another team. Anything to get away from—

He immediately smacks into a soft, warm object.

"OOF!"

Nolan stumbles back with annoyance, peering ahead to see who was in his way.

Staring back at him, a foot away, is a teenage boy with his age and height. His skin is pale with his light reddish-brown hair brushed upward. He has sea green-coloured eyes along with light freckles sprinkled across his nose, and vivid, red lips.

The teenager reaches out to him with surprise. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there," he apologizes in an appealing, gentle tone.

Nolan rolls his eyes with a scoff before beginning to silently breeze past him.

He follows him with his wide eyes. "I didn't get your name!" He fully turns around, watching Nolan amble away from him.

"Hey!" He rushes up to Nolan with great speed, instantly passing him and stopping in front of his tracks. He grabs his shoulders in haste excitement, forcing him to stop.

"Hey, I-I'm Carter Hart. I'm the new goalie for the Everett Silvertips," he blurts out with lit-up eyes. "I just wanted to know what's up with you. I asked you a question—"

Nolan lightly shoves Carter away, releasing his grip from his shoulders. "Get away from me, I don't wanna talk to anybody." He resumes his storming, passing by him once again.

Carter whirls around, spotting the forward drifting from him. "What if I told you you look really nice?"

Nolan rolls his eyes at the sound of the suggestion. "Go flatter yourself."

"Fine," he hears the goalie spit out, quickly shifting his tone of voice. "I wanted to do this the civilized way, but if you're not cooperating, I'm just gonna have to go to the roots of my powers."

Nolan immediately halts at the utterance of the last word. He stands still with wide, surprised eyes. "'Powers'?"

He slowly turns around to see the goalie's actions upon his words. His eyes immediately fly wide open as a gasp escapes from his mouth.

Back in Papa Crosby's, a slice of pizza is becoming cold while being poked at with a finger.

Kale is holding his head by his fist as he taps his other finger at the stale slice. He has an impassive expression aimed at his rejected slice of pizza.

Ryan then slides up to him from behind, placing his arms on his chair's backrest. He gives a sympathetic expression to him. "You okay there, rookie?"

Kale doesn't bother tearing his eyes from the dish nor halting his poking. "Yeah. I'm fine."

The captain darts his eyes to his left, glancing at the door Nolan exited through, then back at the new defenceman. "I don't think he went too far. You can go catch up to him and reconcile."

Kale begins pinching the crust. "Nah. He doesn't want to." He halts his movements. "He would never want to."

Ryan shrugs with a slight frown. "Alright, if you say so. I just hate seeing you like this." Then with a pat on the rookie's shoulder, he rises to his feet and walks away.

Kale is left with his cold slice of pizza and an empty chair to his right. He gazes down at the pizza, letting his eyes get lost in the burnt patches of the cheese as his mind wanders off into contemplation:

Why didn't Pat apologize? I apologized. He scrunches his eyebrows and nose. That's because I'm nice. Then his face relaxes as another idea comes to his mind. Or maybe Pat wasn't so bad before practice. So why didn't he apologize? Wait...

He flicks his eyes up in surprise. If Pat didn't apologize, that'd mean...I'm the one at fault. I was really that bad to not earn an apology? Was I really that rude? He straightens up, aghast. And here I thought he was the mean one.

He whirls to his right and stares at the empty, haunting chair Nolan was once sitting on. He then snaps his eyes to the left, gazing at the lonely door Nolan just exited from. He purses his lips as his mind continues racketing for a decision:

I can't do this—I've gotta make things right with him. I gotta show that I am not actually rude. That's not me, I'm actually nice!

With that, Kale pushes himself away from the table, hops onto his feet, and rushes down to the back of the building. He halts in front of the door and throws it open, ready to search for his teammate.

Yet his eyes immediately widen at the sight of the scene on the other side.

Clearly in his view, in the middle of the alley, is a large, brown grizzly bear on his hind legs, emitting ire-filled grunts. He is swatting orange-tinted, glinting throwing stars hurling at him with trails of wispy, orange energy.

Flinging the throwing stars is Nolan, who is up top on a sleek orange-tinted glider, which is hovering a couple yards above the ground. He throws his arms back, whipping out another glinting throwing star into view, before thrusting it with precise aim at the bear.

"HUUURRRAAAHHHH!!!" The bear forcefully knocks the sharp weapon aside. He falls on his four paws and then launches into the air, his clawed paws reaching out at Nolan.

Instantly, Kale spins around and shuts the door behind him, concealing the scene. He is breathing hard and rapidly due to his palpitating heart with wide eyes and cold, clammy hands.

"Oh my goodness...oh my goodness...," he starts off with a wobbly voice. "They're using powers. They have powers. I did not see this coming." He peers down and lifts his opened hands into view as taut consternation grips him. "I have powers too. I hate them. I really do hate them." He closes his hands into fists. "Oh my goodness, Nolan needs my help—"

"Eek!" Nolan is heard yelping from the other side of the door.

Kale throws a concerned glance at the door, feeling his stomach lurch at the thought of literally acting in his phobia. "This is the time. This is the time to show that I'm not as bad as I seem."

He faces the wall ahead of him and draws in a deep breath before exhaling slowly, calming his recoiling nerves. "Okay. Focus, Kale, focus." He closes his eyes as swallows, pushing his agitation out of his range of sense.

He slowly opens his eyes, his face morphing from anxiety to determination. "You have to do this."