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Chapter two — the mystery girl
TW: foul language

October 3rd, 1992
Adam Banks

THE TEAM AND I stepped out of the theater through the main doors as we felt the cold air hit our faces. Thunder rumbled in the sky and rain started to fall again. Normally during a power outage, the street lamps stay on, but even they are out now.

My long-term teammate and childhood friend, Alex Larson said, "We figured you'd wake up eventually," as he swung his arms around McGill and me.

"It's fine, we need to figure out how we're getting home," I said, not taking my eyes off a certain brown-haired girl I saw getting on her bike.

The girl had shoulder-length hair and was wearing a New Jersey Devils windbreaker, I didn't expect a Devils fan in Minnesota. Her jeans and Converse shoes were both covered in doodles and glow and dark paint. As she turned on the lamp on the front of her bike, she made eye contact with me before pedaling into the wet street alongside another boy.

"Banksie!" I heard Hughes call out, snapping me back to reality. "Let's go!" he shouted, as he and the team piled into his mom's minivan.

Mrs. Hughes was practically our team chauffeur whenever we needed one. She loved all of us like her own and loved driving us around whenever we needed. I climbed into the crowded minivan and closed the door behind me. Hughes and McGill separated to make a small spot for me in the middle of them, but I decided to sit on the floorboards in front of them instead.

"All you boys good?" Mrs. Hughes asked, and we all said "Yes, Mrs. Hughes." since she hated when we called her that instead of her first name, Elizabeth.

"Hey, Banks." Hughes began. "We heard that a girl walked you out," Ricky King, our main goalie, said causing the van to erupt with "oohs." I snickered, grateful that no one could see my cheeks turn red. As I itched my nose with my hand, I caught a whiff of a certain perfume. It was a fruity and floral scent, but I couldn't quite identify it.

"What was her name?" Larson asked, looking back at me as the van waited for my response. "She said her last name was Conway, but she didn't tell me her first name."

The car fell silent as the team exchanged looks of shock. "Conway's sister?" they all asked.

Larson interjected, "Correction," interjected, "Conway's badass sister." McGill and Hughes nodded in agreement. "Chill out. It's probably not even her," I added, crossing my arms.

"Her first name is Cassidy, but she goes by Cassie. only her brother and closest friends call her Cass." Hughes explains,

"She plays hockey too, that girl got wicked speed," Larson says with a smile.

"Isn't she like five-five?" I ask, "She's like five-eight on skates but she can fuck someone up pretty easily." King corrects me.

"I wish she could play for the Hawks, she's too good to be on that shitty of a team," McGill says as he looks out the window.

"She's the only player on District Five that's scored a Goal, ever," Larson says.

"I'd let her score on us any day of the week." Our alternate goalie, Axel O'Callahan, chimes in.

"Okay, okay. I get it. You guys seem to know a lot about her," I say, surprised that they have so much information about a girl from District Five. "I mean she's hot and plays hockey," McGill adds with a smirk.

The van comes to a stop, and I realize that Mrs. Hughes stopped at my house first. Opening the sliding door, I turn to the driver's seat and say, "Thank you for the ride, Mrs. Hughes." She smiles "Anytime Adam. Be safe and get warm." before I close the door. I unlock my door and step inside my dark, empty house. The coldness of the house sends shivers down my spine,

Closing the door to my bedroom, the power comes back on and my desk light comes back on, revealing a note on my desk. Setting my rollerblades next to the rest of my hockey equipment, before I grab the note and read it.

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Your father and I went to Michigan because Grammy's health is deteriorating.
We'll return on Thursday, Alexander will drive you to hockey and anywhere else you need to go.

Call if you need anything.
Love, Mom.
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I was used to my mom making excuses for my dad's frequent surprise work trips, as it had been happening since I could remember. If my Grammy was that sick, we would have all gone to visit her. I balled up the note in my hand as my bedroom door slowly creaked open. I saw my older brother, Alex, looking in.

"How was the movie?" he asked, leaning against the door frame. "It was good until the power went out," I replied, crossing my arms to face him.

I got along with Alex, but we weren't very close. Most of the time, he spent playing his electric guitar in his room. However, the other part of the time, he would bring girl after girl into the house; since he was the assistant captain of the Eden Hall hockey team as a junior.

"Damn, that sucks, the parents are out of town and won't be back for a few days," he complained. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, knowing that it always took them longer to return than they had planned. "There's a party tomorrow at eleven. You can either go to a friend's house or stay in your room until everyone leaves," he suggested, looking directly at me.

"I'll ask one of the Hawks if I can spend the night," I said as I took off my Hawks jacket. "I'll take you to school in the morning if it even happens. I heard there was supposed to be a monster blizzard tonight," Alex said as he looked through my window.

"I'll keep a flashlight by my bed. I know the drill," I replied as I unlaced my wet Vans.

"Go to sleep, Jerk. Goodnight," Alex said before closing my door and fleeing from my room.

"Night, asshat!" I hollered, hoping he could hear me. I changed into my Minnesota North Stars t-shirt and put on a pair of Nike shorts. I grabbed my Walkman from my desk and placed my headphones beside it. I turned up the volume so I could listen to music as I slept. I lay on my back and Michael Jackson Man in the Mirror began to play and my eyes closed.

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October 2nd, 1992
Adam Banks

    SCHOOL DAYS FELT LONGER as winter break approached. The roads were cleared early in the morning after the storm, so most schools in the area had a full day.

As soon as the bell rang at two fifty I rushed out of the classroom beating most of my classmates out of the room. I quickly retrieved my blades from my locker before the group of people, aka the Hawks, could corner me.

Hughes shouted, "Hey, everyone! Look who's here, Cassie's secret admirer!" for all to hear. I felt a strong urge to slap him, but I decided to ignore him instead and skated to the mall to get Alex's new Ice Cube album, Lethal Injection, which he had asked for. It's my payment for him driving me while the parents are out of town.

I enjoyed listening to his music, but it wasn't my favorite. When I go by Tape World I always end up browsing for albums by Queen, Bon Jovi, or A-ha. It's a popular spot for music lovers like me.

"Hey Banks!" Larson yelled as he ran up to my side. "Are you coming over tonight? I know your brother is throwing a party. Since my brother is invited I thought we could hang out and play Super Mario World or something." he rambles.

I was listening to his words before a familiar face caught my attention as she walked past me in the hallway. Our arms lightly brushed against each other, and the scent of her perfume filled my senses, causing my cheeks to flush. I turned around to see a brunette girl walking with a taller black-haired boy, his arm draped casually around her shoulder. She gazed at him with a radiant smile and as he smiled back at her, my heart sank.

I hear "Banks!" before I finally spot Alex halfway down the hallway, looking back at me. As I navigate through the crowd, I make my way towards him. Together, we walk through the school's back doors to join the rest of the team.

"Hey everyone, I'm treating us to a trip to the arcade," Axel says with a smile. It's become a team tradition to go there on Mondays after school ever since we got snowed in during fall break a few years ago.

"I need to stop by the mall to pick up a tape for Alex and me," I say. The team looks at me, and Micheal finally speaks up. "Dude, it would be idiotic to blade to the mall."

I grin and say, "Oh, I'm up for it; anybody else?" Alex and River join me, patting me on the back. We shook each other playfully as the rest of the team looked confused by our decision to go rollerblading in this weather.

Micheal kindly offers to take our backpacks to his house, as all of our siblings are headed to my place for the party. The three of us separate from the group and start gliding down the rain-soaked streets. We may have to replace our bearings after skating on the wet roads, but it's worth it.

As we approach the final corner of the mall, we are greeted by a sea of cars and not a single empty parking spot in sight. As we navigate through the crowded lot, we notice a group of kids who have crammed their bikes into a single spot that is reserved for bikes.

As the door to the mall swung open, Alex held it for both River and me, and we glided into the entrance. Despite the presence of a few people scattered across the benches, the mall was mostly deserted. As we hurried up the escalator, our attention was drawn to a brunette girl heading toward the entrance of Tape World. She looked vaguely at the girl I had spotted at the cinema last night.

"I call holding the door for the pretty girl," Larson says going up the escalator quicker. "Nope, I call it," Hughes says. The two of them bicker back and forth so I take my chance and skate past them and to the door. Opening the door, I hold onto the handle as I do a half circle to face her.

"Thank you." The brunette says smiling before walking past me. The sound of her voice is strangely familiar as well, but I'm swiftly snapped back to reality when Larson and Hughes catch up with me, out of breath.

Larson says, "You have fun in there, we're running to the video store to see if they have Newsies for my sister," referring to Meagan, his little sister who's about two years younger than us. I nod, and the two of them skate by. I then walk into Tape World, following in the footsteps of the brunette.

Miles, the main worker of the store, greets the brunette. "Hey Cass!" Before greeting me. "Hey, mini Banks." He only knows me since I walk in every other day and growing up with my brother.

I head over to the Rock section, eyeing the Metallica section. As I'm checking out the tapes, the girl leans over the counter and talks with Miles. It makes my head turn, as an odd feeling sets in. I feel like I know her, but not quite enough to place her. Looking over, I notice Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet catches my eye. I'd been wanting another after Alex stole the one I previously had, and I grabbed it before walking up to the counter.

Miles asks, "What's up, Mini Banks? This all?" I respond, with an amused look on my face, "Yeah, Alex stole my other one." I then reach for the leather wallet my father had gifted me for Christmas last year.

The brunette looks over at me and gives her approval for my selection. "Good choice," she says, "I love Bon Jovi." As I look up at her, her sparkling green eyes catch my attention. I can't help but notice her height and admire her features.

I hand Miles a ten-dollar bill, and he puts three dollars in my hand after making a change. I tell him thank you and take hold of the tape. As I turn to leave, he says "See you later, Mini Banks!"

The scent of the same perfume I'd smelled in the hallway earlier wafts my way. I turn around to see the tall brunette, realizing that it's the same perfume the pretty girl had used when she walked me out last night.

"What's your name?" I blurt out, both Miles and the brunette's heads turning over to me. "Cassie, why?" She asks as I force a smile responding, "Just curious." I open the door, walk out of the store, and the gears of my mind begin to turn.

It all clicks into place; The perfume, the hair, the Converse, it all aligns with Cassie Conway, the person who walked me out of the theater last night. I've found her. I've found the mystery girl.