Page 32 of My Pucked Up Enemy

The room laughs, the tension diffused but the sentiment lingering.

I smile and bring the conversation back. “That’s the point. These aren’t weaknesses. They’re signals. Places to strengthen. Things to notice in yourselves, and in each other.”

James raises a hand again. “Follow-up question: are we gonna be graded? Because I feel like I crushed that one.”

Ethan elbows him. “She said own it, not audition forOprah.”

James throws his hands up. “I’m just trying to get extra credit, man.”

As the room unwinds with banter, I scan the cards again.

All of these confessions. Each one a thread.

I catch Alex watching me, not suspiciously. Just… watching. Listening. Still behind walls, but no longer behind closed doors.

“Alright,” I say, stepping forward with a smile. “You’ve survived round one. Let’s move on to something a little more… chaotic.”

I pull out the next set of supplies, noise-canceling headphones. Their collective groans fill the air.

They all turn curious and skeptical as I explain the drill.

“Break out into twos. One of you will wear these,” I hold up the headphones, “while your partner has to describe a basic play using only hand gestures. You’ll guess the play.”

Chaos ensues almost instantly.

James and Parker pair up. James puts on the headphones and immediately starts dancing in his chair.

Parker throws up jazz hands. “Are you... summoning spirits?” James yells.

“No! I’m calling a line change!” Parker gestures more wildly.

“I swear you’re doing the Macarena!” James shouts.

Ethan and Mikey are equally disastrous.

Ethan mimes what looks like swimming.

Mikey shouts, “Penalty kill?”

“Faceoff!” Ethan yells.

“It looks like interpretive dance,” James calls from across the room.

“Mine’s performance art,” Ethan says proudly.

Eventually, even Alex joins in—he and Connor work surprisingly well together. It’s subtle, efficient, minimal confusion. Connor guesses it right in under ten seconds.

“You’re both freaks,” James mutters. “That’s not normal.”

I let the laughter continue a minute longer before calling them back together.

“That,” I say, “was ridiculous and also exactly the point.”

They quiet a bit, still grinning.

“Think about how many breakdowns happen, not because of lack of skill, but because wethinkwe know what someone else is saying… and we don’t.”

Nods all around.

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