Page 8 of Tusk & Puck

Tina’s smile drops. “Oh. Okay. Well, Ryan, we tried, but it’s obvious where this is going.”

Ryan folds his arms and throws his head backward in frustration. “Great. Can’t wait to play some air hockey at the arcade. Since it’s the only hockey I’ll ever get to play forever in my entire life!”

I hold back the urge to roll my eyes. That wouldn’t be an appropriate reaction to his disappointment. Even if it was overly dramatic. Seriously, this kid was meant for theater.

“You know the drama club is going to put on a play based on that movie you guys like? The one with the lions? Wouldn’t it be fun to be in that?” I ask.

In fact, I think I have a poster announcing tryouts on my desk somewhere. I shuffle through paperwork until I find it and hand it over to Ryan.

He looks at it, then me, with a crooked frown on his face. “That’s lame,” he states firmly.

I sigh in response. My lunch break is ticking down, and I haven’t even unwrapped my sandwich yet.“Look, why don’t you two go enjoy the rest of your recess? Then we’ll have pizza and play safe arcade games, and everyone will feel better!” I say, holding on to hope.

Ryan shakes his head and drags himself out of my office. Tina lingers another moment, arms crossed and looking me over with disapproval.

“You know those places are crawling with germs,” she says. “It’s pretty hippocratical of you to only care about some dangers and not others.”

“Okay, first, it’s pronounced hypocritical. And second, risk assessment is what every parent and guardian has to do all the time. And third, that's why we have hand sanitizer.”

Tina huffs at my rebuttals and stomps out. I can at least appreciate how much she wants to stand up for her brother. She'll do great as a lawyer one day.

I sit back down with my lunchbox, finally ready to shove this sandwich in my mouth before I have to open the clinic doors again. I clear the papers on my desk back into a haphazard pile and pause.

Underneath the papers is an envelope with my name written in familiar handwriting. I carefully open it and find a small pin inside.

It’s in the shape of a heart, with a stethoscope framing it. The wordsMy Favorite Nurseare in the middle. There’s a small piece of paper stuck on the pin that says,Made me think of you. I gulp. This is getting very, very weird.

5

JAROMIR

“You know, even in a casual place like Dieter’s, it’s rude not to take off your sunglasses,” Verog says.

I frown, putting down my water and adjusting my sling. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m here.”

Verog lets out a short laugh. “Oh no, it’s the guy who used to live here! He’s wearing sunglasses but won’t stop adjusting his sling.”

“Verog…” I sigh.

“Wow, Jaromir Fletcher is in his hometown! Someone stop the presses!”

“That’s!” I start to yell. I lower my voice and my sunglasses, showing my old friend my severe disdain. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid here,” I whisper.

“I don’t get why. No one here is gonna yap to the tabloids. You should say hi to more folks, they miss you.”

I relent, removing my sunglasses and glaring at Verog. “Happy?”

“Sure. Just get your elbows off the table.”

I roll my eyes and grab the little plastic leaflet advertising new seasonal drinks by the napkin dispenser. The bright, colorful photos promise fun and flavor, all for just $9.99. It’s tempting. It’s very tempting to have a little something with dinner. But I’m here to launder my image, not make it worse. So I set it back down and sip my water.

A very pretty waitress drops off our basket of mozzarella sticks and takes our entree orders. It’s admittedly strange being back in the life of a regular person. Actually, it’s refreshing and delightful. I found myself actually missing these pre-packaged, frozen and fried cheese sticks with jarred marinara sauce.

“Feels like when we were back in school,” I muse out loud.

“What? The tacky decor, ancient pop hits, or the sticks?”

“All of it! Remember when we used to come here after practice? Coach would buy us all chicken tenders and give each of us a dollar in quarters to play a couple of games. Two dollars if we won.”

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