maybe • adam banks

first day

on the plane ride, i sat with adam and dean. danny was sitting with ken and guy. i guess he was trying to make other friends, and so was i. it'd be good for us to not only have each other.

"so how are your cuts and bruises?" adam asked, turning to me from the window seat.

i looked down at my body, which was covered in a sweatshirt and patched jeans,"uh, i mean, momma conway fixed me up pretty good. bruises still hurt, cuts still sting, but I'm fine."

adam chuckled, staring lightly,"at least goldberg didn't break anything. now you can be a hockey star."

i rolled my eyes, shaking my head, unconvinced by his words,"oh come on, you're the star."

"no, i'm the star." dean interjected, flexing his biceps.

i tilted my head to get a better look at dean's arms, which i actually found to be kind of hot. i mean, the boy had a beautiful body. adam rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"thanks." adam finished, trying to regain my attention.

i shook my head, realizing i had gotten pretty distracted by dean's body. he winked at me before putting on his headphones and looking away.

i stared at dean for a second longer, then turned my attention back to adam,"you're welcome. you're really talented, and when you're that good... people should tell you."

he smiled and looked down at the ground, rubbing the back his neck.

"thanks," he decided to change the subject. he clearly wasn't the kind of boy who liked to talk about himself,"so, how long have you and danny known each other?"

i sighed, hoping he had some better material than that. i think everyone on this plane had asked me that question at least once,"since we were two."

adam nodded,"cool, so, uh, how long have you two been dating?"

i laughed at the question, finding the very thought of danny and i dating, comical,"me and danny aren't dating. he's my best friend."

adam gave a look of realization,"ohhhh. my bad, it just seemed like-"

"yeah, i know," i cut him off, glancing at danny,"everyone thinks that, at first. don't beat yourself up about it."

adam laughed,"yeah, i'm all kinds of distraught about that."

i chuckled,"i can tell. i saw the tears in your eyes, so i thought i'd get ahead of it and reassure you."

he rolled his eyes and smiled,"i'm an emotional guy, it's not your fault."

•

"hopped off the plane at lax, with a dream in my cardigan." danny and i sang at baggage claim.

julie looked at us, impressed that we could carry a tune,"you guys are really good."

ken nodded,"yeah, like, really good."

danny laughed,"yeah, that's what years of musical theatre class will do to a person."

connie raised her eyebrows,"theatre and hockey? double agents."

we laughed as coach walked up to us, bags in hand.

"alright guys, lets show you to the dorms!"

we cheered, undoubtedly annoying everyone around us. international airports are not the places for cheers and happiness. everyone has either lost their bags or lost their mind.

"so how does this whole dorm thing work?" jesse asked as we sat in the back of the cab with charlie and julie.

i looked at him, having a vague idea of how they worked. i had read the packet that tibbles left on my coffee table weeks ago, and tried to recount what i had learned,"okay well, basically there are buildings for each country. there's a usa building which holds usa hockey, usa track, usa speed skating, etcetera. and then there's like an italy dorm, a russia dorm, a trinidad and tobago dorm."