Extra Ordinary

20.

Click. Beep, beep, beep.

"Damn it!" I hissed. 

I threw my phone on my bed. Where the hell was Asa? 

He'd promised he'd pick me up at nine, and it was now nine fifteen with no word from him. He didn't answer his phone, he didn't answer his messages, and if he wasn't here in fifteen more minutes I'd be too late to switch to the bus or an available Uber driver. 

I really, really didn't need this kind of stress right now.

Maybe I should ask my parents-- no, I dismissed the idea quickly. If I wanted Mom or Dad to drive me, I'd first have to get into the discussion of why I wanted to go to a particular convention centre fifty miles away. After that, the accusations of 'couldn't you have mentioned this earlier?' would follow, and then, after all that shebang, I'd have a slight chance Dad was in a good mood and would drive. 

More stress I didn't need. 

Pacing through my room, I finally decided I was desperate enough to call Cindy.

She picked up almost right away. 

"Hi, Gabe!" she greeted me cheerfully, giggling. "Are you ready? I'm already on the tournament page. Oh, I know it won't go live until two hours! But I can't wait!" 

I had a feeling Cindy didn't know anything about Asa and my arrangement for today. That wasn't a good sign. 

"Cindy, do you know where Asa is?" I asked. 

"Huh? Oh..." Cindy abruptly lost her cheerfulness. "Yeah, he can't come to the phone. I'm sure he's cheering for you, though!"

"Cindy? Who are you talking to?" A male voice I vaguely recognised as Asa's uncle rang out in the background. 

"No one!" Cindy hastily replied. 

"Sorry, gotta go," she whispered to me, before ending the call.  

Can't come to the phone? What was that supposed to mean? Was he not at home? Was he in his room with... with other problems? 

I didn't want to get Cindy in trouble, so I stopped myself from calling again. Didn't have time to hesitate about it, either. 

The bus wasn't going to wait for me and I had to run at this point to make it. 

It really would've been the icing on the crap cake - watching the bus leave without me. Fortunately, that didn't happen and I made it it in time. Red-faced and sweaty, but in time. 

The ride to Brown's Convention Centre, where the Double Singularity tournament would be held, went by in a blur. I was too busy worrying about not missing my stops and switching busses at the right time for anything else. 

Asa was a constant worry in the back of my mind, but he had to remain there while I tried my damn hardest to not be even later and to find the right entrance for contestants. 

I arrived with a dry throat and no water, and already halfway out of steam. The Brown building was buzzing with activity. Cars everywhere, big fences, people standing in line to get inside or moving around to get snacks from nearby stands, and security staff keeping a close eye on things. But nobody paid me, a sweating, confused-looking seventeen-year-old boy, any mind. 

Nobody knew my face. Yet. 

Soon that would be over. 

I found the contestant entrance on the other side of the building, where there was more shade and way fewer people around.