Part 1 - Pre 2/28, Chapter 1C
With the rise of the noise around them, Drew made a face at Stace, displaying his displeasure. These types of celebrations in concert with the Raydars' showing off just proved ever more to Drew that his team no longer existed; what was left was this mockery of its former self. Yet his son reveled along with the fans, seeing their celebration as vindication of his efforts as Acting Liaison to the Fans.
Stace folded her arms and tapped her foot, drumming her fingers on her upper arm. "Where is that nephew of mine?"
A little crushed, Corey turned to Stace and to Drew's wincing eyes, seemed to whine at her, "Aww, Stace, you're not leaving before the game ends, are ya?"
Stace harrumphed. "As if Jimmie would ever let us leave before the last firework is set in the parking lot."
Drew smiled at her; Stace liked to act as if it was all because of her nephew Jimmie that they had to stay for all the parking lot revelries after a game but he knew better. He'd seen her drink guys thrice her size under the car. Corey brightened up just as someone nearby screamed out "HELP!"
All three snapped their heads toward the voice. "It's Mrs. Hongjin!" Stace cried out.
Sure enough, Mrs. Hongjin was the one who had apparently screamed, for she was waving her hands frantically. She saw that the three had heard her and yelled out, "Jiasing, heart attack!" Corey lept and scrambled over the half emptied seats to get to her as he barked an order over his shoulder at his father: "Call Raqi!"
Drew had his handheld out already and before Corey reached Mr. Hongjin, Drew had Raqi on the other end. "Raqi. Heart attack, 15 rows from my seat." A click was the answer he got.
He saw that Stace was making her way over to help out and he too, went but using a less vertically challenged route. Ignoring requests for autographs, he soon got to the fallen man and saw that Corey had started CPR already. Stace was steadying Mrs. Hongjin so Drew took crowd control. Muscling some onlookers with a little sweep of his massive arms, he moved the crowd back all the while apologizing with "Sorry, gotta do this."
By the time he had widened a large arc of the circle, Raqi and her EMT partner Franklin showed up with defibrillator in hand and stretcher in tow. The pride with which he was watching his daughter work must've been apparent because soon, he felt a dig in his ribs. Of course it was Stace, who gave a quick nod over at Corey. Drew saw the look of disappointment on his son's face and he wanted to take everything that had happened in the past four minutes back.
Drew had tried all Corey's life to make Corey know and understand that Drew loved and respected him but he could neither disguise his feelings for his daughter nor could he assuage Corey's hurt. Despite the guilt he felt, he couldn't help but admire the fluidity with which his daughter approached all tasks. Even mistakes she made, a stumble here, a drop there, would turn gracefully into an interpretation of a pirouette or arabesque. The world, compared with his daughter, waddled and stumbled through life. He had seen people just stop in the middle of walking and watch her work for minutes, speechless.
His poor son could only envy his agile sister. Through hard work, he had molded himself into a decent Zingball player - just not major league level and barely minor league. He had played for the Merlions for two years before both the organization and he decided it was mutually beneficial for him to discontinue his contribution to the team. At least that was what both said publically.
After Raqi and Franklin stabilized Mr. Hongjin, they got him on the stretcher. Pausing before Drew, Raqi asked, "Dad, could you help clear the way for us?"
"With pleasure." Without even moving his hand, just by walking through the crowd, they parted before his towering form. His sheer bulk intimidated them. He could hear Raqi behind him whispering, "I see you, Dad, you're puffing yourself up to make yourself seem bigger. I know that trick. You used to scare off my boyfriends with that trick."
Grinning with his voice but not his face, Drew whispered back, "You'd rather have more business? You know I'd hurt these fragile ones."
A poke in his back just made Drew happier.
*****
"Whoowee, did you just see that shot? That ball must've ricocheted off a helmet, a back guard, two walls before Raydars #33 scooped up the ball. The helmet belonged to Shooting Star's #86 and the back? Well, let's just say, the Shooting Stars will soon run out of official Defenders if they keep not avoiding the ricochets. Yes! They just managed to get him off the field despite the deliberateness of the Raydars playing around their medical team. And oh no, the Raydars Shooters are already lining ther replacement #91 up for shots. The Raydars seem content to leave the score at 75 to 8, and what's that I spot? The Shooting Stars are just being toyed with, folks.
Wait... waitaminnit... what's this? YES! #77 of the Shooting Stars has managed to knock one of the balls back into the neutral zone and #56 of the Shooting Stars has picked it up. He's trying to quickly reach the Shooting Star's zone, to prevent any of the offensive Raydars from further pursuit - Ah no!
#56 is down folks. A Raydar Protector came out of nowhere and walloped #56 across his stomach. I didn't even get to see which one it was, he disappeared into the pack so fast. Yup, #33 has the ball again.
One last bit of news before we go to a commercial break... we just received word that the fan who had collapsed at the beginning of the 5th Quint has been stabilized and is on his way to the hospital, thanks to the quick and efficient work of the West family. And before we take the three minute break between 5a and 5b, we want to remind you that Raydars gear are available at a store within 500 yards of you. If not, we will mail you merchandise and pay for the shipping ourselves! This is Nik Bloom, stay tuned for some important messages from our sponsors."
Stace folded her arms and tapped her foot, drumming her fingers on her upper arm. "Where is that nephew of mine?"
A little crushed, Corey turned to Stace and to Drew's wincing eyes, seemed to whine at her, "Aww, Stace, you're not leaving before the game ends, are ya?"
Stace harrumphed. "As if Jimmie would ever let us leave before the last firework is set in the parking lot."
Drew smiled at her; Stace liked to act as if it was all because of her nephew Jimmie that they had to stay for all the parking lot revelries after a game but he knew better. He'd seen her drink guys thrice her size under the car. Corey brightened up just as someone nearby screamed out "HELP!"
All three snapped their heads toward the voice. "It's Mrs. Hongjin!" Stace cried out.
Sure enough, Mrs. Hongjin was the one who had apparently screamed, for she was waving her hands frantically. She saw that the three had heard her and yelled out, "Jiasing, heart attack!" Corey lept and scrambled over the half emptied seats to get to her as he barked an order over his shoulder at his father: "Call Raqi!"
Drew had his handheld out already and before Corey reached Mr. Hongjin, Drew had Raqi on the other end. "Raqi. Heart attack, 15 rows from my seat." A click was the answer he got.
He saw that Stace was making her way over to help out and he too, went but using a less vertically challenged route. Ignoring requests for autographs, he soon got to the fallen man and saw that Corey had started CPR already. Stace was steadying Mrs. Hongjin so Drew took crowd control. Muscling some onlookers with a little sweep of his massive arms, he moved the crowd back all the while apologizing with "Sorry, gotta do this."
By the time he had widened a large arc of the circle, Raqi and her EMT partner Franklin showed up with defibrillator in hand and stretcher in tow. The pride with which he was watching his daughter work must've been apparent because soon, he felt a dig in his ribs. Of course it was Stace, who gave a quick nod over at Corey. Drew saw the look of disappointment on his son's face and he wanted to take everything that had happened in the past four minutes back.
Drew had tried all Corey's life to make Corey know and understand that Drew loved and respected him but he could neither disguise his feelings for his daughter nor could he assuage Corey's hurt. Despite the guilt he felt, he couldn't help but admire the fluidity with which his daughter approached all tasks. Even mistakes she made, a stumble here, a drop there, would turn gracefully into an interpretation of a pirouette or arabesque. The world, compared with his daughter, waddled and stumbled through life. He had seen people just stop in the middle of walking and watch her work for minutes, speechless.
His poor son could only envy his agile sister. Through hard work, he had molded himself into a decent Zingball player - just not major league level and barely minor league. He had played for the Merlions for two years before both the organization and he decided it was mutually beneficial for him to discontinue his contribution to the team. At least that was what both said publically.
After Raqi and Franklin stabilized Mr. Hongjin, they got him on the stretcher. Pausing before Drew, Raqi asked, "Dad, could you help clear the way for us?"
"With pleasure." Without even moving his hand, just by walking through the crowd, they parted before his towering form. His sheer bulk intimidated them. He could hear Raqi behind him whispering, "I see you, Dad, you're puffing yourself up to make yourself seem bigger. I know that trick. You used to scare off my boyfriends with that trick."
Grinning with his voice but not his face, Drew whispered back, "You'd rather have more business? You know I'd hurt these fragile ones."
A poke in his back just made Drew happier.
"Whoowee, did you just see that shot? That ball must've ricocheted off a helmet, a back guard, two walls before Raydars #33 scooped up the ball. The helmet belonged to Shooting Star's #86 and the back? Well, let's just say, the Shooting Stars will soon run out of official Defenders if they keep not avoiding the ricochets. Yes! They just managed to get him off the field despite the deliberateness of the Raydars playing around their medical team. And oh no, the Raydars Shooters are already lining ther replacement #91 up for shots. The Raydars seem content to leave the score at 75 to 8, and what's that I spot? The Shooting Stars are just being toyed with, folks.
Wait... waitaminnit... what's this? YES! #77 of the Shooting Stars has managed to knock one of the balls back into the neutral zone and #56 of the Shooting Stars has picked it up. He's trying to quickly reach the Shooting Star's zone, to prevent any of the offensive Raydars from further pursuit - Ah no!
#56 is down folks. A Raydar Protector came out of nowhere and walloped #56 across his stomach. I didn't even get to see which one it was, he disappeared into the pack so fast. Yup, #33 has the ball again.
One last bit of news before we go to a commercial break... we just received word that the fan who had collapsed at the beginning of the 5th Quint has been stabilized and is on his way to the hospital, thanks to the quick and efficient work of the West family. And before we take the three minute break between 5a and 5b, we want to remind you that Raydars gear are available at a store within 500 yards of you. If not, we will mail you merchandise and pay for the shipping ourselves! This is Nik Bloom, stay tuned for some important messages from our sponsors."
posted by resigned idealist at 7:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home