Chapter 3

Jim opened the stage door to a sea of mostly girls wanting more autographs and pictures. If Brad wasn’t already popular at school, he certainly is now. The others followed with the same reception. Abby came to Brad and again jumped into his arms.

“I love you, Brad! I’m so very proud of you!” Her eyes were tearing up.

“I love you too. I hope you liked my singing and guitar playing.”

“I loved it, you’re so talented!” She kissed him.

“Hey Brad, we may have to add you as another member of the band. You did a great job tonight, thank you,” Jim offered, and the others thanked him too.

“Thanks, Jim, I had a fantastic time too.”

Abby had to wait, as countless numbers of girls wanted autographs and pictures with him and the band. She then seized her opportunity and walked him to the dance floor.

“My cheeks are hurting from smiling so much. You’ve made me the happiest girlfriend in the world!”

“Did you notice how I altered the words on ‘Summer of 69’ to say I got married?”

“Yes, I did, thank you very much!” She hugged him as they slow-danced. Brad continued to receive pats on the back for his performance.

“I felt bad singing the line, ‘Standin’ on your mama’s porch,’ knowing she isn’t here anymore. I should have changed it to Papa’s porch.”

“I know; it makes me sad too. I wish Mom could have met you. I know she’d love you too.” She clung close to her love for the remainder of the song.

“My throat is dry, and I’m thirsty from all that singing,” he remarked, walking Abby to the snack and refreshment area. Brad took a bottle of water, drinking half of it in one swallow.

“Now all you have to do is sing while playing hockey and drink enough water,” she teased.

“Good one, Abby. I promise I’ll drink more water during my games.”

Brad noticed Scott Warren nearby, facing the wall and taking a quick swig from a small flask. He came by to offer his appreciation to him again and wasn’t very steady on his feet.

“Oh man, you smell like a distillery!” Brad said, fanning Scott’s breath away.

“You don’t know what I’m going through at home,” he justified.

“I thought I could smell booze on you at our hockey game too.”

“Just leave me alone!” He grumbled and walked off with his girlfriend.

Brad shook his head. “He’s headed for trouble at school and in his hockey.”

Brad and Abby continued to enjoy the evening, then Brad felt his pocket vibrate. He took out Abby’s phone and handed it to her. She covered her other ear and then went into the girl’s bathroom to talk.

She returned a minute later. “That was my dad. He’s been called into work. The guy who is on the back shift is sick, and he’s finishing his shift. Dad called your mom, and she’ll pick us up and take me to spend the night with Mrs. O’Malley.”

Scott’s girlfriend approached, touching his shoulder. “Brad, I’m Carrie, Scott’s girlfriend. I think he’s sick. He’s in the boys’ washroom.”

“Oh boy, that’s all we need is for one of the teachers to find out he’s been drinking at the dance!” He muttered.

Brad hurried into the washroom and found Scott in the wheelchair stall, on his knees at the toilet. Several others had followed him, including the girls. He could tell Scott had already been sick to his stomach and put a hand on his shoulder as his stomach retched again.

“Are you okay?” He asked, patting his shoulder.

“Does it fucking look like it?” He snapped back sarcastically, “Leave me the fuck alone!”

“You’ve got to get out of here, man, before one of the teachers comes in. What’s with you?”

“You wouldn’t understand!” He grumbled, spat into the toilet, and wiped his mouth.

“Wow, fuck man, do you ever stink! Don’t you think I’d understand? Try me. We’re teammates, and I care about you, Scott, as a friend too.”

“You wouldn’t understand. Look at you, you’ve got it all. You’re so popular, you can sing and play guitar, you’ve got a beautiful girlfriend who loves you, and you’re a great hockey player,” he listed.

“Your girlfriend is pretty easy on the eyes too, you know,” he offered, looking at Carrie. “So try me; I’m known to be easy to talk to. Does anyone have any breath mints?” He joked. A moment later, he handed several Tic Tacs to him.

Scott’s stomach settled for a moment, and he sat leaning against the stall wall. “My parents have been having a lot of trouble lately, arguing all the time. I know they’re going to get a divorce. I can’t stand all the bickering and arguments anymore, so I began sneaking their booze.”

“Scott, you’re heading for a big time fall at school and in your hockey. You sure saved my ass enough times in a game. You’re a great defenseman and will no doubt get drafted into the OHL this June, but not at the rate you’re going. If our coach gets one whiff of booze on you during a game, you can bet he’ll suspend you.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“No, that’s up to you. You think your parents divorcing is bad? My parents divorced years ago, and a few weeks ago I found out that the man I knew all my life as a pretend uncle is actually my real dad to me and my two sisters. My mother didn’t like it when I called myself a fucking bastard son.”

“Look, man, I know life is tough enough with trying to keep high marks in school and play well enough to get to the OHL. I’m here for you as a teammate and as your friend. I’m all ears if you want to talk, and I’ll help you get help, and what we talk about stays between you and me.”

“And me too,” Abby supported, witnessing their conversation. “You know what is really worse than your parents divorcing? My mom died when I was only ten years old.”

“I’m offering you my help; do you want it?” Brad asked, offering his hand.

“Yeah,” he felt embarrassed.

“Good; wanting help is the first step.”

“Alright, what’s going on in here?” A male voice bellowed.

“Someone is sick,” Amber mentioned.

“Okay, everyone clear out!” The room emptied in a hurry, except for Brad’s friends and Carrie.

Brad recognized the voice of Mr. Erickson. “What’s going on here?” He asked, seeing Scott’s haggard appearance. “I smell booze. You’ve been drinking, Warren?”

“It’s cough medicine and other stuff, Sir. Scott told me he has the flu,” Brad motioned with a little nod for Scott to agree.

“Sorry, Mr. Erickson. I knew I shouldn’t have come to the dance being so sick, but I didn’t want to disappoint my girlfriend,” he looked to Carrie.

Bad offered his hand to help Scott stand up, and he was a little woozy for balance. Mr. Erickson looked at Scott, then into the toilet. “I smell booze.”

“I’ve got this, Mr. Erickson,” Brad tried to prevent any trouble for Scott.

“Scott, if I’d known you were so sick, we would have stayed home,” Carrie reasoned, going along with the ruse. “I’ll call my mom to come and get us,” she added, taking out her cell phone.

Mr. Erickson looked at each one, certain of what he knew. “Please, Mr. Erickson,” Brad pleaded. “Scott is having a rough time at home, and we’re going to help him.”

“Scott, it appears that your friends care about you a lot. Okay, I want you to go home as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Mr. Erickson,” Scott replied, flushing the toilet and chewing the last of the mints in his mouth.

Mr. Erickson left, and they all gave a sigh of relief. “That was way too close!” Abby exclaimed.

“Thanks, Brad, you saved my ass!” Scott offered his hand.

“That’s what friends do. Now get out of here before Mr. Erickson changes his mind, and I’ll see you at Sunday’s game, sober.”

“Thanks again, and I will be sober. You can check my hockey bag, water bottle, and my breath.”

“You can keep your breath. I’d be able to smell it seeping out of your pores.”

“So your offer of help to me is legit?”

“Damn right it is!”

“And so is ours,” Abby added on behalf of the group.

Brad and Abby returned to the dance once Scott and Carrie were in her mom’s car. “It’s almost 10:30. The dance will be over in a few minutes,” Abby said, noticing the wall clock.

The group hurried to get in the last few dances. The DJ soon announced the last song, and Abby embraced her love close to her breasts. As the auditorium lights came on, the DJ thanked everyone for attending and led a loud round of applause, appreciating the short concert of ‘Dissension.’

Brad and Abby returned to the stage so he could pack his guitar and help the others. “So this is the Abby your song was about. I would have written a love song like that too for such a beautiful girl,” Jim teased. Brad introduced her to the other band members.

“With inspiration like her, you should be able to write all our love songs,” B. J. kidded.