Chapter 34 Andie #2
I’m about to ask Ezra how on earth they are here when they were literally in an entirely different city and had a game, when the Principal and Vice Principal finally barrel into the hall, shell-shocked at the condition of the stage.
I look at the room from their eyes and find it in a state of complete and utter chaos—a cataclysmic disaster if you will.
The panels lie crooked and broken on the stage, the million little pieces of the shattered glass lying everywhere, sparkling like snow. The disarray in front of me hits home, making me realize that it’s over.
Today’s show is canceled.
The Principal confirms my fears. “We’re going to have to call all the parents and tell them that the show is canceled.”
“Right. There’s no way that this can be contained and repaired within an hour,” Mrs. Deena parrots, the cocky glint shining in her eyes.
I don’t know why I’m shocked that she’s happy. But I do agree, there’s no way all of it can be undone. There isn’t enough tech and mechanical support to handle this mess. We will have to cancel.
My shoulders slump in exhaustion as I do my best not to burst into tears like I want to.
My gaze involuntarily seeks out Noah, yearning for their warmth and comfort. His jaw is clenched, and if I hear carefully, I can hear his teeth grinding as he bores holes in—my eyes follow his line of sight—Mrs. Deena.
“No,” he declares, shoving his hands into his pockets as a pin-drop silence descends in the room.
All the gazes in the room pin to him while his stay at the Principal. Mr. Gates squirms under his unwavering glare—he does have that effect on people.
“Excuse me?” Mr. Gates says, exercising his authority and remembering that he’s the one in charge here.
“You heard me,” Noah grunts, crossing his arms across his chest, taking a wider, more intimidating stance. “You won’t cancel the show.”
What on God’s green earth is he saying? Can’t cancel the show?
“Why do you think I’ll do that?” Mr. Gates shifts.
“I’m sure you can see the current state we’re in.
There’s no way the mess can be cleaned up before the parents start arriving.
We’re short on capable hands who can help out with the manual labor and technical staff this job needs,” he explains logically, stating everything as it is.
No matter how much I abhor it, I’m inclined to agree with him.
“I’ll handle that,” Noah announces as if he’s talking about handling coffee orders.
“Come again?” Mrs Deena takes a step forward, authority and superiority exuding from her.
“I hate repeating myself,” he grits, cutting her a scathing glare. That shuts her up, and I see her losing the confidence she wears with pride.
“How would you do that?” Mr. Gates asks, getting Noah’s eyes back on himself.
His arms spread wide around him. “You have the entire Bandits team at your disposal. We can do hard labor. You’ll have your stage ready on time,” he announces, my eyes widening at his words.
“Why are you doing this?” Mr. Gates asks the question bubbling inside of me, too.
“I’m not about to let anybody’s time and labor into putting this show go to waste,” his words ring in the room, appearing as mere concern to everyone but me.
Mine.
He means my time and labor.
He knows I’ve been working on it for months, losing sleep and missing meals just to make today’s show perfect.
He’s worried about my hard work when he’s bleeding and probably has cuts all over his body.
A stray tear falls from my eyes at his selfless care, but I quickly wipe it away.
Ezra takes a step forward, agreeing with Noah, “Yes. We’ll get it done.”
Once the captain announces, the entire team follows, coming to stand next to Ezra and Noah. It’s surely a sight, seeing these tall and built hockey players standing together and commandeering a room.
If I weren’t already enamored with one of them, I’d swoon at the sight of all of them—except for my brother, of course.
“Fuck, he’s hot,” Kaeli sighs in my ear.
“Yeah,” I breathe, unable to take my eyes off of him.
Kaeli’s head swivels to me. “What?”
My eyes widen, promptly realizing my mistake. It’s too wrong to call my brother hot and too dangerous to let her know about Noah. “Oh…umm…nothing! Just saying that it’s too hot in here,” I lie, fanning myself to emphasize my point.
Kaeli’s lips lift into a knowing smirk, her arms crossing over her chest as she nods her head. “Sure.”
“Mhmm. I gotta go and check up on everything,” I say, pointing over my shoulder, my feet already moving to get away.
“Go, go,” she waves me away, the smile spread across her face now.
I cast one last lingering look at the man who feels like an extension of my soul.
I walk away with my heart aching from the pain in his shoulder that he keeps moving in discomfort.
Nonetheless, I can’t let myself mull over it for too long, or I won’t be able to concentrate on the task at hand.
So, I do my best to prove myself with the chance Noah got me and put on a show an hour later when the team has done the impossible.
When I receive high praises from the senior staff and Mr. Gates, my eyes thank Noah for everything he did for me, realizing one thing with every single drop of my blood.
Noah Miller is my undoing.