The week leading up to the tournament, I felt a mix of nerves and irritation, especially irritation. Linda put me on the schedule to work for the weekend even though I gave her a month’s notice that I needed that Saturday and Sunday off.

I emailed her as soon as the schedule came out on Monday. I wanted to say, “Hey, what the hell? I gave you a month notice in advance to not put me on the schedule, yet, here I am,” but instead, I said something much more polite. Her response followed later in the day:

Sorry, Gordy, but these are requests to have the weekend off. I can’t grant them all. Chris, who is highest in seniority, is gone for the weekend in Florida. Darren, the second-highest seniority, also requested the weekend off. As you can see, I’m a little short-staffed, so I put you on the schedule. You can ask your co-workers to cover your shifts if you’d like.

During the week, I worked two shifts and asked my coworkers to cover for me, but none of them were interested. It was like pulling teeth. When Friday came, I still didn’t have a cover. Panic had settled, but I tried not to let it get the better of me.

I would be working Friday evening with Darren, and then I would stay the night at his house. Saturday morning, we would pick up Wyatt and then go to the tournament. We hadn’t decided on playing Sunday yet, but we could buy a pass the day of if we so desired. That was the plan.

Fortunately, I was going to be working with Linda on Friday night, I still hadn’t found covers for work, but I wanted to tell her in person. After the shift ended, Darren and I closed Stella’s, and Linda said we could leave. She walked back to the office to finish some paperwork for the night. Darren and I still stood inside the store.

“Hey man, best of luck talking with Linda,” Darren said.

“Maybe you should come with me, really express to her that I also have to be gone with you tomorrow,” I begged.

“I don’t think that would be a good look. For one, I don’t want to tell Linda I took the weekend off for a gaming tournament. Two, you shouldn’t mention that either. And three, you don’t have to explain why you need the time off. Just tell her you can’t be here this weekend. You’ll be fine. What’s she going to do, fire you?”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Uh, yeah. Linda can absolutely fire me for not showing up to a shift. I’m also at the bottom of the rankings here. I’m easily replaceable.”

“She won’t fire you. Seriously, she needs all the help she can get here. Anyways, meet me back at my place. I’m about to drive home right now. See you there?”

“See you there!” I beamed. I playfully hit him on the arms with my fists a few times.

Darren laughed. “Yeah, man, I’m excited. Okay, good luck talking with Linda!”

Feeling a jolt of excitement, I headed to Linda’s office. I opened the door and tried to convince myself to have the confidence of a mountain lion. To have the weekend off, I had to be headstrong in front of someone I was intimidated by.

“Yes, Gordie? Did you do something wrong that requires me to look over your mistake?” Linda started.

“Well, no. Fortunately, it’s not like that.” I laughed nervously but cleared my throat. “Actually, this news might be unfortunate because there’s no way I can work this weekend, and I asked everyone if they could cover my shift, but they couldn’t. I’m left with no choice but to not show up tomorrow.” Phew, I didn’t stumble or say ‘uh’ once.

Linda sighed. “That’s unfortunate, Gordy. This isn’t a good look for you, nor does it bode well for your future here.”

“What if I don’t show up?” I said.

“You’ll probably be fired if you want the truth.”

“I don’t think that’s very fair.”

Linda looked up from her computer, annoyed. “And why is that? You’ve known about this all week. You’ve had a chance to get the shift covered. If people can’t cover, it is your responsibility. That’s as fair as I can make it for everyone.”

“All I’m saying is that a no-call no-show is grounds for firing. I’ll admit, it’s a no-show, but I told you well in advance that I wouldn’t be available.”

“Still, you could be let go for it. That will be determined at a later time.”

“Linda, I’m sixteen. I didn’t want to go into these details, but it’s the second year anniversary of my brother’s passing. He was my closest friend. Please, understand that I’m not coming in this weekend. Hell, I don’t even know if I’d want to come back after this weekend if I’m treated like this for taking time off for my emotional well-being.”

Linda’s lips curled down for a silent ten seconds. “I’m sorry for your loss, Gordie. Take care of yourself this weekend.”

After work, I went straight to Darren’s house, where we played a couple of matches of Elite Crushers. We went to bed earlier than usual because we knew Saturday would be long. We had to be out of the door by 6 AM to pick up Wyatt and take him to the convention center in downtown Chicago. The three of us also planned on getting breakfast at a place by Wyatt’s house before we made the trek to the tournament.

I had a hard time falling asleep on Darren’s couch in the game room. Not that I was uncomfortable, his couch was surprisingly cozier than my bed at home. The excitement of the tournament was keeping me wide awake. I was picturing myself kicking some people’s asses at the game in the early rounds, then losing, but rooting on for Wyatt. What would Michael think of my confidence? After all, my big dream was to become a professional player that ranked in the top eight. I should’ve been thinking about that instead, but my cursed sense of practicality reeled me back in. Rooting for Wyatt would be just as enjoyable.

At around 3 AM, I was still awake. I even heard Darren’s mom walk into the house.

“Damn, what a fuckin’ night,” I heard her whisper angrily through the walls.

I tried to listen further for any clues on what her occupation was. Darren told me she worked at a warehouse on the late shift, but the conversation was weird.

“So, Darren, what does your mom do?” I asked as we were driving to Wyatt’s one night after work.

“She works at a warehouse.”

“What kind of a warehouse?”

“Jewel Osco. The Chicago grocery chain.”

“But what exactly does she do in the warehouse?”

“What is this 21 questions or something? I don’t really know. I don’t bother to ask. It sounds boring and horrible,” he said defensively.

“Okay, sorry, didn’t mean to hit a nerve,” I said, and we were silent for the rest of the trip.

Even after all these weeks of hanging out with Darren, I still had never met his mom. I heard her voice on a few occasions, but I thought it was reaching a point of silliness that I still had no idea who she was. I debated getting up and going to the bathroom to finally meet her, but ultimately I decided not to. It had to be on Darren’s terms. Not mine.

“Hey, Gordie, it’s 5:30 AM, time to wake up,” Darren said, shaking my body lightly.

I awoke feeling surprisingly alert after hardly getting any sleep. “Yep, I’m ready, just need to put my clothes on, and I’m out the door.”

We left his house a little bit before 6 AM. I tried calling Wyatt a few times on the way there in Darren’s car, but he wasn’t answering his phone.

“What is this, Darren? You know Wyatt better than me. How come he’s not answering his phone?”

Darren sighed. “He might be sleeping. I really hope that’s not the case. Maybe he’s just in the shower or something. Let’s have some faith.”

I called Wyatt every three minutes for the rest of the car ride. By the time we pulled up to his house, he still hadn’t answered a single text or call. Darren and I stood outside his front door, knocking.

“Damn, you really should have a key to his house,” I said.

“Why?” Darren asked. “Just so it’s convenient for you?”

“No, dude, let’s say there’s a situation going on, or you’re watching their house for the weekend. You’re like the closest family member. It makes sense.” I paused, surprised he got defensive about it, so I tried to joke, “It would also be mighty convenient right now.”

“Well, the best thing I can offer is trying to call my aunt? There’s probably a better chance that she’d answer the phone.”

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

The door opened, and Darren’s aunt, Rita, looked tired and confused. “Darren, Gordie, what are you boys doing here so early in the morning?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I moaned.

“Hey Aunt Rita, do you know if Wyatt is up? We’re supposed to be going to a video game tournament soon, and we were going to get breakfast with him.”

“Oh, dear. He was out late last night with his friends from Northwestern. Feel free to go up to his room.” His mom let us in.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude earlier. It’s just a little bit of a high-stress situation. With that said, hello, Mrs. Reynolds. Thank you for letting us in,” I said.

Darren and I raced up the steps and stormed into Wyatt’s room like a battering ram. The room was pitch black, but Darren flipped the switch.

“Whaaaaat the hellllllll.” Wyatt groaned. He jerked his head to face us.

“If anyone should be saying what the hell, it’s me. Did you not set an alarm?” I asked while I approached him with Darren by my side.

“No, I set an alarm. I just… turned it off after it started buzzing. Dude, I have the worst hangover ever. I think I could be considered legally dead.”

“Come on, Wyatt, there’s no time for games! Get up out of bed already!” I shouted.

“Gordie, relax,” Darren said as he clutched my shoulder.

“I’m just pissed that we paid all this money to go, and Wyatt’s not taking it seriously.”

“Oh, I’m taking it seriously.” Wyatt dragged himself out of bed, standing completely naked.

“Jesus Christ, dude,” I said.

“Come on, Wyatt. Put some clothes on.” Darren rolled his eyes.

“What? You guys act like we’re not made of the same parts. So what, I’m naked, big deal.”

“Let’s go. We’re running late now,” I said.

“We’ll be fashionably late,” Wyatt said and followed it with his trademarked hazy laugh. He pulled on a pair of underwear and some bright, light blue skinny jeans. Then he threw on his tank top that could have fit in the ‘70s. It was cream-colored with a few red and cyan stripes. Last but not least, he put on his purple paisley headband. “Leggo’,” he said.