into his gym bag.
He looks at himself in the mirror above the sink. His short, straight brown hair is parted on one side, and his ears stick out slightly. He turns on the hot-water faucet and dampens his fingers, then runs them through his hair, pushing it back off his forehead and having it fall a bit more symmetrically to each side.
He tucks in his T-shirt and grabs a long-sleeved brown corduroy shirt from his bag and puts it on, buttoning it up and nodding at himself in the mirror.
He checks the clock: 8:33. So he looks around the room, picks up the key from the dresser, and heads downstairs.
Pramod Eskederian and Buddy Malone are in the elevator. Malone is wearing a sleeveless black workout shirt, and hisright bicep is encircled by a tattoo that looks like a chain. He's won district swimming championships in the butterfly and backstroke, and he's already been accepted at MIT.
“Hey, little Mansfield,” Buddy says. They've never met in a match. Buddy defeated Zeke in the season opener back in November, when Zeke still had the first chair for Sturbridge.
“Your brother up yet?” asks Pramod, who's wearing a gray V-necked sweater that says HARVARD in small red letters.
“Yeah.”
“He's probably hungover. We got pretty wasted last night.”
“You did, huh?”
“Yeah. He didn't get back to his own room until four.”
Randy shrugs. “Heard you bepokered well.”
“What?”
“I heard you won some poker money.”
“A little,” Pramod says. “Maybe two hundred bucks. I didn't play very long. Met a few ladies and”—he breaks into a big grin—”showed them my best moves.”
The elevator doors open at the lobby. “Good luck, guys,” Randy says.
“As if we need it,” Pramod replies.
Randy stops and glances at the brackets.
THIRD ROUND. 9:00 a.m. SATURDAY
A. Jenna McNulty (Scranton Prep) (no. 1 seed) vs. Darius Haywood (Stroudsburg)
B. Derek Pham (Hazleton) (8) vs. Zeke Mansfield (Sturbridge)
C. Lucy Ahada (Dunmore) (4) vs. Ethan Rosenfeld (Midvale)
D. Randy Mansfield (Sturbridge) (5) vs. Brian Burke (Holy Cross)
E. Pramod Eskederian (Wilkes-Barre Jesuit) (2) vs. Tami Nixon (Scranton)
F. Silvio Vega (Meyers) vs. Garion Liberti (North Pocono)
G. Buddy Malone (Weston South) (3) vs. Stephanie Irving (Tunkhannock)
H. Colin Lucas (Abington Heights) vs. Serena Leung (East Scranton)
QUARTERFINALS, APPROXIMATELY 10:15 a.m.
A. Match A winner vs. Match B winner
B. C winner vs. D winner
C. E winner vs. F winner
D. G winner vs. H winner
SEMIFINALS, 1:00 p.m.
I winner vs. J winner
K winner vs. L winner
CHAMPIONSHIP, APPROXIMATELY 2:15 p.m.
Randy enters the conference room. He takes a glazed doughnut off a tray and eats it, then looks around for a napkin. He finds a stack of them, but his fingers still feel sticky. So he goes back to the lobby and enters the bathroom to wash his hands.
A toilet flushes and an energetic kid with very short hair and slightly crossed eyes pops out of the stall. He's wearing a letterman's jacket that says Holy Cross Baseball. “How's it going?” he asks, vigorously washing his hands at the sink next to Randy's.
“I'm all right. Are you Brian Burke?”
“Yeah.”
“I'm Randy Mansfield. I think we play first thing.”
Burke sticks out a wet hand and Randy shakes it. Burke's grip is strong, and he has big shoulders. “You stay here last night?” he asks.
Randy nods.
“I went home after the matches. Just got back about five minutes ago. What'd I miss?”
“Nothing much. Some of them played cards.”
“Figured I'd sleep better in my own bed,” Burke says. “We only live about ten minutes away.” He runs his hand over his chin, peering into the mirror and checking a few small zits. He pushes the door open with his shoulder and says, “See you out there.”
And for the first time all weekend, Randy begins to feel nervous. He takes a deep inhale, but his heart is pounding and his stomach feels cold. He can taste those fried eggs.
The clock in
He looks at himself in the mirror above the sink. His short, straight brown hair is parted on one side, and his ears stick out slightly. He turns on the hot-water faucet and dampens his fingers, then runs them through his hair, pushing it back off his forehead and having it fall a bit more symmetrically to each side.
He tucks in his T-shirt and grabs a long-sleeved brown corduroy shirt from his bag and puts it on, buttoning it up and nodding at himself in the mirror.
He checks the clock: 8:33. So he looks around the room, picks up the key from the dresser, and heads downstairs.
Pramod Eskederian and Buddy Malone are in the elevator. Malone is wearing a sleeveless black workout shirt, and hisright bicep is encircled by a tattoo that looks like a chain. He's won district swimming championships in the butterfly and backstroke, and he's already been accepted at MIT.
“Hey, little Mansfield,” Buddy says. They've never met in a match. Buddy defeated Zeke in the season opener back in November, when Zeke still had the first chair for Sturbridge.
“Your brother up yet?” asks Pramod, who's wearing a gray V-necked sweater that says HARVARD in small red letters.
“Yeah.”
“He's probably hungover. We got pretty wasted last night.”
“You did, huh?”
“Yeah. He didn't get back to his own room until four.”
Randy shrugs. “Heard you bepokered well.”
“What?”
“I heard you won some poker money.”
“A little,” Pramod says. “Maybe two hundred bucks. I didn't play very long. Met a few ladies and”—he breaks into a big grin—”showed them my best moves.”
The elevator doors open at the lobby. “Good luck, guys,” Randy says.
“As if we need it,” Pramod replies.
Randy stops and glances at the brackets.
THIRD ROUND. 9:00 a.m. SATURDAY
A. Jenna McNulty (Scranton Prep) (no. 1 seed) vs. Darius Haywood (Stroudsburg)
B. Derek Pham (Hazleton) (8) vs. Zeke Mansfield (Sturbridge)
C. Lucy Ahada (Dunmore) (4) vs. Ethan Rosenfeld (Midvale)
D. Randy Mansfield (Sturbridge) (5) vs. Brian Burke (Holy Cross)
E. Pramod Eskederian (Wilkes-Barre Jesuit) (2) vs. Tami Nixon (Scranton)
F. Silvio Vega (Meyers) vs. Garion Liberti (North Pocono)
G. Buddy Malone (Weston South) (3) vs. Stephanie Irving (Tunkhannock)
H. Colin Lucas (Abington Heights) vs. Serena Leung (East Scranton)
QUARTERFINALS, APPROXIMATELY 10:15 a.m.
A. Match A winner vs. Match B winner
B. C winner vs. D winner
C. E winner vs. F winner
D. G winner vs. H winner
SEMIFINALS, 1:00 p.m.
I winner vs. J winner
K winner vs. L winner
CHAMPIONSHIP, APPROXIMATELY 2:15 p.m.
Randy enters the conference room. He takes a glazed doughnut off a tray and eats it, then looks around for a napkin. He finds a stack of them, but his fingers still feel sticky. So he goes back to the lobby and enters the bathroom to wash his hands.
A toilet flushes and an energetic kid with very short hair and slightly crossed eyes pops out of the stall. He's wearing a letterman's jacket that says Holy Cross Baseball. “How's it going?” he asks, vigorously washing his hands at the sink next to Randy's.
“I'm all right. Are you Brian Burke?”
“Yeah.”
“I'm Randy Mansfield. I think we play first thing.”
Burke sticks out a wet hand and Randy shakes it. Burke's grip is strong, and he has big shoulders. “You stay here last night?” he asks.
Randy nods.
“I went home after the matches. Just got back about five minutes ago. What'd I miss?”
“Nothing much. Some of them played cards.”
“Figured I'd sleep better in my own bed,” Burke says. “We only live about ten minutes away.” He runs his hand over his chin, peering into the mirror and checking a few small zits. He pushes the door open with his shoulder and says, “See you out there.”
And for the first time all weekend, Randy begins to feel nervous. He takes a deep inhale, but his heart is pounding and his stomach feels cold. He can taste those fried eggs.
The clock in
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