Double Nickels on Your Dime

Nick became aware of someone talking. He opened his eyes to find the hotel room was still dark. He focused on the words realizing it was Ben singing again, though it sounded somehow muffled. The door cracked open allowing a sliver of light to appear on the wall before Ben turned it off. Nick was stretching when he walked around the corner.

“About time you woke up, I thought you were dead.” He flicked on the overhead light making a show of looking scared with wide eyes. Nick groaned loudly, “My retinas! They’ve gone and shriveled up! Oh my god, I can’t see!” He rolled over and scrabbled blindly for something to get his bearings on.

Ben laughed and tossed a towel at him. Nick caught it cleanly.

“Lucky catch, right?” Ben arched an eyebrow.

Nick stood up stretching more. “Yeah, well, I never was a good actor. That is Jane’s forte.” He walked into the bathroom leaving his cell phone on the nightstand. When he came out he checked the time and was shocked. It was 5:30.

He wheeled around staring at Ben incredulously. “5:30?!”

Ben was focused on his phone, “Huh?” He looked up seeing Nick bewildered expression.

“5:30. Why the hell are we up at 5:30? We don’t meet until 7:30!”

Ben shrugged, “I don’t know, I just woke up. You didn’t have to get up yet. I tried to keep the lights off until I knew you were up.”

“But you were singing in the fucking shower in there!” Nick gestured wildly at the bathroom door.

“It was actually in the sink, but I was singing quietly.” He said this so matter of fact that Nick actually started laughing. No wonder he’d sounded so muffled. He was singing into the porcelain.

Ben laughed hesitantly.

Nick lied back down and put his hands behind his head. “So what are we supposed to do for two hours?”

Ben rummaged around in his clothes bag and pulled out a deck of cards.

“I was thinking we could play a rousing game of,” He paused dramatically, “Go Fish.”

An hour later, they had played Go Fish, War, attempted at Poker, and were currently playing a matching game. The cards were placed in equal rows and columns. Ben flipped over a seven of hearts, then a two of clubs. “Shiiit! I’m never going to find a match! How the fuck do you have ten matches already?”

Nick widened his eyes innocently, “I mean if you want to stop playing, we can.”

Ben glared at him, “I’m skipping your turn for that.” He flipped his first card. Queen of Diamonds. He flipped his second. Two of clubs. His eyes grew large and he exhaled noisily through his nose, like a bull.

Nick flipped the second two of clubs over and watched Ben in his peripheral vision. His jaw dropped a little, and then audibly snapped shut. Nick made a show of reaching for the wrong card, then taking his hand away. He inched toward the right one and saw Ben’s fists clenching. He took his hand away again. Ben who had been sitting criss cross on the end of Nicks bed threw his hands into the air.

“Just pick already!”

Nick suppressed a grin and chose the one next to where he knew the two of clubs to be.

“HA!” Before Nick had replaced his cards, Ben had snatched up both twos triumphantly.

Nick ended up winning 21 matches to 4.

At 6:30 they walked down to the breakfast bar and got prime pickings since they were the only ones in there. At 7:00 the rest of the guys began to trickle in. By 7:30 they were all in the meeting room waiting to hear Coach White.

“Alright! Listen up! The final will start at 10:00. The two teams competing, go get ready. The rest of you, be ready to go at 9:00.”

“Well, that was quick.” All the boys filed out of the room to do whatever they had to do and met in the parking lot by the bus at 9.

Ben and Nick suited up and carried their cleats in their drawstring bags. At the field, they began to warm up. Nathan was the keeper for the other team and waved at them from across the field. The game started. The other team started with the ball, but it wasn’t long before Ben’s team had possession. His strikers Michael and Ray worked well together, pinging wall passes off each other and penetrating the defense. Matt, who played full back, tackled Ray and the ball was coming back at them. It was a very evenly matched game. At halftime they were tied at zero.

The kickoff went to their advantage. Ray touched the ball to Michael, who dropped it back to Ben at center mid. Ben moved forward with it and saw Nick breaking up the line on his right. He placed a pass over the top to him. Nick drove down to the corner and tried to get a cross off, but it ricocheted off the other defender. Nick set the ball in the corner, ready to cross it in. He saw Ben, clearly standing taller than the rest of the guys, in the box. He took a left footed in-swinger and followed behind the ball as it sailed into the box.

Ben saw the well placed kick. It was too high for the other guys to get a head on, but he was tall enough. He moved to meet the ball and jumped, giving a little flick to redirect its flight. The ball struck his head and milliseconds after something slammed into the side of his face. He felt himself tipping backwards and threw his arms out to catch himself. His left hand found a shoulder, his right, air. He realized he was about to hit the ground, hard, but felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Then everything went dark.

Nick whooped as he saw Ben connect with the ball and it sail over Nathan’s outstretched arm. He also saw Nathan’s arm crash into Bens face. Ben tipped backward and threw out his arms grabbing a hold of Nathan’s jersey. Nick and everyone else saw what was gong to happen moments before it happened.

Before Ben hit the ground, his head hit the knee of a player behind him. He landed with a thwump and rolled onto his side, his hands over his face, right elbows in the air. His elbows drooped, his whole body went slack and he lay still.

Nathan saw Ben’s eyes go wide, he let out a short groan then his eyes rolled back. Nathan was the first to drop to his knees and try to wake him. Nick was there in a second calling his name. Another boy was calling to the coach and trainers. Nick saw them hustling onto the field.

"Ben?"
“Ben.” Nick slapped his cheek gently. He dropped a hand to his friends’ neck and felt for a pulse. Thank God. He lowered his ear to Ben’s face. He was breathing.

The trainer pushed Nick out of the way and did the same things he’d just done. They lifted his eyelids and shined a light in them. They opened his mouth, and then tried to maneuver him into a sitting position. His head slumped forward and one trainer gently held it up between two hands. The other slapped his back forcefully. After no response they laid him back on his side in a recovery position.

One trainer rummaged in his bag and pulled out what looked like a sugar packet. He tore it open and waved it under Ben’s nose. Almost instantly Ben came to. He turned his head and swatted shakily at the air. He looked around groggily. He tried to get his bearings and rolled onto his back with his head lolling from side to side. He bent his elbow, lifting his arm. It swayed unsteadily and he let it flop onto the ground. His energy spent he laid still for a minute completely and utterly confused.

He felt around with his left arm and pushed himself into a sitting position.

Immediately, Ben was nauseous. He rolled onto all fours and his stomach lurched. He threw up a bunch of water, then groaned. His shoulders tensed up and he dry heaved. The trainer told him to sit back down so he wouldn’t be as nauseous.

“Can you see clearly? How many fingers am I holding up?” The man held out three fingers.

Ben wouldn’t even look up. “Ben, you need to look at my fingers. We need to see if you have a concussion.” He raised his head and squinted. “…Three?”

“Alright, good, is it blurry?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed his eyes.

“I’m going to shine a light into yours eyes. Follow my finger with your eyes when I move it.”

He did the best he could, but he had a raging headache and the moment the light was turned on he squinted and pain blossomed in the back of his head.

“Can you move your feet for me?”

He looked past the man at his Nike clad feet. He rolled his feet around.

The trainer then bent and twisted his legs. Now, the man had a hold of his left arm. He bent and twisted and rotated. “Does that hurt?”

Ben shook his head and winced. The man grabbed his other arm.

“OW. Fuuugck.”

“What hurts?”

“Wrissst.” The man tied a makeshift sling for him and strapped it to his chest.

The trainer looked over his shoulder and said, “He’s already swelling up. Get some more ice. He probably has a broken jaw.”

Ben did notice a throbbing pain, but thought it had just been his head. Holy shit, that hurt. He was so confused.

“Alright, Ben. We’re going to stand you up and walk you over to the bench. Then, we’re going to get you to the hospital.” He hooked his arms under Ben’s armpits and heaved him up. His legs felt like jelly and he nearly toppled over again.

“Lean on me and Joe. Good job. They took a few steps forward and Ben thought he could make it. He shrugged the two men away and took a few more steps on his own. They must have seen it coming because they caught him before he hit the ground. The one guy, Joe, pulled out his cell phone.

Nick stepped forward and ducked under Ben’s other arm and wrapped one around his waist. The three guys hobbled awkwardly off the field. The hospital was close by, but both trainers thought it best to go ahead and call an ambulance. Nick was told to get back in the game.

He made it to the bench and sat down. His head was spinning and made him feel like he was going to fall again. He pulled himself up using the fence and walked along it until he got to the gate a few feet away. Ben settled on the ground outside the fence. He leaned his back against it and pulled his knees up to his chest, so he could put his head between his legs. Joe squatted in front of him. He noticed a bunch of guys watching him curiously.

"I'm going to ask you some questions Ben. Answer them the best you can, alright?"

Ben gave him a weak thumbs up.

"Do you know what happened?"

He thought about it a moment and realized he couldn't remember what happened, let alone where he was.

“Where is Heather? We’re going to the beach…”

He heard a whistle blow and looked behind him.

"What team is this?" He sounded like he was drunk.

He replied very calmly as if nothing were wrong, "You’re at soccer camp. Do you remember coming here two days ago?"

Ben thought hard, but couldn't remember coming to camp. He knew he was going to one, but that wasn't for a while. "No. That's not for…. a while."

"Do you know what today is?"

"Um...I don’t know."

"I'm going to tell you what happened okay Ben?" Again Ben gave a thumbs up, not wanting to move his head, or open his eyes again.

"You came to soccer camp on Thursday. Today is Sunday, August 16th. You were playing in a game and you hit your head."

Ben supposed it sounded real enough. His head did hurt like hell.

"An ambulance is coming to check you out and maybe take you to the hospital. Is that fine with you?"

"I guesso.”

The ambulance pulled up shortly after and Ben was, to his embarrassment with all those guys watching, forced into a neck brace and strapped onto a gurney. Then he had a short ride back to the hospital. An EMT asked him his name and a lot of personal information for the hospital forms.

“Do you know where Heather is? We’re going to the beach.”

The lady shook her head.

"Do you know what the date is?"

"Is it…is it…I don’t know."

She scribbled something down. “It’s August 16th.”

“I was going to say that. Why am I here? Can I go?” He tried to move his arms, but they were strapped down.

Again she shook her head. Who was she? Why was he in an ambulance?

They arrived at the hospital and Ben was loaded out and wheeled through too many hallways to keep track of. He was sitting in a curtained cubicle when a middle aged nurse came in.

"Hi sweetie, we're going to have to take a few x-rays of you. Do you think you can walk with me?"

He stood up and didn't feel too bad, "I think so. But have you seen my girlfriend?" She pulled his arm around her shoulder and placed a secure arm around his waist, “She’s not here.” They shuffled down the hall into a small room with a large machine in it.

“But where did she go? We had plans.”

She asked him to lie on a silver table. The whole thing looked like a giant microscope that he would have used in biology class. The lady placed a heavy apron on him and asked him to lie still as she moved the head of the machine over his face.

She flicked a switch up for a moment then flipped it down. "Turn your head to your right please, honey."

He did. She flipped the switch again. "Good, now sit up and put your wrist over here."

She did her job and told him he could lie down again if he wanted. They needed to develop the pictures which would take some time. Eventually, Ben fell asleep on the table. He was woken up by people laughing in the room. He opened his eyes cautiously. The light coming through his eyelids already made him wince.

He saw four people standing in his room with smiles on their faces. He had no idea who any of them were.

He sat up and swayed in his seat. He looked down and realized his wrist was in a hard white cast. He began to speak but found his jaw was painfully swollen.

"Ben my man! How you holding up? Getting quite the shiner there, huh?" Ben looked at the stocky man curiously. He turned his gaze on the three guys who were with him; a ginger kid, a sort of buff guy with a buzz and a lean guy with choppy, brown hair.

The ginger waved at him, but looked almost guilty. The buzz was friendly and the brunette's smile had faded. The middle aged nurse from earlier walked in, "Well, hello everybody!" She smiled warmly at Ben. "Welcome back sweetheart, you were out for about an hour. We went ahead and put your cast on, but I'm afraid there's more. Your jaw is broken, so we're going to have to do surgery."

Ben gingerly touched the swollen area. Ow. The stocky man spoke up, "Go ahead and do whatever you have to do, the cost is covered by the program. I've already spoken to his parents told them not to worry about making the trip up here. He's 18, so he can choose to get it done anyway."

“Well, that works just fine- are you okay with that?” She looked at him expectantly. He nodded but asked, “What is it for?”

Gently she told him, “You broke your jaw, sweetie. We need to fix it.”

He touched the swollen area again. “Oh.” He looked at the strangers. “Why are they here? I don’t know them. Where is Heather?” He pressed his palms to his temples. His face and head hurt so badly. The guys laughed and made his head throb more.

“Good, good, now just do me a favor and change into this gown. You can keep your undergarments on, but everything else needs to go.” She turned to the strangers. “Can one of you young men help him? Just take him back down the hall to room 132 and be there in a jiffy to prep him.”

They nodded and she left. “I’ll help him, go ahead.”

He must have zoned out because he missed most of the exchange that went on between the strangers. They walked him down to a bland room with a hospital bed. Only the brown haired boy remained.

“Damn, Ben. I’m sorry this happened.” Ben frowned. Who was he?

“Here I’ll get your cleats and socks. He untied Ben’s cleats and placed them into a bag along with his socks and shin guards. Ben being dizzy from the head injury and clumsy with his new cast, struggled with his shirt. Nick stepped forward to help, but Ben waved him off.

“Who are you?”

Nick looked at him puzzled. “I’m Nick. Your roommate? I live down the street from you?”

“I don’t remember you.”

“I moved in less than a week ago. How far back do you remember?”

The nurse bustled in, “Why isn’t he ready yet? We are trying to get him into surgery as soon as possible so you two can be on your way home. Go on, get him ready.” She turned her back letting them know they had only a few seconds to spare him some privacy. Nick pulled Ben’s shirt over his head making sure to stretch the collar away from his sore jaw. Then, before Ben could protest he yanked his shorts down leaving him in boxers. “Ready.”

The nurse turned around and looked pointedly at the shorts now around his ankles. Nick held out a hand. Surprisingly, Ben used it to steady himself before he stepped carefully out of the shorts.

“Thank you. Now, you, wait outside. I’ll prep him and he’ll be off.”

Nick was sitting in the waiting room for nearly an hour before a different nurse came out and roused him from his dozing state.

“You here for Benjamin Taylor?”

“Yes.”

“He’s ready to go. I little loopy though, so careful with him. Back in room 132.”

Nick found a fully dressed Ben sipping coke through a straw. An older man was holding the cup for him. He looked up when Nick entered.

“You’ll be taking him home?” He nodded. “Very well then, no solid foods. He’ll be like this for probably 4 weeks. Stock up on ensure or boost. I’ll provide you with 4 shakes for today. No physical activities for at least a week, especially not with his concussion. He’ll actually probably sleep a lot. If he doesn’t get his memory back in 24 hours you should see a doctor.”

He watched Nick expectantly. “Yes, sir…”

He handed a paper to Nick. It was a list of instructions and food options. “Just in case?”

Nick thanked him. They loaded Ben into a surgery wheel chair and rolled him out.

Nick had already packed up all their belongings and thrown them into the trunk. He helped Ben inside the passenger sea, pushed the chair back to the lobby, and jogged back to the car.

When he sat in the driver seat, Ben mumbled something at him. The blonde boy sat with his head resting against the cool glass of the window.

He answered hesitantly. “What?”

“Wursuther.”

Nick started the car and inconspicuously put the doors on child lock. What the hell had he just said?

He cleared his throat, “One more time?”

He picked his head up from the glass, “Werr isss eather?”

“Heather?” He nodded. “She’s…at home…waiting for you…”

Ben nodded again. Five minutes down the road he asked Nick who he was,why was he driving his car, where they were going and where was Heather.

“Hey, Ben. Go to sleep, alright? You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

Surprisingly, he was asleep within minutes. Nick kept glancing at him as he drove. Except for the black blossoming on his left eye and cheek, nothing looked wrong with him. His blonde hair was messy as always. Freckles dusted his face liberally and his full bottom lip stuck out in a tiny frown. His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned into the car door, but his long legs were stretched out. Nick turned his eyes back to the road only glancing at him ever so often.

A little over two hours later they were pulling into Ben’s driveway. Nick had just managed to rouse Ben when his parents came rushing out of the house. He looked around blearily as his mother opened the door.

“Benjamin! Are you okay?” She looked at Nick, “Is he okay?”

Nick shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t think he’s going to remember that-“

“Whut thfuck? He felt the inside of his mouth. “Uwwww.” It looked like he was growling, with his lips pulled back, almost in a snarl as he poked and prodded the metal in his mouth.

Nick finished his sentence, “He got his mouth wired. The doctor said he should get his short term memory back before 24 hours and if not to take him to the doctor. Here’s a list. He thinks it’s… what’s the date Ben?”

“It’s- It’s ththirty first. Who are you?”

His mothers eyes widened, his father stood there with his arms crossed. Nick began gathering their bags.

“He really wants to see Heather, I think, he thinks they have plans.” He handed Ben’s bags to his father and shouldered his own.

Mrs. Taylor turned to her husband, who Nick realized was an inch or so shorter than his son. “Take him inside, read the list. I’m taking Nick home.”

Nick protested, but she insisted. As he climbed back in the car he heard Ben say, “Who was he?” Mrs. Taylor drove him up the alley and dropped him off in the side yard. She thanked him and left. His family was asleep when he got home, except for his mother. He said he’d tell her in the morning and dropped into his bed.