Billet

I was leaned back in my chair with my legs sitting on the desk in front of me. I browsed the web; checking my email, Facebook and so on. Picking up the pen beside my feet, I toyed it around my fingers trying to decide if I should head out on a run or continue to be overly lazy in my room.

I was broken out of my contemplation by my mother’s voice, “Tierney,” Her raised voice spoke. Judging by the echo, I assumed she was on the main floor while I was in my upstairs bedroom. “Hunny, we have to leave in a few minutes. We have to be at the arena by 4!”

I glanced at the digital clock on the bottom of my computer screen: 3:35. Shoot, I completely forgot we were picking him up today. I glanced down at my outfit, it was nothing special but we were just going out for a few minutes anyways, so it would do.

I figured out what I had to do before I left, and how much time it takes to get the rink in my head before replying, “I’ll be down in 10.” I shouted down the stairs, hopefully loud enough for my mother to hear. I was greeted by a sound of acknowledgement back, so assumed that was fine.

I lazily took my feet off my desk and closed my laptop. I got off my chair and walked into the bathroom. I glanced in the mirror quickly brushing my hair and pulling it into a ponytail. After taking a few more minutes to get ready I headed down the stairs and to the front closet.

“You ready Tierney?” My mother asked walking up to where I stood. “Your father’s in the car already.”

I nodded in return as we both grabbed out our shoes; jackets weren’t necessary since it was late August. After putting on our shoes; flip-flops in my case and small heels in my mother’s, we left the air-conditioned house and entered the warm summer air. The two of us made our way to the car; I took the backseat as my father was driving and my mother was shotgun.

As we pulled out of the driveway, I put my window down to let the breeze in. My mom turned up the radio, which was set to one of the local pop stations and we made the short journey over to the arena.

The rink was a place my family spent a lot of time at. I played hockey and my father did too. All of us, including my mom were huge hockey fans. We’ve followed our local Jr. A team religiously for years –for my parents, it was since they were teens, so I was raised a fan, as well.- We always joked around about being a billet family for a player but it was just that: a joke. Earlier this summer though, I brought it up and somehow my parents actually agreed on applying. Of course, we knew we wouldn’t automatically get chosen to be a billet family right away or even at all. Luckily though, we were accepted: we found this out only a few days after submitting our application. So here we were: on our way to the arena to meet the boy who would be living with us for at least the next seven months. I was excited: I always wanted to have a sibling, and this was the next best thing, but I was also a bit nervous.

I shrugged off my nerves as my father pulled into the arena. Unlike the majority of the time we were here, there were only a few cars scattered in the parking lot. My dad pulled into a spot fairly close to the front doors, and we all got out of the car. The three of us walked up to the arena and inside, heading to the lounge, where we were told to meet.

We approached the fair-sized room and saw a teenage boy with a man and women (his parents, I assume.) They were sitting on a couch to the left. The boy had medium length brown hair and seemed fairly tall, probably around six feet. He had boyish features playing on his face alongside his brown eyes. He fiddled with his hands while talking to the people around him. His father looked like an older version of him with the similar features from his hair to stature. His mother appeared to be the contrast in the family with her fairly short curly blond hair which bounced when she nodded. She was also petit compared to the large men beside her. Alongside the family on a couch beside was the head coach of the team; a middle-aged man who was fairly tall and balding. Although he had a serious look to him he seemed very approachable and kind. Beside the coach was the public relations lady. We had met her earlier when we applied to become billets. She was a younger woman, likely in her mid-twenties. She ran her hand through her shoulder length brown hair as we walked into the room.

As we walked up to the group, we were greeted by smiles from all its occupants. The lady in charge of public relations walked up to us and led us to a couch beside the two that were already in use.

“Easton, this is the Williams’ family: Susan, Kevin and Tierney,” The coach introduced us in turn, “And this,” He said nodding over to the player and his family, “Is the Parker family: Emily, Paul and their son, who you’ll be billeting, Easton.”

Both my family and Easton’s got to our feet to shake each other’s hands.

The first hand I was met with was his father’s, “It’s nice to meet you,” The man gave me a soft smile.

I gave him a quick reply before shaking hands with his mother. The woman repeated the same line as her husband before asking, “So Tierney, is it?” I nodded. “How old are you?” She let go of my hand and gave me a kind smile.

“Yes, it is,” I returned her smile, “And I’m 17.”

“Okay,” The fairly tall, but petite woman nodded, “So you’re the same age as Easton.” She paused before speaking again, “So are you an only child then?”

I nodded, “I am, so this is going to be a really interesting experience.” I let out a chuckle.

She nodded, letting out a light laugh as well, “I’d agree.”

Within a few seconds both of our parents were together closer to the couches (likely sharing phone numbers and even some recipes,) which left us two a bit further away.

“Hey,” I gave boy a small smile. I was right when I assumed he was tall and he easily towered over my 5’ 1” frame, “Nice to meet you.”
He stuck out his hand and in return I shook it, “Right back at you,” The boy gave me a grin as our hands dropped. “Just wondering, do you go to Highland Central?” He spoke of one of the local high schools.
I hummed in agreement, “I’m assuming that’s where you’re going to be going too?” He nodded, “Awesome. I have to say, it’s a pretty nice place, as far as schools go.” We both shared a few laughed.

“Sorry, to cut in here,” The public relations woman spoke. I think I could speak for all of us when I say we all forgot about both her and the coach. “But I have a few quick things to talk to the Williams about; how about you all get Easton’s stuff ready in the meantime?” All of us nodded in agreement.

Easton and his parents grabbed his bags and left the room –I was assuming they’d take them to the concourse and wait for us there, since they didn’t know what vehicle we drove. My parents made their way over to the middle of the room where the woman stood. I hesitated, before she nodded to me signalling that I, too, could be a part of this conversation.

“So I just wanted to remind you of a few things,” The woman spoke. “If you do have any problem with your player, feel free to contact me and we can work something out. As well, remember he has to be in by 11.” All of us nodded, recalling this information. “But I also had a quick question; I’m not sure if this was mentioned to you previously or not. I was wondering if you would be okay with billeting two players. Obviously I don’t mean right at this time, and the opportunity might not come at all: but it’s beneficial for us to know beforehand that way things get sorted out easier if a new player does join the team. If you aren’t okay with it, I totally understand especially since it’s your first time being a billet family. But I’ll give you all some time to think it through and see how things work out with Easton for now.”

The three of us looked at each other, surprised by the question. It was a big deal to let one up and coming hockey player live with us, (especially coming from a single child family) and the idea of two seemed overwhelming. Surely, all of us were glad no one needed an answer right now.

“Anyways,” The lady continued, “I’ll let you all go and get Easton settled in. I’m sure I’ll see you all around!”

My parents and I said goodbye to the lady as we exited the longue and headed back to the concourse. As we walked over to the main doors of the building, I saw Easton waiting with his family. They had a few suitcases, and were chatting a bit. My parents and I walked up to the family and shared a few words before offering to grab a few bags before heading out to the car.

“It’s the black car right over there.” My mother pointed as we walked through the parking lot. The Parker’s followed us as we lead them to our vehicle. Once we were fairly close to the car, my dad hit the button on the remote to pop the trunk. The small group of us walked around the car and placed Easton’s bags into the trunk.

As my father reached up to close the trunk, Easton’s mother pulled her son into a tight hug. “Hunny, you have fun okay? We’ll be in town next week for your first game okay?” The pair split apart for a moment before she grabbed him into a hug again. “I love you.”

“I love you too mom,” The boy said, towering over his mother by several inches.

The mother slowly let go of her son, as his father took her place. He wrapped Easton into a one armed hug, patting him on the back. “You work hard out there, kid. And like your mother said, we’ll be in town next week. You have fun, bud.” With one last pat on the back, his father stepped back.

“You know I will dad.” He flashed his father a reassuring smile.

After a few more words, the saddened set of parents wished us all a good day and spoke of how we’d be in contact. They then headed over to their own car as we got into ours. I sat in the seat behind my father who was in the driver’s, while Easton got the right side behind my mother.

My father backed out the parking lot and turned onto the road heading back home. The ride to our house was near silent except for the radio playing the Top40. It wasn’t an awkward silence though, it more so gave us all time to take in this new situation. Before I realized it, we were back at our house. My father popped the trunk and we all went to the back of the car to help carry in Easton’s bags.

As we entered the house I led the way up the stairs and towards his room. It was a weird feeling seeing our former office transformed into a bedroom, especially since it had no personal touches yet. I set the bags I was carrying, down onto the middle of the floor as everyone else did the same.

“Tier,” My mother spoke, “Do you want to give Easton a little walk around of the house? Your father and I have to finish up getting dinner ready.”
I nodded, “No problem.”

My parents headed down the stairs as I started walking Easton through the upstairs.

“So obviously that’s your room.” I said before walking into the hall, “Right next door is my room,” We kept walking, “That’s the bathroom and down at the end of the hall is my parents’ room.” While we made our way down to the main floor I asked, “So have you met the boys yet?”

He rubbed the back of his neck before answering, “Well I met a few of them at rookie camp in the spring but that’s about it. We start camp tomorrow so I’ll be meeting the majority of them then.”

I could tell he was a bit nervous for training camp, but he seemed pretty confident in his abilities. As well, Easton was a high draft pick this spring, so it was unsaid, but practically guaranteed that he’d make the roster. Heck, I’d place my bets that he would play on the third line, maybe second. From what I’ve heard, it didn’t sound like he’d be a fourth liner.

As we walked through the main floor I pointed out a few areas of interest; the living room, powder room, entrance to the garage, and the kitchen, where we were greeted by smiles from both of my parents who looked like they were almost finished preparing dinner. I then led the way downstairs to our finished basement. By no means was it a man cave or anything of sorts but it was a pretty nice hangout. It was decorated in normal decor as well as sports items. It’s had its fair share of parties and I bet that it’ll have a few more, especially some hockey parties now that we were billeting.

“So now that I’m finished the grande tour, do you want to head up and unpack some of your stuff?” I asked as we headed back up the stairs.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” He nodded.
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

By this time we were back at the top floor of the house. I walked into my room and Easton headed to his as well.

As I walked into my room, I closed my door and headed back over to my desk which I was occupying before heading to the rink earlier. I reopened my laptop and signed onto Twitter. A little blue dot was under the Connect tab, informing me that I had new interactions. I clicked on it to see what was new.

@AmandaGracexo: Is @TeirneyyWill’s new hot roommate there yet? :O

I let out a laugh seeing my best friend’s tweet to me. I seriously think she was more excited about my family becoming billets than we were. And believe me, we were excited.

I paused for a moment, thinking of a good response.

@TierneyyWill: @AmandaGracexo With how excited you are, I definitely think you’re going to replace me with him. Best friend status=revoked. AKA yes ;)

Amanda has been my best friend since we were ten, and honestly I don’t remember a time when she wasn’t boy crazy. Not that I didn’t like attention from boys or any of that (although this was no means why I wanted to become a billet) but I just wasn’t crazy like she was. I loved her for that though and she practically means the world to me.

I literally just clicked off of my Interactions on Twitter and went onto my timeline when my cellphone lit up. I didn’t bother to check the caller ID under the assumption I knew who it was.

“Hello,” I voiced in a mock annoyed tone as I answered.
As I expected, I was greeted by Amanda’s upbeat voice, “So he’s there?!”
“Yes, he’s here.” I laughed, making sure my voice wasn’t overly loud. The last thing I needed was for Easton to hear me talking about him, even though it wasn’t anything bad. That wasn’t a first impression I wanted to give.
“Is he hot?!” She blurted out.
I just shook my head, although she couldn’t see me, “I don’t know, Amanda.” I let out a laugh, “You’ll have to see what you think when you meet him.”
“And when will that be?”
That girl never missed a beat. I replied simply, “I don’t know, we’ll have to see what’s going on, especially since they’re just starting training camp this week.”

After a few more minutes of talking, which included Amanda insisting meeting Easton sooner rather than later, we ended the call. I went back to browsing the web for a couple minutes before I heard my mother yell up the stairs that dinner was ready. I walked out of my room and almost literally ran into Easton.

“Hey there,” He laughed. “Trying to run me over?”
I shook my head, laughing a bit myself, “I think it was the other way around.” I pointed out the large height difference. As we were walking down the stairs, I asked, “How’s the unpacking going?”
“Pretty good,” He spoke, “I didn’t realize how much stuff I actually have.”

Dinner was nice. It gave us time to get to know Easton better and for him to get to know us.

After dinner I decided to go on the run that I couldn’t go on earlier. Thankfully, since it was still August it was light out until fairly late. I went to my room to change into something a little more suitable for running. As I was pulling a tank top on over my head I heard a knock on my door.

“Yes?” I called.
“Tierney, it’s Easton. Would you mind having a partner on your run?”
I straightened out my shirt as I answered the door, “You want to come?” He nodded, “Feel free! It’s always good having a running buddy.”
“Alright,” He smiled, “Just give me a second.”

I went down the stairs and grabbed two water bottles from the cupboard. I filled them both with water and went over to get my runners on. By that time, Easton had made his way down the stairs and was putting on his shoes as well.

Almost as soon as we found a good pace to run at, we began to chat.

“Thanks again for letting me come out with you, Tierney.” He smiled, “I thought I better get the legs going before camp tomorrow, I’ve had way too lazy of an offseason.” I let out a small chuckle, definitely knowing where he’s coming from.
“It’s no problem, really. Like I said before, having a running buddy is nice.”
He nodded, “So do you run often?”
“As much as I can honestly. Especially because it keeps me in shape when I don’t have practice,” I replied, as we quickened our pace.
Easton sounded curious, “Practice? Do you play hockey too?”
It was my turn to nod, “I do! Started when I was five and couldn’t turn back,” I beamed. Hockey played such a big part in my life and my family’s life. This new addition was going to just up that a little more.
“Really? That’s sick!” He replied, “What position do you play?”
“Right wing.” I answered, smiling.
“I’m left winger. Hey, we’ll have to play some puck together some time.”

Our conversation flowed from there, with some continued chatter about hockey and even a few other things. When things fell silent, it felt fulfilling and not awkward like I would’ve expected. I could tell that Easton was really going to fit well into our home, and it looks like I may even make a great friend along the way.