Spiral Bound Journal

Tommy-John

"Hey, Oliver! How's it goin'?"

"Oh, hey, Zach. Just another round of slogging through some theoretical math stuff that seems irrelevant to my business major."

"Can't you drop it?"

A head shake. "No. It's a required course for my major since I do have an emphasis in data science. Hopefully its relevance will show up sooner rather than later."

"Here's to hoping. Makes me glad I'm a journalism major."

"Yeah, you just have to worry about stats."

"True."

"And that's easy."

"Wish I could say the same."

"Do you need help there?"

"Nah, not right now. I think that will be on my schedule next semester. We'll see what classes I'm able to sign up for."

"Always a challenge, even in September."

"Feels like it never ends."

"Truly. Well, I'm gonna go grab some lunch. Wanna join me?"

"Nah, I'm good. I just ate before starting to go through this pile of rubbish."

"Haha! Well, catch ya later!"

"Later."

"Zach."

A glance up from a notebook. "Oliver! Good to see you. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has. What have you been up to?

"I'm still dealing with that theoretical BS I told you about a few weeks ago."

"Still rough, huh?"

"Kind of. It's starting to make sense, but it's still a lot of work."

"Sounds like it."

"It's why I haven't really responded to your emails. I know you mentioned needing stats help, but I don't think I'll be able to squeeze tutoring in my schedule at any point this semester."

"Oh, man. That sucks."

"I'm going to see if James or Matt can help you. They're both really solid on stats and have somewhat less insane courses this semester. Hopefully I'll get an answer in a few days."

"Thanks, Oliver. Really appreciate it."

"Sure thing. So anything else happening in your world?"

"Just found out the paper wants me to go cover the Tommy-Johnny game."

"Really? Damn, that's a big deal."

"Surprised you even took notice given you're such a huge hockey fan."

"Well, after a couple years that kind of thing gets hammered into your skull pretty quickly."

Snickering. "You do have a point there, but still. In the time we've known each other your tendency to hit the books has become pretty well known."

"Well, I do it so they don't hit back."

"Haha. Seriously, though, have you ever been to the game?"

"I think you already know the answer to that one."

"Why not go this year? I can probably help you get good seats."

"I'll think about it, provided these ridiculous formulas I need to memorize don't liquefy my brain."

"Fair enough. Well, let me know if you decide to go, and I'll see what I can do."

"Alrighty."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the annual Tommy-Johnny matchup! Both teams have been on a role both in and out of the conference. But only one team can emerge victorious! Who will it be?"

"Whoever has the drunkest pregame crowd that are willing to scream the most to deafen the opposition?"

A snort-chuckle. "I'm going to assume that's off the record."

"Probably a good idea. I'd rather not land in the school paper for that quote."

"Yeah, but you even being here is newsworthy."

"You can blame my dad. He may have thrown a hundred bucks at me to take a break from studying."

"Your dad knows what's what."

"Well, he grew up in St. Paul and knew about this game even though he didn't attend school here."

"Still, he knows what's what."

"Well, when you put it that way...."

"So where are you sitting?"

"Any available spot, judging by the unsafe crowding here. Shouldn't they be holding this somewhere bigger?"

"Well, what do you expect from a Division III school?"

"Not this madness."

"Okay, that's fair."

"I'm serious. Do they bribe the fire marshal to not look at this place on game day?"

"Not as far as I or anyone else at the paper has investigated."

"That you know about."

"And if we keep digging, then goodbye funding."

"Yeah, good point. So I'll probably hang out here at least for the first quarter. How 'bout it?"

"Sure, I'll hang out here for a bit. At this rate, I'll be amazed if I find anyone else I know in this crowd. At least you're sober enough to not throw a fit at my remarks, and I'm sure the Johnnies will lose their shit if I stumble into their territory."

"Cool beans. Let's see what happens here after kickoff.

Entry 7 in "The Bard's Hall Contest"