Arctic Thunder (9 page)

Mike doubled over, holding his ribs. It had been a blatant foul. Gwen and her team were exchanging high fives at the side of the net as Mike's team wandered listlessly over to their bench. Mike struggled upright and made his way to join his fellow players.

“Jeez, that was rough,” Tommy said. “You made the right move, man. There's no way the ref should've let that go, but he missed it. G.T.'s got an attitude, that's for sure. But I think she likes you.” He laughed when he saw the amazed expression on Mike's face. “Hey, if she really hated you, that elbow would've been aimed a little lower or a little higher. I think it's love!” He grabbed Mike around the neck.

Despite his embarrassment, Mike enjoyed the camaraderie and chuckled sheepishly.

The two teams lined up facing each other in single file and moved forward to shake hands. When Mike passed Gwen, she glanced away and slapped his hand a little too hard to be friendly. Mike caught Tommy's eye, and his teammate blew him a kiss. Mock-scowling, Mike shook his head.

“Man, that was something else!” Donnie burbled as he rushed up to Mike on the way to the change room. “I think Gwen likes you,” he added, taking off his glasses to wipe them on his T-shirt.

“Jeez, Donnie, that's what Tommy just said. You guys are nuts. Didn't you see what she did to me? She absolutely hates me. Whenever she looks at me, I expect her to spit or throw up or worse.”

Donnie replaced his glasses, his eyes once more wide with excitement. “Man, you don't understand girls at all, do you? And we're talking about G.T., you know.”

“And, Donnie, I suppose in your vast experience with girls, you picked up the fact that a shot to the ribs means a girl likes you?”

“Well, no. Obviously, I'm not an expert.” Donnie hesitated, looking slightly hurt. “But I do know G.T. I've known her since we were kids. If you were any other guy from the South, and if she really hated you, she'd have elbowed you somewhere pretty tender. That elbow to the ribs was her way of saying, ‘I think you're a good athlete and I sort of like you.'”

Realizing he'd hurt the big guy's feelings, Mike gave Donnie a friendly jab. “Well, Donnie, I think you don't know what the heck you're talking about, but I'm glad you're on my side and came out to watch the game. It made me feel pretty good to see a friend up in the stands.”

When Donnie glanced up, there was no mistaking the happiness in his eyes. “Do you mean that, Mike?

I'm your friend. I mean, you're a jock and stuff and I'm, well, kind of … kind of …”

“Kind of fun to hang around with,” Mike finished for him. “Look, do you know Victor Allen?”

“Jeez, Mike, who doesn't? He's one of the most respected elders in Inuvik.”

“Well, Donnie, he said he might take me out snowmobiling this weekend. If it's okay with him, and if you're not busy doing something else, would you like to come with us?”

Now Donnie didn't even attempt to hide his feelings. “Would I ever!”

Mike patted Donnie on the back, then ran to the locker room to change.

CHAPTER 9

T
rue to his word, Victor spoke to Ben, who agreed to let him take Mike out for a snowmobile ride on Sunday. Saturday seemed to last an eternity. Ben and Jeannie tried to keep Mike busy helping with the last of the unpacking, but that didn't work. After finding the tenth item that Mike had misplaced despite clear instructions, Jeannie gave up. He was simply too excited and preoccupied to be of any use.

So after what seemed to be the longest day and night of his life, Mike stood beside Donnie at the side door on Sunday morning, peering out, anxiously waiting for Victor to arrive. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the outside thermometer said it was only minus thirteen.

Mike moaned. “Jeez, what's taking them so long?”

“It's only 9:30, Mike. Didn't Victor tell your dad we'd leave at about 10:00?”

“Yeah, but you never know. He could get here early.”

“Mike, this is the North. We relax up here when we do stuff. We don't worry if we leave exactly on time. We leave when we leave. A trip out of town or to camp is supposed to be relaxing and take your mind off things. If we leave by 10:30 or 11:00, no one's going to be too upset.”

Mike gasped. “Don't say that. I'll go nuts if it takes that long.”

“You got TV yesterday, didn't you? Let's watch something. It's got to be better than staring out the window.”

Mike knew Donnie was right. He walked over and turned on the television. They had cable now, so he flipped around the channels until he found some old Spider-Man cartoons.

“Man, I love these!” Donnie cried, flopping onto the couch. “These old-school cartoons are so cool. I mean, I like the Spider-Man movies, too, but these are great. They're kind of cool but funny at the same time. Do you read comics?”

Mike had settled onto the couch beside Donnie and opened his mouth to reply.

“Man, I read comics all the time,” Donnie continued. “You can't really get them up here, but my uncle in Edmonton sends me bunches every month. Spider-Man, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, The Hulk, Moon Knight, New Universal, Daredevil, you name it. They even have comics based on Stephen King novels now. Did you know that?”

Mike thought about replying, but Donnie kept going.

“The Stephen King ones are kind of creepy, but the graphics are incredible. Daredevil's pretty amazing, too. I don't know why the movie didn't do better. I bet if a better actor had played the lead role …”

Mike smiled. Once Donnie got started, there was no stopping him. He half listened and half watched Spider-Man swing across the screen in old-style black and white, trying to catch up to Dr. Octopus as the villain sprang from building to building using mechanical arms. Donnie began to fade in and out as Mike daydreamed.

“I like the way some of the old characters look better in the cartoons than in the movies. Doc Oc, for sure. Man, he looks so cool in black and white. In the movie he … and I mean you never see Spider-Man kiss anybody in the cartoon. Why does he have to kiss his girlfriend in the movie? He kisses his aunt on the cheek, but a girl on the lips? That just doesn't cut it, man! What if he didn't kiss her in … Rhino was the baddest guy of all. Why don't they show him in the movie? Look at him! Right there in black and white!”

Mike focused on the TV in time to see Rhino head-butt his way through a brick wall.

“He looks so bad in black and white,” Donnie went on. “Imagine him in a movie. Hey, I could play Rhino. I'm kind of built for the part, don't you think? I could bust through walls and be pretty famous at the same time. Spidey would have his work cut out for him, man! I could take on …”

Mike didn't know how long they sat like that — Donnie talking and him half paying attention — but the sound of a horn in the driveway snapped him back to life. He jumped to the window and saw Victor stepping out of a pickup truck. Two snowmobiles, one pulling a sled, drove in beside the truck.

“Let's go, Donnie.”

Getting up, Donnie glanced at his watch and smiled. “Ten-fifteen. Man, am I good, or am I good? I knew there was no way we'd be leaving at 10:00. We'll be lucky to get out of here by 10:30.”

“Oh, shut up, show-off, and let's get out of here.” Mike rushed past Donnie to get into his coat and boots at the back door. “Mom, we're going now!”

“Okay, Mike!” she shouted back. “Be careful. Say hi and thank Mr. Allen for me.”

“Okay,” Mike said as he raced out the back door.

When he approached Victor, he slowed to a walk. “
Qanaqitpit
, Mr. Allen.”

Hearing Mike's greeting, Victor grinned ear to ear. “
Nakuurunga
, Mike. And I'm Victor, not Mr. Allen.” He put an arm around Mike's shoulders.

“Okay … Victor.”

Victor looked over Mike's shoulder. “And how are you, Donnie?”

Donnie was slowly approaching, a bit out of breath from hurriedly getting ready and trying to keep up with Mike. “Oh, I'm pretty good, Victor.”

“Mike, I want you to meet three of my granddaughters — Melissa, Trish, and Claudine. Girls, this is Mike. And, of course, you know Donnie Debastien.”

Mike gazed shyly at the three girls bundled up in snow pants, parkas, and the cool boots he still needed to find out about. “Hey, Melissa, Claudine, Trish.”

“Hey, Mike!” the three girls chorused.

“Hey,
Dawwwwwnie
,” Melissa drawled, smirking at Donnie.

“Hi, Claudine, Trish,” Donnie said, avoiding eye contact with Melissa. Leaning in close to Mike, he whispered, “Melissa picks on me. Well, she picks on me more than most people, since most people pick on me at least a little. She's the worst, though. She tried to pull my pants down in gym class once. She ended up pulling down my underwear at the same time.”

Mike suppressed a laugh, then turned back to Victor. “I keep forgetting to ask you, Victor. What are those boots called that I see people wearing?” He pointed at Victor's and the girls' feet.

“Those are kamiks, Mike. The Gwich'in call them mukluks.”

“I could've told you that,” Donnie whispered in Mike's ear.

“They're light as a feather and warmer than warm,” Victor continued. “They can be made of different skin or material and have a duffle type liner inside. It almost feels like walking in your socks. People who live by the ocean have the bottom part made of seal so they're waterproof.” Victor glanced at Mike's feet and smiled. “But lots of people wear those moon boots now. Kind of nice to have both. But I still prefer kamiks.”

Mike made a mental note that he had to find a way to get a pair so he could toss the moon boots.

“Okay,” Victor said, “we have a two-hour ride both ways, so we better get going. It's nice and warm today, but we don't want to get back too late after dark. We're going to Reindeer Station.” He motioned to one of the snowmobiles in the driveway. “The reason I drove over here in the pickup, Mike, is because I talked to your dad. He says if I take your Polaris out of town, you can drive part of the way.”

It was Mike's turn to smile ear to ear.

Victor held a small ignition key in the air. “I'll ride with Mike. Trish and Claudine will ride together. Donnie, you ride with Mulluk.” Seeing puzzlement on Mike's face, Victor added, “Mulluk is Melissa's Inuvialuit name.”

All three girls snickered when they noticed Donnie's look of horror.

Victor pulled the cover off the Polaris and tossed it aside. The back of the snowmobile was raised on a piece of wood. He lifted the back, removed the wood, and dropped the snowmobile onto the snow. “If you don't keep the track off the snow, it can freeze and get ruined or at least make it hard to get going,” he explained to Mike.

Mike watched Victor intently as he popped a button out from the snowmobile's dashboard and tugged the pull-start rope.
Brrrrrrrrrr!
The engine turned over reluctantly.

“It's pretty warm today, so it should start easy,” Victor said. “You still need to pull out the choke.” He pointed at the button he'd left slightly out on the dash. Grabbing the rope in both hands, he yanked it rapidly several times.
Brrrrrrrrrr, brrrrrrrrrr, brrrrrrrrrr,
brrrrrrrr-vroooooom-puttt-putttttt-puttttt!
Victor released the rope and squeezed the throttle repeatedly. The engine ignited and began to idle until he pushed the choke back into the dash.

Nodding at Mike, Victor hopped onto the snowmobile and placed one knee on the seat and the other foot on the running board so that he half stood, half knelt on the machine. He squeezed the throttle again and drove the machine in a large circle out onto the lawn, then doubled back and halted beside Mike.

The smell of gas fumes and smoky hide filled Mike's nostrils. Seeing Trish climb on behind Claudine, Mike slid onto the Polaris behind Victor. All eyes were on Donnie as he stared back at the house, seemingly frozen.

“Dawwwwwnie!”

Donnie pursed his lips at the sound of Mulluk's voice. As he turned to face the group, Mulluk patted the seat behind her. “Come on, Donnie, don't be shy.

You can wrap your arms around me if you want and hold on tight.”

Donnie swallowed hard.

“Donnie, climb on with Mulluk,” Victor said. “The skidoo has a backrest and two handgrips beside the seat. It's a comfortable ride.”

Avoiding eye contact, Donnie moved past Mulluk, climbed onto the seat behind her, and found the handgrips as quickly as possible. Wrapping his fingers around them, he leaned against the backrest and shut his eyes. Claudine giggled uncontrollably as she pulled her machine around onto the lawn the way Victor had, but instead of doubling back she zipped down the street. Mulluk pulled past, and Mike caught a glimpse of Donnie, who gave him one of the most pathetic looks imaginable. Even though he felt sorry for the guy, Mike had to turn away and laugh. Victor revved the engine, and they fell in behind the other two snowmobiles.

Although it was warmer, sunny, and clear, the temperature was still minus thirteen. Mike's face became frigid from the wind created by the snowmobile's speed, and he had to duck for shelter behind Victor every few minutes, holding his head downward and letting his cheeks warm up. When he looked ahead, he saw they were now off the road and winding between houses on a trail that appeared well worn by snowmobile traffic. Sparks flew from under the snowmobiles when they streaked over gravel that had been spread on slippery sections of streets they crossed along the way.

As they passed one last section of buildings, Mike spotted a huge white expanse and knew it was the Mackenzie River. It stretched out of sight to his left and right — a frozen winter highway. The girls, who had been driving considerably faster than Victor, waited ahead for them on the snow-covered ice. Claudine and Trish smiled and waved as Victor and Mike pulled up. Donnie appeared even more miserable behind Mulluk.