Four Precious Words(modified with help of Emerson Yu and Charles Jin)

Four Precious Words(modified with help of Emerson Yu and Charles Jin)

:D

October 17, 2017

Four Precious Words

By Wilson Xie

I slithered into the United Stadium. It was dark with a slight bitter smell. I almost couldn’t acknowledge the fact that I, John Bardwell, had snuck inside one of the most secure stadiums there could ever be. And what was I going to do? Was I going to stay in here? What if I got caught in here? I snuck around the hallways as quietly as I could and saw a door. On that door were the words “Locker Room.” Just when I thought I was safe, I heard footsteps. Footsteps coming closer and closer. I stared at the words “Locker Room” and the words stared back. They wanted me to go inside. So I took their command and began to creep toward the door. With my hands shaking, I heard the creak from the door while I opened it and snuck in.

No one was in the locker room. The lights were on, but the whole locker room was empty. I began to look around naively and then I saw the jersey of my favorite player: Michael Jordan. It was lying on the bench and shined brighter than the sun. The numbers two and three joined together to make the iconic number of Michael Jordan. It was too tempting to take, so I carefully laid my fingers on the silk jersey and quietly stuffed it inside my backpack. I pressed my ear against the door to hear that there were no footsteps. I creaked open the door gently and knew that I was safe. Now I wondered where I would go.

Since there were no footsteps other than my own to be heard, I relaxed. I saw a mouse scurry down the hallway. I tiptoed down the hall to see that there was a player’s tunnel. And out through that tunnel was the basketball court. The basketball court that I had dreamed of. I decided to take my chances and go through the tunnel. One little kid, who looked around the age of seven, spotted me and stared with a weird look. But other than that, there weren’t many people at the stadium yet. It was mostly empty. As I began to walk a bit more casually, I noticed how there were only a couple of people on the court cleaning up for the ball game. Then, I quickly climbed above the stands and sat in a seat. Right when my bottom hit the solid wooden seat, I felt an instant relief.

After waiting a while patiently, the speaker came on. A man with a strong voice announced that Michael Jordan’s jersey had been stolen and said that whoever found the jersey would receive a cash prize of one-thousand dollars. He stated that Michael Jordan would have to wear the number twelve if it was not found. I had a thought of gaining one-thousand dollars, but figured that Michael Jordan’s jersey was worth more than ten times that amount to me. Another half hour later, the announcer came up and announced that the police were investigating and whoever stole the jersey would be sent to jail. Now that brought my nerves up.

I enjoyed the game a lot. I saw Michael Jordan wearing the number twelve against the Orlando Magic. The game was intense and exciting! During half-time, I was just going to just sit there, but I heard a ringing and felt something vibrating from my pocket - my phone. I opened my phone and saw that my mom was calling me. I decided to answer.

“John, how’s the game?” my mom asked enthusiastically.

I paused for a moment and held my breath.

“It’s great! Michael Jordan just dunked!” was my response.

“Oh! Did you hear that Michael Jordan will be wearing the number twelve because someone stole his jersey?” my mom asked.

I began to speak but lost my voice. I cleared my throat and began to speak as if I didn’t have anything to do with this.

“Yeah,” I responded.

“Okay, great! Have fun!”

My mom ended the phone call and I exhaled. Then, the second half was coming.

It was a great sight from my angle. Especially since I had chosen a random seat. The game was great, and the game went overtime. I was cheering at the top of my lungs. Michael Jordan ended up scoring 49 points, though with a loss. It was pretty unbelievable that Michael Jordan had scored 49 points. After the game ended, I felt pretty down, but I thought about the fact that I had Michael Jordan’s jersey, and felt better. I was exiting the building when a security guard told me that he had to check everyone’s bag or backpack. I paused for a moment while imagining myself in prison. Suddenly, I burst into tears..

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I took it, I was just-”

I took a moment to wipe some of my tears. The guard just stared at me, slightly confused, before realizing what I meant.

“-tempted, sorry!”

And then my idol, Michael Jordan, came over. And said four precious words that I would never forget.

“Let the kid go.”

Thanks Emerson and Charles!