Whoever had chosen the music to be played over the PA system in the waiting area of the arbiter"s office had miscalculated. Rather than the quiet, soothing effect they had obviously intended, the low droning of a Bach sonata was beginning to put me to sleep and I found myself fidgeting just to stay awake.
“Sit still,” Mother said. She was reading a two-year-old Redbook she had found on the coffee table. I sighed.
“Mom, how long are we going to have to wait?”
She shrugged. “I don"t know, Billy. Buddy"s not even here yet. I told you we were going to be way early.”
I folded my hands atop my knees in an attempt to keep them from bouncing, trying instead to focus my nervous energy on looking around the room. There were more people floating around the lobby of the arbitration center than I h
