Kelly Olynyk stood and watched the bus roll away. “BC Express – Canada’s finest discount transportation providers since 1973”. Sighing slightly, he picked up his duffel bags, readjusted his backpack and started walking down the main street of Kamloops, British Columbia.
His great size attracted many curious stares, though no real recognition. Kamloops wasn’t really a basketball town. Kelly, used to such glances, smiled courteously as he made his way downtown. It was just as remembered it. The old theater, where he used to sneak in with his friends… and there was D’Ambrosio’s Pizza Parlor, home of the “Calzones the size of your head!”. He met his first girl there, his first kiss…
“Hey man, what’s up!”
Kelly didn’t know how long he’d been walking before being jolted out of his reverie by a familiar voice.
“Hey, you doin’ all right? You look a little shook! Man, wait till I tell the guys about this, the Moog Man has returned! Starcubism is back on!”
Kelly hesitated before responding. It was almost like a movie, how this was playing out. He knew the real reason he had returned to his hometown, he even had a copy of “Visions of Mars, a Cubistic Journey (part 1)” in his backpack, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to reveal his intentions yet.
“Come on now, Conrad, don’t be getting any weird ideas. You know how things were before I left.”
Conrad, the bassist of Starcubism, British Columbia’s (formerly) foremost art-rock band, was never short on optimism. “We can patch things up for sure, don’t worry about it. Why don’t you join me and Ferguson at D’Ambrosio’s for some slices tonight? Relive the old times, huh?”
Kelly feigned indecision. “I’ll think about it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got places to go and people to see.” He cringed at the corniness of the line, and without another word continued on his way. In reality, the only people he really had to see were his parents, down on Sagebrush Avenue. They’d be so excited to hear about life as an NBA player.