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whole page of percentage calculations, and of course I had the make-up homework todeal with too. I spent almost an hour messing around with the stupid percentages, and my brain felt like it might explode. When I finished, I wasn’t sure about all of my answers, but figured if I got half right, that would be good enough.
    Fifty percent was a passing grade, after all.
    I was just about to get started on my make-up assignment when I saw that it was three minutes past eight.
    Nuts!
    I pushed my chair back from my desk, grabbed
Shoot! Third Edition
, and ran down to the kitchen.
    Wendy was leaning against the wall, yakking on the phone again. I dragged the stool across the room and climbed onto it so I could reach the radio on top of the fridge.
    “What are you doing?” Wendy snapped.
    It seemed obvious. “Turning on the radio.”
    “I’m on the
phone
, Nugget.”
    “It’s
cordless
, Wendy.”
    “Nothing,” she muttered into the phone as she left the room. “Just my annoying little brother.”
    I turned the dial until I found PUCK Radio and sat down at the table with my book and a notepad, ready to roll. After a commercial for Mattress Land, some guy named Big Danny Donlin came on the air, talking about the Anaheim Ducks trading Yuri Karanov for Paul McFarland
and
Chris Marchand.
    It took a few minutes for him to mention the trivia contest, and when he did, I scrawled the number to call on my notepad.
    The phone! Wendy was hogging the stupid phone!
    Why couldn’t my family join the rest of the planet and get cell phones? I knew the answer, of course. I couldpractically hear Mum’s voice in my head: “Because texting rots the brain.”
    I looked around the kitchen in a panic until I heard Big Danny Donlin’s voice again. “Remember, folks, you can only win once.”
    I stopped in my tracks, realizing I didn’t need the phone to call in for some random hockey book or jersey. Not when I could wait for a chance at the game tickets and a shot from centre ice.
    I let out the breath I’d been holding.
    Whew.
    In the meantime, I figured the questions leading up to the big one would be the perfect practice for me.
    After another batch of commercials, Big Danny Donlin was back. “Okay, sports fans, it’s time for tonight’s trivia question. Are you ready?”
    “Yes,” I said to the empty room.
    “What are you doing?” Dad asked, from behind me.
    “Shh. It’s a contest,” I whispered, pointing to the radio.
    “Okay,” Dad whispered back as he passed me to pour himself a glass of water.
    “Tonight’s question,” Big Danny Donlin said, “is for a Canucks sweatshirt.” The sound of a cheering crowd came through the speakers. “We’re looking for caller number seven to tell us what team Bobby Hull played for before he joined the Winnipeg Jets.”
    I whipped open
Shoot! Third Edition
and started flipping through pages.
    Nuts!
    I was on a waiting list for the Bobby Hull biography at the public library.
    “The Chicago Blackhawks,” Dad said, leaning againstthe counter with his water.
    I looked up from the book to stare at him. “Are you sure?”
    “Yes,” he said, laughing. “I’ve been a hockey fan for a long time, son. I’m sure.”
    We sat in silence, waiting for the seventh caller to get through.
    “PUCK Radio, this is Big Danny Donlin.”
    “Hi Danny, this is Mike from Saanich.”
    “Mike from Saanich, have you got an answer to win this Canucks sweatshirt?”
    “Was it the Rangers?”
    A buzzer blasted through the speakers.
    “Ouch! Sorry, Mike. Next caller.”
    “The Chicago Blackhawks,” Dad said again, shaking his head.
    “This is Jim from Nanaimo.”
    “Hey Jim,” Big Danny Donlin said. “For a brand new Canucks sweatshirt, what’s your answer?”
    “The Chicago Blackhawks.”
    Bells and whistles filled the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!”
    “You were right,” I said, smiling at Dad.
    “I’m not just a pretty face,” Dad said, with a shrug.
    “The contest is