On the Radio

The news report lasted one minute and forty seconds. Sasha would later listen to it eleven times. But the first time, on the dark highway, he had to catch it like a ball thrown fast at his face.

He did what Frank had taught them for the fourth part of the listening test. "A news item," Frank had said. "One speaker, fast, full of facts. Don't try to catch every word. Catch the skeleton. Who, what, where, when, why. And numbers. News always has numbers."

Sasha could not write while he drove. So he repeated the important words out loud, to the empty cab, like a man praying.

"And in Edmonton, a debate is growing over the future of a south-side community centre," said the newsreader, a woman with a warm, quick voice. "City staff have recommended selling the Riverbend Community Centre, built in 1971, to a private developer. They estimate that repairs to the aging building would cost more than two million dollars."

"Riverbend. Sell. Two million," Sasha said to the windshield.

"But residents are pushing back. The city's online survey on the site's future has received more than eight hundred responses in less than two weeks. That's a record for a city survey of this kind, according to city staff. Many residents are asking for a larger community space managed by the city."

"Eight hundred," said Sasha, and something in his chest got warm. "Record."