**First Fic...R/R ! hope you all like it !
Lables: High School is all about labels. You have your Preps, Geeks, Jocks, Foreign kids, and just about any other label one could think of. High school, at its superficial surface, seems to be all about labels, when really it's a time to find yourself. That's what they did. In the midst of all the jokes and antics over the years, the Ducks found themselves. They were more than a team full of jocks. They were a team of friends who played together, supported each other, and flew together.
Senior year at Eden Hall quickly approached. College was surely in the front of their minds, most thinking about pursuing hockey. Varsity Hockey, alone, consumed the better part of their time, but like any high school students, they dabbled in many areas: life, love, troubles, and normal hormonal mayhem. The Ducks made their mark at Eden Hall from the time they were the JV squad, uniting, rather than dividing the school. They knew senior year would bring a great end to what they started, and hopefully their legacy would carry on for years to come.
Coach Orion remained loyal to the Ducks, and improved their skills year after year. Bombay frequently checked in with his old team, arranging tournaments and acting a supportive figure. The Ducks, themselves, served as leaders and mentors for the JV team, hoping they would continue the great hockey dynasty.
The first day of classes proved to be a rough one, not only due to the inviting sun and hot weather, but also due to the challenging course work, topped off by many AP classes. AP English started the day as Adam, Charlie, Julie, Dwayne, Averman, and Goldberg listened to the teacher's lecture on Act I of Hamlet. The rest of the Ducks were in the other English section. A 45 minute class seemed to drag on for hours, especially when everyone adjusted to lounging around for hours over the summer. The most excitement came from Averman's sarcastic side comments, until the door slammed open and a disheveled girl stormed into the room, wearing grey sweat pants, a New York Yankees t-shirt, and sporty Nike flip flops. To top it off, her curly hair was thrown into a frizzy, messy bun.
"Here," she said, rummaging through her bag, "late note. Sorry." She looked up at the class searching for an empty desk. Her eyes moved rapidly as she scurried to sit down. The ruffling of papers distracted half the class as she tried to discreetly unpack her books. Instead, loose papers spilled onto the floor. With an exasperated sigh, the girl dropped her head onto her desk, and took a deep breath. Luckily, when she looked up a hand loomed over her desk with the fallen papers. "Sorry. Thanks," she said to the plaid clad boy to her right.
"No problem," Lester Averman replied.
After an excruciating twenty-five more minutes the bell signaled the end of class as everyone fled out of the door.
"Um, Erin," the boy called as she filed down the hallway, looking for her locker.
Not sure if the voice was calling her or some other girl, Erin turned around to face the sam red-headed boy from class.
"You dropped this on your way out," he said holding out a piece of paper to her.
"Oh. Damn. Today's not going well already. Thanks," she said pausing trying to put a name to the boy's face.
"Oh, Averman. Nice to meet ya," the boy said adjusting his glasses.
"Yeah, you too. Thanks for the help already. Didn't mean to make you go out of your way," Erin responded while seeking out her locker so she could exchange books for the day.
"Nah, don't worry. I mean you're only gonna make me late for my next class," Averman said.
"Oh...um," she said, biting her lip while looking down.
"I'm kidding! I actually have a free period now," Averman replied.
"Wow, for a minute there you made me feel even worse buddy," Erin said, raising an eyebrow, crossing her hands over her chest.
"Hey, well come to the cafeteria with me. They make some kick ass cookies. They may make you feel like 10 pounds heavier, but I guarantee they'll brighten your day. Ask Goldberg, he's a pleasantly plump guy," Averman said, causing Erin to laugh.
"Well whenever I find out who Goldberg is, I'll remember to tell him you said that," she said, as they strolled down the hallway to the cafeteria that was just about half full. A dirty-blonde haired boy waived Averman over to a group of two other guys and a girl.
"Hey guys," Averman said, while waiving at the group. "Oh, and this is Erin, she's obviously new here this year. Erin meet Guy, Russ, Fulton, and Connie."
They all smiled and waived. "Here, sit down," Connie, the pale, dark haired girl, said, sliding another chair over to the table.
"Thanks," Erin said smiling.
"So where you from?" she asked, leaning toward Erin, away from the arm of the blonde boy, Guy.
"New York, cause of some family stuff going on I'm here to help out with it, so yea," Erin said, choosing her word carefully in order to avoid divulging her life story.
"Oh, wow! New York!" Connie exclaimed.
"Damn, now you're gonna be the cool one. Guess bein' from the mean streets of LA doesn't count for anything anymore," a chubby, African American boy chimed in. The girl just smiled and rolled her eyes at him.
Judging by the banter among the people at the table, Erin assumed the group must be friends. "You guys must be pretty close, or it seems that way."
"Yeah," Averman cut in. "We're actually the Varsity Hockey team. The Ducks. Connie, me, and Guy have been together since Pre-K. We met Fulton in Pee-wee hockey when we were ten. There's like a bunch more of us. If you remember Charlie and Goldberg in English with us, yea they've been with us since Pre-K, too. Oh, and Banks since 5th grade. The rest came for the junior Goodwill games, don't know if that rings a bell?"
"Well, if I didn't feel like an outsider before," Erin joked, while she fumbled with her unruly hair.
"Don't worry," Connie said. "Besides me and Julie, we don't have many other girls around. They're either too intimidated, and some use us to get to the guys. It's sorta messed up."
Erin smiled and appreciated how nice Connie seemed. "Well thanks for letting me sit here with you guys. But hockey is pretty sick. I wish I could play, but I just never tried. Volleyball and softball are my sports," Erin explained.
"Nice. You thinking of going out for the volleyball team?" Guy asked.
"I guess. The Coach at my old school asked me to be captain. So we'll see," Erin said smiling. "I still think it's awesome that you're on Varsity hockey, Connie. Don't know if I'd have the guts."
"Yeah, noone messes with my girl," Guy said, hugging Connie from behind.
"Aw," Erin said, while the other three guys laughed.
The rest of the day went on the same way. Erin was happy to find that Averman also shared AP Biology and AP Calculus with her. Seeing a familiar face eased her mind. Adam Banks and Julie Gaffney also shared these classes, which made her feel more comfortable since they friends of Averman.
After school, Erin stayed to finish some homework in order to brush off the immense weight of her books. As 5:15 rolled around, she decided to pack for the night and head home. She needed a shower badly. Luckily the bus stop was not crowded, and she was first in line. Shortly after waiting, the bus rode up to the stop. A couple of seats in the back were free, so she sat down, happy to have some arm room. The brief relief soon vanished when a familiar looking boy sat down beside her.
"Scuse me," he said, carrying quite a bit of equipment of his own.
Erin reluctantly moved her bag aside as the boy sat on the seat next to her.
"Sorry," he mumbled, noticing her incredulous stare.
"Nah, don't worry about it. Sorry," she said, glancing over at the boy's shoulder.
Due to traffic, and lack of luck with street lights, Erin decided to start reading Hamlet, for English. After a fruitless ten minutes of reading, she placed the book back into her bag.
"So, is it good?" asked the boy.
"Um...yea. It's alright," she responded, making eye contact with his knee.
"Yea. You're in first period English right?" he inquired further.
"Mhm, that's right," she replied. "Are you a friend of Averman's by any chance," she asked pointing to his hockey equipment in the aisle.
"Yep, actually. I'm Charlie," he said.
"Erin. Averman mentioned you were one of his oldest friends," she responded, trying her best to make small talk.
"Yep, that's me. What brings you to Minnesota?" he asked.
"Well, I'm from New York. My uncle needs some help. So now my family's here, and instead of senior year ruling my old school, I'm here starting from scratch," Erin explained monotonously.
"I'm guessing you've told that story about a million times today? Sorry," he said laughing.
"Don't worry 'bout it. I'm just really tired. Summer needs to come back right now," she replied, leaning her head back against the chair cushion.
"Tell me about it. As much as I love hockey and captain responsibilities, school work is gonna kill me. And college apps! First semester is already kicking my ass," he explained, sympathetic to Erin's situation. "Gotta get Bs or better to stay on the Ducks, and I need to get into Boston University or Boston College with a hockey scholarship."
"Wow, sounds almost as bad as my life. I think you just may have me beat!" she laughed. "At least someone's life sucks worse than mine."
"Oh, wow! Thanks for the encouragement," he said, laughing.
"No problem. I'm glad you enjoy my sarcasm," Erin smiled.
Charlie just laughed.
"Yea, well my top schools are either Boston College, Fordham, Holy Cross, or maybe BU as well. So maybe we'll be in the same neighborhood next year. But this is seriously ridiculous. Making new friends...just a pain in the ass. This morning I couldn't even get ready," Erin ranted, gesturing to her Yankee t-shirt and gray sweatpants.
"Hey, we all have those days. Don't worry bout it. Doesn't bother me really, only human," Charlie paused, thinking of another conversation starter. Despite her negativity, he figured she needed someone to talk to since she knew noone. "So what you listening to?"
"Oh, "The Joker," Steve Miller Band," Erin said, offering him and ear bud.
"Nice, good song," Charlie said.
After a while, Charlie and Erin reached their stop and exited the bus together.
"So how far's the walk for you?" Charlie asked.
"Um...Just like seven blocks or something. It's Yates street," Erin replied.
"Oh, wow! Nice! My mom actually works right here," Charlie said, pointing to the diner. "I live the other way, but I usually stop in so my mom can give me a ride."
"Nice," Erin said. "Well I'll see ya tomorrow, Charlie," she said, waving, beginning to walk away. "Have fun with Hamlet."
Charlie laughed, "Oh, yes, most fun I'll have all day."
"I bet. Way better than the bus with me," Erin joked. "See ya!"
On that note, Charlie walked into the diner to see Coach Bombay sitting at the counter. "Charlie! How was the first day of senior year?" Bombay questioned.
Charlie plopped down on the stool resting his head on his arms before he said, "One day and it's already killing me."
"Don't worry. You'll be fine," Coach reassured him.
"How's your cousin doing today?" Charlie asked.
"He's doing okay. Taking it a day at a time, you know that's all he can do. Not going back to work any time soon though. Jack's a fighter. He'll pull through," Gordon responded. "His family is in town to help out, too. He's got a good brother. James was always a good guy when we were kids. Even when my dad died, James was there for us all."
"That's nice. You know, to have a family like that," Charlie said.
"It's nice having James around. If you want you can come visit Jack with me Saturday after practice," Bombay offered.
"Coach, I don't want to..." but Charlie was cut off by Bombay.
"Charlie, you're family. You're the heart of the Ducks. Plus, James never had the pleasure to meet you," he said.
"I don't know, Coach," Charlie shrugged.
"Well, James has a daughter your age. Could that persuade you?" Bombay question, jokingly.
"Nice try, and I'll think about it," Charlie said.
As the week dragged on, the Ducks were bogged down with homework and hockey plays. By that time, Erin had made Varsity Volleyball, while she established blossoming friendships with some of the Ducks.
"Yo, Erin," Fulton called from down the hallway.
"Hey, What's up dude," she answered, exchanging books for her next few classes. She finally adjusted to the new schedule, so she avoided any incidents like the first day of school.
"Wanna come play some street hockey with us Saturday afternoon? Charlie's got something he needs to do," Fulton asked.
"Well, first, I highly doubt my ability to play any kind of hockey, and second, I gotta visit my uncle in the hospital that day. Definitely some other time soon, though!" Erin answered as she and Fulton walked to their government class.
Fulton nodded as they took seats next to one another. They were soon joined by Dwayne, Charlie, Russ, and Portman. "So Erin, you commin' Saturday?" Portman asked, patting her hard on the back.
"Nah, can't, wish I could though, so I can entertain you with my lack of hockey skills. Maybe I could meet up later that night, though?" Erin replied, half asking, hoping she was not intruding on the group.
"I'm out with Julie that night, dude, but yeah, everyone else should be around," responded Portman.
"Aw, that's cute, you and Julie, I mean. Didn't even know the two of you were together. Never woulda guessed actually," Erin said, smiling up at Portman.
"Yup. It'll be seven months. It's cool," he said with a nod.
"Well if I didn't think relationships were the epitome of evil, I would totally go as far as to say you guys are very lucky to have each other," Erin said, with a shrug.
"Oh, and there's that good ol' sarcasm again," Charlie chimed in from the seat behind her.
Unaware that he sat listening to her conversation, she was still quick to respond. "Of course, Conway. Would you really expect anything less?" She turned to face the him, only to be met with his half smile as she laughed at her own words. He raised an eyebrow at Erin, and shook his head, finding the sheer fact that she humored herself amusing. The sound of the bell interrupted Charlie and Erin's silent communication as the teacher strolled into the room.
"Time to turn around, Shirley Temple. Wouldn't want to distract you from your studies," Charlie joked.
"Whatever you say, King Charles," Erin responded quickly. After another moment of resistance, she finally positioned herself toward the front of the classroom, completely unprepared and distracted.