Coach VS. Team Captain

(Sister VS. Brother)

Copyright 2010

~~~~~~~~~~Mandy's P.O.V~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do we fight? Hell yeah! We fight like normal brothers and sisters do. I mean, we argue over silly stuff like who takes up most of the hot water, who ate this or that, or who drives who's car without permission or doesn't fill the tank later.... that kind of stuff. Sure we're a close knit team with 3 of us happen to be biological siblings, but we're not perfect either if you're asking.

Sure Wildwing and I have a wonderful but not perfect brother/sister relationship, but sometimes our occupations get the best of us. He's team captain of the team, I'm the coach. But he's also the team leader. As for me, I don't go out there to save the world because of the numerous times my carelessness put everyone in danger to the point of almost getting all of us killed.

So I only focus on my part of the team which is being a coach and a support, not to mention being a wife to a former thief (man, my husband can steal my heart any day wink, wink).

We never thought that with my big bro being the team leader/captain and me just being a coach would put a heavy strain on our brother sister relationship.

I would never thought that we would fight over a stupid play that I've made. I've been their coach for over 8 years and no one has ever disapproved my plays. Yeah, I had some in put on them by the team, but not liking it in general. And the nerve of my big brother does his thing by having the team go against me and do one of their own at a few games.

The pond felt my irritation but never acted upon it. The sports channel thought that I was doing a poor job on my part or a brother revenge over his sister.

The team won, no surprise. Then the six of them went out to eat for celebration, I got so pissed off that I stayed behind or the fact that I wasn't invited. Oh well. When the team gets back, I have a bone to pick with my traitor that I call my big brother.

I got out of my outfit and put on something more comfortable. I put on shorts and a t-shirt, then walked into the kitchen to get something to eat. Probably make something healthy like a chicken wrap or something. Trying to keep my mind off the fact that I was very angry not only to the team, but the fact that he did something behind my back.

~~~~few hours later....~~~~~~~~~~~

It's past midnight and no one has come back yet. I sat around reading books, watching TV or just playing a video game while drinking a few malted vodkas, but not enough to get drunk. I know my limits. I'm going to bed, I don't give a crap anymore.

Ten minutes later, there was a knocking in my room.

"Uggghhh.... who is it?" I yelled. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"It's Phil." he said behind the door.

I got out of bed, half asleep and opened the door. "May I help you?" I said flatly.

"You know where the team is? Its past midnight and they have a photo shoot in the morning." Phil replied.

"I'm their coach, not their keeper. But they said something about going to eat somewhere."

"You weren't invited?"

"Do you think I care? After what my Wildwing did to me tonight?"

"Yeah. I thought your plays were just fine."

I crossed my arms, "Tell that to him."

"But they won, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." I said, "But He didn't have to do that to me, without my approval."

"Just remind him that you're the coach, not him."

"Easier said that done." I replied, "But I'll try."

"I think I bothered you enough. You have a TV conference tomorrow on ESPN to explain what happened."

"Yeah, I guess I need a good night's sleep."

With that Phil left, but he turned around and said one last thing. "Mandy, you maybe his younger sister, but you're his coach. Remember that."

"I will. Thanks."

He walked back to his car to go home for the night. I went back to my room and went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~8 a.m that morning~~~~~~~~~~

I was fully awake, no one next to me on the bed so I got up, showered and got ready for my ESPN conference. I'm not sure what's going to be asked or how am I going to answer them. I dressed in my polo shirt and a plaid skirt that went down to almost 3 inches near my knees and some mary janes shoes. I put on my team jacket on and decided to leave, getting breakfast on the go. Wondering if Phil got a hold of the rest of the team, good luck with them Phil. I thought as I shook my head.

I know that he'll be there for me later.

I walked to the garage and went inside my car to leave for Los Angles for the conference. I had a long drive ahead of me. This is a waste of my time, if they had follow my plays, we wouldn't have this problem. But nooo..... they did their thing with the lead of my brother.

I parked at the back, hoping that I wouldn't be hounded by reporters. When I got inside I met up with the president of ESPN, my dream come true, plus his representatives.

"Thanks for doing this conference on short notice, but this is important."

"You're welcome." I replied as I shook his hand. "I wish we would've met under better circumstances."

"As do I, Ms. L'Orange."

"Please call me Mandy."

"Okay Mandy, you're on in 2 minutes."

"Thanks." I said.

I touched up my make up and then went out to the conference area and took my place in that area.

Then I saw Phil and he sat next to me.

I leaned over and he whispered to me. "Everything will be okay. Just talk what's in your heart."

"Thanks." I replied.

We took our positions as the president of ESPN spoke. "Good afternoon sport fans. As you know, the hockey game last night with The Mighty Ducks VS. Toronto had a mix reviews upon what happened with the game on the Ducks side. Some said that Coach Mandy L'Orange didn't do her job, correctly some say something else. So here with us is Coach Mandy L'Orange to explain last nights game. Coach L'Orange..."

He stepped down and took his seat while I got out of mine and presented my thoughts. I just hope that the team's watching right now.

"Good afternoon everyone. The game last night, didn't go accordingly to what was supposed to go. I understand that some fans think that I did a poor job on my part. But no one knows what happened. I apologize in advance for my team, as representative of the Mighty Ducks and with me, Manager of the team Phil Palmfeather, were concerned as well. I've never seen the team act the way they did towards me last night, I plan the games accordingly and in a professional manner. Thinking that it was okay, they planed their plays of their own and yes, I was surprised. The team has not gone against my plays before like they did last night during my 8 years of coaching the team, in which I take seriously. The team captain and my brother, Wildwing Flashblade disapproved my plays the day before the game in which I got Phil's approval so yes, I used them. I guess with anger, he got the team to not do my plays for the final half of the game out of revenge. I don't know how, I can't explain his change in attitude. So I do apologize for my team for their attitudes against me and how the sport shouldn't been played. So I'll take any questions..."

"Ms. L'Orange, does he do this to you all the time?" One reporter asked.

"As I said, no. so it came as a shock that he would do this against me."

"As this is unfolding, do you still love your brother?"

"I love my brother yes, he has many positive attributes that he brings to this team. I just don't approve of what he did."

"Are you mad at the team, that including your husband?"

"No. It's not their fault. Wildwing's the team captain and their leader. I guess they do what he says, but no, I'm not mad at them."

"Is it true that they went out last night without you?"

"Yeah, why do you care?" I said, feeling uneasy as to where this was going.

"Then I guess you didn't know what happened while you were at home. Were you aware that they were drunk last night...."

I paused and grasped the podium in anger, "Say what now?" I said in a angry tone.

"You're the representative of the team right."

"Doesn't mean that I'm their keeper."

Phil came up to the podium, "Ms. L'Orange wasn't aware of the teams' behavior last night and there fore, shouldn't be responsible for their outcome."

The questions kept on coming as both Phil and I walked out of the conference hall.

"Oh my god, oh my god, this isn't happening...." I said as I lifted my head with my hands covering my eyes.

"I'm sure that they have an explanation as to why they did this to us." Phil said putting his arm around my shoulder.

"I'm just worried about Dive, he's only 19 and too young to drink." I said as I put my head and hands down to normal level.

"Me too."

"I guess we go home."

"Drive carefully."

"You too." I said, leaving the arena.

The drive home was uneasy as a lot of things went inside of my head about the conference and what the news reporter just revealed about the teams behavior after the game and coming home drunk. I'm guilty too, I drank a few malt vodkas and a bottle of beer, but not enough to get me drunk. Buzzed yes, but not drunk. At least I didn't hangover or affect my emotions last night. I drink on a rare occasion.

~~~~~~ A few hours later ~~~~~~~~~

I parked in the parking garage back at the pond. I locked my car and went inside the hangar with a newspaper in hand. It was true, fully front page in my face true. I walked straight to my brother's room where he was laying down, probably recovering from a hangover.

I went inside his room, "thanks for making feel like a complete asshole on TV today." I said as I threw the newspaper at him.

"What do you mean?" Wildwing said in an anger tone.

"Well lets see, making me feel like I did a poor job as a coach and coming home in the wee hours of the morning drunk when you guys have a photo shoot that same morning."

"Why are you taking this out on me?"

"Because you're the one that didn't like my plays in the first place. So it came as fuckin' shock that you guys did things your way without my approval."

"listen baby sis, I'm the captain of this team,"

"You may be the team captain, big brother, but I'm your coach!" I replied, "And we're support to work as a team, not against it."

"Well I didn't approve of what you said on TV this afternoon."

"Someone had to explain you guys' attitude, and as representative of this team and the coach of this team, it was my responsibility to explain to the world what happened as I saw fit." I said. "And when I heard that you guys were drinking heavily last night, not answering your phones... well that made me question your responsibility as team leader."

"And you think you're perfect, not drinking and all."

"I'm not perfect too, thank you very much! I take my coaching job very seriously and I would like to keep the Mighty Ducks Represented at a mature level because I feel like I'm the only responsible duck on this team."

I wasn't aware that the whole team was listening in on us, maybe they heard us yelling at one another.

"I'll will say this again, I'm the team captain, I'm responsible for the safety of this team. You're just jealous that you're not playing on the team." Wing continued.

"You just didn't not go there!"

"I did."

"Well the next time you decide to go behind my back, I won't be responsible and you will go on ESPN and explain what happened. I'm not going to be a part of this crap no more!" I said as I turned around and left, but stopped only saying this last thing, "I just hope you know what you're doing."

Then I left to go up to my thinking spot, the roof of the pond. But not before getting dressing my p.j shorts and t-shirt since it was still warm when I came back, I brought a blanket, just in case.

~~~~~Wildwing's P.O.V~~~~~~

I only did what was right for the team, I just did things my way. So what if Mandy's mad at me. She was the one that used the plays that night. But I wasn't aware that it was going to go this far as to question her career as our coach and yes our behavior after the game.

I was only doing it to get back at her, not make her feel like crap. I mean she can be a bitch at times with what she does as coach. I just don't understand why it got all of this attention. So I decided to get out of bed and walk down to Duke and Mandy's room to talk to Duke, and get to know her a little better, in his eyes.

I knocked on Duke's door, "Come in." He said from behind the door.

I walked inside, only to see him watch some comedy show on TV. "Hey Wing." He said.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked.

"Sure, what about?"

"Mandy."

"Yeah, I heard you two having a all out on one another."

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"I'm your brother in law and she's my wife." Duke said. "I love you both and I can't pick a side. You're bother and sister, and brothers and sisters work it out on their own."

"But how did you feel about the conference and the argument?"

"In my opinion, it wasn't necessary for her to explain herself on ESPN, but she was just doing her job. We weren't responsible last night and yes it did cause a concern for her career." He replied. "And she was right about a few things."

"You're taking her side?"

"i didn't say that." Duke said as he placed a arm around my shoulder and took his tone a little deeper yet softer. "Look, I love Mandy very much. She loves her job and you guys very much. I mean, she works hard on these plays because she cares about you guys. I know she can be a bitch some times, but I've been with her long enough to know that she does what she does because she cares about the well being of the team. She could have asked for your input instead of going behind your back. You two need to work as a team as leaders and representatives of this team. She's not perfect, and neither are you. You do what you do for us because you care about us, think of coaching as being caring for the team. Think of it this way, if you didn't like us, you wouldn't be team leader and if she didn't care about us, she wouldn't be coach. You two do what you do because you care about the team."

"Wow, I never thought of things that way." I said. "and Now I know. I guess I owe her an apology."

"We all do, and she does too." Duke said.

I got up, "thanks for the talk." I said. "I really needed that."

"Any time, brother." Duke said.

I walked out of his room, I need to go find Mandy only to crash into Phil. "Hey, do you know where Mandy went?"

"Probably in her thinking spot. The roof of the pond."

"Look, Phil, I'm sorry for whatever action took place last night."

"Thanks for the apology, but I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

"I know." I said.

So I walked up to the roof where I saw Mandy sitting on the roof with Mallory, talking. I guess she came up to talk to her and apologize as well. I came up behind them.

"Mallory, can I speak with Mandy a lone?"

"Sure." She said as she gave Mandy a hug. "I'll see you later sis, okay."

"Okay." Mandy said as she got up and she wrapped her arms around me. "Go easy on her okay."

I returned with my arms around her. "I came to talk to her, not argue. But I will." I said, I gave Mallory a quick peck on the beak. "I'll see you inside."

When Mallory left, we were alone.

"You have a lot of guts coming up here." Mandy said without turning her head to see me.

I sat next to her. "Look Mandy, I came up here to apologize. I didn't know that this was going to cause you so much trouble."

"Yeah, I didn't see things your way. I'm sorry for not speaking to you earlier before the game and for using the plays without your approval."

"You were speaking to Mallory haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't see things your way either. You were only doing your job and because you care. If you weren't caring, you wouldn't be a coach right."

"Yeah, and if you didn't care about us, you wouldn't be the team leader." Mandy said. "I do my job because I care about this team and what you guys do represents what the team is and it reflects on my job."

"Again, I'm sorry for the team's behavior last night. If I didn't know that you do your job because you care, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"You were talking to Duke haven't you?"

"how did you guess?"

"A sister and a wife knows." She replied. "He knows my position of this team and my reasons. I didn't fall for just his looks alone. I guess he told you how he sees me, you guys would understand me better, just how I see him through my eyes."

"and if he knew what we did in the past, he and Mallory would freak."

"yeah, I remember. We didn't have a person to practice kissing on.... "

"So we practiced on each other."

"I didn't feel weird after that. I was curious as to what it would be like to kiss my brother."

"Did bother me one bit either." I replied, "I guess that explains our close but awkward bond between us."

"We had to lie as to who was our first kiss came from." Mandy said with a small chuckle. "I must say, you're an awesome kisser. Mallory's lucky to have a man like you."

"Duke's lucky to have a girl like you. You're an awesome kisser as well." I replied.

"Yeah, we did a few awkward things in the past."

"Yeah, stuff that I won't want to repeat on you again."

"Likewise."

"So you forgive me for what I've done?"

"Only if you forgive me and agree to work together."

"Agreed."

"Then you're forgiven." Mandy said while she jumped and gave me a hug.

"I love you sis." I said returning her hug.

"I love you too bro." she replied.

We both stood up and walked back inside arm in arm.

~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~