Colleges and team names are made up, just so you guys know.
"Where have you been?" Annabeth nearly crushed her eldest son in a relieved, motherly hug. Tobias patted her on the back reassuringly.
"I was with a friend." Annabeth held him at arm's length, looking ready to throttle him.
"You could have called or something!"
"Sorry." He mumbled.
"And which friend? We called all of them to see if they had seen you."
"Oh, new friend." Annabeth raised her eyebrows in slight disbelief.
"Wise-girl, let him get himself cleaned up first." Percy appeared and managed to gently prise Annabeth away from Tobias. If Percy had turned up a second later, Tobias was sure his mother would be strangling him.
"Alright, but you have serious explaining to do." She warned, pointing accusingly at Tobias. He rolled his eyes.
"Yes Mom." He sighed.
Ten minutes later, Tobias was in his pyjamas- cotton drawstring trousers and an old T-shirt- and was now wolfing down a microwavable sweet and sour stir fry with chicken and various vegetables. Percy and Annabeth sat on the opposite side of the table to him.
"Eat your food, don't inhale it." Annabeth told him. Tobias glared at her, pointedly filling his mouth with more stir fry. Annabeth pursed her lips slightly, not sure whether to smile with slight annoyance or smack Tobias upside the head.
When Tobias had finished eating, Annabeth pestered him into explaining what had happened. She was left speechless when he mentioned the fight with the gang.
"You left them unconscious and hurt in some stinky alley way?"
"Uh, yeah."
"That's my boy." Percy beamed in pride. Tobias couldn't help but grin in return. Annabeth was torn between smiling and scolding. "You got your knife back, right?" Tobias nodded. "Good. Lou will blow a gasket if she knew you'd lost that."
"Don't worry; Leo'll fix it." Percy chuckled. Annabeth relented and gave a proud smile.
"So, what happened after you beat the gang senseless?" Tobias continued his story, talking over his shoulder as he got up to rummage in the freezer for mint choc chip ice cream.
Percy nudged Annabeth, giving a mischievous smile. Annabeth glared at him in a silent 'shut up'.
Tobias had told his parents everything- except Sophia kissing him on the cheek. For some obvious reason, he wanted to keep that bit to himself.
In the morning, Max was a bundle of nerves. He had an ice hockey game at eleven and it was against the college's sworn enemies- the Ice Knights. The opposing hockey team were not fair players and were often vicious hockey players. Max's team, the Sabre Devils, were all stocky players, nicely built, but they were small compared to the hulking masses of the Ice Knights.
Tobias collapsed on the sofa next to Max, holding a plate of warm, golden brown toast with chocolate spread. He handed it to Max, but his younger brother continued to stare into space. Tobias sighed, resting his head on the back of the sofa.
"How about if they cheat, we'll go after them with the hockey sticks?" Max smiled.
"OK."
"Attaboy. Now eat." Tobias forced the plate into his brother's hands. Max picked the crusts of the toast before eating. "Why do you do that?"
"Old habit." Max replied. "Where were you last night? Alvie beat your high score on that Sonic game." Tobias laughed. Seventeen years old and still a big fan of Sonic.
"Right. I'll talk to him later. We're leaving in ten minutes, so hurry up." Max nodded.
The teams shook hands, but most of the Ice Knights seemed keen on breaking the Sabre Devils' hands.
Max, being the captain, had to shake hands with the Ice Knights' captain. Max kept his face neutral as the opposing captain, Greg, numbed his hand with a death grip.
The teams got into position and the claxon sounded.
"Max will win, won't he?" Sage asked, standing up to see the game better.
"I'm sure he's doing his best, sweetie." Annabeth said kindly. Tobias sat his sister on his lap so she could see better.
"What if he doesn't win?"
"We'll get him his favourite pizza to cheer him up." Percy replied instantly, sitting his youngest son, Theo, on his knee. Theo was a younger version of Percy with Annabeth's grey eyes. All of the Jackson children had inherited grey streaks in their hair, similar to that of their father or mother, depending on whether they were a girl or boy.
"Daddy, up please." The other boy triplet, Callum, an identical twin to Theo, held his hands up. Percy managed to sit Callum on his other knee. The final triplet, Sage's 'clone', Lilly, was settled on her mother's lap. The triplets were two years old.
Tobias looked for his brother, instantly seeing him skating alongside Greg, who was trying to capture the puck for himself.
A reassuring and encouraging cheer went up from the Sabre Devils' supporters and Max slammed his shoulder into Greg, swung the hockey stick and scored. Cheers went up, almost deafening. Several of Max's team members moved over and patted him on the back or gave him high fives. Their opponents shouted insults and booed them. Max just waved his arms as if he was a conductor. The boos were drowned out by the cheers and laughter.
The game continued. Within twenty minutes, the score was four to the Sabre Devils and two to the Ice Knights.
Max passed the puck to a team member Tobias didn't recognise. The team member passed to Bill who took an almighty swing and gained another point. As it was their tradition, the Sabre Devils conducted the cheers, grinning and laughing along with their supporters. As it was their tradition, the Ice Knights booed and hissed.
The game was called to a break ten minutes later. By then the score was six- four to the Sabre Devils.
"Tobias," Percy said. Tobias looked round. "Go and get some popcorn will ya?"
"Beat ya to it, bro." Louisa sat on Percy's other side, Leo and her three children with her.
"Where have you been?"
"Over there, pissin' off those guys." Louisa waved in the direction of the Ice Knights' supporters. Percy chuckled and Annabeth smiled. "So, how are things goin'?" Louisa handed down the big bucket of popcorn. The triplets got first pick.
"Max is winning." Sage said proudly.
"Let's hope that carries on then." Charlie pulled himself up onto his mother's lap and got comfortable. "Alright there, Curls?" Louisa ruffled Charlie's hair, making him laugh.
"Leo, you're very quiet." Annabeth commented. Leo glared at Louisa.
"He's lost his voice."
"I bet you've been really mean then." Tobias grinned. Elsie and Alokia laughed.
"Mom hasn't stopped picking on him." Elsie said.
"She's in one of those moods." Alokia added with a sly smile. Leo tried to say something, but there wasn't any sound. Annabeth, fortunately, could lip read.
"He says he's plotting sweet revenge, Lou."
"Meh." Louisa shrugged. "Oh, the game's startin' again."
Max's team were first on the ice. The cheers were deafening. Charlie covered his ears, but that had little effect. The Sabre Devils stood in a line and waved their hands in the air and the crowd became even louder.
Percy was sitting there laughing. Annabeth shot him a quizzical look. Percy's words were drowned out by the crowd, who went from cheers to boos as the Ice Knights returned. Annabeth managed to lip read- Percy said something along the lines of, "And they're only a school team." Annabeth nodded in agreement. Most of the crowd was made up of fellow school students, teachers and the teams' family and closest friends.
The claxon sounded. Max and Greg wrestled for the puck before Max feinted to the left, distracted Greg and then passed the puck to a nearby teammate. This gained a few cheers.
Max's team didn't give the other team a chance to get the puck, playing hard and fast. Clearly they had had a pep talk during their break. If they carried on this way, the Ice Knights wouldn't stand a chance.
Ten minutes into the second half and the score was eight- four to the Sabre Devils.
Tobias noticed Greg skid to a stop at the bench. He took off his helmet and took a quick drink. He said something to his coach, who nodded. Tobias didn't like that. Annabeth noticed his frown.
"Something wrong?" She asked. Tobias shrugged, still watching as Greg returned to the game. Annabeth followed her son's gaze.
The Ice Knights scored. Max was the good sportsman and applauded his opponents, which encouraged his team to do the same. The Ice Knights were confused. Some shouted insults, trying to make themselves feel better. Max took his helmet off and pulled a face at them. His team and supporters cracked up laughing at his nerve.
Max secured his helmet and moved to the centre, where a fellow team member- Jack probably- waited with the puck. Jack gave Max a high five. The claxon sounded, a short burst of loud noise, and Max and Jack started the game again.
That's when it went wrong.
Max had served, but was then shielding his eyes. Greg barrelled straight towards him, his attention focused on the puck he had stolen.
Tobias cursed in Ancient Greek as Greg slammed into Max. Max fell heavily, putting his hand out to break his fall.
Two of Max's teammates helped him sit up, but he was holding his left wrist and grimacing. His other teammates were swarming towards Greg, holding their hockey sticks at the ready. Greg backed up as his teammates appeared either side of him.
Referees and first aiders appeared on the ice, trying to cease the fight before it started. The commentator made his presence known for the first time other than mentioning the scores or moves from the players.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we could have the potential war between the two teams after three decades of rivalry. Captain of the Ice Knights, Greg Johnson, broke the rules and openly harmed opposing captain, Max Jackson." The Sabre Devils' supporters were shouting and screaming insults. The other supporters were hurling insults right back.
A first aider had removed Max's helmet. The starting of a bruise had appeared on his left cheek and he still held his wrist.
While the first aider assessed his wrist, shoulder and bruise, Max looked around at the crowd. He locked eyes with his older brother and they came to a silent agreement.
The Ice Knights were so going down later.
The commentator was talking again, his voice from the speakers silencing the crowd. "Intel from the first aiders claim there is a minor fracture to Max's wrist and bruising to his cheek and possibly his shoulder as well." Percy and Louisa grumbled Ancient Greek curses worthy of Poseidon.
Max held his hands up, his injured wrist placed in a suitable cast. His teammates helped him up and Max secured his helmet again. The first aider was talking to him, but Max stubbornly shook his head, stooping to pick his fallen hockey stick up. "It seems that despite his injury, Max is going to carry on playing." The Sabre Devils' supporters gave a respectful cheer. Sage proudly said, "That's my big brother!"
A penalty was given. Max sent a death stare in Greg's direction as he waved away his team. He said something to them and they all grinned.
"There's ten minutes left on the clock. A lot can happen in that time and with an injured captain, can the Sabre Devils keep their victory?" The Devils cheered, shoving their hockey sticks into the air. Max looked around at them in amazement, grinning proudly.
The claxon sounded. "And they're off!"
Max took his penalty and scored, the puck flying past the keeper's head.
The game had reached a new level of ferocity.
And the Devils were not backing down…