Hey guys, it's been a while...
Yeah, I honestly don't know what else I can say at this point. I'll still say I'm sorry though, because I am. I hate to keep all of you waiting, especially when you give me such great reviews all the time, and for that I thank you. You are all seriously awesome :)
Reviews:
Guest (July 16)- Thanks for your feedback and I honestly wasn't sure about the Five/Nine ship either. I just didn't know who else to put Stanley with since Ella is too young and I love Jix so Maren wouldn't be an option, so I just thought, 'when in doubt make an OC'. It won't be changing now but I know where your coming from and thanks for the great review :)
Guest (July 29)- Good question. I have no idea what the ship name for Riley and Stanley would be, anyway their names can be put together doesn't really sound that great lol. Maybe just Nive for Nine and Five? Or call them whatever you like :) thanks for the review!
Anyway, I hope that satisfies the questions and concerns, and thanks everyone for the lovely reviews! Y'all are the best and hope you enjoy the chapter :)
Maren
History, has recently taken over the top spot for the most hated thing in my existence. And by recently, I mean sometime between now and the start of yet another lecture on World War One, which we've been learning about for five years in a row now. This lesson is currently being broadcasted through the amazingly monotoned voice of Mr. Perry, who looks almost as uninterested in the subject as me. I vaguely wonder what terrible force propelled this poor man to become a history teacher.
His voice washes clean over me, in through one ear and out the other. I do try to retain information though, especially since the word 'test' slipped through to my consciousness about a half hour ago. I reposition myself on the hard seat beneath me, leaning forward to rest my elbows on the desk, then my chin in my hands. Even knowing it won't help with my focus, I squint my eyes despite my perfect vision. I can't help but think I must look comical. If I cared what anyone thought about me I might move. After a few moments of failure to remember anything from the last forty minutes, I realize I'm focusing too hard on focusing, thus drawing my focus away from the stuff I'm actually supposed to be focused on. I nod to myself as though the thought made sense.
I lean back in defeat and notice some others trying the same tactic as me, no doubt having the same result. Although, there are a few people that seem to be interested, the guy in the seat next to me included. I watch as Sam writes feverishly, his eyes glancing back up every few seconds to the power point on the board that I weirdly didn't notice before. Has that seriously been there the whole time? I silently thank our teacher for putting these notes on his website. If he didn't, I would find studying quite the struggle. Well, more of a struggle then usual anyway.
Instead of looking at the material like Sam, my eyes continuously bounce from our teacher to the clock. The fact I have a hockey game today isn't helping my focus either, especially since the outcome of this specific match could either mean victory or another game on Friday. As much as I love playing hockey, even I wouldn't want the tournament to go on any longer if we could win it tonight. And even though the game is at 6:00, I'm still just as eager to get out of here as I would be if it was right after school.
"Are you always this anxious, or is it only in history?" Sam asks, arching a dark eyebrow at the pencil I'm violently tapping on the desk. I stop when I notice a few people sending annoyed glances in my direction.
"Mostly just history, but it's not limited to one subject." I reply.
Sam laughs quietly, still aware of our teacher that's struggling to keep our attention as it is. "Well I don't doubt that. Maybe you should try taking some notes to pass the time." He suggests.
Now it's my turn to laugh. "That was a joke right?"
"Yes." He clarifies, smiling now. He looks back to the front of the classroom and notices the slide has changed, he immediately gets his pencil moving again.
"Why would I write stuff down when I can get it on the website?" I continue. "Plus, I won't be killing any trees."
"Ah, so it's about the trees." He says. I nod with mock seriousness and he laughs. "Never took you to be a nature buff." He teases, finished writing down his notes in what must be record time.
"There was an entire paragraph up there and your finished?" I ask in disbelief.
"Yeah." He replies, looking puzzled. "Why?"
I just shake my head. "Never mind."
The bell rings and I shoot up from my seat, almost hitting my knee off the desk in the process. I grab my books which are in the same position as when I put them there, while Sam has to pack up the books that were open on his desk.
"You coming to the games tonight?" I ask him, because I'm pretty sure leaving without a word would be considered rude. Especially since we were having a small conversation.
"Yeah, I'll be there." He replies, then smiles. "Don't look so surprised."
"Right." I say and try to put on a neutral expression, though I'm finding it hard to hide my shock. I wouldn't have expected Sam out of all people to watch sports for fun. "Well, see you there I guess." I start to back away from him. He waves so I assume it's socially acceptable to leave now.
I nearly run out of the classroom, but have to resign myself to a slower pace as I battle the crowds in the halls. On my way to my locker, I hear lots of people excitedly talking about both games for tonight. I'll probably stay for the guys game after mine tonight since they lost their first one, so it's make or break for them. Some may think the boy's game would be more violent, but the most fights actually happen in the girls games. I'm usually responsible for at least a few, but all of them deserve it. In my mind anyway.
By the time I get my bag from my locker and get out through the door, the parking lot is already packed with everyone trying to get out all at the same time. Thankfully Marina is driving today, so she won't get nearly as frustrated with the slow progress as I would. It's not very easy to spot her red sedan since red seems to be an extremely popular colour for cars. I eventually find it though and go for the back door since I was out too late to claim the passenger seat.
"Took you long enough." Marina chides when I get in.
"Yeah sorry, next time I'll just knock down everyone in my way to get here faster." I say sarcastically as I do up the seatbelt. Marina starts to move with the crowd before I have it done up, not that it matters anyway. Slow moving traffic is hardly ever a site for fatal accidents.
"Sounds like something you would do actually." She retorts.
"True." I agree. She laughs, though I scowl when I see how slow our progress is going. "So, are you guys coming over?"
I see Riley arch an eyebrow in the side mirror. "Is that just code for 'Maren needs help with math homework'?" She asks, looking at Marina who nods, agreeing.
"Well now that you mention it, I do have a worksheet..." I trail off and she chuckles.
"I don't know, I'll have to take a look at my schedule. I'm a busy person."
"Right." I say sarcastically.
"I am!" She protests, but her expression betrays her.
"You know I can see you in the mirror right?"
Her expression goes flat. "I wasn't aware actually." She replies, looking cautiously into the mirror and shifting uncomfortably. "Now I feel violated."
Marina and I laugh, Riley joining us in less then a second. "Okay, if we're going over to your place we're going to have to leave at around five so we have time to pick up Ella and get your guys' gear..." Marina says, moving the car forward as she thinks about what else could set us back. Always the responsible one. "And is Katerina going?"
"No, she's got work again." I reply, already bored with plan making. "Relax, we'll get there on time." I assure her.
"Uh huh, famous last words." She says, disbelieving.
"Wow, I could actually feel the confidence from back here." I joke, though she has a right to be skeptical of our time management. Between all the classes I'm late to and Riley's last minute rushing, Marina is by far the most timely one out of us all.
"Should I be confident when I know who I'm dealing with?" She points out, earning a shrug from me and a laugh from Riley. She won't argue either even though she's always on time, we both know Marina is referring to her tendency to leave things to the last second.
"Look, we'll make it." I sigh. "It doesn't really matter since we have warmups and and extra half hour anyway, why is it a big deal?"
She shrugs. "I just want to get there on time." She says simply, turning her head away to look out the window.
I roll my eyes. "Don't worry, we'll get there in enough time to keep Joseph from waiting on you." I tell her, rolling my eyes. I smile and Riley laughs when Marina's eyes widen and a light shade of red coats her cheeks. I didn't see them together the first game but I suspected something was up with the way she acted afterwards. She was too happy, it was unsettling.
"Okay... no." She holds up a finger as she tries to come up with another reason for her worrying.
"Strong defence there, Mar." Riley teases, a grin on her face.
Marina rolls her eyes but laughs anyway, it sounds more like a giggle and I roll my eyes too. Like me, she's probably been thinking about the game the whole day, but she's excited for a very different reason.
"Oh whatever, I'm happy you found love and crap." I mutter, glad for her despite myself.
"It's not love." She scoffs, looking both ways on the road now that we've finally made it up to the intersection. She turns right.
"Did he buy you food?" Riley asks.
Marina looks confused. "Yes." She answers slowly.
"So things are getting serious." I put in jokingly. I expect her to laugh or blush again but instead she just shrugs, a grin on her face that she's obviously trying to tone down but failing.
"Maybe." She replies.
My eyebrows shoot up and Riley and I share a look of confusion in the side mirror. This is the first time Marina's admitted that a relationship could actually be on the horizon with this guy. Something must have happened for her to be this happy about it.
"Wait, did he ask you out?" I ask hurriedly. She shrugs again, cheerily looking at the road. I take it as a yes.
"That's why you were all smiley after the game." Riley exclaims triumphantly. Marina turns red again in an instant, but the grin doesn't go away completely.
"I was not 'smiley'." She mutters, shaking her head.
"Yes you were, and it was annoying." I cut in. I talk again before she can try to protest, "So when are going out with him?"
"Well, I don't know yet."
"So he asked you if you wanted to go out, but didn't actually make plans to do so?"
"Not yet."
"Hmm, interesting." I say slowly.
She immediately glances back at me with a warning look, her mood changing around quickly. "Don't you dare say a word to him about it." She turns back around to focus on the road, but not without narrowing her eyes at me threateningly. I can't help but laugh at the sight.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her." Riley assures her. I laugh at that too.
"Thank you, and we're done talking about this by the way." Marina says, her excitement about the subject short lived.
Riley nods, seeming content with the outcome of this exchange while Marina turns on the radio. It's comes out on a burst of static and she starts to change it to a different channel.
"So..." I start, leaning up so I'm closer to her seat and taking the radio mishap as a chance to continue analyzing her soon to be boyfriend. "What kind of food did he buy you?"
Marina groans in annoyance, I smirk and Riley stifles a laugh. "Fries." Marina replies, making an obvious effort to change the channel faster.
"Just fries?"
"Yes, just fries."
"Okay." I reply, leaning back so I can sit in the seat normally again. As suspected, Marina is confused with my easy submission and stops playing with the radio to send me a suspicious glance over her shoulder.
"What?"
"The guy couldn't even spend the extra dollar to get you a poutine. Just sayin."
Riley looks out the window to hide an amused smile, otherwise staying out of it, like she usually does when I start to annoy Marina. I shrug when Marina sends another glance back at me, this time her expression is a mix of exasperation and shock.
"It was a nice gesture!" She defends.
I hold up my hands in surrender even though she's looking back at the road now. "Okay." I say again.
I grin when she makes an annoyed huff and goes back to the radio. She finally gets it to the right station and music starts playing through the speakers, quietly though. Nobody says anything for a minute.
"I mean, did he even get you a drink?"
"Maren, I swear to god."
It doesn't take much longer to get to my house and mom is just leaving as we get in through the door. She apologizes again for missing my game, and again I tell her it's okay. All morning she's been apologizing, like I'll fall into a deep state of depression because she missed this one event. She's been present at almost all of my games since I've been in hockey so a couple of absences aren't going to cause me a mental breakdown.
We make our way to the basement, being teenage girls we naturally gravitate towards the huge couch and TV settled down there. Despite the temptation of flipping through channels, I don't waste much time before starting in on my math worksheet, knowing that if I delay working on it for now it means never looking at it again. I don't actually need much help with it, but it's more than convenient to have a math genius at my disposal if I ever need anything. Marina eventually turns on the TV and what looks like a soap opera flashes on the screen before it's immediately replaced with another channel. I think it's animal planet.
They talk and I half listen, sometimes making a comment, but I stay primarily focused on math. I'm on the last question when I see the screen change out of my periphery, going from a light sand to a dark figure. I look up to see the face of a bat looking into the camera, something about it looks oddly familiar.
"Does that look familiar to you guys?" I ask, tilting my head sideways as if it would help.
"It looks like a bat." Marina supplies helpfully.
"Yeah, no kidding." I reply. She laughs but I keep studying the bat, trying to latch onto something in my memory that relates to it. Why do I feel like I recognize a bat? "Holy shit, it looks exactly like a girl on the Mogadore team!" I point at the TV, relieved I figured it out.
"Well that's cruel, that thing is just plain ugly." Marina tilts her head at the TV as well, probably trying to figure out how a person's face could possibly relate to what's on the screen.
"Exactly." I say. "Seriously, she was terrible. I can't remember her name but she was annoying me all last game. Something like Du Ra or..."
"Oh my god I know who your talking about." Riley laughs. "Dun Ra. Phiri Dun Ra."
"Yes!" I point at her over Marina who's sitting between us on the couch. "Now, is that not the evilest fucking name you've ever heard?" I question truthfully.
Marina chuckles. "Honestly, all their names sound pretty evil if you ask me."
"Right?" Riley agrees. "And I did see see bat woman get you with a few dirty hits. I'm surprised you didn't punch her."
"If she keeps it up today I will." I threaten, smirking. "Maybe I'd do her a favour by messing up her face."
"Please don't." Marina says. "You could get kicked out of the game you know."
"Not if she starts it." I reason, looking for any reason that would be good enough reason to justify a few hits. Marina raises her eyebrows at me. I sigh but I know she's right. "Don't worry, nobody is gonna get punched." I concede. Riley arches an eyebrow at me and I realize I've started cracking my knuckles. It's a bad habit of mine, but not very confidence inspiring considering what I just said.
I pick up my pencil again and stare at the unfinished math question tiredly. This is just terrible. I lean my head back on the back cushion of the couch. "Jesus, it feels like this is taking forever." I groan.
"Well math isn't usually known to go fast." Marina replies, seeming unconcerned while she continues to watch the TV.
"I know, but it just seems like I've been at this way too long. What time is it anyway?" I ask.
Both of my friends just shrug, neither making a move for their phones to check. I take it upon myself and grunt as I feel around for a bit before figuring out I'm actually sitting on the device. I shift so I can get it and lazily look at the screen. My tired annoyance is replaced with panic when I see the time, and I bolt upright from my lazy position. Marina and Riley look at my wide eyed expression confused.
"We're late." I explain quickly. "Very late."
We all shoot up at the same time, almost falling down in our haste, and I sprint up the steps taking two at a time. Once upstairs I rush to my room and grab my hockey bag off the bed before running back out again, narrowly avoiding the doorframe. At the speed I'm going, it would have done quite a bit of damage if I hit it. Marina and Riley are already waiting at the door when I get to the porch and they head out in a rush when they see me coming, leaving the door open. I shove my shoes on halfway, and I just remember my keys as I step outside, cursing as I have to double back for them. I skip the last step on my way down the bridge -which is easier said then done since both shoes are hanging off my feet- and finally jump into the car which Marina has thankfully already started up. She backs out of the driveway before I even have my door closed.
"We were supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago." Riley says.
"I know." I answer, shoving my bag on the other seat and doing up my seatbelt as Marina swiftly drives down the street. "We could still get there for warmups if we go fast." It might not be true since Riley lives ten minutes away from here and almost twenty from the rink, though we might get to her house in less than that with the speed Marina is going.
"And this is why we have to plan it out." She mutters. I don't argue. I don't see the point since she's right.
Despite Marina's speeding, it still takes close on twenty five minutes to get Riley's gear, pick up Ella, and finally make our way to the rink. Despite warmups already being started, we still must have gotten here in record time. It's actually pretty impressive. We burst in through the doors like we're on a mission, though we don't look very threatening. Three panicked teenagers and an twelve year old girl busting through the door is hardly a triumphant entrance. Our group splits quickly, Marina and Ella going for the stands while Riley and I head for the change room. Of course there's nobody there when we enter, everybody is already out on the ice. It only takes me a minute to get my gear on but takes Riley a little longer because of her goalie pads and stuff.
"That's the most I've ever rushed in my life." I mutter as we make our way down the hallway to the ice.
"Welcome to my mornings." She chuckles.
There's only two minutes left to warmups when we get out on the ice and the crowd actually cheers when we get into view, apparently happy we showed. Our coach seems to have a different reaction that the captain and goalie turned up late and eyes us with a questioning stare as we make our way across. We go to her right away to avoid being singled out from the rest of the team later.
"Nice of you to show up." She scolds. "If you weren't aware, you were supposed to be here about forty minutes ago." She raises her eyebrows at us, which is adult language for she wants an explanation.
"Sorry, we were doing some homework and lost track of time." I explain before Riley can even try to defend us. She's a terrible liar and would not do a great job pleading our case, even if the statement is half true.
Our coach huffs angrily, though obviously relieved we showed. "Your lucky you got here when you did. Now go do some warmups before you're completely out of time." She waves us away curtly before walking down the box to end the conversation.
We nod and start some stretches off to the side. On the other side of the ice the name on the back of a jersey stands out to me. Dun Ra. I shake my head to physically tear my eyes away before I can get to worked up. It doesn't take much to draw the anger into me. All I have to do is call up the memory of being shoved hard into the boards and her stick in front of my skates, trying to trip me up. Of course, she did all this while the referees were turned away, being more clever then I'd like to admit. Anger builds in me again and I realize my eyes have drifted back to that side of the ice.
I break away from the wall of the rink to take some shots, but the buzzer sounds before I have a chance, so I settle for pulling the net away from the edge as the zamboni goes around the ice.
"Need some help with that?" I look up to find nobody but the devil herself in front of me. Phiri.
"Nope." I reply shortly. She laughs and I grit my teeth as she positions herself on the other side of the net. Usually two people from the same team work on the net, but apparently she felt the need to skate all the way up here to help me with something I could have handled myself.
She stays silent as the zamboni circles around, 'helping' me push the net to the edge of the rink where it won't be run over. "Good luck tonight, Maren." She says.
The fact that she knows my name isn't nearly as infuriating as the a hard clap on the shoulder she gives me as she starts to skate back over to her side. I manage to stay up straight but the force of it actually almost makes me stumble. I consider taking back what I told Marina about me not fighting tonight. She looks back as she skates back to her side, a smirk on her face that's not hard to see through the helmet.
Yeah. This will be fun.
-page break-
Cheers erupts from the stands, people blow into horns and beat pots and bowls, making as much noise as humanly possible to celebrate the goal that was just scored. There's only one problem; the noise isn't coming from our side. Next to our net, the girls in black uniforms collide in an embrace, while Riley defeatedly slides the puck out of our net with her stick, shooting it towards the ref so he can pick it up. It was mess by the net when the puck went in, everyone was crowded around the goal. All I could see was a mass of bodies when the buzzer went off, the puck somehow finding it's way into the net. The captain is the one who scored, which I would much prefer over Phiri. I don't have a problem with Mogadore's captain and she doesn't seem to have a problem with me, but that still doesn't mean I'm content with this outcome.
It's the first goal of the night with eight minutes left in the second period and still another fifteen minutes left after that in the third. There's still lots of time to tie it up, though it doesn't mean we will. Both teams are painfully evenly matched and we all know it. At this point, scoring a goal comes down to being in the right place at the right time and has not so much to do with skill.
Back on the ice, the girls that were out for that goal skate by Riley and tap her pads with their sticks, a respect thing but also a message of 'good job'. Some stop to exchange a couple words but others drift around the box, waiting to see if they need to come in. When the Mogadore girls start to skate back to their side our coach calls our line-up in and sends out another. She must see my anger because she puts me out on the ice, probably assuming my rage will help me. It usually does. I think I might have some anger issues.
I skate over to the net when I get out and stop next to Riley. She takes off her glove to grab her water bottle and lifts up her helmet to take a drink, her face a little flushed with the burst of exertion.
"What happened? I couldn't see." I ask.
"I don't know, I thought I had the puck covered but I guess..." She speaks around the water bottle in her mouth and shrugs. "Might've went in by the post judging by where it was in the net." She points to the right side of the net as she turns to put the water back and pulls her helmet down again.
I nod but don't say anything, knowing after more than ten years of this she doesn't need to be consoled or anything. I look back to the other end of the ice and notice that bat lady has made an appearance on her side.
Riley notices too and chuckles. "Try not to kill her." She advises.
"Yeah." I reply tersely, already angry.
The ref blows the whistle and positions himself at centre ice, signalling the continuation of the period. Riley wishes me luck and I give her a tap on the helmet before skating to the centre. Phiri is waiting there, being the assistant captain she has to do the face-off right now since Sutekh isn't on the ice. She smirks at me as she has been all night when she's not pushing me around. I've only retaliated once so far, shoving her into the boards with more force than necessary right after she did it to me.
"Maren." She greets, enjoying using my first name to annoy me more. We both get in position for the face-off.
"Phiri." I reply through my teeth.
My knowledge of her first name must startle her, because she doesn't react right away when the puck is dropped and I'm able to knock it behind me to my waiting team members. She makes what sounds like a growl but I'm already backing up and looking for an open spot.
I don't know who's got the puck, but she's doing a pretty good job avoiding a bunch of Mogadore's defence. Eventually she gets blocked in and has to pass to number twenty six, a girl named Olivia Fields. It would be easy to get an open spot if Phiri wasn't constantly on my back, practically attaching herself to me like velcro. I shove her off me a couple times so she develops the strategy to push her way in front of me, blocking my path like a gate keeper. Around her, I see Olivia on the other side of the ice, boxed in by a couple players, she can't find anyone to pass it to.
Phiri looks over her shoulder every once in a while to make sure I'm still there, as if her pushing against me isn't reminder enough. Olivia finally manages to pass it to another one of our players who's right up by the net, and instantly surrounded by defence. She won't be getting a shot in but did make quite the distraction. With my oppressor now focused on the net, I'm able to slip out from behind her and go up the ice a little since she would notice me up at the goal, and I don't think I'd be getting through the wall that is Mogadore's defence anytime soon. But it's still freedom.
Surrounded, our player sends the puck out of the fray in a last attempt to pass it, even if she doesn't know if anyone is there. It seems like I was able to escape Phiri at just the right time. I intercept the puck and start racing towards the net. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Dun Ra has finally caught on but she's won't catch me now. I wind up just before the crowd assembled in front of the net and shoot at the goal with all my strength. The goalie manages to get their hand up in time, but I shot the puck so hard that she can't hold on and it goes in the net anyway.
I grin as the buzzer goes off and I slam against the boards, having swerved out of the way of the mob in front of the net earlier. It's not long before my teammates join me, slamming against the boards themselves as we all collide. I only hear the crowd cheering now even though they probably were doing so the whole time. I catch a glimpse of the clock and know Mogadore must be pissed that we tied the game up in under a minute. I smirk at Phiri and she turns away.
I go in the box after that, but only for a minute before coach sends me out again when Mogadore comes up to our end of the ice. Sadly, Phiri is still out here, but she hasn't noticed me yet. I stick to the sidelines as the Mogs desperately try to regain their lead, shooting shot after shot at the net whenever they have the chance. They're sloppy attempts though and Riley deflects them easily. I manage to get the puck and start skating around the back of our net to gain momentum for my skate across the ice. I get around the net but I don't even make it to the blue line before someone crashes into my side with enough forced to knock the wind out of me and I'm pinned against the glass. When I look up, I'm not really surprised to find none other then the devil herself.
"That's for ruining our lead." Phiri growls. Still pinned to the boards, I can't do anything as she slides the puck away from me. I can do a lot when she starts skating away though.
In an instant I have my stick in front of her feet as she makes a break for the net. I pull back hard she goes sprawling over the slippery surface, my stick hooked on her skate.
"That's for being a bitch." I spit.
A whistle is blown because tripping is a penalty, but I can't find it in me to care. The refs start to make their way over but Phiri jumps up before either of them can get close. Apparently she hasn't had enough because she grins as she comes toward me. She loses the gloves and I do the same as she goes for her helmet.
"You thought that would keep my down?" She taunts, laughing as she pulls off her helmet.
"Nope." I reply, dropping my helmet before looking her square in the eye. "But this might."
My hand, already formed into a fist, connects hard with Phiri's jaw. The punch had enough force to knock her down, but I latch onto her jersey to keep her up and pull her into the next hit. Still dazed from my attack, she throws a sloppy punch of her own but I manage to lean back in time to avoid being hit. I'm about to duck out of the way of another hit when I find I can't move backwards. Somebody is keeping me in place from behind, and the flash of black and purple tells me it's a mog girl. She holds me upright and Phiri's punch glances off my cheek. Two against one. Well that's hardly fair.
As soon as I have that thought, I find myself stumbling back as the girl is ripped off me. I don't need to look back to know it's Riley. Even if she doesn't like my tendency for violence I know she'll have my back, even if she thinks it's stupid. Marina would do the same too. It just how we work.
Now with the girl gone, Phiri and I tear into each other. The whole thing is ruthless, a mess of arms and stumbling bodies and yelling as we both go for hits at the same time, not caring if we get punched or not. I throw two games worth of annoyance into each punch. She gives me a hard push in the chest, aiming to knock me over but instead I only go stumbling before she immediately starts to come after again. Before she can get very far, a ref locks his arms around her tight and jerks her back a couple feet. She still struggles though, her face scrunched up in rage as she tries to jerk towards me. Just as I recover from the shove and am about to go back for her, I'm grabbed the same way and we're pulled apart, both of us writhing and spitting at each other like wild animals.
The ref lets go of me once He's deemed me calm enough to refrain from ripping out Phiri's throat. "I'm going to have to ask you to get off the ice." He tells me sternly.
"What?" I exclaim. "This isn't even my fault! She been getting away with illegal stuff all game and I have to leave?" I notice my fists balling up again and it takes a warning look from the man to bring me back to my senses.
"As I saw it, you tripped her up, then threw the first punch." He explains calmly, probably used to dealing with unruly hockey players. "You are the one in the fault, and you will not be coming back on the ice for the rest of the game." He starts to usher my seething self toward the door but stops when Riley comes up and calls out to him.
"Sir, with all due respect, that other player should have gotten about twenty penalties tonight." She defends, wiping blood from her lip. It's split open, leading me to believe she participated in a fight of her own after pulling the Mog girl off me. "She had it coming."
"Fucking right she had it coming." I mutter. The ref sends me a hard look.
"Be that as it may," He says tiredly and points at me. "this one is in the fault, and will be leaving the ice."
Riley nods defeated but smiles tightly to the ref anyway. "Yeah, I thought so. Anyway here." She passes me my gloves and helmet and I take them with a gruff thank you. I'll probably be more grateful for her help when I cool off, but for now I can't feel anything but slowly waning anger.
The crowd boos at the ref as he pushes me toward the door. While I'm going, I prod at the skin where Phiri's fist got me and find it's a little sore but not too bad. The bruise will hardly be noticeable, if I even get one. Thankfully it doesn't feel like I'm brandishing any more injuries. It clear who the winner of this fight was. I get to the door and the crowds noise turn into cheers as I walk down the hallway that passes under the stands. I can't help but smile.
My school is still booing the ref when I sit in the change room, out of sight now, but I would be lying if I said the limited quiet wasn't a relief. My head pounds now, a sign I'm calming down. After a few breaths and a reminder to myself that the ref was just doing his job, I slowly start to take my gear off, starting with my jersey and padding, then untying my skates. I deliberately draw out the process to give myself time to cool off before I face the public. Just as I pack up my bag, the buzzer for the end of the second period sounds and I figure it would be a good time to leave the change room, with the crowds obscuring my entrance.
When I get out, I'm not surprised to find Marina leaning against the wall outside the door. She shakes her head with mock disapproval when I step out, smiling all the same.
"You just couldn't help it, could you?" She chuckles.
"It's not my fault." I defend. I start going down the hallway that leads out of the change rooms. "She was pretty much asking to get hit."
Marina laughs but surprisingly doesn't say anything more. She would usually be the first person to ask if it was worth it, and probably get me to regret starting the fight in hope I would learn. But even peaceful Marina must find justification in what I did this time.
"What? No wise words today? No 'violence is not the key'?" I tease, repositioning the strap of my bag on my shoulder.
She rolls her eyes, easily keeping up with my slow stride. "I've never said that in my life, let alone to you of all people." She retorts, then shrugs. "And honestly, Phiri Dun Bitch deserved it."
I grin and and she laughs at my appreciation of the nickname. We make our way up to the stands and I'm not surprised to see Joseph standing at the edge of a rail, waving as we approach and obviously waiting for us. Or rather, waiting for Marina. Ella is there too next to two other guys that even from behind I recognize as John and Stanley. Joseph grins affectionately at Marina and I resist the urge to roll my eyes as she stares back, completely infatuated by him. Well that might be a strong word but she's definitely distracted to say the least.
I clear my throat to get Marina's attention, feeling awkward. "Um, can I have the keys. I'm gonna put my bag in the car." I say, hoping I'll be able to slip back later when Joseph's grin has toned down a little. His happiness is a little much if I'm being honest, but Marina doesn't seem to mind.
She nods retrieves the keys out of her sweater pocket before handing them to me. I quickly head towards the main lobby type area of the arena before I can be spotted by anyone else in the group. I'd rather not have to make an appearance twice. The zamboni is halfway done smoothing the ice over as I make my way out so I know I'll be able to get back in lots of time to watch the last period.
Unfortunately, the crowds of people that mingle around during the break don't hide me well enough, and I can't move fast enough to avoid some stares and the scattered congratulatory comment. Everyone knows I'm not really a people person so most of my peers just silently let me pass after acknowledging my presence. I also can't move fast enough to escape some menacing glares from pretty much the entire Mogadore student population, identifiable by their dark clothes and cold faces.
After disposing of my hockey bag in the car, my journey coming back in draws much less attention and I make my way back to where Marina is without incident. I slide into a spot between Ella and John, the former gives me a wide grin in greeting when she notices my presence and I can't help but smile back. I don't like most kids her age but she's obviously an acception.
"You beat the crap out her!" She says excitedly. "That was awesome." She nods as though agreeing with what she said.
"I'm glad someone thinks so." I mutter, leaning my elbows on the rail. Ella giggles and I grin at her. Marina says something to her, I think it might be about her language. I almost laugh. As if 'crap' is a bad word.
"Well, I also thought it was pretty awesome so I guess that makes two." John cuts in. I look over to find him to find him with a kind smile on his face that suits him so well. He has a black suit jacket hung over his arm and the sleeves of his dress shirt pulled up to just below his elbows, achieving the look of casual and classy at the same time. I try to keep my gaze casual, but I can't help admiring how well everything goes together. Damn, he looks good. "And I'm sure we're not the only ones judging by the reaction you got." He gestures around at the crowd.
"I don't think Dun Ra shares that sentiment." I reply.
"I think you broke her nose." He chuckles.
"She almost broke mine a couple of times."
"Really?" He leans on the railing next to me and eyes my face with a studious gaze. I raise my eyebrows at him, struggling to keep a straight face as I meet his eyes. "And yet, you walk off without any battle scars." He notes, the corner of his mouth lifted up.
"Actually, she did get me right here." I admit, poking the spot where I barely managed to escape a full punch.
"Wow. How tragic." He feigns concern. "Meanwhile, I think your victim over there is gonna need a plastic surgeon to fix her face. But please, keep nursing your fatal wound while we all pray for your recovery." He says dramatically.
I roll my eyes but can't help a wry smile from crossing my face as I think back on punching Phiri. Come to think of it, slamming my fist into her face repeatedly probably wasn't good for my hand, and I notice my right one hurting now that I think about it. I flex it and I sharp pain shoots through my knuckles and wrist. I grimace when I notice the bruises that are already starting to form.
"Damn." John murmurs next to me. "That must have been a hard hit." He observes, leaning in closer to get a better look so his shoulder presses against mine. I swallow at the close proximity and quickly clench my hand back into a fist, letting my wrist relax again so my knuckles drop out of view. He leans back a bit with nothing more to inspect, but it feels like he's closer then he was before. I can't decide if I like it or not. I find myself favouring the former option.
"Whatever, it was worth it." I reply, hiding my confusion at my own feelings.
"I bet it was. I would've punched her if you didn't."
I bite back a laugh at the statement. "I wouldn't let you. It'd be a shame to get blood on your outfit."
He looks down at his shirt and shrugs. "I don't know, I think it could do with a burst of colour. It looks awfully plain to me."
"You're right, maybe it would take some attention away from the wrinkles."
"What?" His eyes widen and looks down at himself for the second time. He runs his hands over the shirt a couple of times and it takes the buzzer going off for him to look up and notice my smile, amused at his panic. He grunts and shakes his head disapprovingly as my smile grows, but he turns serious again in an instant. "Seriously though, is there wrinkles?"
I can't stop a short laugh from escaping at that. "Really? One minute your ready to get blood stains on your shirt but now you can't handle a wrinkle?" I tease.
He wrinkles his nose at me and I turn away smiling, settling my gaze on the ice where both teams have already made their way back out. Something seems off about our side of the ice though. It takes me a minute to realize it, but eventually I'm able to see the difference.
"They took Pierce out of net." Stanley says what I was thinking. I had almost forgotten he was here. A shame really that he wasn't able to disappear completely.
"Bad move." John notes. I nod, agreeing. It's not that the other goalie is bad, she's just average and doesn't have as much experience behind her. It's why she's the spare. "Why would they do that?" John asks. I remember Riley's split lip and know the answer.
Stanley speaks before I can. "Probably because she got hit a couple times. Nothing serious, but taking her out would help ease the tension with the other team."
I nod along with Stanley's reasoning. "Exactly." I agree without thinking. Stanley and I both take our eyes off the ice and look at each other around a confused John, both of us sporting shocked expressions ourselves. We quickly look back to the ice, ignoring what just happened as fast as we acknowledged it. John doesn't say anything either, probably knowing staying quiet would be better to keep the peace. Smart guy.
The period starts with the face-off as always. We actually win it but Mogadore soon gets the puck after that, bringing it down to the net to try a few shots that our new goalie thankfully manages to deflect. After that, both teams are continuously forced up and down the ice in a battle for control over the puck. This goes on for a while and I start to get tired of all the racing around.
Then it happens.
The buzzer goes off, signalling Mogadore's second goal of the night. This one had been a clean shot after a girl slipped through our defence and flicked it over the goalie pad. I clench my jaw and have to look away from their celebration. The only upside is that Phiri wasn't in the lineup.
"That sucks." John mutters, shaking his head.
"No kidding." I reply. To my right side, Marina and Joseph continue talking. I don't even think they know we're losing. At least they're having a good time.
I see Riley and the spare goalie switch places. "Too late for that." I scoff angrily.
"If you want to punch something I can go get Ra." John offers jokingly. My laugh comes out in an unsmiling huff, probably not the best way to convince anyone I'm not angry. "They can come back from this." He tries.
"There's three minutes left to the game." I counter.
"It's possible." He replies, slightly smiling at me. I get his point but I shake my head anyway. My goal was more about luck, which looks like something the team is lacking right now.
"Just because I got lucky once, doesn't mean the Mogs will let that happen again."
I look to John confused when he laughs. "You didn't get lucky, Maren." He says, leaving me more confused.
"What do you call it then if it wasn't luck?" I question, I'm not angry at him but my voice comes out cold anyway, probably still angry at the goal that was just scored. I wouldn't know, there's been so much to be mad about in the last hour.
He shrugs, a patient smile on his face, not seeming affected by my tone in the slightest. "I don't know, skill?"
I scoff. "It wasn't skill, it just happened because I was in the right spot when Mogadore was being sloppy."
"It wasn't just timing." His smile turns teasing but the light shade of pink on his cheeks says otherwise. "You're amazing, Maren. Face it."
I swallow my shock, instead replying with a short, amused huff. I don't know how else to respond really, it's not often that I'm confronted by this type of statement, let alone by a guy who I'm confused about to start with. The same guy that's leaving me uncharacteristically speechless at the moment. No words come to mind, and I'm not even confident that my actual response was appropriate.
John must sense my surprise because he suddenly turns sheepish. "I mean, not amazing- well yes, amazing but I was talking more about your skills as a hockey player." I arch an eyebrow at him, amused despite myself. He scratches the back of his neck. "Not that I think your not amazing because-"
"Dude." Stanley grabs John's shoulder with an expression of mock sympathy. "Stop talking, it's getting worse."
John nods mutely and Stanley gives him a reassuring nod. I roll my eyes. "Well we need to get going. Can't be late getting to the change room." Stanley continues. I narrow my eyes at the obvious jab at me and he sends a smirk my way. "As always Maren, it was a pleasure." He nods to me and I send him a glare he doesn't seem affected by. "Come on, Johnny." He grabs His friend by the shoulders and ushers him away.
John shakes out of his grip and turns back quickly. "Talk to you later."
"Yeah, good luck." I reply waving.
"Thanks sweetheart, but we don't need it!" Stanley cuts in, making me scowl. He winks at me before he walks away chuckling. There is something seriously wrong with that boy.
Johns eyes linger on me before he has to turn around to catch up with his friend, leaving me with a weird feeling. I turn away to find Ella watching them as they leave.
"Why aren't there any guys in my grade that look like that?" She sighs.
I look at her with wide eyes. "What?" I choke out. If anybody in sixth grade looked like that, I would be more concerned that steroids were a factor. She smiles innocently at my surprise.
"Especially the taller one." She continues as though I said nothing. 'The taller one' she's referring to must be Stanley. I feel like throwing up after imagining them together, and my shock turns to disapproval in an instant.
"No. If you like Stanley Worthington, consider me personally insulted." I huff. She laughs but I press on. "Plus he's too old for you."
"Age is just a number."
"I swear to god, Ella. I will lock you up before you ever go near him." I threaten. She laughs again but doesn't say anything else.
I look up at the clock. One minute left and Mogadore is still in the lead. If there was any chance of tying it up before, it's long gone now and I resign myself to another game on Friday. Joy. Sure enough, the next minute is uneventful and the Mogadore girls all celebrate when the buzzer goes off. I scowl at the cheers from the sea of black on the other side of the arena.
"Morons." I mutter to no one in particular.
"Name calling is not nice, Maren." Marina chides jokingly.
"Oh yeah? What would you call them then."
"Assholes." Joseph cuts in with a grin. I smile despite my attitude. Maybe this guy isn't too bad.
My mind returns to John for some reason, his words stuck with me. You're amazing, Maren he had said. Just the words weren't such a big deal, it's the way he acted afterwards. Like they meant more. Now, I'm not an idiot, and if I'm right about what I saw it could mean at least a remote chance that John likes me that way. Is it really a bad thing though? He's seems nice enough and there's no denying that he's one of the better looking representatives of his gender. Blond hair, blue eyes, strong build. He's pretty much the poster guy that most girls drool over. But one thought also runs through my mind along with everything else; if he could have anyone, why would he be interested in me?
I push all the thoughts from my mind quickly, annoyed at my self for even thinking about it. It just seems so stupid, like I'm back in middle school or something.
By the time Riley arrives, the zamboni is done cleaning the ice and the guys team are out for warmups. Her split lip has now stopped bleeding but I can also tell she got hit another time by the bruise that's beginning to form around her right eye. It'll be worse tomorrow.
"Holy shit, what happened to you face?" I joke when she gets closer. She laughs and I move over to let her between Ella and I, knowing she's too polite to ask the people on the other side to move.
"You should know, you were there." She retorts lightheartedly. "It's not as bad as it looks by the way. And what about you? Your hand took more of a beating then I did."
"My hand doesn't need an eyepatch." I tell her. Ella laughs but Riley just rolls her eyes.
"Hilarious, you should be a comedian." She deadpans, though she can't hold the serious look as usual, breaking into a grin shortly after.
"It does look bad." Marina comments, the only concerned one out of all of us. I guess someone has to be.
Riley grins. "You should have seen the other guy." She holds up a fist and I burst out laughing, the idea of Riley actually punching someone is just too ridiculous. Marina rolls her eyes but Riley laughs with me, the idea apparently funny to her too. "Yeah that was lie, I didn't even hit her. I just wanted to say that at least once in my life." She admits.
"Look at you, following your dreams." I tease.
"I know right? I'm such an overachiever today." She says with mock enthusiasm, settling her arms comfortably on the rail.
"Where's your bag?" I ask, suddenly realizing the absence of the huge thing.
"I already put it back in the car." She explains, giving me a 'really?' Look. "Shows how observant you are. I said hi and everything."
I shrug. "I guess I was thinking about something else."
Her eyebrows furrow, the right one going down less then the left. The bruise must hurt more then she's letting on. "Must have been something pretty serious. I wasn't exactly quiet."
Before I can think of an adequate reply, Ella speaks up excitedly. "I'm glad you guys are both here now because a lot of stuff is going on in school." She informs.
"If it's drama I hope you're not apart of any of it." Marina says wisely, diverting her attention away from Joseph for a second to look at her sister. Ella rolls her eyes.
"No, of course I'm not apart of it." She scoffs as though it wasn't possible.
Joseph pops his head around to look at Ella with a grin. "Well, I for one always like some good gossip." He says.
Marina laughs. "Well we can switch places then. I've already heard it."
Joseph immediately switches places with Marina, eagerly waiting for Ella to start. Ella grins at his enthusiasm and even I have to admit it's charming.
"Okay, so I'm going to start from the beginning so you don't get confused." She begins. My eyes widen. How confusing can grade six drama get? "So last year..."
Oh god. This will take a while.
-page break-
It's the third period of the boy's game now and it turns out that elementary school drama can indeed get very confusing. Of course other topics have come up in the past hour and a half other then lower grade gossip, but I'm still finding it hard to keep up with Ella's chatter. It seems that dividing my attention between the hockey game and Ella proved to be rather difficult, and now I'm noticing major holes in the plot line of her story that I missed and oddly care about.
"... so then April saw Thomas eating lunch with Brooke and they broke up!" She explains with obvious agitation.
I haven't a sweet clue who April and Thomas are, but apparently their breakup was quite the scandal amongst the sixth grade population. Riley shakes her head with mock sadness.
"Tragic." Joseph supplies sadly. He's really winning some brownie points with Marina for getting along with Ella right now, though he seems genuinely intrigued.
"Yeah, I know." Ella agrees. "Then Makenzie started gossiping about how Brooke and Thomas were a couple, even though they're not. So now April doesn't want to get back with him."
"Makenzie, that witch." Joseph mutters, getting Ella to nod sympathetically.
It's obvious that Makenzie was a integral character to the drama, and I can't even recall any mention of her? This is hopeless. Defeated and oddly upset about my lacking information about the April and Thomas split, I return my focus back to the game, deeming it useless to try and retain any new information when I don't have the background.
It's a relief to turn back to something I can comprehend quickly. The score is currently 4-1 for us and it has brightened my spirits a little, knowing that Mogadore won't have the satisfaction of winning two games tonight. It's seems that the boys are having much more luck than us, which I'm happy about but also a little jealous, as childish as it may be. John got the first goal, Stanley got the second and the last goal, and somebody who I don't care enough about to remember got the third. There's only a couple minutes left at this point, their game running on a shorter time frame since it has has substantially less penalties, which means a longer playing time without interruption. Though I have seen Stanley having some trouble with the captain, another Sutekh. Seems like hockey runs in the genes of that family.
When the game gets down to the one minute mark, Marina suggests we leave early to avoid the crowds and we all agree. Her and Joseph say goodbye, which involves a half-hug and a couple words. He simply waves goodbye to the rest of us as we take our leave. It's nearly ten o'clock now and if we had to battle the crowds at the end we probably wouldn't even get everyone back to their respective houses by eleven. I almost get out of the door without incident.
"Not even staying until the end, Maren?"
My jaw clenches at the sound of Phiri's unmistakable growl and I stop in my tracks to face her. She's not alone, having dragged a group of around seven Mog girls with her. I nearly laugh when I see more bruises then regular skin on her face, but my hatred for her more than overpowers my amusement.
"Don't you have enough bruises for tonight, Ra?" I snap in the nearly empty main entrance. Anybody who mingles around is respectfully quiet.
She flashes me a smile, or she might be baring her teeth. I can't really tell. "I can't help but notice you don't have any. I'm aiming to fix that." She sneers.
"Well I hope you won't take it personally when you fail."
The buzzer sounds and people immediately flood the area, thankfully about to cut me off from Phiri before I do something I'll regret.
"You better watch your back, Elizabeth." She threatens.
"I assure you, I won't need to."
The crowd swallows her and her empty threats. I walk just ahead of the mass of people to my friends who were watching the exchange cautiously, ready to jump in if needed. We manage to get out through the door before the entirety of two schools, Phiri's threats almost ruining our getaway. Another thing to hold against her.
"That was..." Marina pauses, walking along at a quick pace beside me. "Well handled." She finishes. I do nothing more than nod, the Mog girl having soured my mood again for about the fifteenth time tonight.
There are two games on Friday. I don't know how either will go, and I don't know who will win. One thing is certain though.
It won't be pretty.
Hope you didn't mind the longer chapter again. And I think I'll be taking a break from the hockey for next chapter, maybe have some Navrina since y'all really seemed to like that last time :) Anyway, that's it from me, thankyou so much for reading and leave a review if you feel like it!