Charlie's POV
"I guess you're wondering why you are all here a week early for school." Coach Orion said pacing in front of our small group.
I looked around me and saw everything that kept me sane. From Goldberg, his quick glove and his ability to turn anything into a sexual innuendo, to Connie, the baby of the team, youngest by a couple of months and our style adviser for all events and wardrobe related issues. Julie, the best goalie I have ever seen and one of my best friends. Then of course there's Banksy, our very own cake-eater and preppy-private-school to normal translator. Not forgetting the Bash Brothers – Brothers all but in blood – our resident bulldozers. O'Riley had been talking the entire time I was summing up our family, I guess he noticed my mind's dislocation and was addressing me, I wasn't aware of it till Averman shoved me. I snapped back into place and looked at O'Riley.
"Thank you Conway for re-joining us. I hope she, whoever she is, knows that she is jeopardizing your hockey career." There were sniggers from the team as I shamefacedly apologized to our coach, he continued tell us about the week coming. "You are on Eden Hall Academy Hockey Boot Camp." He clasped his hands together and shook his head. "This may be one of the toughest weeks of your life. And the reason for all this, my little Ducklings, is because the school board has been checking up on you since the season finished. You are out of shape and kinda lazy... So this week. That will end. The school thought that you and the varsity squad might benefit from a week of pre-season training this year. And so, here we all are. Also there will be an hour's jog every morning which is compulsory." A collective groan arose from the group, Goldberg slumped on the ice, he hates running. "Along some other off ice training with the Varsity team at the running track every day at 5."
"With Varsity?" Julie stood up, "But they hate us, we hate them. It's just asking for a fight!" we were all stunned to silence, Jules is usually so composed...But her ex-boyfriend was the Varsity goalie. So I guess it's understandable.
"Exactly!" I stood up. "It won't work Coach!" The others all shouted "Yeah".
"Charlie, you are the captain, but I am your coach. You will give me the same respect as you would give any of your other teachers! Sit down." He shouted at me. I sat silently. "No, it's not ideal. But it should give us a head start over the other teams. And I know you all hate Varsity. So if I hear anything about fights or trouble. The person initiating it will sit on the bench for the first two games of the season."
Goldberg's jaw dropped and a collective groan radiated from the crowd as our coach continured to describe the 5 kilometer jogs every morning, the yoga classes, the 5 hours a day on ice – 2.5 hours in the morning and every evening. Also 2 hours a day in the school gym and a nutritional advisor, "There are also a couple of other coaches that are coming to help me out, some you will recognize..." I nudged Julie beside me, I guess we knew what was coming next, we had seen Coach Bombay walking around the campus earlier. "One…you will not. But you will soon."
"This is so bogus!" Goldberg said when we were skating laps a bit later. "I can't run!" I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, it sucks. But it should give us an edge…. I guess." I agreed.
The rest of practice ran as we expected it to: The boys were out of shape, the girls weren't. Averman made rubbish jokes. Everyone was still high on seeing each other after the holidays except for the girls who spent the first few weeks on a hockey camp in Canada together. We returned to the changing rooms to see a copy of the training schedule tacked to the board on which our team list was posted last year. Julie ran to it excitedly, I followed a few seconds later. "Okay, we have to be at the running track in 45 minutes." I called out to the team. "So everyone shower and go back to your dorms to get running kit!" Most of us went straight to the showers because otherwise the girls use all the hot water in the booths that they had built. Because there hadn't been girls on the team before, the showers were communal. And last year they had to wait until we had all left the changing rooms to shower or trek all the way back to their dorms. This was usually okay but when we have 6am practices they were late for school, so over the summer the school re-built our showers so that we had booths instead.
The showers turned on in unison followed by 10 guys and two girls squealing. "Who used all the hot water?" Goldberg yelled.
"Get over it guys. You'll just have to take a cold shower!' I called to them. "Or we'll be late!" A few of the boys returned wrapped in towels.
"We're in Minnesota Conway! Cold showers don't get much colder than this!" Replied Russ who came from sunny LA, the girls however showered quickly and without too much complaint, the rest of us followed suit and showered in the cold. If the girls could do it, I guess we could too.
Looking at the clock while I packed my equipment away, ready to be hung up to dry in the laundry-room at home, it was 4:15. Just enough time to run back to the dorm to grab a fresh tracksuit and make my way to the running track I thought to myself. Dean and Fulton accompanied me out of the ice rink and we walked chatting between ourselves about events over the summer. I opened the door to my room and found a parcel on the bed. There was one on Adam's bed too. "Guys!" I called out to Portman and Fulton who had the room across the corridor from mine. "Have you got a package?"
"Presents!" Fulton shouted excitedly. I laughed. He ran into the corridor shaking a brown box the same size as mine, obviously trying to find out wheat was inside. It made little noise. At that moment he looked like a little boy on Christmas day.
At that moment Portman walked down the corridor having just gone to the toilet and said. "Seriously? How old are you? I'm going to have to start calling you the bash-let." Fulton looked up from where he was sitting on the floor trying to rip his way into the heavily taped package.
"There's one for you too." He said innocently with a smile.
"Yay, Presents!" Portman shouted, truly excited, and sprinted into his bedroom. I meanwhile ripped open the package on my bed to find a tracksuit. It was green, purple and white (matching our duck's uniforms) and had our name, number and team embroidered on one chest. I pulled it on with a plain grey t-shirt and we set off for the running track. The girls and most of the ducks were already running, well jogging, around the huge running track that ran around the soccer field. Julie waved us down, holding a bottle in the other hand. I noticed she was dressed in the same tracksuit that I wore, as were all the team. Varsity, I noticed – who were running in a pack about half a lap in front of the Ducks – wore matching tracksuits too, but theirs were red, white and black (their team colours) and theirs had hoods.
"Hey Jules." I called despite having seen her half an hour before. She nodded and told us to get our butts moving. I laughed, pulled off my jumper and started jogging with Portman. We soon caught up with the rest of the team just as Varsity jogged past in perfect synchronicity. Most of us Ducks craned our heads to take a peek at the new guy, rumors had run rabid in practice earlier that day, national team rumors. But one of the runners had his hood up so we couldn't see his face.
Charlottes POV
The group tightened around me when we past the purple, green and white clad runners. Presumably the JV team, the ducks, the entrance hall was full of pictures of their victories at the Goodwill Games years before. We lapped them a few times, it was easy as most of them seemed out of shape. Except for two girls I recognized to be Julie and Connie (the girls in the room next to mine.) The twins told me about them when we went for ice cream at this small diner about a mile from the school. Julie is a nationally ranked goalie from Maine, she dated Scott last year but apparently they split up over the summer. Connie is a forward, a pretty good one. They're best friends. Oh and JV hate Varsity with a passion, and an imagination for pranks.
"Okay. Take a break!" The running coach yelled to us. I finished my lap at top speed and returned gasping to the stands with a bottle of water, carefully facing away from where the JV sat in a large group. I pulled the tracksuit bottoms off because I had shorts underneath, and started to drink from my bottle when someone tapped me on the shoulder. "Charlotte?"
I froze, pulled my hood tighter and turned away from the voice, coughing to create a deeper voice. "I think you must be mistaken. My name is Charlie!"
"Don't worry. Coach Thompson told me about your situation." He replied moving into my eyesight, it was the coach who had made us run. His tracksuit was sewn with 'Coach Milsbury'. I smiled nervously and he continued. "You had some pace out there, I will be running the off-ice training for both hockey teams." I nodded.
"So what's coming up? Cross-country? Roller marathons? Yoga?" I wondered, taking another sip from my bottle thinking of the training tchniques dad used.
"Cross-country yes, I didn't think of the roller marathon and no yoga. But that could be good for the goalies, Scott isn't very flexible." He replied laughing, "Thanks." He said and wandered away thoughtfully.
Scott sat beside me and pulled his hoodie back on. "Woah its cold" But I interrupted him.
"Sorry!" feeling super guilty.
"For what?" He laughed.
"The off-ice coach dude is going to make you do yoga." I rushed out. "He thinks you're not flexible." He laughed again, told me not to worry and started chatting about the other players.
Julies POV
"So has anyone actually seen the new guy yet?" Portman asked the group, all the Ducks were spread out on the grass of the soccer field, he was untieing the laces of his ancient sneakers.
"Not his face." Connie said thoughtfully, "But he looks pretty thin. Look at those twig legs!" before looking down at her own with a frown. I quickly told her that her legs were lovely, Connie gets really depressed about her image although she is in great shape. She was right though, the new boy's legs were pretty skinny.
"There can't be any power in them!" I said, like skin and bones.