The first game was against the Hawks, and that had Kaylah shaking. Her crush was the Hawk's star player Adam Banks, and she did not want to embarrass herself at all.

"Oh darn."

"What? What is it?"

"I've gotta play my crush."

"Your crush is a Hawk. Are you crazy?"

"Hey it's not my fault! It's not even for his looks!"

"Kaylah, just tell me all this after the game."

They lost the game, and coach Bombay was not surprised.

"Alright. Who is your crush?"

"Adam Banks."

"What?! Why?!"

"Believe me, I don't know why either. I guess you could say cause he defended me."

"How, where, and when?"

"Calm down, Connie. Goodness. It was the first day of school, after I moved here, in my English class with Mrs. Clyde. I was seated behind him in the class, first period by the way, and Mrs. Clyde asked me to read out of the textbook, and my accent came out heavy. His fellow teammates Larson and McGill started making fun of me, and Adam stepped in and shut them up. He actually said he likes my accent."

"Woah."

"Yeah. Can you blame me now?"

"Yes. He's still a Hawk!"

After the second game loss, Kaylah and her dad were pretty sure joining the district five team was a mistake. They were almost right.

Three more players joined the team. Figure skating siblings Tammy and Tommy Duncan and the new enforcer Fulton Reed. Kaylah was pretty sure Fulton was sweet on Tammy.

Then came the day when the team would no longer be known as a number.

"The Ducks? We're the Ducks?"

"Man, what brain-dead jerk came up with that name?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. But I didn't have a choice. We're being sponsored."

"By who? Donald and Daisy?"

"Hey, you don't wanna be Ducks You'd rather be District Five? Some stupid number?"

"Better than some stupid animal."

"I'll have you know, Peter, that the Duck is one of the most noble, agile and intelligent creatures of the animal kingdom."

"But they're wimpies."

"They don't even have teeth."

"Neither do hockey players. Have you guys ever seen a flock of ducks flying in perfect formation? It's beautiful. Pretty awesome the way they all stick together. Ducks never say die. Ever seen a duck fight? No way. Why? Because the other animals are afraid. They know that if they mess with one duck, they gotta deal with the whole flock."

"Oh, man!"

"I'm proud to be a duck. And I'd be proud to fly with any one of you.

So how about it? Who's a Duck?"

"I'll be a Duck."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Anybody see Goldberg?"

"Hey, someone hand me the nineteen jersey."

"Here you go, Kaylah."

"Thanks, Tammy."

"Anytime."

"Alright!"

"Now we're the Ducks!"

"Yeah!"

"The Mighty Ducks!"

"What are we?"

"The Ducks!"

"You know what? I don't look good in green but it'll buff."

"Oh, come on, Kaylah. You'll get used to it."

"I better."

Their first game as Ducks ended with a tie, and that placed the team close to the playoffs.

Kaylah was ready for the weekend. She was tired from practice and games. But she was mostly waiting for Monday to arrive. She was excited for first period English.

"Well. If it isn't a Duck?"

"Yeah. You're the one that's quacking right now. So why don't you stop?"

"But you guys won a game. Let's see if you got the guts to beat us this time."

"Guys. This proves she's good at hockey. Just let the ducks run their course."

"Thanks, Adam."

Adam Banks was rude and stuck up to everyone on the district five team. Except for Kaylah. For Adam, Kaylah was different.

"Alright, class. Today is the start of your book report. And for this one, you will partner up with someone and read the same book. You will choose the book yourselves. Any questions?"

"Are we picking our partners or are they being assigned?"

"You will pick. But right now, we're going to the library to check out books."

"Great. A book report. I can barely write a three verse poem."

"Hey. Cheer up. We can do the normal report, a time capsule, or a poster."

"We?"

"Yeah. I was hoping you'd be my partner?"

"Sure. Let's find a book first. Hmm. I've got a topic in mind. Excuse me, do y'all have any books about the U.S.S. Indianapolis?"

"Yes. Left For Dead and In Harm's Way. With two copies of Left For Dead."

"Perfect. Let's check out that book."

"The U.S.S. Indianapolis?"

"Trust me. This story is heartfelt but riveting. If you like Jaws, you'll like this. It hits home for me cause the ship was named after my home state's capitol city. And it's the reason I will not join the navy."

"Alright. Let's choose between the regular report, the time capsule, and the poster. I say poster."

"I say poster, too, cause you can't exactly put together a time capsule about this. No one would want to dig it up."

"So how will we do this?"

"We have the same home room. We can work on it in there, English class-"

"What about working on it at my house?"

"What?"

"Yeah. My mom has all kinds of art supplies."

"I do too. I'll bring them over."

"But if we need a printer dad has one."

"Yeah I don't. Okay. We'll work on it at your house after school."

"Deal."

"Connie! Tammy! I have a problem!"

"What did Adam Banks reject you?"

"No. A lot better, actually. We're partnered up for a book report and he asked me to come over to his house after school today to work on it. And I said yes."

"Girl, you are crazy."

"You know, just because I like him, that doesn't mean I'm gonna betray the team. I'm not like that."

"Okay. We trust you enough to not betray the team."

"Oh, Tammy, Fulton wants to sit by you at lunch."