Adam's POV:
Friday morning my alarm clock went off when it was still dark outside. Orion had called a dawn practice that morning. None of us were happy about it but if that is what it took to beat Varsity we were all willing to do it and the game was that night.
I turned on the small lamp next to my bed and tried to quietly get ready for practice so as not to disturb my sleeping roommate who was not on the team. Nor was he an athlete so getting up before the dawn was probably a completely foreign concept to him. One which I'm sure he would like to have remain that way.
As I walked out into the hallway, Dwayne, Russ, Charlie and Guy were also just coming out of there room. We had all agreed to meet down in the common room and walk to practice together so that was where the five of us headed. Julie and Connie were already there (so much for the idea of girls taking forever to get ready). Before long all of us had gathered and we started our trek over to the ice arena.
The arena was open but no one else was in sight. The light to Orion's office was dark so we knew he wasn't in his office. We all headed for the locker room and started putting out pads and skates on. I was the first one done and I quietly grabbed my stick and headed out onto the ice.
I know it might sound weird but I always have enjoyed the early morning practices. The arena is so quiet and you can actually hear the sound of your blades cutting through the ice. It gives you time to think about things and this morning I was thinking about what I had said to Scooter the night before. I had been angry at the time and now I couldn't even remember why I was so angry.
Yes he had promised not to tell but everything had worked out for the best. I was back with the Ducks. I was back with my friends. I didn't have to worry about my teammates ganging up on me during practice just so they could make the freshman feel unwelcome. And like Charlie had pointed out, as far as Riley was concerned it was his doing that I was back on JV. He didn't know that Scooter had told Orion about what happened. As far as I knew the only ones who knew what had happened were the others who had been there, Charlie, Orion, and possibly Coach Wilson. Was that really so bad.
Scooter was different from the others. He cared about people not about money or prestige. He was the only one on Varsity who had even attempted to be nice to me. To be a friend. And all I had done was turn my back on that friendship. He had broken a promise because he thought it was in my best interest to do so and the more I thought about it the more I realized that both he an Charlie were right and I was grateful to them for doing what they had done. I knew I had to talk to Scooter but I didn't know when I would get the chance. I wasn't showing my face anywhere around his dorm building. I didn't have a death wish.
"You okay?" Connie asked me bringing me out of my thoughts. I notice then that the rest of the Ducks had joined me on the ice and were all doing laps.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her as we saw Coach Orion making his way toward the ice rink with a huge trash barrel with a box sitting on top of it. I couldn't help but wonder what the hell he was up to. He was starting to be as unpredictable as Bombay had been. Yesterdays practice had been consisted of putting on our roller blades and cleaning up the streets of Minneapolis. We only had to save Goldberg from the traffic twice which I thought was pretty good considering he is worse on wheels than he is on skates.
As he dragged the barrel toward the one goal and we all gathered in around him. I saw him place the box on the ice next to the trash barrel. When we were all gathered around Orion started talking to us.
"I've been doing my doing my homework on the varsity, and I'm not going to lie to you, they're good. The way they wiped your faces in the dirt last time was no fluke. So if you want your pride back tonight, you better be willing to work. There's nothing glamorous about it. In the pros, we call it blue-collar hockey. Now there's on thing the varsity does very well. They're vultures around the net," he told us. He reached into the trash barrel and picked up an empty can. "They pick up every piece of loose trash. That's how they beat you. Not with the first shot: the second and the third. They bang in the junk. Sor if you wanna win," he said dropping the can onto the ice. In the quiet of the morning it clanged as it bounced a few time. We all watched as Orion picked up the trash can and started dumping its contents onto the ice. "You're gonna have to pick up the trash."
The trash spread out onto the ice in the center of the circle we had made. It smelled bad. Not exactly what I want to smell early in the morning. It however, wasn't to early for Averman to start his wise cracks.
"Have any cream cheese?" he asked holding up an old bagel. It was a good thing I hadn't eaten breakfast yet because I probably wouldn't have been able to keep it done after that remark. As it was I had no desire to eat bagels any time soon.
Soon, Julie was in front of the goal and we were all going after pieces of trash trying to clear them out from the front of the net. Orion wasn't making it easy on us. He was shooting pieces of trash at the goal, some pieces that we had thought we had already cleared. I don't know how long it was taking but there seemed to be no end to the garbage in front of the goal.
After awhile though most of the trash was along the side of the rink. I knew exactly who clean up duty was going to fall on. Looking toward the goal I could see a handful of trash in the net but considering all the shots Orion had been taken I thought we had been doing a good job at stopping the shots.
Orion suddenly blew his whistle bringing us all to a stop. "Let's go! Get over here!" Orion yelled suddenly looking angry. I noticed the box was now sitting on top of the trash barrel. "Grab a knee!" Orion commanded still yelling. As I knelt down on the ice I noticed that my teammates looked as bewildered as I felt. What had we done wrong?
"You guys are not skating like Warriors!" Orion bellowed looking around at us.
I was stunned. He had been pushing us the last few days and I know all us had been giving it all we had. I heard my teammates whispering amongst themselves as shocked as I was by Orion's statement. What did the guy want from us?
"You look like something else," Orion continued lowering his voice a little. He paused a moment and then reached for something in the box. "You look like Ducks," he said bringing a white Duck jersey out of the box. I saw Charlie start smiling while the others looked around at each other not sure whether to believe him or not. "Robertson," Orion called reading the name on the back of the jersey and tossing it in Dwayne's direction. We knew then that he was serious.
We all starting cheering and rushed toward him as Orion continued to toss jerseys to us. He tossed me mine. I'm not even sure how he had gotten a hold of it as I hadn't been skating with JV when he had confiscated the jerseys but it didn't really matter. All of a sudden I was starting to think that we might just have a chance tonight.
After the cheering had died done we started the task of cleaning up the rink. I had expected Orion to disappear but he hung around and helped us clean up. The talk in the locker room was much more animated than it had been before practice. For starters we were all awake. I knew the others were all excited about tonight but I wasn't sure I was. I knew I had to talk to Scooter at some point today but I didn't know when I would get a chance. I wasn't stupid enough to show my face around the varsity dorms and I knew he would be surrounded by varsity in the cafeteria.
The others hurriedly got out of their gear and headed for the dorms to get ready for classes. I took my time. I suddenly wasn't in the mood to be around people. I needed time to think.
I was the last one to walk out of the locker room and as I did I found Julie leaning up against the wall nearby.
"What are you still doing here?" I asked her.
"Waiting for you," she told me pushing off the wall and falling into step beside me. "What's wrong Adam. You've seemed preoccupied this morning."
"What's going on? Are you and Connie ganging up on me?"
"Maybe," Julie said with a smile. When I didn't smile myself she punched me playfully in the arm and said, "Adam will you lighten up. You take things to seriously."
"I don't feel like smiling or joking around," I told her.
"Adam what's wrong? Talking about it will help and maybe I can help you figure out how to fix whatever is bothering you," Julie told me finally being serious herself.
I looked over at her. Actually maybe Julie would be able to help.
Note. Sorry I like ending things making you wonder what is going to happen. Anne918 thanks for reviewing the last two chapters. I'm glad you like my portrayal of Orion. I never really liked him before but with actually writing about him I think I'm making myself like him, lol. As you can see Adam is coming around. Crazy4nc128 I'm glad you enjoyed the short chapter and as you can see an Adam/Scooter reconciliation is coming up. Banksiesbabe99 do you remember writing these words - "I still hate Scooter - I'm sorry but nothing an no-one will change my mind." I actually got you to change your mind. Yeah me, lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the last one and I'm glad you're starting to give Scooter a break even if you don't become a Scooter fan. Thanks for the review.
Friday morning my alarm clock went off when it was still dark outside. Orion had called a dawn practice that morning. None of us were happy about it but if that is what it took to beat Varsity we were all willing to do it and the game was that night.
I turned on the small lamp next to my bed and tried to quietly get ready for practice so as not to disturb my sleeping roommate who was not on the team. Nor was he an athlete so getting up before the dawn was probably a completely foreign concept to him. One which I'm sure he would like to have remain that way.
As I walked out into the hallway, Dwayne, Russ, Charlie and Guy were also just coming out of there room. We had all agreed to meet down in the common room and walk to practice together so that was where the five of us headed. Julie and Connie were already there (so much for the idea of girls taking forever to get ready). Before long all of us had gathered and we started our trek over to the ice arena.
The arena was open but no one else was in sight. The light to Orion's office was dark so we knew he wasn't in his office. We all headed for the locker room and started putting out pads and skates on. I was the first one done and I quietly grabbed my stick and headed out onto the ice.
I know it might sound weird but I always have enjoyed the early morning practices. The arena is so quiet and you can actually hear the sound of your blades cutting through the ice. It gives you time to think about things and this morning I was thinking about what I had said to Scooter the night before. I had been angry at the time and now I couldn't even remember why I was so angry.
Yes he had promised not to tell but everything had worked out for the best. I was back with the Ducks. I was back with my friends. I didn't have to worry about my teammates ganging up on me during practice just so they could make the freshman feel unwelcome. And like Charlie had pointed out, as far as Riley was concerned it was his doing that I was back on JV. He didn't know that Scooter had told Orion about what happened. As far as I knew the only ones who knew what had happened were the others who had been there, Charlie, Orion, and possibly Coach Wilson. Was that really so bad.
Scooter was different from the others. He cared about people not about money or prestige. He was the only one on Varsity who had even attempted to be nice to me. To be a friend. And all I had done was turn my back on that friendship. He had broken a promise because he thought it was in my best interest to do so and the more I thought about it the more I realized that both he an Charlie were right and I was grateful to them for doing what they had done. I knew I had to talk to Scooter but I didn't know when I would get the chance. I wasn't showing my face anywhere around his dorm building. I didn't have a death wish.
"You okay?" Connie asked me bringing me out of my thoughts. I notice then that the rest of the Ducks had joined me on the ice and were all doing laps.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her as we saw Coach Orion making his way toward the ice rink with a huge trash barrel with a box sitting on top of it. I couldn't help but wonder what the hell he was up to. He was starting to be as unpredictable as Bombay had been. Yesterdays practice had been consisted of putting on our roller blades and cleaning up the streets of Minneapolis. We only had to save Goldberg from the traffic twice which I thought was pretty good considering he is worse on wheels than he is on skates.
As he dragged the barrel toward the one goal and we all gathered in around him. I saw him place the box on the ice next to the trash barrel. When we were all gathered around Orion started talking to us.
"I've been doing my doing my homework on the varsity, and I'm not going to lie to you, they're good. The way they wiped your faces in the dirt last time was no fluke. So if you want your pride back tonight, you better be willing to work. There's nothing glamorous about it. In the pros, we call it blue-collar hockey. Now there's on thing the varsity does very well. They're vultures around the net," he told us. He reached into the trash barrel and picked up an empty can. "They pick up every piece of loose trash. That's how they beat you. Not with the first shot: the second and the third. They bang in the junk. Sor if you wanna win," he said dropping the can onto the ice. In the quiet of the morning it clanged as it bounced a few time. We all watched as Orion picked up the trash can and started dumping its contents onto the ice. "You're gonna have to pick up the trash."
The trash spread out onto the ice in the center of the circle we had made. It smelled bad. Not exactly what I want to smell early in the morning. It however, wasn't to early for Averman to start his wise cracks.
"Have any cream cheese?" he asked holding up an old bagel. It was a good thing I hadn't eaten breakfast yet because I probably wouldn't have been able to keep it done after that remark. As it was I had no desire to eat bagels any time soon.
Soon, Julie was in front of the goal and we were all going after pieces of trash trying to clear them out from the front of the net. Orion wasn't making it easy on us. He was shooting pieces of trash at the goal, some pieces that we had thought we had already cleared. I don't know how long it was taking but there seemed to be no end to the garbage in front of the goal.
After awhile though most of the trash was along the side of the rink. I knew exactly who clean up duty was going to fall on. Looking toward the goal I could see a handful of trash in the net but considering all the shots Orion had been taken I thought we had been doing a good job at stopping the shots.
Orion suddenly blew his whistle bringing us all to a stop. "Let's go! Get over here!" Orion yelled suddenly looking angry. I noticed the box was now sitting on top of the trash barrel. "Grab a knee!" Orion commanded still yelling. As I knelt down on the ice I noticed that my teammates looked as bewildered as I felt. What had we done wrong?
"You guys are not skating like Warriors!" Orion bellowed looking around at us.
I was stunned. He had been pushing us the last few days and I know all us had been giving it all we had. I heard my teammates whispering amongst themselves as shocked as I was by Orion's statement. What did the guy want from us?
"You look like something else," Orion continued lowering his voice a little. He paused a moment and then reached for something in the box. "You look like Ducks," he said bringing a white Duck jersey out of the box. I saw Charlie start smiling while the others looked around at each other not sure whether to believe him or not. "Robertson," Orion called reading the name on the back of the jersey and tossing it in Dwayne's direction. We knew then that he was serious.
We all starting cheering and rushed toward him as Orion continued to toss jerseys to us. He tossed me mine. I'm not even sure how he had gotten a hold of it as I hadn't been skating with JV when he had confiscated the jerseys but it didn't really matter. All of a sudden I was starting to think that we might just have a chance tonight.
After the cheering had died done we started the task of cleaning up the rink. I had expected Orion to disappear but he hung around and helped us clean up. The talk in the locker room was much more animated than it had been before practice. For starters we were all awake. I knew the others were all excited about tonight but I wasn't sure I was. I knew I had to talk to Scooter at some point today but I didn't know when I would get a chance. I wasn't stupid enough to show my face around the varsity dorms and I knew he would be surrounded by varsity in the cafeteria.
The others hurriedly got out of their gear and headed for the dorms to get ready for classes. I took my time. I suddenly wasn't in the mood to be around people. I needed time to think.
I was the last one to walk out of the locker room and as I did I found Julie leaning up against the wall nearby.
"What are you still doing here?" I asked her.
"Waiting for you," she told me pushing off the wall and falling into step beside me. "What's wrong Adam. You've seemed preoccupied this morning."
"What's going on? Are you and Connie ganging up on me?"
"Maybe," Julie said with a smile. When I didn't smile myself she punched me playfully in the arm and said, "Adam will you lighten up. You take things to seriously."
"I don't feel like smiling or joking around," I told her.
"Adam what's wrong? Talking about it will help and maybe I can help you figure out how to fix whatever is bothering you," Julie told me finally being serious herself.
I looked over at her. Actually maybe Julie would be able to help.
Note. Sorry I like ending things making you wonder what is going to happen. Anne918 thanks for reviewing the last two chapters. I'm glad you like my portrayal of Orion. I never really liked him before but with actually writing about him I think I'm making myself like him, lol. As you can see Adam is coming around. Crazy4nc128 I'm glad you enjoyed the short chapter and as you can see an Adam/Scooter reconciliation is coming up. Banksiesbabe99 do you remember writing these words - "I still hate Scooter - I'm sorry but nothing an no-one will change my mind." I actually got you to change your mind. Yeah me, lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the last one and I'm glad you're starting to give Scooter a break even if you don't become a Scooter fan. Thanks for the review.