The Love of the Game
Disclaimer- I do not own "The Mighty Ducks" or any of its characters. But the character of Cassandra is mine.
It was 7:00 am at the pond. The ducks were up and getting ready for practice. "Hey bro, can't we schedule our practice a bit later in the day? I mean, the sun is barely up!" said Nosedive, yawning. Wildwing closed his locker and put his mask on. "I've thought about it, but no. First of all, this early in the morning, we don't have to worry about anyone trying to sneak in for an autograph." He said. They went out onto the ice. "Secondly, Phil doesn't get here for another hour, so we don't have to worry about him." Nosedive had to admit defeat at his brother's last statement.
They hadn't been practicing five minutes when they heard yelling coming from Phil's office. Duke motioned for then to be quiet and began to creep off the ice and towards the door. When he got there, he signaled for the others to follow. They looked in the small window and saw Phil arguing with someone on the phone.
"Listen, I don't know if I can afford it… What?! She's your daughter, what do you mean you won't be coming back for her?! …Yes I know she's my niece but…NO I…Paris?! Are you crazy?! Tim look, you're my big brother you… Oh, you don't want me to call you brother anymore. All right, what should I call you? …Mr. Palmfeather? All right Mr. Palmfeather, where is she now? …The Anaheim Airport?! Tim, don't you hang up on me, TIM!!" Phil slammed the phone down and slumped down in his chair, his face in his hands. Wildwing realized that he was crying.
"Come on guys, we should leave him alone." He said. Mallory looked at him, "Are you sure we shouldn't…" Wildwing shook his head, "If he wants to tell us then he will. Let's not pry. Remember how much humans value their privacy." The others nodded and returned to the ice, continuing a somewhat somber practice. Grin sighed, "Something is about to happen." About a half an hour later, they saw a taxi pull in front of the pond. Phil came out of his office and walked out the door. A young girl that they guessed to be 16 or 17 years old stepped out of the cab and was embraced by Phil. He then paid the driver, helped the girl with her bags, and walked her inside. It was obvious that the girl had been crying.
Her mood seemed to lighten a bit when she saw the ducks. Phil whispered something to her, then lead her into his office. Wildwing noticed that she was walking stiffly, favoring her right leg. It's her knee. he thought, She's not bending her knee when she walks. He couldn't see if she had an injury because she was wearing a long denim skirt. The girl glanced over her shoulder at them one more time before entering the office and shutting the door behind her.
****
The ducks were downstairs eating lunch. None of them were looking forward to that afternoon. Tanya sighed, What's the point of these stupid photo shoots anyway? Then the phone rang. Tanya answered it. "Uh-Hello? …Oh, uh-okay." She hung up. "Wildwing Phil uh, you know, needs to see you about something." Wildwing reluctantly got up and went to see what their manager needed.
He entered the office, immediately noticing the same girl stretched out and asleep on the sofa. Phil motioned for him to step outside. "Thanks for coming Wildwing." Wildwing immediately knew something was wrong when Phil called him by his name and not "boobie" or "boobella". "Listen," he said, "I cancelled the photo shoot this afternoon. Something's come up." The leader gave him a measuring look. "Is everything alright Phil?"
He sighed, "No, but I'd rather not discuss it just yet. I'm still trying to come to terms with it myself. You're going to be seeing a lot of her around here, okay?" Wildwing nodded, "Who is she?" he asked. Phil smiled, "She's my niece Wildwing. Her name is Cassandra. She's going to be staying with me now. Is it alright if she watches you guys practice sometimes?" Wildwing looked up towards the office door. "Yeah, sure." Phil smiled. "She has a love for the game that rivals yours, but don't talk to her about it unless she brings it up, alright? I'll explain later." Wildwing nodded, then headed towards the elevator. "Phil," Phil turned around and faced the leader, "You know you can come to any one of us if you ever need someone to talk to." Phil had a grateful look on his face. "Thanks, I'll remember that. Oh and Wildwing," Wildwing turned around, "Same goes for you. If you ever need someone to talk to, you can bet that I'll be more than happy to listen." Wildwing smiled, "Thanks Phil."
****
The next day, the ducks were out doing their daily practice. About halfway through, Tanya grabbed their attention. "Hey guys listen, I -uh- came up with this technique that I think we should try." She said. Duke scratched his head. "Tanya, do you remember what happened the last time we tried one of your techniques? I thought Phil was going to kill us." Tanya gave him an annoyed look. "Come on, just try it once." She said.
Wildwing looked hesitant, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt. Phil is in his office anyway."
He said. Tanya cast a victorious smirk in Duke's direction. Nosedive took his position and followed Tanya's instructions. Mallory kind of looked around nonchalantly, backed up against the boards and got ready to jump out of the way of a renegade hockey puck. Grin was the only one who noticed this and casually joined Mallory by the boards. Mallory looked up at her teammate. "Do you think the same thing will happen?" she asked. Grin nodded, "Yes, the positioning and the basic idea are the same as last time." None of them seemed to notice the teenaged girl sitting in the stands, watching intently.
Nosedive took a deep breath and shot. The puck started to go where they wanted it to, then ricocheted off of the goal post, hit the boards-barely missing Mallory and Grin who jumped out of the way just in time- and flew into the stands. They all froze when they heard someone yelp in surprise. The team ran to the boards and looked out in time to see a girl poke her head out from between the seats. "I surrender, I surrender!" she said, raising her hands into the air and slowly standing. Wildwing grinned, "Are you alright?" he asked.
The girl nodded, and picked up the puck. "Wow, that was something else. I don't think I've ever seen a puck move THAT fast, or people for that matter." She said, smiling at Mallory and Grin. The ducks laughed. The girl carefully made her way down to their level and tossed the puck over the boards. "You guys are looking really good out there, do you mind if I keep watching?"
Wildwing nodded. "Sure, Cassandra." She made a face, "My uncle told you my name, huh?" Duke chuckled, "Yep. Don't tell me you're upset!" Cassandra laughed, "No, I'm not upset. I just figured he would. Yes, my name is Cassandra, but my friends call me Cassie." Nosedive made his best "puppyface" and said, "Can we call you Cassie, pleeeeeaaasse?" Cassie laughed again, "Sure!" Nosedive jumped up into the air, "WooHoo!"
End part one!
I know, I know it's short. But I can't think of anything else right now. We'll get to hear more about Cassie and she will tell Wildwing about her being a goalie and all in the next chapter. Please review and tell me how I am doing!