Coach Cortez has officially discovered my knack for crashing into objects
on the ice. After our seemingly endless practice, we dragged our bodies
back to the locker room to change. We thought we were done dealing with her
for today, but, no; she wanted to talk to each of us individually. She
forced us to wait outside her new office as she called us, one at a time,
to discuss our so-called "hockey skills."
And now it was my turn. I watched as Banks walked out of the office with a grin plastered on his face. Life was too easy for him when it came to hockey. I'm more than positive that he got his usual position on the team.
"Luis Mendoza," Coach Cortez said, waiting for me to sit down.
Her office was all white with a bulletin board nailed into the wall behind her desk. A lamp stood on her stone-like desk, which more or less represented her attitude and facial expressions. Documents, notes, and folders lay strewn atop the desk; she definitely wasn't one for organization.
"You seem to have an innate talent for... how should I say this? For colliding into living and nonliving things on the ice."
I stared at her two rock-hard eyes while she spoke to me. I knew what was coming; I had heard many similar speeches and lectures in the past three years.
"You're swift on your skates, but I'm going to need you to learn how to use your brakes, Mendoza. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you a starting-defense position on the team. It's too dangerous for the team and for yourself."
"But no one's going to want to help me with the braking stuff. I already have a reputation on the team for..."
Coach Cortez shook her head. "Work on it. That's all I can say."
And she dismissed me from her office. Some help she was.
I left the room, and passed by the team. I wasn't in the mood for a chat with them.
Outside, the sun shone on the campus too brightly, and I had to squint my eyes in the light as I walked down the stairs and headed to my dorm room. Autumn in Minnesota was more than I could handle. Birds still chirped, and occasionally we witnessed flocks of ducks flying, probably making their way down south for the coming winter. The mornings were the worst. I couldn't wait for Daylight Savings Time to end.
There was the girl again, ambling along in the grass near the school's library. A small smile grew on my lips. She was wearing black shorts held up by a belt of dulled spikes and a light blue Adidas( t-shirt. I made a mental note to talk to her sometime. But first, I had to find out her name...
A recognizable voice called my name from the top of the stairs. "Luis!"
I spun around and shaded my eyes. I groaned inwardly in disappointment. Cheerleader alert. I had begun to believe I could avoid them this year, but I guess not.
Cassidy Williams, now a varsity cheerleader, bounded towards me. She giggled when she hugged me and stepped back.
I rubbed the back of my neck with the palm of my left hand. "Hey, Cass," I said. I quickly glanced at her ecstatic face and looked away, my gaze shifting from the pretty girl walking out there near the library to the garden and back. Maybe Cassidy could take a hint and leave me alone.
But she didn't. Varsity cheerleaders, at least at Eden Hall, had too much pride to notice or even think that someone didn't want to associate with them. After my experiences with them last year, I swore I wouldn't have anything to do with them again.
"How was your summer?" she asked, still smiling and playing with the end of her long, blonde ponytail.
"It was okay." I decided to keep my answers short, for fear the junior would go off on a tangent in our conversation if I went into detail about anything.
She looped her arm through mine. "Only okay?"
When would this end? "Yeah."
Cassidy giggled her annoying playing-with-Barbie-and-Ken giggle. "Aww. I missed you over the break. Why didn't you stay in Minnesota with us?"
I shrugged. "I went to Miami to visit my family."
"That's sweet of you." She adjusted the position of her textbook in her hand. "Wanna walk me to my room?"
Finally, I can get away. "No, thanks. I've got homework to do right now."
She pouted. "Are you sure? It'll be fun..." she said playfully.
Shaking my head, I answered again in the negative. My frame of mind today was not one of a flirt. Didn't I say I had changed over the summer? I wasn't about to go back to the girl-obsessed guy that I had happened to be last year. Except for maybe that one girl. After all, I had to give new people a chance...
I returned to my room alone. My back and shoulders had been burdened by the increasingly heavy weight of my hockey bag and book bag. Thank God for the floor. I dropped everything without hesitation and dropped my own tired body onto my bed. Is it still the first day of school?
Russ, Adam, and Charlie, always talking loudly, entered the room, also carelessly tossing their things on the floor next to my belongings.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked without moving out of my position on the bed.
Russ pretended to collapse on the carpet. "Just coming to get you to do our homework so we can sleep."
"You wish," I answered. My eyes were closed, and half of my face was buried in a pillow.
Charlie once again turned on his stereo, and punk music filtered out of the brand-new speakers. His old ones had been torn up last school year during a prank...
Banks tossed a light folder at my foot, which was hanging off the bed.
"We saw you flirting with another cheerleader after practice," he began to say.
"I wasn't flirting," I interrupted to defend myself.
"All right, all right," he said. "Well, we saw you talking to one."
"What's your point, Banks?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow at the impatient tone of my voice.
Banks looked from me to Charlie, then his eyes went down to his open textbook. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
Author's Note: I'll have the next chapter typed up by tonight (the 29th of March 2003; Florida time) and upload it. Hope you found it to be a somewhat decent chapter despite its slow development and the boredom it may cause. (I'm really quite angry with myself that I haven't gotten to the point of the story yet.)
And now it was my turn. I watched as Banks walked out of the office with a grin plastered on his face. Life was too easy for him when it came to hockey. I'm more than positive that he got his usual position on the team.
"Luis Mendoza," Coach Cortez said, waiting for me to sit down.
Her office was all white with a bulletin board nailed into the wall behind her desk. A lamp stood on her stone-like desk, which more or less represented her attitude and facial expressions. Documents, notes, and folders lay strewn atop the desk; she definitely wasn't one for organization.
"You seem to have an innate talent for... how should I say this? For colliding into living and nonliving things on the ice."
I stared at her two rock-hard eyes while she spoke to me. I knew what was coming; I had heard many similar speeches and lectures in the past three years.
"You're swift on your skates, but I'm going to need you to learn how to use your brakes, Mendoza. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you a starting-defense position on the team. It's too dangerous for the team and for yourself."
"But no one's going to want to help me with the braking stuff. I already have a reputation on the team for..."
Coach Cortez shook her head. "Work on it. That's all I can say."
And she dismissed me from her office. Some help she was.
I left the room, and passed by the team. I wasn't in the mood for a chat with them.
Outside, the sun shone on the campus too brightly, and I had to squint my eyes in the light as I walked down the stairs and headed to my dorm room. Autumn in Minnesota was more than I could handle. Birds still chirped, and occasionally we witnessed flocks of ducks flying, probably making their way down south for the coming winter. The mornings were the worst. I couldn't wait for Daylight Savings Time to end.
There was the girl again, ambling along in the grass near the school's library. A small smile grew on my lips. She was wearing black shorts held up by a belt of dulled spikes and a light blue Adidas( t-shirt. I made a mental note to talk to her sometime. But first, I had to find out her name...
A recognizable voice called my name from the top of the stairs. "Luis!"
I spun around and shaded my eyes. I groaned inwardly in disappointment. Cheerleader alert. I had begun to believe I could avoid them this year, but I guess not.
Cassidy Williams, now a varsity cheerleader, bounded towards me. She giggled when she hugged me and stepped back.
I rubbed the back of my neck with the palm of my left hand. "Hey, Cass," I said. I quickly glanced at her ecstatic face and looked away, my gaze shifting from the pretty girl walking out there near the library to the garden and back. Maybe Cassidy could take a hint and leave me alone.
But she didn't. Varsity cheerleaders, at least at Eden Hall, had too much pride to notice or even think that someone didn't want to associate with them. After my experiences with them last year, I swore I wouldn't have anything to do with them again.
"How was your summer?" she asked, still smiling and playing with the end of her long, blonde ponytail.
"It was okay." I decided to keep my answers short, for fear the junior would go off on a tangent in our conversation if I went into detail about anything.
She looped her arm through mine. "Only okay?"
When would this end? "Yeah."
Cassidy giggled her annoying playing-with-Barbie-and-Ken giggle. "Aww. I missed you over the break. Why didn't you stay in Minnesota with us?"
I shrugged. "I went to Miami to visit my family."
"That's sweet of you." She adjusted the position of her textbook in her hand. "Wanna walk me to my room?"
Finally, I can get away. "No, thanks. I've got homework to do right now."
She pouted. "Are you sure? It'll be fun..." she said playfully.
Shaking my head, I answered again in the negative. My frame of mind today was not one of a flirt. Didn't I say I had changed over the summer? I wasn't about to go back to the girl-obsessed guy that I had happened to be last year. Except for maybe that one girl. After all, I had to give new people a chance...
I returned to my room alone. My back and shoulders had been burdened by the increasingly heavy weight of my hockey bag and book bag. Thank God for the floor. I dropped everything without hesitation and dropped my own tired body onto my bed. Is it still the first day of school?
Russ, Adam, and Charlie, always talking loudly, entered the room, also carelessly tossing their things on the floor next to my belongings.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked without moving out of my position on the bed.
Russ pretended to collapse on the carpet. "Just coming to get you to do our homework so we can sleep."
"You wish," I answered. My eyes were closed, and half of my face was buried in a pillow.
Charlie once again turned on his stereo, and punk music filtered out of the brand-new speakers. His old ones had been torn up last school year during a prank...
Banks tossed a light folder at my foot, which was hanging off the bed.
"We saw you flirting with another cheerleader after practice," he began to say.
"I wasn't flirting," I interrupted to defend myself.
"All right, all right," he said. "Well, we saw you talking to one."
"What's your point, Banks?"
Charlie raised an eyebrow at the impatient tone of my voice.
Banks looked from me to Charlie, then his eyes went down to his open textbook. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
Author's Note: I'll have the next chapter typed up by tonight (the 29th of March 2003; Florida time) and upload it. Hope you found it to be a somewhat decent chapter despite its slow development and the boredom it may cause. (I'm really quite angry with myself that I haven't gotten to the point of the story yet.)