Author's Note: Finally, I'm back to this story! Oh, yeah, I changed the
rating from PG to PG-13. I'm not good at rating things according to content
like that, so, I decided to change it just to be on the safe side for this
one.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Charlie asked, his tone threatening.
"Forget it." I skated away to join my team. I really needed to lighten things up if I didn't want anyone to notice the vibrating tension.
"Conway, Mendoza, is there a problem?" Coach Cortez called out from the other side of the ice.
I looked back at Charlie before shaking my head in the coach's direction. "None at all," I answered.
They always notice though. Why coaches usually turn out to be one of your buddies in the end is beyond me. It worked for Charlie with both Bombay and Orion. He must be some kind of miracle kid with coaches. Then whenever you have a problem, they're on you like a pack of hounds, trying to figure out what's wrong. And they keep pushing you into the sideboard until you break down and tell all.
Okay, so maybe I exaggerated that a little. But for the most part, you have to admit, it's true. _______________________________________
"Is there something Coach Cortez and I are missing here?" Coach Orion asked Charlie and I after practice. He had let everyone off the ice after the cool down laps, but forced the two of us to stay with the remaining coaches.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Charlie tighten his grip on the handle of his hockey stick. I had an idea of what he wanted to do at the moment; he wanted to slam his fist into a wall, possibly even my face. I don't think he'd risk intentionally hurting one his teammates though. He knew he'd regret it later when we would finally decide to make-up and be friends again.
"Well?"
We stayed silent until Charlie answered with, "Nothing."
"Nothing," Coach Orion repeated. "Nothing. Well, if this 'nothing' doesn't get cleared up soon, I'm going to make it into something. And that something is going to be solved once and for all. By me. Personally. Got it?"
We nodded.
"All right. Go change. You guys have practice tomorrow too."
"Stuck in crap already, huh?" Charlie commented quietly as we made our way to the locker room.
"You can say that again."
"So, what was that out there, anyways?" He turned his head to look at me, a calmer look in his eyes.
"I don't know. It was a scrimmage. I was just... playing hockey."
He shrugged. "That sounds reasonable. I guess that's what hockey practice is for."
I grinned. "Thanks for the definition of 'hockey practice,' Captain Duck," I remarked in light sarcasm. ____________________________________________
She was wearing a grey t-shirt and navy blue sweats when I ran into her again. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, as though she had been rushed to get somewhere.
As I walked out of the locker room with the Ducks' goodbyes ringing in my ears, I blindly turned a corner quickly and ran into the one and only nameless girl.
"Ouch," she said, dropping what seemed to be a sketchpad.
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't worry about it," she returned, bending down immediately to retrieve her orange-colored pad. She looked up at me, and smiled in amusement. "Oh! It's you again."
"What are you doing around the hockey rink?"
She fitted her pad of paper between two textbooks in her arms. "I just came to see Coach."
"Coach? Which one?"
"Cortez. Who else?" she laughed. "What's with all the questions, by the way?"
I smiled back at her. "Just curious. I don't meet new people here like you everyday. It's good to have something new."
She seemed to be considering what I had said and then nodded. "Sounds like a good explanation."
I shouldered my hockey bag and squinted my eyes when the door opened to reveal a massive, blinding sun. The breeze felt good today, but not enough to block out the incoming heat.
"Mind if I ask another question?"
"You just did, loser."
I shoved her lightly and smiled. "Okay... can I ask you two more questions, not including this one?"
"Sure," she said, pushing a loose strand of hair to the side where it wouldn't bother her.
"What's your name?"
She raised her eyebrows. "A little late to be figuring that out, don't you think?"
I shrugged. "I never said I was always on time or early," I answered.
She grinned and cocked her head. "True. True. In that case, I'm Kristin."
"And I'm Luis."
"I know. We have English together. You're a sophomore on the junior varsity hockey team, also known as the Eden Hall Mighty Ducks. And supposedly all the girls here like you... but I haven't yet confirmed that little bit of info. And, no, I'm not a dangerous or murderous stalker. Just a girl with ears." Her lips stretched into a smile as she finished her sentence.
I shook my head and chuckled. "Anything else you don't know about me?"
"Well, I can't read minds; therefore, I still have no clue who you really are."
"No one does, I guess."
"What the fuck is your problem?" Charlie asked, his tone threatening.
"Forget it." I skated away to join my team. I really needed to lighten things up if I didn't want anyone to notice the vibrating tension.
"Conway, Mendoza, is there a problem?" Coach Cortez called out from the other side of the ice.
I looked back at Charlie before shaking my head in the coach's direction. "None at all," I answered.
They always notice though. Why coaches usually turn out to be one of your buddies in the end is beyond me. It worked for Charlie with both Bombay and Orion. He must be some kind of miracle kid with coaches. Then whenever you have a problem, they're on you like a pack of hounds, trying to figure out what's wrong. And they keep pushing you into the sideboard until you break down and tell all.
Okay, so maybe I exaggerated that a little. But for the most part, you have to admit, it's true. _______________________________________
"Is there something Coach Cortez and I are missing here?" Coach Orion asked Charlie and I after practice. He had let everyone off the ice after the cool down laps, but forced the two of us to stay with the remaining coaches.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Charlie tighten his grip on the handle of his hockey stick. I had an idea of what he wanted to do at the moment; he wanted to slam his fist into a wall, possibly even my face. I don't think he'd risk intentionally hurting one his teammates though. He knew he'd regret it later when we would finally decide to make-up and be friends again.
"Well?"
We stayed silent until Charlie answered with, "Nothing."
"Nothing," Coach Orion repeated. "Nothing. Well, if this 'nothing' doesn't get cleared up soon, I'm going to make it into something. And that something is going to be solved once and for all. By me. Personally. Got it?"
We nodded.
"All right. Go change. You guys have practice tomorrow too."
"Stuck in crap already, huh?" Charlie commented quietly as we made our way to the locker room.
"You can say that again."
"So, what was that out there, anyways?" He turned his head to look at me, a calmer look in his eyes.
"I don't know. It was a scrimmage. I was just... playing hockey."
He shrugged. "That sounds reasonable. I guess that's what hockey practice is for."
I grinned. "Thanks for the definition of 'hockey practice,' Captain Duck," I remarked in light sarcasm. ____________________________________________
She was wearing a grey t-shirt and navy blue sweats when I ran into her again. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, as though she had been rushed to get somewhere.
As I walked out of the locker room with the Ducks' goodbyes ringing in my ears, I blindly turned a corner quickly and ran into the one and only nameless girl.
"Ouch," she said, dropping what seemed to be a sketchpad.
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't worry about it," she returned, bending down immediately to retrieve her orange-colored pad. She looked up at me, and smiled in amusement. "Oh! It's you again."
"What are you doing around the hockey rink?"
She fitted her pad of paper between two textbooks in her arms. "I just came to see Coach."
"Coach? Which one?"
"Cortez. Who else?" she laughed. "What's with all the questions, by the way?"
I smiled back at her. "Just curious. I don't meet new people here like you everyday. It's good to have something new."
She seemed to be considering what I had said and then nodded. "Sounds like a good explanation."
I shouldered my hockey bag and squinted my eyes when the door opened to reveal a massive, blinding sun. The breeze felt good today, but not enough to block out the incoming heat.
"Mind if I ask another question?"
"You just did, loser."
I shoved her lightly and smiled. "Okay... can I ask you two more questions, not including this one?"
"Sure," she said, pushing a loose strand of hair to the side where it wouldn't bother her.
"What's your name?"
She raised her eyebrows. "A little late to be figuring that out, don't you think?"
I shrugged. "I never said I was always on time or early," I answered.
She grinned and cocked her head. "True. True. In that case, I'm Kristin."
"And I'm Luis."
"I know. We have English together. You're a sophomore on the junior varsity hockey team, also known as the Eden Hall Mighty Ducks. And supposedly all the girls here like you... but I haven't yet confirmed that little bit of info. And, no, I'm not a dangerous or murderous stalker. Just a girl with ears." Her lips stretched into a smile as she finished her sentence.
I shook my head and chuckled. "Anything else you don't know about me?"
"Well, I can't read minds; therefore, I still have no clue who you really are."
"No one does, I guess."