Chap 4 : Check Out the Competition
Guy's POV
"Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!" everyone shouted, getting the crowd going. It was Thursday night at the school rink. Our third match of the season against the Convent Red Crosses was about to begin. I was highly aware of Connie's arm brushing against mine as the team yelled, "Go Ducks!". I settled on the bench and watched as Averman, Charlie, Fulton, Portman skated onto the ice and Adam took the face off. I was hoping to sit next to Connie and talk to her but she had disappeared to the far side of the bench and sat next to Russ, pointedly ignoring me.
The whistled blasted and Adam was knocked down by the Cross' centre. I winced as I heard his helmet contacted with the hard surface of the ice. I hope he isn't going to have one of his accident-prone days again. If you think about it, Adam was quite fragile and delicate on the ice. He wasn't tough like the Bash Brothers obviously, no one is. But you don't see the rest of us obtaining the injuries like he does. A cut on the lip or bruises would be inevitable but he gets things like ankle or wrist sprains and broken ribs. Yes, halfway through the season last year he actually broke his ribs. Or maybe, the guy who checked him in the boards broke his ribs. He ended up in the hospital for two weeks and would've missed the State Championships altogether if Mr. Banks hadn't come up to Coach and talked him into letting Adam play.
"Change it up!" and that roused me from my thoughts. I jammed on my helmet and leapt out of the box. I didn't have to look behind. I knew Connie was skating up fast behind me. Lucky huh? We had to be in the same line. Actually, we've been in the same line ever since we started playing. Connie being a pretty fast skater and good puck handler, and I being able to hold up stamina endurance for a long time. We used to have this unspoken connection and communication system going on in our heads. At times I didn't even have to look behind me and I knew she was there, waiting for the puck. And I knew she felt the same thing. But these days that system seemed to go a little haywire. We were on different wavelengths, sending different vibes, therefore missing pucks and passes which resulted into getting pulled back into second line. To me, it would've been better if were separated. That way, I could at least do the team a favour and actually concentrate on the ice.
Just then the Cross' defense stole the puck from me. "Damn!" I heard someone shout. I whipped around as fast as I could and slammed into Luis who was apparently trying to chase after the puck. We both slipped in a pile towards the defenseman and "Ouch!" landed in a heap against the boards. "Come on! Where's the concentration?!" I heard Coach yell from the bench. He sounded really mad. Someone skated over and stretched out a hand. I grabbed at it blindly and pulled myself up. I found myself looking into familiar blue eyes. Connie's eyes.
"You ok?" she whispered. Just staring into her eyes made the pain go away. I gulped and nodded slowly. "Yeah," I reassured her. At the corner of my eyes I could see Dwayne helping Luis up. For a moment I thought I could feel the chemistry just flowing between us. But then she averted the gaze and skated away. And it was gone. Was it for real? Or was I just fantasizing again?
"Germaine!" I heard Coach yell again. No time to think about that. I knew Coach was pissed and I was really in for it. I skated over and took my helmet off. "What was that about?" he shouted and glared at me. I was aware of a few dozen pairs of eyes looking at me, the rest of the team in the box, Dean Buckley, some of the school board members and even some of the audience. I stared hard at the floor. I had no explanation to offer. I was about to be embarrassed in front of all these people and I deserved it. The worst I wanted to do was say something to get myself into deeper trouble so I kept my mouth shut.
Coach drew in a deep breath and exhaled noisily. "Son, is there something on your mind I should know about?" he lowered his voice, much to my relief. Anyhow, what was I going to tell him? I couldn't tell him that I couldn't concentrate because I was thinking about Connie 24/7 and the fact that we were teammates made matters worse. What could he do about it anyway? Bench me probably. Anyway, what could I say in front of these people? These were personal matters. No way was the whole school going to get the scoop. "Nothing," I said to him. He eyed me apprehensively. I knew he didn't believe me and he knew he wasn't going to get it out of me. He just looked at me concernedly.
"Maybe you should sit this one out," he said and gestured me towards the bench. I didn't bother too argue. There were too many explanations.
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Luis' POV
I raised my hands in victor as the goal wailed. For the second time in my life, I managed to stop right before I smashed into the goalie. The guy looked positively terrified. If I hadn't been concentrating on stopping myself I would've laughed out loud at the sight.
"Way to go son!" Coach Orion said as I took a seat at the bench, panting hard. My teammates patted me on the back heartily, crying out cheers all except Guy who looked pretty subdued.
"What's up?" I asked him. "Huh?" he looked at me like he'd only just seen me. "I just scored a goal," I told him. "You did?" he tried to comprehend. To confirm his thoughts, he glanced over at the score board which read 2 to 1 in favour to us. "You gotta look alive man," I said as I wiped my towel over my forehead.
"Yeah.. I messed up huh?" he said. Understatement of the century! I wanted to laugh and joke about it but he looked really guilty.
"Hey.. it's ok.. sometimes you're on, sometimes you're off. It's just one of those things you know?" I said encouragingly and punched him lightly on the arm.
"Yeah," he said again. I followed his gaze over to the end of the bench. He was looking at Connie who was busy looking at someone in the crowd. I scanned the mob for a possible target. My eyes landed on Ian Matthews. Obviously she was drooling. But that means.. she must be here! I was right! She sat next to her brother, looking quite invisible next to his broad exterior.
"You got a girl in the stands?" I heard Charlie say beside me (familiar line?). I didn't bother to answer him. At that moment I wanted to concentrate every ounce of my energy just looking at the beautiful vision that was sitting there. I wondered if she had seen the goal I made.
"Yo! Mendoza's got a girl in the stands!" he yelled out loud. I turned around and glared at him. "OooOoOoohhh!!!" went the team. They all clambered around us to take a better look at Lorraine. Ian, who was looking at us nudged her and she looked over at our direction. Everyone started whooping and pointing at me. Her eyes widened in shock and she blushed. Ian seemed to understand and laughed out loud. "Shut up," I muttered and quickly averted my glance.
"Ok team! That's enough! Back to the game!" Coach yelled from behind. "Mendoza," he stared at me sternly, "save the girl for later. You got some work to do if you wanna impress the lady. Now get out there!"
"Yes, sir!" I jumped up and saluted him, Marine style, feeling all pumped up with adrenaline. I leapt out of the box with Charlie, Adam, Dwayne and Goldie. Within seconds, I had stolen the puck and was whizzing down the ice in lightning speed. I faked, once, twice and flicked the puck into the goal and stopped neatly before I could crash into the boards again. The buzzer sounded the end of the game. We'd won, 3-1. Two in a row! I raised my hands in victory again and was immediately engulfed by the guys. I'd never felt so alive and I remembered the reason for this. Under the mob, I looked up into the stands at Lorraine. I was about to dedicate my goal to her when a guy I didn't recognize came up to her and started talking to her. It was obvious that he liked her. I could tell by the way he was standing closely to her and smiling at her. I couldn't tell if she was interested, but my ego deflated like a balloon. Not a usual feeling you get after you've scored the winning goal.
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Guy's POV
Everyone had scrambled out of the box and onto the ice doing a victory dance. I tried to join in but my heart wasn't into it. In my mind there was only one picture, Connie staring up at Ian Matthews. Where did he come from anyway? For all we know he could be a stalker or some pervert. I didn't like the way he smiled at her, or the fact that he winked at her while she was obviously making goo-goo eyes at him. It made me feel like she'd just swung a hard blow at my stomach. It still hurt, real bad. Looks like I had just work cut out for me.
Guy's POV
"Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!" everyone shouted, getting the crowd going. It was Thursday night at the school rink. Our third match of the season against the Convent Red Crosses was about to begin. I was highly aware of Connie's arm brushing against mine as the team yelled, "Go Ducks!". I settled on the bench and watched as Averman, Charlie, Fulton, Portman skated onto the ice and Adam took the face off. I was hoping to sit next to Connie and talk to her but she had disappeared to the far side of the bench and sat next to Russ, pointedly ignoring me.
The whistled blasted and Adam was knocked down by the Cross' centre. I winced as I heard his helmet contacted with the hard surface of the ice. I hope he isn't going to have one of his accident-prone days again. If you think about it, Adam was quite fragile and delicate on the ice. He wasn't tough like the Bash Brothers obviously, no one is. But you don't see the rest of us obtaining the injuries like he does. A cut on the lip or bruises would be inevitable but he gets things like ankle or wrist sprains and broken ribs. Yes, halfway through the season last year he actually broke his ribs. Or maybe, the guy who checked him in the boards broke his ribs. He ended up in the hospital for two weeks and would've missed the State Championships altogether if Mr. Banks hadn't come up to Coach and talked him into letting Adam play.
"Change it up!" and that roused me from my thoughts. I jammed on my helmet and leapt out of the box. I didn't have to look behind. I knew Connie was skating up fast behind me. Lucky huh? We had to be in the same line. Actually, we've been in the same line ever since we started playing. Connie being a pretty fast skater and good puck handler, and I being able to hold up stamina endurance for a long time. We used to have this unspoken connection and communication system going on in our heads. At times I didn't even have to look behind me and I knew she was there, waiting for the puck. And I knew she felt the same thing. But these days that system seemed to go a little haywire. We were on different wavelengths, sending different vibes, therefore missing pucks and passes which resulted into getting pulled back into second line. To me, it would've been better if were separated. That way, I could at least do the team a favour and actually concentrate on the ice.
Just then the Cross' defense stole the puck from me. "Damn!" I heard someone shout. I whipped around as fast as I could and slammed into Luis who was apparently trying to chase after the puck. We both slipped in a pile towards the defenseman and "Ouch!" landed in a heap against the boards. "Come on! Where's the concentration?!" I heard Coach yell from the bench. He sounded really mad. Someone skated over and stretched out a hand. I grabbed at it blindly and pulled myself up. I found myself looking into familiar blue eyes. Connie's eyes.
"You ok?" she whispered. Just staring into her eyes made the pain go away. I gulped and nodded slowly. "Yeah," I reassured her. At the corner of my eyes I could see Dwayne helping Luis up. For a moment I thought I could feel the chemistry just flowing between us. But then she averted the gaze and skated away. And it was gone. Was it for real? Or was I just fantasizing again?
"Germaine!" I heard Coach yell again. No time to think about that. I knew Coach was pissed and I was really in for it. I skated over and took my helmet off. "What was that about?" he shouted and glared at me. I was aware of a few dozen pairs of eyes looking at me, the rest of the team in the box, Dean Buckley, some of the school board members and even some of the audience. I stared hard at the floor. I had no explanation to offer. I was about to be embarrassed in front of all these people and I deserved it. The worst I wanted to do was say something to get myself into deeper trouble so I kept my mouth shut.
Coach drew in a deep breath and exhaled noisily. "Son, is there something on your mind I should know about?" he lowered his voice, much to my relief. Anyhow, what was I going to tell him? I couldn't tell him that I couldn't concentrate because I was thinking about Connie 24/7 and the fact that we were teammates made matters worse. What could he do about it anyway? Bench me probably. Anyway, what could I say in front of these people? These were personal matters. No way was the whole school going to get the scoop. "Nothing," I said to him. He eyed me apprehensively. I knew he didn't believe me and he knew he wasn't going to get it out of me. He just looked at me concernedly.
"Maybe you should sit this one out," he said and gestured me towards the bench. I didn't bother too argue. There were too many explanations.
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Luis' POV
I raised my hands in victor as the goal wailed. For the second time in my life, I managed to stop right before I smashed into the goalie. The guy looked positively terrified. If I hadn't been concentrating on stopping myself I would've laughed out loud at the sight.
"Way to go son!" Coach Orion said as I took a seat at the bench, panting hard. My teammates patted me on the back heartily, crying out cheers all except Guy who looked pretty subdued.
"What's up?" I asked him. "Huh?" he looked at me like he'd only just seen me. "I just scored a goal," I told him. "You did?" he tried to comprehend. To confirm his thoughts, he glanced over at the score board which read 2 to 1 in favour to us. "You gotta look alive man," I said as I wiped my towel over my forehead.
"Yeah.. I messed up huh?" he said. Understatement of the century! I wanted to laugh and joke about it but he looked really guilty.
"Hey.. it's ok.. sometimes you're on, sometimes you're off. It's just one of those things you know?" I said encouragingly and punched him lightly on the arm.
"Yeah," he said again. I followed his gaze over to the end of the bench. He was looking at Connie who was busy looking at someone in the crowd. I scanned the mob for a possible target. My eyes landed on Ian Matthews. Obviously she was drooling. But that means.. she must be here! I was right! She sat next to her brother, looking quite invisible next to his broad exterior.
"You got a girl in the stands?" I heard Charlie say beside me (familiar line?). I didn't bother to answer him. At that moment I wanted to concentrate every ounce of my energy just looking at the beautiful vision that was sitting there. I wondered if she had seen the goal I made.
"Yo! Mendoza's got a girl in the stands!" he yelled out loud. I turned around and glared at him. "OooOoOoohhh!!!" went the team. They all clambered around us to take a better look at Lorraine. Ian, who was looking at us nudged her and she looked over at our direction. Everyone started whooping and pointing at me. Her eyes widened in shock and she blushed. Ian seemed to understand and laughed out loud. "Shut up," I muttered and quickly averted my glance.
"Ok team! That's enough! Back to the game!" Coach yelled from behind. "Mendoza," he stared at me sternly, "save the girl for later. You got some work to do if you wanna impress the lady. Now get out there!"
"Yes, sir!" I jumped up and saluted him, Marine style, feeling all pumped up with adrenaline. I leapt out of the box with Charlie, Adam, Dwayne and Goldie. Within seconds, I had stolen the puck and was whizzing down the ice in lightning speed. I faked, once, twice and flicked the puck into the goal and stopped neatly before I could crash into the boards again. The buzzer sounded the end of the game. We'd won, 3-1. Two in a row! I raised my hands in victory again and was immediately engulfed by the guys. I'd never felt so alive and I remembered the reason for this. Under the mob, I looked up into the stands at Lorraine. I was about to dedicate my goal to her when a guy I didn't recognize came up to her and started talking to her. It was obvious that he liked her. I could tell by the way he was standing closely to her and smiling at her. I couldn't tell if she was interested, but my ego deflated like a balloon. Not a usual feeling you get after you've scored the winning goal.
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Guy's POV
Everyone had scrambled out of the box and onto the ice doing a victory dance. I tried to join in but my heart wasn't into it. In my mind there was only one picture, Connie staring up at Ian Matthews. Where did he come from anyway? For all we know he could be a stalker or some pervert. I didn't like the way he smiled at her, or the fact that he winked at her while she was obviously making goo-goo eyes at him. It made me feel like she'd just swung a hard blow at my stomach. It still hurt, real bad. Looks like I had just work cut out for me.