The rink door let out it usual squeak as Banks pushed it open an hour and a half before practice just like he did everyday. Like always he found himself thinking 'All the money this school has and they can't afford to oil the door.' Knowing full well with all the use it got it would just rust again in days anyway. But those were the things he normally found himself thinking on his early morning routine. Unproductive things that had little to no baring on life, but seemed to interest him anyway.
Like always all the lights in the rink were off with the exception for the one above the ice. As he made his way down the stairs toward the ice he saw her. Sitting on the visitor's bench, sipping water from an Poland Springs bottle, was Tori. Not who he wanted to see so early in the morning.
Her gray tee-shirt that read Johnston High School Hockey number 84 on the back, was speckled by dark sweat spots and her wavy dark hair was soaked. He could tell she hadn't only just arrived. She must've been working out for at least thirty minutes.
"You're here early." The girl having heard him come up from behind her turned.
"I always am." Banks replied dropping his bag near the bench.
"Well lace 'em up rich boy. You've gotta work for the best player title now."
A few minutes later the two were zigzagging across the ice, Tori changing speed and direction every time she was close enough for Adam to take the puck from her. She'd already managed to elbow him in the chest and trip him twice, the boy wasn't sure which was more bruised his butt or his ego. Couldn't the girl just have a good time? Hockey was in fact only a game, as much he hated to admit it. But even 'Hockey is my life' Adam Banks could have fun playing, as long as there wasn't an actual game on the line. When it was just him and the ice, before practice or a game, it was the most fun he could ever imagine.
"Come on Banks, if you can't catch me, how do you think you can catch an opposing player?"
Adam groaned and skated back to the bench. That girl was absolutely nuts, that had been the most grueling pre-practice he'd endured. Tori just didn't give up.
"He's never had a problem so far." They suddenly began aware of the fact they weren't alone. They'd been so busy bickering they hadn't even noticed Charlie enter the rink.
Tori smirked smugly.
"I hit a nerve I see. You know if you played half as good as you talked, we'd never lose a game. But if that's the way you looking at it Captain."
That rubbed Charlie the wrong way.
"First off there is no us, there's us." He gestured to Banks and himself "and there's you. You are just an emergency replacement for a real duck and not a very good one either."
""I'm hurt." The girls voice was lathered in sarcasm.
"Tori if you don't cut it out, I'm going to have Orion make you skate sprints against Luis until you either win or pass out."
Knowing from the Captain's tone he was in fact serious the girl bit her tongue. She'd seen enough tapes of the Good Will Games to know a humiliating pass out was more likely then a win under those circumstances.
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes
"You know I don't think you're gonna cut it on the team Tori. Come on Banks, we gotta suit up for practice."
In the locker room that morning the team was their normally noisy selves, Dwayne had come to watch and it made all the Ducks happy that he was around. Tori had taken up occupancy in a private to corner to change, until the coach came, she'd had him pulled off to the side ever since. The night before she'd studied some more of the Ducks tapes and newspaper articles and came up with some ideas on how to improve their scoring, while not jeopardizing the new found defensive ability.
"All right guys listen up," Orion demanded the attention of the room. "Tori came up with some line and position changes she thinks will help us out this season. I'm not saying we're gonna keep them, but we'll humor her and try them out."
None of the team was to happy about the thought of their coach taking advice from a non-Duck, but there wasn't really much they could do about it except moan and groan. Which of course they all did, most of the morning. But surprisingly Tori's suggestions work out well. Orion was even impressed at her capability to figure out who would best be placed. Plus on the ice she was a no nonsense player, not one of the best, but she had leadership qualities that rivaled Charlie's. That's what led to the bombshell that would be dropped.
"Okay team that was a hell of a practice. I was watching out there and I realized their are two people with exceptional leadership skills, one of course being Charlie and the other being Victoria. That's why I decided to make co-captains this year." That may have been the coaches worst mistake ever.
The team unsuited swifter then lightening leaving Tori alone to finish getting dressed. The girl's body was full of pride as she left the rink, spotting the team on the grass near the library. She ran across the lawn to sit with them, hoping they'd welcome her now that they knew she knew what she was doing. Unfortunately nobody noticed her coming, so they didn't stop their conversation.
"Can you believe that? I'm captain five years, she walks on the team one day and gets a 'C'." Charlie was livid.
"And what's with changing the line up? If I'd have known we could do that I would've said something years ago." Kenny added.
Fulton smiled, he seemed to be the only happy with the change.
"I don't care, she put me back on left side."
"She's just... ugh." Guy was to mad to think of anything to say.
Julie suddenly sat ups straighter.
"So you should hear this, yesterday Connie and I were fighting over who's better looking Paul Kariya or Mike Madano. So we ask Tori and she said, 'Adam Oates, he maybe old, ugly and bald, but all I care about is how they play and he's so under appreciated.' We didn't ask who her favorite player was, we just wanted to know who was hotter."
"That babe is unhinged." Portman declared.
The only person that noticed as Tori fled with tears streaming down her face was Banks, that was only because he happened to move his head to get the sun from his eyes and caught site of her. Not that is mattered anyway because with the way the Ducks were feeling none of them would've followed her.
Like always all the lights in the rink were off with the exception for the one above the ice. As he made his way down the stairs toward the ice he saw her. Sitting on the visitor's bench, sipping water from an Poland Springs bottle, was Tori. Not who he wanted to see so early in the morning.
Her gray tee-shirt that read Johnston High School Hockey number 84 on the back, was speckled by dark sweat spots and her wavy dark hair was soaked. He could tell she hadn't only just arrived. She must've been working out for at least thirty minutes.
"You're here early." The girl having heard him come up from behind her turned.
"I always am." Banks replied dropping his bag near the bench.
"Well lace 'em up rich boy. You've gotta work for the best player title now."
A few minutes later the two were zigzagging across the ice, Tori changing speed and direction every time she was close enough for Adam to take the puck from her. She'd already managed to elbow him in the chest and trip him twice, the boy wasn't sure which was more bruised his butt or his ego. Couldn't the girl just have a good time? Hockey was in fact only a game, as much he hated to admit it. But even 'Hockey is my life' Adam Banks could have fun playing, as long as there wasn't an actual game on the line. When it was just him and the ice, before practice or a game, it was the most fun he could ever imagine.
"Come on Banks, if you can't catch me, how do you think you can catch an opposing player?"
Adam groaned and skated back to the bench. That girl was absolutely nuts, that had been the most grueling pre-practice he'd endured. Tori just didn't give up.
"He's never had a problem so far." They suddenly began aware of the fact they weren't alone. They'd been so busy bickering they hadn't even noticed Charlie enter the rink.
Tori smirked smugly.
"I hit a nerve I see. You know if you played half as good as you talked, we'd never lose a game. But if that's the way you looking at it Captain."
That rubbed Charlie the wrong way.
"First off there is no us, there's us." He gestured to Banks and himself "and there's you. You are just an emergency replacement for a real duck and not a very good one either."
""I'm hurt." The girls voice was lathered in sarcasm.
"Tori if you don't cut it out, I'm going to have Orion make you skate sprints against Luis until you either win or pass out."
Knowing from the Captain's tone he was in fact serious the girl bit her tongue. She'd seen enough tapes of the Good Will Games to know a humiliating pass out was more likely then a win under those circumstances.
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes
"You know I don't think you're gonna cut it on the team Tori. Come on Banks, we gotta suit up for practice."
In the locker room that morning the team was their normally noisy selves, Dwayne had come to watch and it made all the Ducks happy that he was around. Tori had taken up occupancy in a private to corner to change, until the coach came, she'd had him pulled off to the side ever since. The night before she'd studied some more of the Ducks tapes and newspaper articles and came up with some ideas on how to improve their scoring, while not jeopardizing the new found defensive ability.
"All right guys listen up," Orion demanded the attention of the room. "Tori came up with some line and position changes she thinks will help us out this season. I'm not saying we're gonna keep them, but we'll humor her and try them out."
None of the team was to happy about the thought of their coach taking advice from a non-Duck, but there wasn't really much they could do about it except moan and groan. Which of course they all did, most of the morning. But surprisingly Tori's suggestions work out well. Orion was even impressed at her capability to figure out who would best be placed. Plus on the ice she was a no nonsense player, not one of the best, but she had leadership qualities that rivaled Charlie's. That's what led to the bombshell that would be dropped.
"Okay team that was a hell of a practice. I was watching out there and I realized their are two people with exceptional leadership skills, one of course being Charlie and the other being Victoria. That's why I decided to make co-captains this year." That may have been the coaches worst mistake ever.
The team unsuited swifter then lightening leaving Tori alone to finish getting dressed. The girl's body was full of pride as she left the rink, spotting the team on the grass near the library. She ran across the lawn to sit with them, hoping they'd welcome her now that they knew she knew what she was doing. Unfortunately nobody noticed her coming, so they didn't stop their conversation.
"Can you believe that? I'm captain five years, she walks on the team one day and gets a 'C'." Charlie was livid.
"And what's with changing the line up? If I'd have known we could do that I would've said something years ago." Kenny added.
Fulton smiled, he seemed to be the only happy with the change.
"I don't care, she put me back on left side."
"She's just... ugh." Guy was to mad to think of anything to say.
Julie suddenly sat ups straighter.
"So you should hear this, yesterday Connie and I were fighting over who's better looking Paul Kariya or Mike Madano. So we ask Tori and she said, 'Adam Oates, he maybe old, ugly and bald, but all I care about is how they play and he's so under appreciated.' We didn't ask who her favorite player was, we just wanted to know who was hotter."
"That babe is unhinged." Portman declared.
The only person that noticed as Tori fled with tears streaming down her face was Banks, that was only because he happened to move his head to get the sun from his eyes and caught site of her. Not that is mattered anyway because with the way the Ducks were feeling none of them would've followed her.