Note: This chapter is completely from Scooter's POV. Crazy4nc128, I hope
this answers your question as to why Scooter has been mean lately and
hopefully redeems him a little bit. Banksiesbabe99, sorry but you're not
going to get your Adam/Julie pairing in this story as for your other
predictions you'll just have to wait and find out.
Scooter's POV:
I watched Alex walk away with Conway and his friends. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I was having an awful day. First I had a fight with Julie and now I had a fight with Alex. I turned around and went back to get my stuff. Around me the kids who were left quickly found something to busy themselves with. Not that I could blame them. What a way to start things out. The coaches fighting with each other in the front of everyone.
I grabbed my stuff and headed for my dorm room. I had a lot of things to think about. I didn't even say good bye to my friends from the varsity team as I left. I really didn't want to talk to anyone right then.
When I reached the dorm building I headed straight up to my room. I opened the door to the room and dropped my stuff onto the floor with a loud bang. I saw Riley jump at his desk.
"Damn Scooter, what are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?" Riley asked turning around and facing me.
"Sorry," I muttered. Most of the time I got along okay with Riley even though he was a senior and I was a junior. I didn't always agree with him but I would still have to call him my best friend which is kind of sad when you come to think of it. Riley lacked the sensitivity to be a good friend most of the time. He cared about himself first and foremost.
"Something bothering you?" Riley asked. Did I mention that he was the king of the obvious to.
I looked at him skeptically. He was my friend but didn't I really want to talk to him about this.
"Come on Scooter. We're friends. What happened today?"
"Well lets see I had a fight with my girlfriend and then turned around and had an argument with Alex in front of most of the people who were at try outs including our faculty advisor for the team," I told him. I knew he wouldn't let up until he got some sort of explanation.
"What were the fights about?" Riley asked trying to act like he really cared. He wasn't doing that good of a job but unfortunately he was the only one I had to talk to since the only other two people I really trusted hated me right about now.
"Believe it or not they were both about the same thing," I told him. "Charlie Conway." I laid back on my bed and stared up at he ceiling.
"Captain Duckie," Riley said with a smirk. "If you want I can take care of him for you." I knew Riley hated Conway, and the rest of the Ducks, because of everything that had happened last semester. I didn't even want to think of what Riley would do to him.
"Stay away from him," I said quickly sitting up on my bed and facing him.
Riley just laughed. "Relax, I was just kidding,"he told me. Some how I didn't believe that.
"Maybe they're right," I said laying back down on my bed. I was talking out loud to myself as much as I was to Riley. I didn't really expect him to be much help. "Maybe I haven't been giving Conway a fair chance. Maybe I am trying to keep him off the team not because I think he would cause trouble but because I'm afraid that he is a better leader than me," I said thinking about Julie's words.
"Conway a leader," Riley said with a little laugh. "That's like calling Cole smart."
"He's a better leader than you are," I told Riley without even thinking about what I was saying.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Riley asked.
"Oh come on," I said. I had already opened my mouth I might as well tell him the truth. "Half of the varsity team only follow you because they're afraid of you," I told him. "The Ducks follow Charlie because they respect him."
"What do you mean they only follow me because they're afraid of me," Riley said not even catching the last part of my comment.
"Come on Riley anytime anything isn't going the way you want it to you threaten people to get your way. You manipulate people. And when that doesn't work you have your ape physically threaten them."
Riley didn't say anything to that he just left the room slamming the door behind him. I was on a roll with pissing my friends off today. I laid back down on my bed and stared at the ceiling again.
The more I thought about it the more I realized that Charlie's temper really had nothing to do with why I didn't want him on the team. That had just been a convenient excuse. Truth be told, I was jealous of Charlie. Jealous because he was such a good hockey player. Jealous because the Ducks followed him out of respect not because they were afraid of them or they felt they had to. That was what I have always wanted. For people to look up to me and respect me because of who I am and not because of what family I belonged to, or I was older, or because I decided to give myself a title such as Coach. Jealous of him because he knew Julie better. And somewhere in all that jealousy part of me worried about him stealing her away from me.
I mean it made sense. She knew Charlie better and she had known him for longer. They were about the same age and she spent more time with him than she did me. Man, would my friends laugh at me if I admitted that to them - that I was afraid of a freshman stealing my girlfriend away. Riley would have found it very amusing even though Luis Mendoza had actually stole his girlfriend. Of course, I had just made that easier for him to do by fighting with her this afternoon.
I finally decided that I had done enough sulking. It was time to do some apologizing and I was going to start with Julie. Exactly what I was going to tell her I wasn't sure but I figured I could figure that out while I sat out side her dorm building waiting for her to come back. I'd wait and talk to Alex tomorrow. We had to get together to make the final decisions for the team anyway and it would probably be safer for me to let her cool off some.
I'm not sure how long I was sitting on the steps waiting before I saw Bombay's van pull into the parking lot. I watched as Julie, Charlie, Connie, Guy, Averman, and Russ got out of the van and walked toward the building. Charlie had his arm across Julie's shoulder telling her about something. The whole group was laughing even Julie. I hated the fact that Charlie had his arm across her shoulders. Damn it, she was still my girlfriend! We had just had a little fight. We hadn't broken up.
The laughter stopped as soon as they all saw me standing on the steps. Julie walked to the bottom of the steps and stood there facing me while her friends quickly made there way up the steps past me. The only one who said anything to Julie was Connie who whispered something to her that I couldn't hear. I waited until I heard the door shut behind me before I started speaking.
"Julie I need to talk to you," I told her softly.
"I don't have anything else to say to you," she told me. I could see the fire in her eyes that had made me fall for her in the first place.
"Fine, then just listen to me," I told her. When she didn't walk off I took that as the indication that she was willing to at least listen to what I had to say. "I did some thinking about what you said this afternoon and your right I should've at least given Charlie a fair shot. I should have never had Kilpatrick help me try to keep him off the team. And after I thought about it I realized that you were also right about him being a better leader than I am and I kind of resent that." I wasn't quite ready to admit to anyone that I was jealous because that would just make it more real. "I know that isn't any kind of excuse but I just felt like I should explain myself and apologize to you. I'm sorry Julie. Please don't let this ruin our relationship."
When I stopped talking she was quiet. She didn't say or do anything at first. I didn't know what to think. Then I saw a smile slowly come to her face.
"Apology accepted," Julie told me softly. "Maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut. I mean you and Alex are in charge of this team not me."
"Yeah, but you and Alex both felt the same way about this."
"Is that what the argument between the two of you was about this afternoon?" Julie asked me.
"Yeah. Alex felt the same way you do. That I wasn't giving Charlie a fair chance," I told her as we both sat down on the steps. "Wednesday night I actually made her a deal that if Charlie could keep his temper under control for the rest of try outs I wouldn't cut him. That's why I had Kilpatrick trip him up. I was trying to get him to go off so I could cut him. That didn't work and today I didn't call the penalty for the same reason. What kind of coach does that make me? What kind of person does that make me?" I said. I wasn't expecting an answer and I was actually glad when she didn't try to answer those questions. If she had an opinion as to what kind of person that made me I'd prefer that she kept it to herself.
"He proved me wrong though," I said continuing. "Despite my best efforts he didn't let his temper get the best of him."
"He really wanted to be on the team," Julie said finally speaking again. "You know you don't have to worry about Charlie treating you like he did Orion. This isn't the Ducks. What we have with the team is special. It means a lot to Charlie, to all of us. Charlie saw Orion as a threat to that. Am I even making any sense?" Julie finally asked with a small laugh.
"Yeah you are," I told her taking her hand. "So how was dinner?"
"It was fun," Julie told me. "I missed having you there though," she said softly. We were quiet after that. I was happy just to be with her. After the day I was having I was afraid to open my mouth and make her mad again. It was Julie who broke the silence.
"I think I should head on in," She told me. "Connie is going to be wondering what is keeping me," she said standing up.
"Okay," I said standing up myself. "Do you want to catch a movie tomorrow night?" I asked her.
"Sure," she said.
I leaned down and gave her a kiss before saying good-bye and heading to my car. It was late and I still hadn't ate anything. I figured I'd go into town and grab something to eat at the diner in town and figure out how to apologize to Alex in the morning.
When I got back to my dorm room that night Riley was back. I walked in quietly not sure what he was going to do.
"Hi Scooter," he said easily as if nothing had ever happened between us.
"Hi Riley," I said walking over to my bed and sitting down.
"Murphy, Cole, and I were going to go out tomorrow night. Hit some clubs. You up for it?"
"Actually I already have plans. With Julie." I told.
"Okay, maybe next time," he said and went back to what ever he had been doing when I had walked into the room.
If Riley was going to pretend as if this afternoon had never happened than I'd go along with that. I hadn't had any attention of apologizing to him anyway. I wasn't going to apologize for the truth. It was about time some on had told him.
I looked at the clock on the wall. Five minutes till ten am. We had planned on meeting at ten this morning. Part of me wondered if she would actually show up. I knew I couldn't blame her if she didn't. I half expected her to never speak with me again. To tell me to coach the team on my own or find someone else.
I looked from the clock back to the door to the common room just as she walked in. I couldn't read her face. It was void of any emotion.
I stood up as she walked toward me and as she approached I held out my peace offering - a single yellow rose. She slowly took the rose from me and I could see a smile slowly come to her face.
"I'm sorry," I told her quickly why I had the chance. "You were right. I didn't call that penatly on purpose because I was trying to get Charlie to lose his temper. I was trying to get him to give me a reason to cut him from the team. I was wrong you were right. I should've given him a fair chance and I didn't."
"I think Charlie is the one you should be apologizing to," she told me.
"I will," I told her. I really had been planning on doing it. She was quiet for awhile. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Finally she sat down at the table putting the folder she was carrying and the rose down on the table. I sat back down in my chair as she started talking.
"Scott, what has gotten into you the last couple of days?" she asked me. I could tell she was concerned not angry anymore. "Not giving somebody a fair chance, that isn't like you. You've always been someone who gave people the benefit of the doubt. Someone who helps people out not condemn them from the beginning."
"Alex you know how important this team is to me," I told her. "I've always kind of just faded into the background. Gone along with everyone else. When we started this team last year it was my chance to change that. To prove that I could also be a leader not just a follower."
"And you can. You proved that last year. This whole program would've never made it if it hadn't been for you. You're the one who organized it, and presented the idea to the board remember. All I did was help you with the coaching. Maybe your not a natural leader but you've done a great job with the team. I don't understand what you're worried about."
"Conway is a natural leader. I mean look at how the Ducks all follow him. They do it because they want to. Because they respect and trust him. I guess I'm jealous of that." There I had finally admitted it to someone. "And scared that he'd steal the team away from me."
"That won't happen." Alex told me. "He just wants to be on the team. Believe it or not Charlie respects you Scooter, or at least he did. He told me that the other night when we were talking. He said he thought he could learn something from you."
"He did," I said in disbelief.
"Yes, he did."
"Man I have been such a jerk," I said looking down at the table.
"Well, I'm not going to argue with you," Alex said. I think she was trying to get me to laugh but I didn't feel like it right then. "Scott," she said softly reaching out and taking my hand, "everyone makes mistakes. You just have to fix them as best as you can, learn from them and go on." I just nodded. What else could I say. She was right. I couldn't change what I had done the last couple of days. All I could do was figure out a way to make amends for it and go on.
"Okay, now we have a team to choose," Alex said moving the rose off the folder and opening it. She took our list of those at try outs and a piece of paper that had to columns on it. One was labeled team members and the other alternates.
I reached out and pulled the paper toward me and picked up my pen that was sitting on the table. Under the column that was labeled team members I wrote Charlie Conway on the first line. Alex smiled at me and then we started to discuss the other skaters and put together our team for the season.
Scooter's POV:
I watched Alex walk away with Conway and his friends. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I was having an awful day. First I had a fight with Julie and now I had a fight with Alex. I turned around and went back to get my stuff. Around me the kids who were left quickly found something to busy themselves with. Not that I could blame them. What a way to start things out. The coaches fighting with each other in the front of everyone.
I grabbed my stuff and headed for my dorm room. I had a lot of things to think about. I didn't even say good bye to my friends from the varsity team as I left. I really didn't want to talk to anyone right then.
When I reached the dorm building I headed straight up to my room. I opened the door to the room and dropped my stuff onto the floor with a loud bang. I saw Riley jump at his desk.
"Damn Scooter, what are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?" Riley asked turning around and facing me.
"Sorry," I muttered. Most of the time I got along okay with Riley even though he was a senior and I was a junior. I didn't always agree with him but I would still have to call him my best friend which is kind of sad when you come to think of it. Riley lacked the sensitivity to be a good friend most of the time. He cared about himself first and foremost.
"Something bothering you?" Riley asked. Did I mention that he was the king of the obvious to.
I looked at him skeptically. He was my friend but didn't I really want to talk to him about this.
"Come on Scooter. We're friends. What happened today?"
"Well lets see I had a fight with my girlfriend and then turned around and had an argument with Alex in front of most of the people who were at try outs including our faculty advisor for the team," I told him. I knew he wouldn't let up until he got some sort of explanation.
"What were the fights about?" Riley asked trying to act like he really cared. He wasn't doing that good of a job but unfortunately he was the only one I had to talk to since the only other two people I really trusted hated me right about now.
"Believe it or not they were both about the same thing," I told him. "Charlie Conway." I laid back on my bed and stared up at he ceiling.
"Captain Duckie," Riley said with a smirk. "If you want I can take care of him for you." I knew Riley hated Conway, and the rest of the Ducks, because of everything that had happened last semester. I didn't even want to think of what Riley would do to him.
"Stay away from him," I said quickly sitting up on my bed and facing him.
Riley just laughed. "Relax, I was just kidding,"he told me. Some how I didn't believe that.
"Maybe they're right," I said laying back down on my bed. I was talking out loud to myself as much as I was to Riley. I didn't really expect him to be much help. "Maybe I haven't been giving Conway a fair chance. Maybe I am trying to keep him off the team not because I think he would cause trouble but because I'm afraid that he is a better leader than me," I said thinking about Julie's words.
"Conway a leader," Riley said with a little laugh. "That's like calling Cole smart."
"He's a better leader than you are," I told Riley without even thinking about what I was saying.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Riley asked.
"Oh come on," I said. I had already opened my mouth I might as well tell him the truth. "Half of the varsity team only follow you because they're afraid of you," I told him. "The Ducks follow Charlie because they respect him."
"What do you mean they only follow me because they're afraid of me," Riley said not even catching the last part of my comment.
"Come on Riley anytime anything isn't going the way you want it to you threaten people to get your way. You manipulate people. And when that doesn't work you have your ape physically threaten them."
Riley didn't say anything to that he just left the room slamming the door behind him. I was on a roll with pissing my friends off today. I laid back down on my bed and stared at the ceiling again.
The more I thought about it the more I realized that Charlie's temper really had nothing to do with why I didn't want him on the team. That had just been a convenient excuse. Truth be told, I was jealous of Charlie. Jealous because he was such a good hockey player. Jealous because the Ducks followed him out of respect not because they were afraid of them or they felt they had to. That was what I have always wanted. For people to look up to me and respect me because of who I am and not because of what family I belonged to, or I was older, or because I decided to give myself a title such as Coach. Jealous of him because he knew Julie better. And somewhere in all that jealousy part of me worried about him stealing her away from me.
I mean it made sense. She knew Charlie better and she had known him for longer. They were about the same age and she spent more time with him than she did me. Man, would my friends laugh at me if I admitted that to them - that I was afraid of a freshman stealing my girlfriend away. Riley would have found it very amusing even though Luis Mendoza had actually stole his girlfriend. Of course, I had just made that easier for him to do by fighting with her this afternoon.
I finally decided that I had done enough sulking. It was time to do some apologizing and I was going to start with Julie. Exactly what I was going to tell her I wasn't sure but I figured I could figure that out while I sat out side her dorm building waiting for her to come back. I'd wait and talk to Alex tomorrow. We had to get together to make the final decisions for the team anyway and it would probably be safer for me to let her cool off some.
I'm not sure how long I was sitting on the steps waiting before I saw Bombay's van pull into the parking lot. I watched as Julie, Charlie, Connie, Guy, Averman, and Russ got out of the van and walked toward the building. Charlie had his arm across Julie's shoulder telling her about something. The whole group was laughing even Julie. I hated the fact that Charlie had his arm across her shoulders. Damn it, she was still my girlfriend! We had just had a little fight. We hadn't broken up.
The laughter stopped as soon as they all saw me standing on the steps. Julie walked to the bottom of the steps and stood there facing me while her friends quickly made there way up the steps past me. The only one who said anything to Julie was Connie who whispered something to her that I couldn't hear. I waited until I heard the door shut behind me before I started speaking.
"Julie I need to talk to you," I told her softly.
"I don't have anything else to say to you," she told me. I could see the fire in her eyes that had made me fall for her in the first place.
"Fine, then just listen to me," I told her. When she didn't walk off I took that as the indication that she was willing to at least listen to what I had to say. "I did some thinking about what you said this afternoon and your right I should've at least given Charlie a fair shot. I should have never had Kilpatrick help me try to keep him off the team. And after I thought about it I realized that you were also right about him being a better leader than I am and I kind of resent that." I wasn't quite ready to admit to anyone that I was jealous because that would just make it more real. "I know that isn't any kind of excuse but I just felt like I should explain myself and apologize to you. I'm sorry Julie. Please don't let this ruin our relationship."
When I stopped talking she was quiet. She didn't say or do anything at first. I didn't know what to think. Then I saw a smile slowly come to her face.
"Apology accepted," Julie told me softly. "Maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut. I mean you and Alex are in charge of this team not me."
"Yeah, but you and Alex both felt the same way about this."
"Is that what the argument between the two of you was about this afternoon?" Julie asked me.
"Yeah. Alex felt the same way you do. That I wasn't giving Charlie a fair chance," I told her as we both sat down on the steps. "Wednesday night I actually made her a deal that if Charlie could keep his temper under control for the rest of try outs I wouldn't cut him. That's why I had Kilpatrick trip him up. I was trying to get him to go off so I could cut him. That didn't work and today I didn't call the penalty for the same reason. What kind of coach does that make me? What kind of person does that make me?" I said. I wasn't expecting an answer and I was actually glad when she didn't try to answer those questions. If she had an opinion as to what kind of person that made me I'd prefer that she kept it to herself.
"He proved me wrong though," I said continuing. "Despite my best efforts he didn't let his temper get the best of him."
"He really wanted to be on the team," Julie said finally speaking again. "You know you don't have to worry about Charlie treating you like he did Orion. This isn't the Ducks. What we have with the team is special. It means a lot to Charlie, to all of us. Charlie saw Orion as a threat to that. Am I even making any sense?" Julie finally asked with a small laugh.
"Yeah you are," I told her taking her hand. "So how was dinner?"
"It was fun," Julie told me. "I missed having you there though," she said softly. We were quiet after that. I was happy just to be with her. After the day I was having I was afraid to open my mouth and make her mad again. It was Julie who broke the silence.
"I think I should head on in," She told me. "Connie is going to be wondering what is keeping me," she said standing up.
"Okay," I said standing up myself. "Do you want to catch a movie tomorrow night?" I asked her.
"Sure," she said.
I leaned down and gave her a kiss before saying good-bye and heading to my car. It was late and I still hadn't ate anything. I figured I'd go into town and grab something to eat at the diner in town and figure out how to apologize to Alex in the morning.
When I got back to my dorm room that night Riley was back. I walked in quietly not sure what he was going to do.
"Hi Scooter," he said easily as if nothing had ever happened between us.
"Hi Riley," I said walking over to my bed and sitting down.
"Murphy, Cole, and I were going to go out tomorrow night. Hit some clubs. You up for it?"
"Actually I already have plans. With Julie." I told.
"Okay, maybe next time," he said and went back to what ever he had been doing when I had walked into the room.
If Riley was going to pretend as if this afternoon had never happened than I'd go along with that. I hadn't had any attention of apologizing to him anyway. I wasn't going to apologize for the truth. It was about time some on had told him.
I looked at the clock on the wall. Five minutes till ten am. We had planned on meeting at ten this morning. Part of me wondered if she would actually show up. I knew I couldn't blame her if she didn't. I half expected her to never speak with me again. To tell me to coach the team on my own or find someone else.
I looked from the clock back to the door to the common room just as she walked in. I couldn't read her face. It was void of any emotion.
I stood up as she walked toward me and as she approached I held out my peace offering - a single yellow rose. She slowly took the rose from me and I could see a smile slowly come to her face.
"I'm sorry," I told her quickly why I had the chance. "You were right. I didn't call that penatly on purpose because I was trying to get Charlie to lose his temper. I was trying to get him to give me a reason to cut him from the team. I was wrong you were right. I should've given him a fair chance and I didn't."
"I think Charlie is the one you should be apologizing to," she told me.
"I will," I told her. I really had been planning on doing it. She was quiet for awhile. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Finally she sat down at the table putting the folder she was carrying and the rose down on the table. I sat back down in my chair as she started talking.
"Scott, what has gotten into you the last couple of days?" she asked me. I could tell she was concerned not angry anymore. "Not giving somebody a fair chance, that isn't like you. You've always been someone who gave people the benefit of the doubt. Someone who helps people out not condemn them from the beginning."
"Alex you know how important this team is to me," I told her. "I've always kind of just faded into the background. Gone along with everyone else. When we started this team last year it was my chance to change that. To prove that I could also be a leader not just a follower."
"And you can. You proved that last year. This whole program would've never made it if it hadn't been for you. You're the one who organized it, and presented the idea to the board remember. All I did was help you with the coaching. Maybe your not a natural leader but you've done a great job with the team. I don't understand what you're worried about."
"Conway is a natural leader. I mean look at how the Ducks all follow him. They do it because they want to. Because they respect and trust him. I guess I'm jealous of that." There I had finally admitted it to someone. "And scared that he'd steal the team away from me."
"That won't happen." Alex told me. "He just wants to be on the team. Believe it or not Charlie respects you Scooter, or at least he did. He told me that the other night when we were talking. He said he thought he could learn something from you."
"He did," I said in disbelief.
"Yes, he did."
"Man I have been such a jerk," I said looking down at the table.
"Well, I'm not going to argue with you," Alex said. I think she was trying to get me to laugh but I didn't feel like it right then. "Scott," she said softly reaching out and taking my hand, "everyone makes mistakes. You just have to fix them as best as you can, learn from them and go on." I just nodded. What else could I say. She was right. I couldn't change what I had done the last couple of days. All I could do was figure out a way to make amends for it and go on.
"Okay, now we have a team to choose," Alex said moving the rose off the folder and opening it. She took our list of those at try outs and a piece of paper that had to columns on it. One was labeled team members and the other alternates.
I reached out and pulled the paper toward me and picked up my pen that was sitting on the table. Under the column that was labeled team members I wrote Charlie Conway on the first line. Alex smiled at me and then we started to discuss the other skaters and put together our team for the season.