Tee hee hee...I'm still ecstatic about the Road Rally. Me and Adam were
trying to lick our elbows in the restaurant. O.o The peeps thought we was
craaazy. Okay, I'll explain it now. Why? Because I can and I have nothing
better to do. We separate into groups and get the first clue from our Choir
director. We read the clue and drive to the place it um...is. Okay, this is
confusing but oh well. Once we get there, we find the designated people and
do whatever the paper tells us to. Anything from Duck Duck Goose to making
up a song about the place we were at. (Both of which we did. Our song was:
"Woodbridge, Woodbridge, is a golf club!
LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN! It has green grass and lots of balls! LOTS AND LOTS
OF FUN! With a SWING SWING here, and a PAR FOUR there! Here a SWING, there
a PAR, everywhere a SWING PAR! Woodbridge, Woodbridge, is a golf club! LOTS
AND LOTS OF FUN!") Heh. Woodbridge is where all the rich people of Wylie
live. ^_^ We had fun scaring all the rich people. They were like "Crazy
hoodlum kids!" At this one restaurant we went to, this guy outside thought
we were robbing it. We like opened the car door before the car stopped,
bolted in the restaurant door, sang happy birthday to the hostess and
bolted out the door, driving off as we closed the door. It was so funny.
Anyway, we got to the final destination first. ^_^ But we got there 50
minutes early so we stood outside, belting out "We Are The Champions" to
people as they SLOWLY arrived. Yeah...it was fun...and I'll stop now
because I doubt anyone cares, much less is actually reading this. ^_^
Liz- Aw, poor Liz! Lol, thanks. I'm glad you liked it. *lets out sigh of relief* Good...you aren't going far. Far equals BAD! ^_^ *hugs* Love ya lots, big-sis-like-figure! ^_^
Sophie/Spikey- Lol. *pats Sophie's head* Don't stress your brain on the grasshopper thing. ^_^ It's just one of those things I say. And yes, you do learn something new every day! ^_^ Wha? No fair! I want two weeks off! *cries* THE UNFAIRNESS OF THE WORLD!!!! Well cool. I watched the TV version of D1 on Saturday...o.O...they leave out SO MUCH it sickens me...o.O They left out the magazine scene and the roller-blading-through-the-mall scene. Lots of other stuff too...it was depressing. Yay! You're updating Love and Hate! *does happy dance* Yippee! Yes, BREAK THE RULES! BE A REBEL! ^_^ Lol, I don't THINK they do...o.O...I hope not. If they do, I want you to stick around so don't get yourself kicked off. ^_^ *hugs* Enjoy your lunch! ^_^
Chronicles Bailey- *grins and pats CB's head* Thank you! ^_^ Lol.
Death to all rubix cubes- Thanks!
Chelsea- Lol...As always, you had an interesting and inspiring review. ^_^ Lol, you'll just have to see what happens! *suspenseful music* Heh, yes. Public displays of affection can be sickening. Luckily, none of my friends are dating each other so I am not subjected to such torture...yet....Lol, I'm glad you don't' have a clue. ^_^ Then it'll surprise ya even more! And one of these days Bombay'll show his face again. But you must be patient...dun dun dun...
Nellie- Lol, yeah. He is...kinda...but don't worry too much, he may settle in but the torture has only just begun...and the Ducks will come back...some day...whenever I feel like it... ^_^ Thanks.
Adriana- Thanks! Ooo I prevented a blowup? Wow. Cool. ^_^ Lol, Charlie will keep that in mind. *pats Charlie's head*
Kate- *marvels at sheer long-ness of review* Wooooow...*gets all glassy eyed* *snaps out of it* Yeah, doing projects alone isn't fun...grr...heh, you SHOULD BE PROUD! ^_^ A distraction from Geography is always a happy thing. *blinks confused-ly* (don't argue with my word! ^_^) Wow, um...yeah...o.O Of course I know what you're talking about. *squeals excitedly as a "Chalrie-Angst-Lovin'-Club" sign, t-shirt, and coffee mug are handed over* YIPPEE SKIPPEE! *does little happy dance, screaming like a crazy person* EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! ^_^ Yay. *is floored with praise* Yay! ^_^ yes, I agree. Finding MD fans over the age of 12 is becoming increasingly difficult for me...o.O...well, other than fellow FF.Net peeps...yes, you should move to Texas! Lol. ^_^ Nope, no MSN. Besides, my parents are strict on no IM with peeps I don't "know." For all I know you're some crazy staler out to kill me. *nods* it's true. Anyway, no one has the MD movies?! You poor deprived girl! I feel so sorry for you. I just watched them all yesterday and today. ^_^ Lol, that's funny. Only remembering the punch line. ^_^ *laughs to humor you* ^_^ Mine are protective too. Oh, you should look forward to angsty-goodness. It IS coming. I'm not positive HOW LONG it'll take chapter-wise but I know what I wanna do and how I'll do it. All you gotta do is wait. ^^ Oh, I DID have to go into deep, developed meditation to come up with "Sam the Policeman" and "Bob the Cashier." You just don't even know. ^_^ Lol, yeah, George is a dumb idiot. *grins as happy-bubble is restored* YAY! *smiles until Reality Police kick us out* Aww...meanies...YAY! LONG REVIEW! FUN! Lol...Charlie-poo...*giggles and chokes on bottled water* sorry 'bout that. Lol...yeah, we're just flattering the guy. ^_^ He doesn't get enough ego-boosting. ^_^ Lol. Oh, I'm sure Charlie would LOVE roller blading from Montana to Minnesota! Don't you? ^_^ Lol...yes, the coaches are decent human beings. SOMEONE had to be nice. ^_^ *starts giggling insanely at the mention of small fluffy dogs in relation to Charlie*...*calms down slightly* I think I'm okay now...I hope you like the chapter. ^_^ And thanks for reviewin'! Twice! ^_^
DodgerMcClure.aka.Drama-Queen- Lol, just wait and see. ^_^ A Duck story just wouldn't be a Duck story without jerks like the Hawks. ^_^ Thanks! ^_^
Anne918- Thanks! And I'm glad you liked the coach's being Duck fans! ^_^ Thanks for reviewin'! ^_^
Disclaimer- Yes, even after 15 chapters, I still do not own the Mighty Ducks. I also don't own "Evanescence" or any of their songs that I use.
-Chapter 16-
Charlie walked into the locker room to get changed back into his clothes. He had worn his white Eden Hall Mighty Ducks jersey to practice because the green one wouldn't fit over his gear anymore. Imagine that...
Everyone in the locker room was staring him down as he walked in. It kind of reminded him of when Adam had to walk in when they were in peewees. It wasn't a great feeling. He was started to get a taste of what Banks had felt. Well, sort of.
As he set his stuff down on a bench, they were all still staring at him. He let out a sigh and looked at them. "What?"
The guy with a "C" on his jersey signifying himself as captain stepped forward.
"Jim here said you get to be on Varsity." He said, pointing to a smaller boy next to him. The kid was glaring at him.
Charlie sighed. "Yeah, so?"
"My name is Evan Steele. I'm this team's Captain. Jim says you made it on varsity. You only made it on because our coach happened to be impressed at your status on Team USA; you know that right?" The Captain said snottily.
Charlie raised his eyebrows. "Well, Evan...I'm sorry to hear that." He replied, not really sure of the best way to answer.
The Homework Kid stepped forward and took in a breath. "Evan? I saw him play and I thought he really was good. Could it be possible that he does have some talent and so he got put on the higher team?" the kid replied timidly. Charlie was surprised that someone was ACTUALLY sticking up for him.
"What did you just say Ricketts?" Steele said as he turned to the smaller boy.
"I-uh..." the boy said back.
"Leave Brice alone." A girl said. Charlie noticed there was only one girl. She was a fiery redhead and was the one who stuck up for Homework Kid a.k.a. Brice Ricketts.
"Don't tell me what to do, Sanders." He replied saucily to the girl.
She glared at him. "Calm down, Evan. It isn't that big of a deal. If the guy can play on Team USA, I would have to say he's at least a half-decent player. So just trust coach's decision and leave it alone."
"But Evan's right, Halley." One of the other guys said, agreeing with their Captain.
Charlie just put up his stuff and disappeared into the showers to leave the team to their arguing. He wasn't going to play with them anyway, so why bother?
"Hey, where'd he go?" one of the other guys said, blinking.
"Who cares?" Steele said as he rolled his eyes and got his stuff ready to leave.
Everyone but Halley and Brice agreed with him.
Charlie had managed to sneak past them again on his way out. He had no intention of associating with them. They didn't like him anyway. Not that he was going to hang with Varsity either. He would prefer keeping to himself until he could figure out a way to get back home to Minnesota.
He had of course put his roller blades back on and get was skating furiously back home to call Adam. They should be out of hockey practice too by now.
He rushed in the door, slipped off his blades, threw them aside, and bolted up the door in his socks.
Swinging open his door, he grabbed the phone off the hook and punched in Adam's dorm room phone number.
Charlie closed the door as the phone rang a few times. Just as Charlie was about to give up, someone picked up on the other line.
'Charlie?' he heard Adam say from the other end.
"Adam! Hey! How are you?" Charlie asked, grinning.
Adam smiled through the phone. None of them had heard from him since he left and they were getting worried.
'Great! How have you been? And what took you so long, huh?' Adam asked in an almost-scolding tone. But the lightness in his voice signified he wasn't angry.
Charlie could here other voices faintly on the other end of the phone with Adam.
"Sorry bud, it's been tough here. I wanted to call before but I didn't have the chance. Are the rest of the Ducks there?" Charlie asked Adam.
Adam nodded but then remembered Charlie couldn't see him. 'Yeah, they are. Want me to put it on speakerphone?' he asked.
"Sure! That would be great." Charlie replied enthusiastically. He had only been talking to Adam for a minute but he already felt better. Like everything was normal again.
He could hear the difference whenever Adam switched it to speakerphone. The voices got louder and he could understand them, for the most part, now.
"Hello Ducks!" Charlie said fondly through the telephone.
He heard the voices chorus 'Hey Charlie'. Adam had put them on speakerphone so everyone could talk at the same time.
He couldn't help but laugh. It reminded him of Charlie's Angels. He started cracking up and then he heard silence on the other end. He could practically feel the confusion emitting from them, through the phone, all the way from Minnesota.
'What's so funny, man?' he could hear Portman question.
It only made him laugh harder.
'Guys, I think Charlie's gone off the deep end...first day in Cake-Eater's- Ville and he's already lost it...' that one was Russ.
Charlie was nearly crying he was laughing so hard. The Ducks were very confused.
'Charlie? Care to share?' Julie asked.
Charlie finally managed to contain himself and stop laughing. "Sorry guys, it just reminded me of Charlie's Angels. You know how he goes 'Hello Angels' and they all go 'Hey Charlie!' heh...I think I'm okay now..." Charlie said, traces of laughter still in his voice.
They were silent for a minute before they crack up too.
This sent Charlie into hurdles of laughter again.
Eventually, someone managed to choke some speech back out.
'That...was funny, man...I don't think I've laughed like that in awhile...' Charlie heard Fulton say.
Soon enough, they were calm again. Banks struck conversation up again.
'So, how's life there?' he asked his friend.
"Do you REALLY wanna know?" Charlie asked, lying back onto his bed, his voice souring. He then stared at the ceiling again. His room needed color...it was so...bleak and boring...
'Yeah, that's why I asked.' Adam said jokingly.
Charlie laughed. "Very true. Well, it hasn't been too fun. I tried out for hockey and the guy knows who I am! It was weird."
'Watch and he's like your long-lost uncle or something and HE'S stalking you too!' Averman said, laughing.
"Watch it Les, you might jinx it! With my luck, he probably IS a long-lost- stalker-uncle. But no, seriously, he followed our playing during the Junior Goodwill Games and he's somewhat of a fan. He watched me play for ten minutes and automatically put me on Varsity. Now the JV team is out for my blood. Not to mention I'm not in good graces with these psycho people in my neighborhood that I met my first day. I also nearly got thrown in jail for being accused of stealing money from and old lady at the mall. I really didn't start off on a very good foot here..." Charlie replied into the phone.
'Wow...' Adam said into the phone.
'How did you manage to nearly get thrown in jail the first DAY?' Goldburg shouted.
'I envy you, Conway.' Portman said jokingly with a grin.
Charlie laughed. "Trust me, it wasn't fun. My dad pulled out the wrong bill when I asked him for some money for a CD. I tried to use it to buy the CD and the cashier claimed I stole it just because I didn't LOOK like it could be mine."
'Huh? How much WAS it?' Luis asked, confused as to why he would get in trouble for that.
"He pulled out a one hundred dollar bill for me to buy a FIFTEEN DOLLAR CD! And I nearly got thrown in jail for it! Numbskull..." he muttered, starting to rant about his father again.
'Whoa, Conway, did you say ONE HUNDRED dollar bill?!' Portman yelled into the speaker.
Charlie winced. "Yeah..."
'Wow...so Charlie's a Cake-Eater now! THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!' Averman said dramatically.
They all gave their own respective screaming. Well, Adam didn't. He was still in shock.
"Quiet guys! I am not!" he retorted to the rest of the Ducks.
'Yeah you are. But don' worry, we still love you!' Russ said, snickering.
'Leave him alone guys!' Charlie could hear Julie say.
Charlie rolled his eyes and smiled. He should have expected this from them.
'Don't worry, Charlie. It's not that big of a deal. Besides, I'll always be the resident Cake-Eater. Nothing you do could ever make it stop.' Adam said. Charlie could picture the blonde rolling his eyes and grinning.
"True, but now I can't call you Cake-Eater, Banksie! I think I'm gonna die!" Charlie said dramatically through the phone line.
'Sure you can, Charlie! Jus' cuz you a Cake-Eater now too don' mean you can't call Banksie one.' Russ said, laughing.
"Yeah, I guess." Charlie said, laughing too.
'So you got to make Varsity? Cool...' Connie said, bringing up the one thing they hadn't discussed yet.
"Yeah, but the JV team thinks I only made it because their coach is a Duck/Team USA fan. They gave me grief over it but hey, I'm not out to make friends with them so it doesn't matter." Charlie said, scowling slightly.
'Just ignore them, Charlie.' Fulton replied.
'Yeah, but you do need to make SOME friends eventually.' Guy said.
"Heh, I guess. It's just everyone here is so stuck-up...and Adam, I feel your pain." Charlie said into the phone as he continued staring at the ceiling.
'How so?' Banks asked.
"You know when you first walk in and everyone is just s-t-a-r-i-n-g at you? Yeah, they were doing that..." Charlie said into the phone, drawing out the word 'staring'.
'Man, I hate that...' Adam replied, sympathizing with him.
"Me too...and they're all just looking at you with really creepy 'DIE' looks on their faces? Yeah, it isn't fun." Charlie continued.
'No joke. It's not any fun at all...' Adam said back.
After that, he heard the door open and the scuttling of feet to get the door on the other end of the line. Charlie frowned. No one told him what was going on over there.
"Guys?" he asked as he heard them come back.
'Sorry man, Julie called Bombay on my cell and he's here to talk to you too.' Adam said, filling him in.
"Oh...okay...so Bombay is still there? Cool. I wish I were still there too. I hate it here..." Charlie said, reminiscing.
'Hey Charlie. Didn't really get to talk to you before you left. What exactly happened?' Charlie could hear Gordon Bombay ask.
Charlie sighed. "Okay, I'll start from the beginning because I don't know if the other Ducks have told you everything yet. It all started about a month ago when my dad showed up out of nowhere. It was nothing to big, he was just like stalking me and I guess trying to make me like him. He then disappeared for a while and I thought he had crawled back into the hole he's been residing in for the past ten years. Then suddenly my mom is killed in a random shooting, even though according to my theory, it wasn't random. My theory is that it was my dad; I just have nothing to go on to prove it. Anyway, the next day, my father suddenly requests full custody of me. You were there for that but I didn't really get to talk to you. But then he rushes with the funeral and ships me off to here without allowing me the chance to say goodbye." Charlie explained over the phone.
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. 'Well...that explains a lot. Now what's this about you thinking it's your dad?' Bombay questioned.
"Eh, it's just a theory. I haven't really defined whether it's out of pure hatred for him or whether I actually think he'd do it. It's probably just because I've gotten into the habit of blaming EVERYTHING on him because in MY world, everything IS his fault. So I guess that's not a whole lot to go on." Charlie said casually over the phone.
Before anyone on the other end of the phone could say anything, they were interrupted.
"CHARLIE! GET OFF THAT PHONE THIS INSTANT! IT'S LONG DISTANCE!" the whole group heard George Conway shout from down the hall.
Charlie put his hand over the speaker to muffle his yelling.
"C'mon! You owe me the privilege of making long distance phone calls! If you can pull out the stupid one hundred dollar bill for my CD, you can suffer the small dent in your wallet that it will cost for my phone calls!" Charlie shouted back.
"Don't you talk back to me, young man! When I say get off the phone, I mean GET OFF THE PHONE!" George shouted back with equal spite.
By this time, Charlie had completely forgotten about the Ducks and was in a full-fledged argument with his father.
"But dad, it's all I'm asking! Is it really SO MUCH TO ASK?! I just want to be able to talk to my friends that YOU TOOK ME AWAY FROM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!" Charlie yelled back, placing the phone on his bed as he stood up. It made it easier to be loud.
"Yes it is! Just make yourself some NEW FRIENDS! It isn't that hard!" George shot back, walking in the door.
"BUT I DON'T WANT NEW FRIENDS!" Charlie practically screamed.
"I DON'T CARE!!!! NOW HANG UP THAT PHONE!!!!" George retorted back, their voices loud enough for the Ducks to understand.
"You yell at me any louder and they'll hear you in China! Such a LOVING father you are!" Charlie yelled with spite.
"I don't care what you think right now, Charlie! Now hang up this phone this very instant!" the elder Conway yelled.
"NO!" Charlie protested.
George reached over and pulled the cord, hanging up the phone himself. "Yes." George said calmly before turning to leave the room.
Charlie was horrified.
"I was in the middle of a conversation! How can you just DO stuff like that?!" Charlie asked.
"It's a gift. Now if you are going to make any friends, you should probably dump that attitude. You don't appear to make good first impressions with it." George spat as he left the room.
Charlie practically growled. "I told you, I don't want any new friends!" Charlie said as he slammed the door closed, shutting out his father.
He let out an aggravated sigh and fell back onto his bed, popping his Evanescence CD into the CD player again. He put it on the seventh song and listened as the melody flowed over him and calm him down.
'paper flowers paper flowers
I linger in the doorway
of alarm clock screaming monsters calling my name
let me stay
where the wind will whisper to me
where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story
in my field of paper flowers
and candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
and watch my purple sky fly over me
don't say I'm out of touch
with this rampant chaos - your reality
I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge
the nightmare I built my own world to escape
in my field of paper flowers
and candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
and watch my purple sky fly over me
swallowed up in the sound of my screaming
cannot cease for the fear of silent nights
oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming
the goddess of imaginary light
in my field of paper flowers
and candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
and watch my purple sky fly over me
paper flowers paper flowers'
Charlie stared at the ceiling absently. He loved his CD...
Liz- Aw, poor Liz! Lol, thanks. I'm glad you liked it. *lets out sigh of relief* Good...you aren't going far. Far equals BAD! ^_^ *hugs* Love ya lots, big-sis-like-figure! ^_^
Sophie/Spikey- Lol. *pats Sophie's head* Don't stress your brain on the grasshopper thing. ^_^ It's just one of those things I say. And yes, you do learn something new every day! ^_^ Wha? No fair! I want two weeks off! *cries* THE UNFAIRNESS OF THE WORLD!!!! Well cool. I watched the TV version of D1 on Saturday...o.O...they leave out SO MUCH it sickens me...o.O They left out the magazine scene and the roller-blading-through-the-mall scene. Lots of other stuff too...it was depressing. Yay! You're updating Love and Hate! *does happy dance* Yippee! Yes, BREAK THE RULES! BE A REBEL! ^_^ Lol, I don't THINK they do...o.O...I hope not. If they do, I want you to stick around so don't get yourself kicked off. ^_^ *hugs* Enjoy your lunch! ^_^
Chronicles Bailey- *grins and pats CB's head* Thank you! ^_^ Lol.
Death to all rubix cubes- Thanks!
Chelsea- Lol...As always, you had an interesting and inspiring review. ^_^ Lol, you'll just have to see what happens! *suspenseful music* Heh, yes. Public displays of affection can be sickening. Luckily, none of my friends are dating each other so I am not subjected to such torture...yet....Lol, I'm glad you don't' have a clue. ^_^ Then it'll surprise ya even more! And one of these days Bombay'll show his face again. But you must be patient...dun dun dun...
Nellie- Lol, yeah. He is...kinda...but don't worry too much, he may settle in but the torture has only just begun...and the Ducks will come back...some day...whenever I feel like it... ^_^ Thanks.
Adriana- Thanks! Ooo I prevented a blowup? Wow. Cool. ^_^ Lol, Charlie will keep that in mind. *pats Charlie's head*
Kate- *marvels at sheer long-ness of review* Wooooow...*gets all glassy eyed* *snaps out of it* Yeah, doing projects alone isn't fun...grr...heh, you SHOULD BE PROUD! ^_^ A distraction from Geography is always a happy thing. *blinks confused-ly* (don't argue with my word! ^_^) Wow, um...yeah...o.O Of course I know what you're talking about. *squeals excitedly as a "Chalrie-Angst-Lovin'-Club" sign, t-shirt, and coffee mug are handed over* YIPPEE SKIPPEE! *does little happy dance, screaming like a crazy person* EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! ^_^ Yay. *is floored with praise* Yay! ^_^ yes, I agree. Finding MD fans over the age of 12 is becoming increasingly difficult for me...o.O...well, other than fellow FF.Net peeps...yes, you should move to Texas! Lol. ^_^ Nope, no MSN. Besides, my parents are strict on no IM with peeps I don't "know." For all I know you're some crazy staler out to kill me. *nods* it's true. Anyway, no one has the MD movies?! You poor deprived girl! I feel so sorry for you. I just watched them all yesterday and today. ^_^ Lol, that's funny. Only remembering the punch line. ^_^ *laughs to humor you* ^_^ Mine are protective too. Oh, you should look forward to angsty-goodness. It IS coming. I'm not positive HOW LONG it'll take chapter-wise but I know what I wanna do and how I'll do it. All you gotta do is wait. ^^ Oh, I DID have to go into deep, developed meditation to come up with "Sam the Policeman" and "Bob the Cashier." You just don't even know. ^_^ Lol, yeah, George is a dumb idiot. *grins as happy-bubble is restored* YAY! *smiles until Reality Police kick us out* Aww...meanies...YAY! LONG REVIEW! FUN! Lol...Charlie-poo...*giggles and chokes on bottled water* sorry 'bout that. Lol...yeah, we're just flattering the guy. ^_^ He doesn't get enough ego-boosting. ^_^ Lol. Oh, I'm sure Charlie would LOVE roller blading from Montana to Minnesota! Don't you? ^_^ Lol...yes, the coaches are decent human beings. SOMEONE had to be nice. ^_^ *starts giggling insanely at the mention of small fluffy dogs in relation to Charlie*...*calms down slightly* I think I'm okay now...I hope you like the chapter. ^_^ And thanks for reviewin'! Twice! ^_^
DodgerMcClure.aka.Drama-Queen- Lol, just wait and see. ^_^ A Duck story just wouldn't be a Duck story without jerks like the Hawks. ^_^ Thanks! ^_^
Anne918- Thanks! And I'm glad you liked the coach's being Duck fans! ^_^ Thanks for reviewin'! ^_^
Disclaimer- Yes, even after 15 chapters, I still do not own the Mighty Ducks. I also don't own "Evanescence" or any of their songs that I use.
-Chapter 16-
Charlie walked into the locker room to get changed back into his clothes. He had worn his white Eden Hall Mighty Ducks jersey to practice because the green one wouldn't fit over his gear anymore. Imagine that...
Everyone in the locker room was staring him down as he walked in. It kind of reminded him of when Adam had to walk in when they were in peewees. It wasn't a great feeling. He was started to get a taste of what Banks had felt. Well, sort of.
As he set his stuff down on a bench, they were all still staring at him. He let out a sigh and looked at them. "What?"
The guy with a "C" on his jersey signifying himself as captain stepped forward.
"Jim here said you get to be on Varsity." He said, pointing to a smaller boy next to him. The kid was glaring at him.
Charlie sighed. "Yeah, so?"
"My name is Evan Steele. I'm this team's Captain. Jim says you made it on varsity. You only made it on because our coach happened to be impressed at your status on Team USA; you know that right?" The Captain said snottily.
Charlie raised his eyebrows. "Well, Evan...I'm sorry to hear that." He replied, not really sure of the best way to answer.
The Homework Kid stepped forward and took in a breath. "Evan? I saw him play and I thought he really was good. Could it be possible that he does have some talent and so he got put on the higher team?" the kid replied timidly. Charlie was surprised that someone was ACTUALLY sticking up for him.
"What did you just say Ricketts?" Steele said as he turned to the smaller boy.
"I-uh..." the boy said back.
"Leave Brice alone." A girl said. Charlie noticed there was only one girl. She was a fiery redhead and was the one who stuck up for Homework Kid a.k.a. Brice Ricketts.
"Don't tell me what to do, Sanders." He replied saucily to the girl.
She glared at him. "Calm down, Evan. It isn't that big of a deal. If the guy can play on Team USA, I would have to say he's at least a half-decent player. So just trust coach's decision and leave it alone."
"But Evan's right, Halley." One of the other guys said, agreeing with their Captain.
Charlie just put up his stuff and disappeared into the showers to leave the team to their arguing. He wasn't going to play with them anyway, so why bother?
"Hey, where'd he go?" one of the other guys said, blinking.
"Who cares?" Steele said as he rolled his eyes and got his stuff ready to leave.
Everyone but Halley and Brice agreed with him.
Charlie had managed to sneak past them again on his way out. He had no intention of associating with them. They didn't like him anyway. Not that he was going to hang with Varsity either. He would prefer keeping to himself until he could figure out a way to get back home to Minnesota.
He had of course put his roller blades back on and get was skating furiously back home to call Adam. They should be out of hockey practice too by now.
He rushed in the door, slipped off his blades, threw them aside, and bolted up the door in his socks.
Swinging open his door, he grabbed the phone off the hook and punched in Adam's dorm room phone number.
Charlie closed the door as the phone rang a few times. Just as Charlie was about to give up, someone picked up on the other line.
'Charlie?' he heard Adam say from the other end.
"Adam! Hey! How are you?" Charlie asked, grinning.
Adam smiled through the phone. None of them had heard from him since he left and they were getting worried.
'Great! How have you been? And what took you so long, huh?' Adam asked in an almost-scolding tone. But the lightness in his voice signified he wasn't angry.
Charlie could here other voices faintly on the other end of the phone with Adam.
"Sorry bud, it's been tough here. I wanted to call before but I didn't have the chance. Are the rest of the Ducks there?" Charlie asked Adam.
Adam nodded but then remembered Charlie couldn't see him. 'Yeah, they are. Want me to put it on speakerphone?' he asked.
"Sure! That would be great." Charlie replied enthusiastically. He had only been talking to Adam for a minute but he already felt better. Like everything was normal again.
He could hear the difference whenever Adam switched it to speakerphone. The voices got louder and he could understand them, for the most part, now.
"Hello Ducks!" Charlie said fondly through the telephone.
He heard the voices chorus 'Hey Charlie'. Adam had put them on speakerphone so everyone could talk at the same time.
He couldn't help but laugh. It reminded him of Charlie's Angels. He started cracking up and then he heard silence on the other end. He could practically feel the confusion emitting from them, through the phone, all the way from Minnesota.
'What's so funny, man?' he could hear Portman question.
It only made him laugh harder.
'Guys, I think Charlie's gone off the deep end...first day in Cake-Eater's- Ville and he's already lost it...' that one was Russ.
Charlie was nearly crying he was laughing so hard. The Ducks were very confused.
'Charlie? Care to share?' Julie asked.
Charlie finally managed to contain himself and stop laughing. "Sorry guys, it just reminded me of Charlie's Angels. You know how he goes 'Hello Angels' and they all go 'Hey Charlie!' heh...I think I'm okay now..." Charlie said, traces of laughter still in his voice.
They were silent for a minute before they crack up too.
This sent Charlie into hurdles of laughter again.
Eventually, someone managed to choke some speech back out.
'That...was funny, man...I don't think I've laughed like that in awhile...' Charlie heard Fulton say.
Soon enough, they were calm again. Banks struck conversation up again.
'So, how's life there?' he asked his friend.
"Do you REALLY wanna know?" Charlie asked, lying back onto his bed, his voice souring. He then stared at the ceiling again. His room needed color...it was so...bleak and boring...
'Yeah, that's why I asked.' Adam said jokingly.
Charlie laughed. "Very true. Well, it hasn't been too fun. I tried out for hockey and the guy knows who I am! It was weird."
'Watch and he's like your long-lost uncle or something and HE'S stalking you too!' Averman said, laughing.
"Watch it Les, you might jinx it! With my luck, he probably IS a long-lost- stalker-uncle. But no, seriously, he followed our playing during the Junior Goodwill Games and he's somewhat of a fan. He watched me play for ten minutes and automatically put me on Varsity. Now the JV team is out for my blood. Not to mention I'm not in good graces with these psycho people in my neighborhood that I met my first day. I also nearly got thrown in jail for being accused of stealing money from and old lady at the mall. I really didn't start off on a very good foot here..." Charlie replied into the phone.
'Wow...' Adam said into the phone.
'How did you manage to nearly get thrown in jail the first DAY?' Goldburg shouted.
'I envy you, Conway.' Portman said jokingly with a grin.
Charlie laughed. "Trust me, it wasn't fun. My dad pulled out the wrong bill when I asked him for some money for a CD. I tried to use it to buy the CD and the cashier claimed I stole it just because I didn't LOOK like it could be mine."
'Huh? How much WAS it?' Luis asked, confused as to why he would get in trouble for that.
"He pulled out a one hundred dollar bill for me to buy a FIFTEEN DOLLAR CD! And I nearly got thrown in jail for it! Numbskull..." he muttered, starting to rant about his father again.
'Whoa, Conway, did you say ONE HUNDRED dollar bill?!' Portman yelled into the speaker.
Charlie winced. "Yeah..."
'Wow...so Charlie's a Cake-Eater now! THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!' Averman said dramatically.
They all gave their own respective screaming. Well, Adam didn't. He was still in shock.
"Quiet guys! I am not!" he retorted to the rest of the Ducks.
'Yeah you are. But don' worry, we still love you!' Russ said, snickering.
'Leave him alone guys!' Charlie could hear Julie say.
Charlie rolled his eyes and smiled. He should have expected this from them.
'Don't worry, Charlie. It's not that big of a deal. Besides, I'll always be the resident Cake-Eater. Nothing you do could ever make it stop.' Adam said. Charlie could picture the blonde rolling his eyes and grinning.
"True, but now I can't call you Cake-Eater, Banksie! I think I'm gonna die!" Charlie said dramatically through the phone line.
'Sure you can, Charlie! Jus' cuz you a Cake-Eater now too don' mean you can't call Banksie one.' Russ said, laughing.
"Yeah, I guess." Charlie said, laughing too.
'So you got to make Varsity? Cool...' Connie said, bringing up the one thing they hadn't discussed yet.
"Yeah, but the JV team thinks I only made it because their coach is a Duck/Team USA fan. They gave me grief over it but hey, I'm not out to make friends with them so it doesn't matter." Charlie said, scowling slightly.
'Just ignore them, Charlie.' Fulton replied.
'Yeah, but you do need to make SOME friends eventually.' Guy said.
"Heh, I guess. It's just everyone here is so stuck-up...and Adam, I feel your pain." Charlie said into the phone as he continued staring at the ceiling.
'How so?' Banks asked.
"You know when you first walk in and everyone is just s-t-a-r-i-n-g at you? Yeah, they were doing that..." Charlie said into the phone, drawing out the word 'staring'.
'Man, I hate that...' Adam replied, sympathizing with him.
"Me too...and they're all just looking at you with really creepy 'DIE' looks on their faces? Yeah, it isn't fun." Charlie continued.
'No joke. It's not any fun at all...' Adam said back.
After that, he heard the door open and the scuttling of feet to get the door on the other end of the line. Charlie frowned. No one told him what was going on over there.
"Guys?" he asked as he heard them come back.
'Sorry man, Julie called Bombay on my cell and he's here to talk to you too.' Adam said, filling him in.
"Oh...okay...so Bombay is still there? Cool. I wish I were still there too. I hate it here..." Charlie said, reminiscing.
'Hey Charlie. Didn't really get to talk to you before you left. What exactly happened?' Charlie could hear Gordon Bombay ask.
Charlie sighed. "Okay, I'll start from the beginning because I don't know if the other Ducks have told you everything yet. It all started about a month ago when my dad showed up out of nowhere. It was nothing to big, he was just like stalking me and I guess trying to make me like him. He then disappeared for a while and I thought he had crawled back into the hole he's been residing in for the past ten years. Then suddenly my mom is killed in a random shooting, even though according to my theory, it wasn't random. My theory is that it was my dad; I just have nothing to go on to prove it. Anyway, the next day, my father suddenly requests full custody of me. You were there for that but I didn't really get to talk to you. But then he rushes with the funeral and ships me off to here without allowing me the chance to say goodbye." Charlie explained over the phone.
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. 'Well...that explains a lot. Now what's this about you thinking it's your dad?' Bombay questioned.
"Eh, it's just a theory. I haven't really defined whether it's out of pure hatred for him or whether I actually think he'd do it. It's probably just because I've gotten into the habit of blaming EVERYTHING on him because in MY world, everything IS his fault. So I guess that's not a whole lot to go on." Charlie said casually over the phone.
Before anyone on the other end of the phone could say anything, they were interrupted.
"CHARLIE! GET OFF THAT PHONE THIS INSTANT! IT'S LONG DISTANCE!" the whole group heard George Conway shout from down the hall.
Charlie put his hand over the speaker to muffle his yelling.
"C'mon! You owe me the privilege of making long distance phone calls! If you can pull out the stupid one hundred dollar bill for my CD, you can suffer the small dent in your wallet that it will cost for my phone calls!" Charlie shouted back.
"Don't you talk back to me, young man! When I say get off the phone, I mean GET OFF THE PHONE!" George shouted back with equal spite.
By this time, Charlie had completely forgotten about the Ducks and was in a full-fledged argument with his father.
"But dad, it's all I'm asking! Is it really SO MUCH TO ASK?! I just want to be able to talk to my friends that YOU TOOK ME AWAY FROM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!" Charlie yelled back, placing the phone on his bed as he stood up. It made it easier to be loud.
"Yes it is! Just make yourself some NEW FRIENDS! It isn't that hard!" George shot back, walking in the door.
"BUT I DON'T WANT NEW FRIENDS!" Charlie practically screamed.
"I DON'T CARE!!!! NOW HANG UP THAT PHONE!!!!" George retorted back, their voices loud enough for the Ducks to understand.
"You yell at me any louder and they'll hear you in China! Such a LOVING father you are!" Charlie yelled with spite.
"I don't care what you think right now, Charlie! Now hang up this phone this very instant!" the elder Conway yelled.
"NO!" Charlie protested.
George reached over and pulled the cord, hanging up the phone himself. "Yes." George said calmly before turning to leave the room.
Charlie was horrified.
"I was in the middle of a conversation! How can you just DO stuff like that?!" Charlie asked.
"It's a gift. Now if you are going to make any friends, you should probably dump that attitude. You don't appear to make good first impressions with it." George spat as he left the room.
Charlie practically growled. "I told you, I don't want any new friends!" Charlie said as he slammed the door closed, shutting out his father.
He let out an aggravated sigh and fell back onto his bed, popping his Evanescence CD into the CD player again. He put it on the seventh song and listened as the melody flowed over him and calm him down.
'paper flowers paper flowers
I linger in the doorway
of alarm clock screaming monsters calling my name
let me stay
where the wind will whisper to me
where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story
in my field of paper flowers
and candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
and watch my purple sky fly over me
don't say I'm out of touch
with this rampant chaos - your reality
I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge
the nightmare I built my own world to escape
in my field of paper flowers
and candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
and watch my purple sky fly over me
swallowed up in the sound of my screaming
cannot cease for the fear of silent nights
oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming
the goddess of imaginary light
in my field of paper flowers
and candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
and watch my purple sky fly over me
paper flowers paper flowers'
Charlie stared at the ceiling absently. He loved his CD...
