And…the usual disclaimer: Disney owns the Mighty Ducks. The name, the characters, Orion, the Varsity players, and Linda are not mine. However, I do own any characters you don't recognize…i.e. Ken's parents, Ken's grandfather, Elaine, Brian, Sky, Tony, Sonja, etc.
"I can't believe spring break is already next week!" Connie exclaimed at lunch on the Wednesday before Eden Hall's spring break. The rest of the Ducks nodded excitedly, as they all had plans of some sort. All the out of state Ducks were going home for the week, Connie was going to Maine with Julie, and the other Minnesota Ducks had a whole week planned of sleeping, slacking and not much else.
Ken agreed with Connie; he couldn't believe it was the middle of March already. Despite how crazy the semester had been so far, it had gone quickly and the Ducks only had just over two more months left of their freshman year. Ken, Adam, Guy, Averman, Connie and Julie had finally gotten used to their Honors classes…sort of. But they weren't sure they were looking forward to the next year, when their real AP courses began. Orion had been running them ragged at practice as usual, but the Ducks were improving; everyone noticed it. Even Coach Wilson, who had begun attending some of their practices had commented on it. Which made the Ducks slightly nervous. They knew that several members of the Varsity team were seniors, which meant that there would be open spots on the Varsity team next year, which was why Wilson had been watching their practices. Ken wasn't too nervous; he knew he would most likely be placed on JV again and was fine with that, he wasn't sure he was good enough to play at the Varsity level just yet. Adam and Charlie were the most stressed about the idea; Charlie because he had done his share of mouthing off to just about every faculty member during his first few weeks at school and was worried that would affect him getting onto the team, and Adam, well, Adam stressed about hockey no matter what was going on. The rest of the Ducks knew Adam was guaranteed a spot on the team; it was the other spots that were uncertain.
But Russ, who was in the same spot as Ken and would most likely be on JV another year, had made fun of and mocked them enough so they stopped complaining out loud. Or at least to Russ and Ken. They didn't really have to worry about next year's teams until the end of school this year. And Ken wasn't too concerned about that just yet. He was looking forward to spring break. Ken and his grandfather were flying to San Francisco for the week and he was looking forward to spending some time with his parents.
Fortunately for Ken and the rest of the Ducks, the end of the week found them quickly. Orion let them have Friday afternoon off from practice, so after school, Ken quickly packed while Adam kept him company. Julie and Connie were packing for their trip to Maine, and Russ, Dwayne, Luis and Portman were packing to go home as well.
"So what exactly are you guys going to spend your break doing?" Ken asked, as he shoved several pairs of jeans into his suitcase.
Adam sighed. "They've got it all planned out." He said, shaking his head. "Nearly two hundred hours of sleeping, eating, and hanging around Charlie's watching movies."
"Sounds like fun." Ken observed.
Adam shrugged. "They're gonna drive me nuts if they think I'll be there everyday. A day or two of that is fine, but I'd rather spend my break…"
"Playing hockey?" Ken suggested with a grin.
Adam grinned sheepishly. "I like being productive…"
Ken laughed, but he understood. While he was going home for break, he counted on spending a couple of hours on the ice each day.
Two hours later, Ken and his grandfather were boarding their flight to San Francisco. As Ken settled into his seat, he tried to keep a grin off his face. It was good to be going home, if only for a bit. Ken's grandfather noticed and laughed lightly.
"I am excited myself." He said. "I have not been to San Francisco in many years."
Ken grinned back and pulled his worn copy of 1984 and a notebook. The faculty at Eden Hall didn't believe in the concept of spring break judging by the amount of homework they had assigned. But the sooner he got it done, the more time Ken would have to enjoy his break.