A/N: To my lovely reviewer:
[Hotashell99]: Thank you. I'm having a little trouble with time management, but here's chapter two. Sorry it's so short, and for the cliffhanger. I'll try to update more, but it may be a day or two. Finals are coming up. So please don't hate me if my updating speed kind of...dies.
"Teams and Dreams"
A new bed, a new house, and she couldn't hear anything. At home, Leon's snores and Justin talking in his sleep used to put her to sleep, oddly enough. Now, there was nothing but silence. She was exhausted and she couldn't sleep.
She rolled over and found the fat pillow that she'd tossed down to the end of the bed earlier. She hugged it to her chest and sighed, feeling slightly better.
Maurae had her stick in her hand and was skating fast around the rink, wishing she was home. The only person she knew was Adam, and that was only because she was living at his house until they left for California. She sighed. Two months would go by slowly, despite the quick friendship she'd formed upon meeting her host and his family. That was two days ago.
He was going to introduce her to his friends tomorrow, after he finished school. She sighed and sat down on the ice, leaning against the boards. She hated changes, and as excited as she was to play for Team USA, she didn't know if she could handle half a year away from her family.
"Why so glum, chum?" asked a familiar voice, with that familiar expression. She looked up to find her older brother looking down at her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Somebody thinks you need encouragement, princess. Remember, you can do this. Mom would never have tried to convince Dad to let you go if she didn't think you can handle it. Believe it, sweetheart."
"But how are you here?"
"You're dreaming, silly."
She was smiling in her sleep, and Adam was loath to shake her awake. He knew she hadn't been sleeping well, and he didn't want to disturb her, but it was almost ten.
He was saved from making a decision when she blinked at him. "Good morning," she said, sitting up, still hugging the pillow.
"Morning. Come on. I was going to take you to the rink today, remember?" He smiled and left the room to let her get dressed. She got up and threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt. Then she expertly made her bed, more out of habit than anything else, and ran downstairs with socks in hand. As she'd been instructed, she'd brought both her ice skates and her roller blades. She put her tennis shoes in her messenger bag, and pulled on her socks and blades, followed by pads. Adam was already skating circles on the driveway, waiting for her. She raced out the door.
"Where are we going?"
"A little street court downtown. My friends are going to meet us there. Come on." He skated off with her following slightly to one side. They made good time, racing each other to the ends of streets, turning in sync. It only took them about a half hour to reach the rink Adam wanted. It was crowded by twelve others that Adam seemed to know. Maurae remembered that five of the original thirteen Ducks wouldn't be playing for Team USA, making room for it to really be Team USA instead of just Team Minnesota. "Come on, Maurae, they won't hurt you." Then she realized that she'd stayed outside the chain link fence, staring, while Adam had gone in and greeted his friends.
"You're late, cake-eater," commented the black boy she recognized as Jesse Hall from the literature she'd been given.
"Had to wait for her to wake up," Adam replied, indicating Maurae with his thumb. "Get in here!"
She obeyed, stopping just shy of the court itself. "Are you any good?" asked a mop-headed brunette she thought was either Charlie Conway or Guy Germaine.
"You might say that," she replied, a smile forming on her face. Adam was already grinning. "You want to help me out, here, Adam?" she asked.
"Nah. These skeptics don't believe it until they see it," he replied, eyes sparkling. She shook her head at him and skated a little bit forward.
"I was the best on my team back home," she said, shrugging, slightly embarrassed.
"Right. Well, let's see what you've got, newbie," Charlie said. She was now positive that the brunet was indeed the Ducks' captain. Maurae lifted an eyebrow and acquired a somewhat feral grin.
"Bring it on, Captain Duck," she retorted. She shucked her bag to the side of the court and gripped her stick in padded palms. Adam was backing up, grinning at his teammate, thinking the boy was about to get what was coming to him. Sure enough, Maurae easily captured the faceoff and proceeded to dance around most of the team to score, completely unassisted.
Jesse stared, Charlie gaped. Connie, the only other girl, clapped her on the shoulder with a friendly smile. And Adam only smiled smugly. "So, did I pass inspection?" she teased. "Or was it initiation," she added, smirking. Charlie grinned sheepishly and held out his hand.
"Charlie Conway."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Maurae."
"No last name?"
"You don't want my last name, believe me." She smiled and introduced herself to the whole team. Names and faces flashed in front of her, and she struggled to remember every one. Connie was easy, as the only girl. Jesse was the only black kid, she was living with Adam, and Fulton was the biggest, towering over her 4'10". Les Averman was the only redhead, Greg Goldberg was the chubby one, and Guy Germaine was the pale blond boy with a shy smile and a severe attraction to Connie.
She quickly forgot most of the other names, except for the notable exception of Terry Hall, Jesse's younger brother. It was an interesting first team meeting, and Maurae found herself relaxing and enjoying Minnesota for the first time. The fourteen of them divided up to play a friendly game; she and Adam were not allowed to be on the same side. In fact, Maurae was placed with the five she wouldn't have to remember and Goldberg.
They won anyway, by two. Maurae and Adam left the rink at almost five, waving goodbye to the others with huge smiles on their faces. They took a more leisurely pace back to Adam's house, and arrived at nearly six, shucking their skates by the front door.
"Mom, we're home!" Adam shouted before turning back to her. "So, how did you like them?"
"Interesting and diverse, is all I can say," she replied. "But I really think that we'll do well as a team, if the rest of the newbies, I suppose you could call us, are amenable to the diversity."
"You use a lot of big words for a twelve year-old," Adam commented as they went into the kitchen.
"I've been in spelling bees since the first grade. I had to practically swallow the dictionary to keep up with my brother," she replied. "Besides, I like big words."
"Whatever. Mom left us a note. She and Dad went to an HOA meeting, and Daniel's at a friend's house. We have the kitchen and the food to ourselves. Movie?"
"Movie," she agreed.
[Hotashell99]: Thank you. I'm having a little trouble with time management, but here's chapter two. Sorry it's so short, and for the cliffhanger. I'll try to update more, but it may be a day or two. Finals are coming up. So please don't hate me if my updating speed kind of...dies.
"Teams and Dreams"
A new bed, a new house, and she couldn't hear anything. At home, Leon's snores and Justin talking in his sleep used to put her to sleep, oddly enough. Now, there was nothing but silence. She was exhausted and she couldn't sleep.
She rolled over and found the fat pillow that she'd tossed down to the end of the bed earlier. She hugged it to her chest and sighed, feeling slightly better.
Maurae had her stick in her hand and was skating fast around the rink, wishing she was home. The only person she knew was Adam, and that was only because she was living at his house until they left for California. She sighed. Two months would go by slowly, despite the quick friendship she'd formed upon meeting her host and his family. That was two days ago.
He was going to introduce her to his friends tomorrow, after he finished school. She sighed and sat down on the ice, leaning against the boards. She hated changes, and as excited as she was to play for Team USA, she didn't know if she could handle half a year away from her family.
"Why so glum, chum?" asked a familiar voice, with that familiar expression. She looked up to find her older brother looking down at her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Somebody thinks you need encouragement, princess. Remember, you can do this. Mom would never have tried to convince Dad to let you go if she didn't think you can handle it. Believe it, sweetheart."
"But how are you here?"
"You're dreaming, silly."
She was smiling in her sleep, and Adam was loath to shake her awake. He knew she hadn't been sleeping well, and he didn't want to disturb her, but it was almost ten.
He was saved from making a decision when she blinked at him. "Good morning," she said, sitting up, still hugging the pillow.
"Morning. Come on. I was going to take you to the rink today, remember?" He smiled and left the room to let her get dressed. She got up and threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt. Then she expertly made her bed, more out of habit than anything else, and ran downstairs with socks in hand. As she'd been instructed, she'd brought both her ice skates and her roller blades. She put her tennis shoes in her messenger bag, and pulled on her socks and blades, followed by pads. Adam was already skating circles on the driveway, waiting for her. She raced out the door.
"Where are we going?"
"A little street court downtown. My friends are going to meet us there. Come on." He skated off with her following slightly to one side. They made good time, racing each other to the ends of streets, turning in sync. It only took them about a half hour to reach the rink Adam wanted. It was crowded by twelve others that Adam seemed to know. Maurae remembered that five of the original thirteen Ducks wouldn't be playing for Team USA, making room for it to really be Team USA instead of just Team Minnesota. "Come on, Maurae, they won't hurt you." Then she realized that she'd stayed outside the chain link fence, staring, while Adam had gone in and greeted his friends.
"You're late, cake-eater," commented the black boy she recognized as Jesse Hall from the literature she'd been given.
"Had to wait for her to wake up," Adam replied, indicating Maurae with his thumb. "Get in here!"
She obeyed, stopping just shy of the court itself. "Are you any good?" asked a mop-headed brunette she thought was either Charlie Conway or Guy Germaine.
"You might say that," she replied, a smile forming on her face. Adam was already grinning. "You want to help me out, here, Adam?" she asked.
"Nah. These skeptics don't believe it until they see it," he replied, eyes sparkling. She shook her head at him and skated a little bit forward.
"I was the best on my team back home," she said, shrugging, slightly embarrassed.
"Right. Well, let's see what you've got, newbie," Charlie said. She was now positive that the brunet was indeed the Ducks' captain. Maurae lifted an eyebrow and acquired a somewhat feral grin.
"Bring it on, Captain Duck," she retorted. She shucked her bag to the side of the court and gripped her stick in padded palms. Adam was backing up, grinning at his teammate, thinking the boy was about to get what was coming to him. Sure enough, Maurae easily captured the faceoff and proceeded to dance around most of the team to score, completely unassisted.
Jesse stared, Charlie gaped. Connie, the only other girl, clapped her on the shoulder with a friendly smile. And Adam only smiled smugly. "So, did I pass inspection?" she teased. "Or was it initiation," she added, smirking. Charlie grinned sheepishly and held out his hand.
"Charlie Conway."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Maurae."
"No last name?"
"You don't want my last name, believe me." She smiled and introduced herself to the whole team. Names and faces flashed in front of her, and she struggled to remember every one. Connie was easy, as the only girl. Jesse was the only black kid, she was living with Adam, and Fulton was the biggest, towering over her 4'10". Les Averman was the only redhead, Greg Goldberg was the chubby one, and Guy Germaine was the pale blond boy with a shy smile and a severe attraction to Connie.
She quickly forgot most of the other names, except for the notable exception of Terry Hall, Jesse's younger brother. It was an interesting first team meeting, and Maurae found herself relaxing and enjoying Minnesota for the first time. The fourteen of them divided up to play a friendly game; she and Adam were not allowed to be on the same side. In fact, Maurae was placed with the five she wouldn't have to remember and Goldberg.
They won anyway, by two. Maurae and Adam left the rink at almost five, waving goodbye to the others with huge smiles on their faces. They took a more leisurely pace back to Adam's house, and arrived at nearly six, shucking their skates by the front door.
"Mom, we're home!" Adam shouted before turning back to her. "So, how did you like them?"
"Interesting and diverse, is all I can say," she replied. "But I really think that we'll do well as a team, if the rest of the newbies, I suppose you could call us, are amenable to the diversity."
"You use a lot of big words for a twelve year-old," Adam commented as they went into the kitchen.
"I've been in spelling bees since the first grade. I had to practically swallow the dictionary to keep up with my brother," she replied. "Besides, I like big words."
"Whatever. Mom left us a note. She and Dad went to an HOA meeting, and Daniel's at a friend's house. We have the kitchen and the food to ourselves. Movie?"
"Movie," she agreed.