"Thoughts..."
Dean Portman watched her, respect mixing with awe, and a little annoyance. The girl was good, that much was obvious. But she was a little priss, and something of a coach's pet. He shook his head. Whatever, everyone seemed to like her. And she was good...
Adam grinned as she scored again, even though his team was now losing by three. She was like a ballerina on skates the way she danced around them all smoothly to score again and again. He was glad she was on his team, and even more glad he'd decided to open up to her, to let her be his friend...
Gordon Bombay watched in undisguised amazement as the small girl managed to score a fifth time, getting past some of his stars as if they weren't there. Don hadn't been kidding when he'd said she was amazing. The girl could fly, and she was practical. He mused on the ay she'd halted the fight earlier. She had some surprises, and she wasn't intimidated by boys or by size, or even by fierce glares. That was good. She also seemed to have a cool head and a slow temper, if she even had one at all. He smiled; she would be a good addition to the team. Half of them seemed to like her a lot already, and the other half was clearly awed at her speed and skill...
Connie watched her in surprise. Despite all the play games they'd had in the weeks previous, it continued to awe and surprise her that Maurae could really be that good. She seemed totally devoted to the game in a way that even Adam couldn't match, and that was different. With Connie, hockey was just something she did, and she was surprised to find a girl whose whole life seemed to be about hockey...
Julie, too, was shocked and amazed. Maurae was lighting on skates, never long in one spot, never pulling the same move on the same person twice (yet). She was glad that the other two girls on the team were so good at scoring and defense; she couldn't handle competition for the goalie spot...
Jesse Hall had decided the moment Adam had introduced her that he wanted to be friends with her. Past the stage where girls were evil and had cooties, he was, in fact, quite interested in getting to know her better. She was pretty, and funny, and extremely talented in the hockey playing department. According to Adam, she was also really smart and well-mannered. And Jesse wanted to be her friend for longer than the six months of the Games, after she went back to her league team in Colorado...
Charlie Conway mentally shook his head. He wished Adam and Jesse, his two best friends, would quit staring at her and get with it. Sure, she had skill, but...but she was a girl. 'Yeah, great excuse, Conway,' he thought to himself. 'We can't be her friend because she's a girl. Connie would kick your butt if she could read your mind.' So he was glad that Connie couldn't read minds, but that meant he was slightly distracted and unprepared for her to check him into the boards and steal the puck from him with a small smile on her lips. She was good, probably noticing his distraction and taking advantage of it...
Maurae was incredibly happy with her placement on the team. She was friendly by nature, and optimistic. And she felt good here, despite being so far from home. The hockey rink was where she felt comfortable, no matter which state it was in. And her new team was a group of good people, despite their hot tempers. She hoped that she could be friends with them all even after the Games were done and each had gone home to their own leagues...
**********************************************************
A/N: I know I skipped a bit, the whole scene with Miss McKay, and Don getting hit with the puck, and the lovely zamboni crash and all. I know you remember them, but 'Maurae' wasn't really involved in the zamboni incident, and the puck incident was great in and of itself, not something I want to mess with. She makes reference to them later in the chapter, talking to Adam about their first official practice.
"...and Words"
After practice, they'd moved into the same locker room. The atmosphere was much more relaxed and amicable than it had been earlier, now that they knew each other a bit better.
The three girls had their lockers together near the rear of the room, in full view of the showers. Julie and Connie had dragged Maurae into the showers to change instead of letting her change in the room with the guys watching, as she normally would have. Not used to girl chatter, Maurae listened to their conversation and answered questions about herself, showering in her bodysuit and wrapping a towel around her chest afterwards. Once the boys went into the showers, the three girls could change without ogling eyes.
That was how Julie and Connie discovered her aptitude for changing behind a towel. The saw no more than her legs and head the whole time, and she came out completely dressed, wrapping the towel around her hair to soak up moisture.
She was tying her shoes when the boys started to trickle out of the shower, towels wrapped around their waists. Ignoring them completely, per her habits, Maurae tuned back into the conversation Julie and Connie were having. Of all crazy things, they were talking about Star Wars, an obsession.
"I heard there's going to be a new one soon," Julie was saying.
"A new trilogy," Maurae said.
"Really? My brother told me that George Lucas is going to make just the one."
"A new trilogy that provides the back story of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader."
"How do you know?" This was Dean. In answer, she pulled a magazine out of her hockey bag.
"I'm a member of the Star Wars fan club and I have a subscription to Star Wars Insider magazine," she said. "Have been for years."
"Oh. Hey, does it tell you the cast and stuff?"
"Yes. Cast, crew, pictures, stories. All sorts of fun stuff." She put it away and turned back to Julie, her face slightly heated from having seen so many towel-covered bodies. "My brother and I were planning on going to see it on opening night. It's called The Phantom Menace."
"Cool. Hey, Julie's staying with me, so you should come over sometime, to hang out."
"We're going to be living together in the dorms for four months, Connie," Maurae pointed out. "I think you'll get sick of me."
"Maybe you're right. Anyway, see you at practice tomorrow."
"See you," Maurae responded as the two girls left the locker room. She packed her bag back up and hoisted it onto her shoulder. Carefully not looking at the half-clothed bodies, she left too, to sit on the bench out in front of the rink to wait for Adam to come out and their ride to arrive.
"So, what's she really like? She can't always be that cheerful," Luis said once she'd left. His question was directed at Adam. Dwayne looked up.
"Why not?" he asked innocently, his soft Texan twang resonating through his words.
"Nobody is that happy all the time."
"She is," Adam said. "She even smiles in her sleep. I think she's just one of those people that loves the world."
"Don't mind that so much. And it would creep me out if it was one of the fake smiles that cheerleaders and actors wear. But hers is real, and that's just plain weird."
"So she's amused. Who cares?" Adam was starting to get uncomfortable, discussing his new friend like she was a painting. "I like her."
"That was never the issue. I like her too. In fact, I may ask her out sometime. But what I want to know is why? Why is she such an optimist?"
"Because nothing in her life is bad," Charlie hazarded. "From what we found out about her family, it's practically perfect. She loves playing hockey and she's good at it. She told us that her team has only lost maybe five games in the six years she's been playing."
"Her life is perfect," Ken whistled. Adam kept his mouth shut. If they didn't know that she often locked herself in the guest room to do who knew what, he wasn't going to spill that little tidbit. You don't lock yourself in a room to be happy. But she was a happy person by nature, and every time he saw her, she was smiling. The only thing she didn't seem to like about her life was the fact that a thousand miles now separated her from her parents and her brothers and most of her friends.
He smiled and waved to his teammates as he left the locker room and went out to join Maurae on the bench.
"How'd you like your first official practice?"
"Is it always that exciting?" she teased. Adam reflected on all the things that had happened during the scrimmage and grinned.
"No, thank God. Fulton usually makes his shots anymore, but that was brilliant, the way it kept ricocheting off everything. I can't believe it hit Tibbles so hard."
"I still don't see why we have to have a tutor," she said, not really changing the subject, but changing the vein.
"I guess they don't want us to get stupid while we're playing hockey for the nation," he replied dryly.
"We're Team USA now Adam. We can do anything!"
She was only half serious.
Dean Portman watched her, respect mixing with awe, and a little annoyance. The girl was good, that much was obvious. But she was a little priss, and something of a coach's pet. He shook his head. Whatever, everyone seemed to like her. And she was good...
Adam grinned as she scored again, even though his team was now losing by three. She was like a ballerina on skates the way she danced around them all smoothly to score again and again. He was glad she was on his team, and even more glad he'd decided to open up to her, to let her be his friend...
Gordon Bombay watched in undisguised amazement as the small girl managed to score a fifth time, getting past some of his stars as if they weren't there. Don hadn't been kidding when he'd said she was amazing. The girl could fly, and she was practical. He mused on the ay she'd halted the fight earlier. She had some surprises, and she wasn't intimidated by boys or by size, or even by fierce glares. That was good. She also seemed to have a cool head and a slow temper, if she even had one at all. He smiled; she would be a good addition to the team. Half of them seemed to like her a lot already, and the other half was clearly awed at her speed and skill...
Connie watched her in surprise. Despite all the play games they'd had in the weeks previous, it continued to awe and surprise her that Maurae could really be that good. She seemed totally devoted to the game in a way that even Adam couldn't match, and that was different. With Connie, hockey was just something she did, and she was surprised to find a girl whose whole life seemed to be about hockey...
Julie, too, was shocked and amazed. Maurae was lighting on skates, never long in one spot, never pulling the same move on the same person twice (yet). She was glad that the other two girls on the team were so good at scoring and defense; she couldn't handle competition for the goalie spot...
Jesse Hall had decided the moment Adam had introduced her that he wanted to be friends with her. Past the stage where girls were evil and had cooties, he was, in fact, quite interested in getting to know her better. She was pretty, and funny, and extremely talented in the hockey playing department. According to Adam, she was also really smart and well-mannered. And Jesse wanted to be her friend for longer than the six months of the Games, after she went back to her league team in Colorado...
Charlie Conway mentally shook his head. He wished Adam and Jesse, his two best friends, would quit staring at her and get with it. Sure, she had skill, but...but she was a girl. 'Yeah, great excuse, Conway,' he thought to himself. 'We can't be her friend because she's a girl. Connie would kick your butt if she could read your mind.' So he was glad that Connie couldn't read minds, but that meant he was slightly distracted and unprepared for her to check him into the boards and steal the puck from him with a small smile on her lips. She was good, probably noticing his distraction and taking advantage of it...
Maurae was incredibly happy with her placement on the team. She was friendly by nature, and optimistic. And she felt good here, despite being so far from home. The hockey rink was where she felt comfortable, no matter which state it was in. And her new team was a group of good people, despite their hot tempers. She hoped that she could be friends with them all even after the Games were done and each had gone home to their own leagues...
**********************************************************
A/N: I know I skipped a bit, the whole scene with Miss McKay, and Don getting hit with the puck, and the lovely zamboni crash and all. I know you remember them, but 'Maurae' wasn't really involved in the zamboni incident, and the puck incident was great in and of itself, not something I want to mess with. She makes reference to them later in the chapter, talking to Adam about their first official practice.
"...and Words"
After practice, they'd moved into the same locker room. The atmosphere was much more relaxed and amicable than it had been earlier, now that they knew each other a bit better.
The three girls had their lockers together near the rear of the room, in full view of the showers. Julie and Connie had dragged Maurae into the showers to change instead of letting her change in the room with the guys watching, as she normally would have. Not used to girl chatter, Maurae listened to their conversation and answered questions about herself, showering in her bodysuit and wrapping a towel around her chest afterwards. Once the boys went into the showers, the three girls could change without ogling eyes.
That was how Julie and Connie discovered her aptitude for changing behind a towel. The saw no more than her legs and head the whole time, and she came out completely dressed, wrapping the towel around her hair to soak up moisture.
She was tying her shoes when the boys started to trickle out of the shower, towels wrapped around their waists. Ignoring them completely, per her habits, Maurae tuned back into the conversation Julie and Connie were having. Of all crazy things, they were talking about Star Wars, an obsession.
"I heard there's going to be a new one soon," Julie was saying.
"A new trilogy," Maurae said.
"Really? My brother told me that George Lucas is going to make just the one."
"A new trilogy that provides the back story of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader."
"How do you know?" This was Dean. In answer, she pulled a magazine out of her hockey bag.
"I'm a member of the Star Wars fan club and I have a subscription to Star Wars Insider magazine," she said. "Have been for years."
"Oh. Hey, does it tell you the cast and stuff?"
"Yes. Cast, crew, pictures, stories. All sorts of fun stuff." She put it away and turned back to Julie, her face slightly heated from having seen so many towel-covered bodies. "My brother and I were planning on going to see it on opening night. It's called The Phantom Menace."
"Cool. Hey, Julie's staying with me, so you should come over sometime, to hang out."
"We're going to be living together in the dorms for four months, Connie," Maurae pointed out. "I think you'll get sick of me."
"Maybe you're right. Anyway, see you at practice tomorrow."
"See you," Maurae responded as the two girls left the locker room. She packed her bag back up and hoisted it onto her shoulder. Carefully not looking at the half-clothed bodies, she left too, to sit on the bench out in front of the rink to wait for Adam to come out and their ride to arrive.
"So, what's she really like? She can't always be that cheerful," Luis said once she'd left. His question was directed at Adam. Dwayne looked up.
"Why not?" he asked innocently, his soft Texan twang resonating through his words.
"Nobody is that happy all the time."
"She is," Adam said. "She even smiles in her sleep. I think she's just one of those people that loves the world."
"Don't mind that so much. And it would creep me out if it was one of the fake smiles that cheerleaders and actors wear. But hers is real, and that's just plain weird."
"So she's amused. Who cares?" Adam was starting to get uncomfortable, discussing his new friend like she was a painting. "I like her."
"That was never the issue. I like her too. In fact, I may ask her out sometime. But what I want to know is why? Why is she such an optimist?"
"Because nothing in her life is bad," Charlie hazarded. "From what we found out about her family, it's practically perfect. She loves playing hockey and she's good at it. She told us that her team has only lost maybe five games in the six years she's been playing."
"Her life is perfect," Ken whistled. Adam kept his mouth shut. If they didn't know that she often locked herself in the guest room to do who knew what, he wasn't going to spill that little tidbit. You don't lock yourself in a room to be happy. But she was a happy person by nature, and every time he saw her, she was smiling. The only thing she didn't seem to like about her life was the fact that a thousand miles now separated her from her parents and her brothers and most of her friends.
He smiled and waved to his teammates as he left the locker room and went out to join Maurae on the bench.
"How'd you like your first official practice?"
"Is it always that exciting?" she teased. Adam reflected on all the things that had happened during the scrimmage and grinned.
"No, thank God. Fulton usually makes his shots anymore, but that was brilliant, the way it kept ricocheting off everything. I can't believe it hit Tibbles so hard."
"I still don't see why we have to have a tutor," she said, not really changing the subject, but changing the vein.
"I guess they don't want us to get stupid while we're playing hockey for the nation," he replied dryly.
"We're Team USA now Adam. We can do anything!"
She was only half serious.