A/N: [antiIRONY]: see if you can recognize a friend
"The Welcoming Committee"
Moving in the next day was more fun than Maurae had thought it would be. She was mostly used for conversation, as the boys instantly became offended if she offered to help.
"You know, Fulton, I'm not trying to insult your masculinity or anything," she told the Bash Brother as she followed him up the stairs with the keys to his room dangling from one finger. He was still furious and hurt that Portman had decided to stay in Chicago. She felt cold fury, on behalf of her friend, she told herself.
"You're the official door unlocker for the whole team, Ro," he replied, shifting one of the boxes resting on his shoulder so he could enter the elevator sideways. She sighed and entered, holding the door open automatically as someone called out.
"Thanks," gasped the girl, not looking at either of them. She punched the button for the third floor as the door slid closed.
"Not that I mind being the door unlocker," Maurae said, continuing the conversation. "But why do I now have six sets of keys that aren't mine, yet no one will allow me to lift a box? I let you guys help me move in at the beginning of summer."
"We just thought you shouldn't handle anything heavy," Fulton said bracingly, his face hidden by the box on his shoulder. Maurae snorted. "Or maybe we thought you'd prefer to hang out. Dwayne's in the room next to mine, you know." Maurae flushed slightly but said nothing. So far, only Adam knew of her slight hesitation to claim Dwayne as her boyfriend.
"Yes, I know." The elevator stopped and the door opened. The girl stepped out and they suddenly had more room. Fulton leaned against the wall so that the boxes were supported somewhat by it, giving his arms a bit more of a rest. She sighed. "I should probably tell you...Adam already knows." The elevator door opened and she stepped out, followed by Fulton who indicated she go first. She ran ahead to unlock the door and held it open for him. It swung shut behind him and she didn't stop it. Instead, she sat on the extra bed that was to have been Dean's.
"Know what?"
"Have you noticed that I've been...a little off?"
"I wasn't going to say anything. I figured that it was just the jitters about starting a new school."
"It's partly that. But...Fult, I don't feel for Dwayne what I thought I had. I love him, sure enough, just like I love you or Jess or Adam. But I don't want to be his girlfriend. I just want to be his friend." He looked at her for a long minute and smiled slightly.
"That's not a bad thing, you know. I'm sure your friendship would last longer than a relationship. Relationships can get messy fast. I mean, look at Connie and Guy. They've been off and on for almost three years, and it gets terrible when they're off." He opened the door and ushered her out. "Don't worry about it. Just tell him simply. He'd probably rather hear it from you than from anyone else."
"Thanks."
"Welcome. So, who's next? Oh, I'll take my keys back now, if you don't mind." She handed him his key ring and smiled. "Let's see...Dwayne moved in at the beginning of summer like me. Russ and Ken, same thing. Luis is already moved in, but I don't think Averman is yet. Want to go see?" Fulton shrugged as she led the way down the hall. Luis and Averman were standing in their open room, yelling across it at each other, both red in the face.
"I told you! I was here first!" Luis shouted. Then he shouted something in Spanish that Maurae didn't understand, but which Averman obviously did. He turned, if possible, brighter red than before and filled his lungs to yell some more.
"Les! Luis!" Maurae shouted cheerfully before anyone exploded. Both boys turned to look at her and Fulton, standing in the doorway. "So, do you need any help moving your stuff in, Les," she continued in a quieter voice.
"Uh, well...sure, if you want. I think I only have one more box left in Guy's mom's van." The argument averted for the time being, she and the three boys returned to the parking lot on the ground floor and Maurae grinned when she saw that Guy and Goldberg were arguing as well, though not as loudly.
Averman collected his box and lugged it back to the elevator while Luis stayed to help Connie and Julie unload Connie's boxes from her mom's car. Finally, Fulton got tired of waiting for Guy and Goldie to stop fighting and grabbed one of the boxes left in the back. "Do either of you mind where I put this?" The two boys looked up, surprised.
"Uh, no. I guess you could just put it inside the door." With Maurae grinning at them over the top of another box, they had to stop arguing about whatever had set them off. Each grabbed one of his own boxes and followed the other two to the elevator. They waited in silence as the elevator chugged down to them and managed to squeeze in.
It was almost three in the afternoon when everyone finally had all of his or her belongings. No one wanted help unpacking their boxes, so Maurae went back to her own room to lounge, expecting to find Carrie. However, her roommate was absent until almost five.
When she walked in, she offered a smile and went to lie on her own bed, looking exhausted. "Sorry I missed out on lunch today," she said as Maurae opened her mouth to say the same thing.
"No big. I didn't get back until almost three. None of the guys would let me help, so the going was pretty slow. We didn't eat lunch, so we're going out for dinner again. Adam's dad is paying for it, of course."
"I'm going to bed early tonight," Carrie yawned. "I can't believe tomorrow's the first day of school!"
"Me neither." She was stopped from saying more by a knock on the open door. Charlie's head appeared.
"Hi, you must be Carrie."
"Yup." He turned to look at Maurae, who was regarding him upside down.
"Ready?"
"I've been ready. Carrie, I suppose you'll be asleep when I get back, so I'll see you in the morning."
"Uh-huh..." Carrie replied, flapping a hand in feigned disinterest. Maurae walked out with Charlie.
She practically snuck out of the common lounge later that night. Getting to her dorm door, she was hardly surprised to find that Adam had trailed her. She sighed and unlocked the door.
"You thought you'd get out of it that easily?" he asked, following her into her room. She sighed again.
"No, Ads, I didn't. I just...I didn't want to discuss my relationship in front of the team, all right?"
"We used to be able to tell each other everything," he pointed out.
"I know."
"You didn't tell me you'd quit the Eagles this year," he said softly. "Why?"
"How did you find out about that?"
"Your mother, how else? Why didn't you tell us?"
"I couldn't. It's just that...ever since I left here, I've felt like that whole flying together thing was just a one time deal. I feel like I don't belong anymore."
"You'll always belong. You're a Duck."
"No, we're all Warriors, now, remember?" She shrugged. "I've just felt a bit out of place lately, that's all."
"Even with Dwayne? You seemed happy to see him." Adam sounded slightly disappointed.
"I was happy to see him, to see all of you. But one of my biggest fears was that it would have all just been a fickle crush. I couldn't do that to him!"
"So, you still like him, then."
"Yes, I do." In the dark, it was hard to tell, but she thought Adam's face might have gone from hopeful to sad. "I love you all, Ads. Especially you. You're my best friend, even more than my brothers."
"I know. I love you too, Ro." Neither one of them realized just how true that statement was.
"Much as I'm enjoying this touching scene, I'll have to break it up. I'm trying to meditate," Carrie's voice commented just as the desk light flipped on. "Evening, beautiful."
Adam stared. Maurae smiled. "I suppose she'll take some getting used to for the rest of you. Adam Banks, Carrie Martin, my roommate. Carrie, this is Adam, my best friend."
"So I heard," Carrie replied dryly, with a raised eyebrow and a wink for Adam. "Adam, a pleasure, I'm sure. Maybe later, all right?"
"Sure. Nice to meet you, Carrie. I'll see you tomorrow," he added to Maurae, kissing her cheek before he left, shutting the door behind him. Carrie bounded to the end of her bed and flopped onto her stomach, legs in the air behind her.
"So, tell me about him!"
"Why?" Maurae shot back, feeling suddenly defensive and a little jealous.
"He obviously adores you. What's wrong with him?"
"I've known you all of seven hours and you already feel like a sister," Maurae commented, shaking her head. She sat on her bed. "Adam's my best friend." She didn't really want to tell Carrie anything about Adam.
"Relax, dear roommate of mine. My door doesn't swing his way." Maurae blinked. "That means I'm of the homosexual tendency, princess."
"I know what it means," Maurae said. "I just..."
"Does he have any sisters?"
"No, just a brother."
"Damn. Just my luck."
Maurae smiled and leaned back against the wall, pulling off the jersey and folding it neatly. "Adam's more into hockey than anything else. We joke that hockey's his one true love. I can't wait until we see what a girl thrown into the mix would do."
Carrie smiled knowingly, a look she quickly hid when Maurae looked up again. "And this Dwayne you were discussing?"
"Another teammate of mine. He's kind of like my boyfriend. Actually, I don't really know what our relationship is now, only that we have one." She shrugged. "I'm still trying to figure out a lot of things."
Julie came to fetch her at promptly eight the next morning. They found Russ and Ken waiting for them near an announcement board with Luis and Dwayne near the auditorium. Dwayne kissed her cheek and she smiled half- heartedly.
"I think this place is runnin' very low on the brothers' quotient," Russ commented as they started walking. People's eyes followed them. Julie agreed with a nod.
"Yeah. Hey, I want to know who this new Coach Orion is. My dad said if I didn't like him, I could come right home."
Russ snorted. "That's nice. My dad said I better stay in on scholarship, or he'd whip my butt."
"In the dorms, I heard the guy played for the Minnesota Northstars, and got suspended for punching out his own coach," Luis offered. Dwayne scoffed.
"You mean the Dallas Stars. I heard he punched out a fan."
"I heard he was a Buddhist, you know, like Kung Fu or Richard Gere," Julie said. Maurae shook her head at the inane tangents she and her friends went off on sometimes.
"Kung Fu wasn't a Buddhist," Ken pointed out. "He was a Travest Monk."
"Are you talkin' about the old Kung Fu, or the further adventures of the new Kung Fu?" Russ asked.
"Y'all watch too much TV," Dwayne interrupted.
"Shoot, that's the safest thing to do in my hood."
Maurae looked around, listening to her teammates gossip further about their new coach. 'I can't believe Bombay bailed on us,' she thought. 'I came back to play for him and what does he do? Leaves.' She sighed. 'First Jess, then Bombay, and then Dean. I can't believe they would all bail on us like that!'
"Come on, princess. We're here." Maurae nodded her thanks to Luis, who was holding the door open for her. He winked cheekily, making her grin. She tapped his chin and went in. The six hockey players found their seats and settled in, waiting for the auditorium to fill.
Maurae was actually starting to get back into her old team rhythm of banter again, and it made her feel much better than she had in a long time.
"You know, you Ducks don't belong here at Eden Hall," snarled a voice behind them. Almost together, they turned, with Russ yelping out an incredulous, "What?!"
"Easy, Russ," Dwayne urged, placing a calming hand on the other boy's arm. "They probably just think for someone else. I'm Dwayne. We're the new hockey team. And you are...?" he asked cheerfully, holding out his hand.
A big beefy blond pulled a wad of gum out of his mouth and pressed it into Dwayne's palm. "Varsity. The only hockey team," declared his brunet neighbor, the same voice as before. "State champs?" Maurae glanced him up and down. A junior, no doubt, who thought he was better because he had money. She quirked half of her mouth up in an amused smirk. She bit back the sharp retort, settling for caustic instead.
"You know, I thought it required a modicum of intelligence to play hockey. At least some rudimentary math skills, like addition," she replied quietly, almost absently. "If we're the new team and you're the old team..." She held up one small hand and lifted a finger, then a second one. "Look, one, two! Wow, imagine that! There are now two teams at this school!" Then she swung around in her seat to face forward. Julie and Russ slapped her high fives and the others just shook their heads and grinned.
"You know, my little brother lost his JV slot when they brought you...yo-yo's in here," he sneered, determined to have the last word.
"He probably wasn't good enough," Julie shot back without turning around. The brunet leaned forward to stick his head between Maurae and Julie. He pointed towards the stage.
"See, that's my dad. He's going to get the board to revoke your scholarships. Just you wait." Russ grinned, and both girls knew what was coming.
"That's your dad? Nice outfit. Did it come wit' a yacht?"
The six teens snorted, struggling to stifle their laughter and the beefy blond quickly turned his laughter into faked laughter, making Maurae realize that he was quite as stupid as he looked. She shook her head, thoroughly amused, and settled down to listen to more speeches.
"We're proud to open our doors, via full scholarships, to a truly gifted group of student athletes," the dean said in conclusion. Maurae sighed in relief that it was finally over. "So please join me, in giving a big, rousing Warrior welcome, to the gold medal winners of the Junior Goodwill Games. May I present to you-" Maurae, Julie, Russ, Ken, Luis and Dwayne all leaped to their feet as the curtain came tumbling down around a lump of people.
"Oh, I'm so embarrassed," Maurae groaned, sinking back down into her seat. But she was hard-pressed to suppress a smile. Her team sure knew how to make an entrance.
"Hi," Charlie said sheepishly from the stage. "We're the Ducks." A ripple of laughter surged through the auditorium and Maurae just shook her head. 'Oh, no! Guys, what've you done?' Maurae thought. She stood up to follow the others from the row and glanced one more time at the Varsity boys in the row behind them.
"See you on the ice, sweetie," the brunet said snidely.
"Maurae," she replied. "My name is Maurae."
Caught off guard, and slightly surprised at her civility and manners, he looked her up and down. "Rick. Rick Riley."
"The pleasure, Rick Riley, I'm sure, is all yours," she said, finally following her friends from the row. Russ raised an eyebrow and Julie raised both but Maurae didn't say anything. They were on their way to the dean's office for a meeting with the rest of their team and the dean himself.
"Check it out, he knows Wayne Newton," Guy commented, staring at a picture on the wall.
"Charlie, man, this is not a good start to our year." Ken's voice was weary as he berated the captain.
"Don't worry, Kenny. These prepsies aren't going to do anything to us," Charlie said, deliberately ignoring the rebuke. "Whoa! Check it out! Antsville!" Maurae shook her head and looked around. "Look at 'em go."
"You can learn a lot from ants." The whole team drew back in surprise. "These Brazilian fire ants can teach you a lot about successful societal structure. You see, there's one queen in there. The rest are dedicated worker ants. Everyone pulls their own weight, no one complains. There's harmony and growth, same here at Eden Hall. Only you are the workers. The backbone."
"And you're the queen?" Russ couldn't resist quipping. Maurae smacked his shoulder, hard.
"Ow! What?" She shook her head in amusement.
When the dean finally let them go after lecturing them for a half hour about the structure and prestige of Eden Hall, Maurae's brain was completely numb. She was glad she had the first few of her classes with most of the others. They headed to the mess hall after visiting their locker room and sat at the same table with their trays of breakfast.
"This school is so stuffy!" Goldberg couldn't help exclaiming as he shoveled eggs into his mouth. The rest watched him in awe.
"No sweat, guys. We'll loosen them up in no time," Charlie said finally, digging into his plastic-looking omelet with great relish.
"Charlie, that's disgusting. How can you eat it?" Maurae asked, opening the package of Pop Tarts.
"It's edible, at least." Maurae shook her head and ate the rest of her meal in silence. When she was done, she crumpled it all up and stood.
"I'll see you guys later. I'm going to explore the campus. Don't want to get lost on the first day." She tossed her trash into a bin on her way from the mess. "Oy," she murmured, stretching her neck once she'd gotten outside. "I hate school," she added, going down mostly-empty halls looking for her assigned locker. She found it and easily spun the combination, pulling it open. Then she put in the textbooks she'd already gathered and slammed it shut.
"Hey there, babe." She rolled her eyes.
"Do you really have such an extremely small brain that you can't even remember my name or are you deliberately trying to demean me by calling me names not my own?" she snapped. Riley looked at her for a moment, puzzled, before he and his two friends started to smile.
"Are you extremely touchy about your name?"
"My mother gave me my name for a reason, and I happen to like it." She turned away from them only to have Riley grab her shoulder and turn her back.
"Hands off," she said coolly.
"I wanted to introduce you to my friends. This is Cole Aaronson and Scott Reynolds." Maurae nodded her head curtly to each of them and peeled Riley's hand from her shoulder.
"Nice to meet you. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
"What if we don't want to?" Cole sneered.
"Well do it anyway," she shot back. She backed up a little and grinned suddenly. "Hey, guys!" she chirped eagerly, waving past them at Fulton, Charlie and Adam. Adam came around and stood next to her, his eyes glaring coldly; Julie and Russ had reenacted the morning's encounter for the others before they'd been confronted by the dean. Fulton and Charlie backed him.
"Something wrong, Ro?" he asked casually, glaring at the three older boys.
"No, not at all, Ads, thanks."
"Headed to the library?"
"Yes, I was. Do you want to come?"
"Of course." He put an arm around her shoulders and glared harder at the three Varsity players before walking off, his arm still around her. "They weren't bothering you, or anything, right?" Fulton and Charlie waved and went off in the opposite direction, voices low, casting glances back at the three Varsity players until they'd turned a corner.
"Oh, they were trying to. But I just figured they were the preppie Welcome Wagon." He smiled. "Carrie and I talked about you last night," she said bluntly. "Well, not about you, in particular. She wanted to know about the team. She's pretty nosy, but I think she's a good person. She seemed very interested in you, me and Dwayne," she added.
Adam swallowed. "Really?"
"Yeah. She wanted an in-depth analysis of my feelings, and all sorts of things. I swear, the questions she asks me make me think more than the questions my mom asks me." She laughed.
Adam smiled. "Really?"
"You're repeating yourself."
"No, see, the tone was different," he retorted. She merely laughed again. "I'm serious. The same word, but it meant two totally different things."
"Right, Ads. Keep telling yourself that."
"I will," he chirped. She shook her head.
"You're entirely too chirpy for the first day of school," she pointed out. "What's up?"
"Well, I'm spending the rest of the morning and most of the day with my best friend, who also happens to be the hottest chick here. Why wouldn't I be in a good mood?"
"First of all, I'm not a chick. And second of all, who says I'm the hottest girl here?"
"I do. And Dwayne, of course, but not in those words. Also, your roommate. Need I keep counting? Riley also seems to think you're worth the attention," he raised his eyebrow. Maurae made a face.
"How did you know about Carrie?"
"The way her eyes tend to focus on girls more than on guys, and the fact that last night she introduced herself by flicking on the light and saying, 'Hey there, beautiful.' Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't beautiful an adjective used to describe girls?"
"And you think that Riley thinks I'm hot?"
"His eyes, too, seem to focus on you. I suppose your boyfriend is a given."
"And you're my best friend, so you have to think that," she teased. "And Dwayne isn't my boyfriend. A kiss in the woods, and then a year apart does not a couple make. I suppose... I guess I'd like us to be a couple, but...I don't know." She shrugged, lifting his arm a bit. He hugged her with that arm.
"Don't fret, my lovely. We'll find the perfect man for you, and I'll be your maid of honor." She giggled and shook her head. "Or at least an usher." They reached the library and he removed his arm from her shoulders to open the door for her.
"Thank you," she said, nodding her head to him as she walked in. He flicked her butt as she passed him, making her yelp and spin to mock-glare at his grinning face. She finally shook her head and turned again, placing her hands palm-out on her behind. Adam laughed. "You made me do it," she said.
"You look ridiculous walking around like that. How about if I promise not to do it again in public?"
"Deal," she said, removing her hands. She linked their elbows and led him to the science-fiction section, whistling softly at the selection. "Awesome. There's some here I bet even Averman hasn't read yet." Adam could tell this would quickly become her favorite place on campus, and he smiled. Then they went to get the rest of their textbooks.
"The Welcoming Committee"
Moving in the next day was more fun than Maurae had thought it would be. She was mostly used for conversation, as the boys instantly became offended if she offered to help.
"You know, Fulton, I'm not trying to insult your masculinity or anything," she told the Bash Brother as she followed him up the stairs with the keys to his room dangling from one finger. He was still furious and hurt that Portman had decided to stay in Chicago. She felt cold fury, on behalf of her friend, she told herself.
"You're the official door unlocker for the whole team, Ro," he replied, shifting one of the boxes resting on his shoulder so he could enter the elevator sideways. She sighed and entered, holding the door open automatically as someone called out.
"Thanks," gasped the girl, not looking at either of them. She punched the button for the third floor as the door slid closed.
"Not that I mind being the door unlocker," Maurae said, continuing the conversation. "But why do I now have six sets of keys that aren't mine, yet no one will allow me to lift a box? I let you guys help me move in at the beginning of summer."
"We just thought you shouldn't handle anything heavy," Fulton said bracingly, his face hidden by the box on his shoulder. Maurae snorted. "Or maybe we thought you'd prefer to hang out. Dwayne's in the room next to mine, you know." Maurae flushed slightly but said nothing. So far, only Adam knew of her slight hesitation to claim Dwayne as her boyfriend.
"Yes, I know." The elevator stopped and the door opened. The girl stepped out and they suddenly had more room. Fulton leaned against the wall so that the boxes were supported somewhat by it, giving his arms a bit more of a rest. She sighed. "I should probably tell you...Adam already knows." The elevator door opened and she stepped out, followed by Fulton who indicated she go first. She ran ahead to unlock the door and held it open for him. It swung shut behind him and she didn't stop it. Instead, she sat on the extra bed that was to have been Dean's.
"Know what?"
"Have you noticed that I've been...a little off?"
"I wasn't going to say anything. I figured that it was just the jitters about starting a new school."
"It's partly that. But...Fult, I don't feel for Dwayne what I thought I had. I love him, sure enough, just like I love you or Jess or Adam. But I don't want to be his girlfriend. I just want to be his friend." He looked at her for a long minute and smiled slightly.
"That's not a bad thing, you know. I'm sure your friendship would last longer than a relationship. Relationships can get messy fast. I mean, look at Connie and Guy. They've been off and on for almost three years, and it gets terrible when they're off." He opened the door and ushered her out. "Don't worry about it. Just tell him simply. He'd probably rather hear it from you than from anyone else."
"Thanks."
"Welcome. So, who's next? Oh, I'll take my keys back now, if you don't mind." She handed him his key ring and smiled. "Let's see...Dwayne moved in at the beginning of summer like me. Russ and Ken, same thing. Luis is already moved in, but I don't think Averman is yet. Want to go see?" Fulton shrugged as she led the way down the hall. Luis and Averman were standing in their open room, yelling across it at each other, both red in the face.
"I told you! I was here first!" Luis shouted. Then he shouted something in Spanish that Maurae didn't understand, but which Averman obviously did. He turned, if possible, brighter red than before and filled his lungs to yell some more.
"Les! Luis!" Maurae shouted cheerfully before anyone exploded. Both boys turned to look at her and Fulton, standing in the doorway. "So, do you need any help moving your stuff in, Les," she continued in a quieter voice.
"Uh, well...sure, if you want. I think I only have one more box left in Guy's mom's van." The argument averted for the time being, she and the three boys returned to the parking lot on the ground floor and Maurae grinned when she saw that Guy and Goldberg were arguing as well, though not as loudly.
Averman collected his box and lugged it back to the elevator while Luis stayed to help Connie and Julie unload Connie's boxes from her mom's car. Finally, Fulton got tired of waiting for Guy and Goldie to stop fighting and grabbed one of the boxes left in the back. "Do either of you mind where I put this?" The two boys looked up, surprised.
"Uh, no. I guess you could just put it inside the door." With Maurae grinning at them over the top of another box, they had to stop arguing about whatever had set them off. Each grabbed one of his own boxes and followed the other two to the elevator. They waited in silence as the elevator chugged down to them and managed to squeeze in.
It was almost three in the afternoon when everyone finally had all of his or her belongings. No one wanted help unpacking their boxes, so Maurae went back to her own room to lounge, expecting to find Carrie. However, her roommate was absent until almost five.
When she walked in, she offered a smile and went to lie on her own bed, looking exhausted. "Sorry I missed out on lunch today," she said as Maurae opened her mouth to say the same thing.
"No big. I didn't get back until almost three. None of the guys would let me help, so the going was pretty slow. We didn't eat lunch, so we're going out for dinner again. Adam's dad is paying for it, of course."
"I'm going to bed early tonight," Carrie yawned. "I can't believe tomorrow's the first day of school!"
"Me neither." She was stopped from saying more by a knock on the open door. Charlie's head appeared.
"Hi, you must be Carrie."
"Yup." He turned to look at Maurae, who was regarding him upside down.
"Ready?"
"I've been ready. Carrie, I suppose you'll be asleep when I get back, so I'll see you in the morning."
"Uh-huh..." Carrie replied, flapping a hand in feigned disinterest. Maurae walked out with Charlie.
She practically snuck out of the common lounge later that night. Getting to her dorm door, she was hardly surprised to find that Adam had trailed her. She sighed and unlocked the door.
"You thought you'd get out of it that easily?" he asked, following her into her room. She sighed again.
"No, Ads, I didn't. I just...I didn't want to discuss my relationship in front of the team, all right?"
"We used to be able to tell each other everything," he pointed out.
"I know."
"You didn't tell me you'd quit the Eagles this year," he said softly. "Why?"
"How did you find out about that?"
"Your mother, how else? Why didn't you tell us?"
"I couldn't. It's just that...ever since I left here, I've felt like that whole flying together thing was just a one time deal. I feel like I don't belong anymore."
"You'll always belong. You're a Duck."
"No, we're all Warriors, now, remember?" She shrugged. "I've just felt a bit out of place lately, that's all."
"Even with Dwayne? You seemed happy to see him." Adam sounded slightly disappointed.
"I was happy to see him, to see all of you. But one of my biggest fears was that it would have all just been a fickle crush. I couldn't do that to him!"
"So, you still like him, then."
"Yes, I do." In the dark, it was hard to tell, but she thought Adam's face might have gone from hopeful to sad. "I love you all, Ads. Especially you. You're my best friend, even more than my brothers."
"I know. I love you too, Ro." Neither one of them realized just how true that statement was.
"Much as I'm enjoying this touching scene, I'll have to break it up. I'm trying to meditate," Carrie's voice commented just as the desk light flipped on. "Evening, beautiful."
Adam stared. Maurae smiled. "I suppose she'll take some getting used to for the rest of you. Adam Banks, Carrie Martin, my roommate. Carrie, this is Adam, my best friend."
"So I heard," Carrie replied dryly, with a raised eyebrow and a wink for Adam. "Adam, a pleasure, I'm sure. Maybe later, all right?"
"Sure. Nice to meet you, Carrie. I'll see you tomorrow," he added to Maurae, kissing her cheek before he left, shutting the door behind him. Carrie bounded to the end of her bed and flopped onto her stomach, legs in the air behind her.
"So, tell me about him!"
"Why?" Maurae shot back, feeling suddenly defensive and a little jealous.
"He obviously adores you. What's wrong with him?"
"I've known you all of seven hours and you already feel like a sister," Maurae commented, shaking her head. She sat on her bed. "Adam's my best friend." She didn't really want to tell Carrie anything about Adam.
"Relax, dear roommate of mine. My door doesn't swing his way." Maurae blinked. "That means I'm of the homosexual tendency, princess."
"I know what it means," Maurae said. "I just..."
"Does he have any sisters?"
"No, just a brother."
"Damn. Just my luck."
Maurae smiled and leaned back against the wall, pulling off the jersey and folding it neatly. "Adam's more into hockey than anything else. We joke that hockey's his one true love. I can't wait until we see what a girl thrown into the mix would do."
Carrie smiled knowingly, a look she quickly hid when Maurae looked up again. "And this Dwayne you were discussing?"
"Another teammate of mine. He's kind of like my boyfriend. Actually, I don't really know what our relationship is now, only that we have one." She shrugged. "I'm still trying to figure out a lot of things."
Julie came to fetch her at promptly eight the next morning. They found Russ and Ken waiting for them near an announcement board with Luis and Dwayne near the auditorium. Dwayne kissed her cheek and she smiled half- heartedly.
"I think this place is runnin' very low on the brothers' quotient," Russ commented as they started walking. People's eyes followed them. Julie agreed with a nod.
"Yeah. Hey, I want to know who this new Coach Orion is. My dad said if I didn't like him, I could come right home."
Russ snorted. "That's nice. My dad said I better stay in on scholarship, or he'd whip my butt."
"In the dorms, I heard the guy played for the Minnesota Northstars, and got suspended for punching out his own coach," Luis offered. Dwayne scoffed.
"You mean the Dallas Stars. I heard he punched out a fan."
"I heard he was a Buddhist, you know, like Kung Fu or Richard Gere," Julie said. Maurae shook her head at the inane tangents she and her friends went off on sometimes.
"Kung Fu wasn't a Buddhist," Ken pointed out. "He was a Travest Monk."
"Are you talkin' about the old Kung Fu, or the further adventures of the new Kung Fu?" Russ asked.
"Y'all watch too much TV," Dwayne interrupted.
"Shoot, that's the safest thing to do in my hood."
Maurae looked around, listening to her teammates gossip further about their new coach. 'I can't believe Bombay bailed on us,' she thought. 'I came back to play for him and what does he do? Leaves.' She sighed. 'First Jess, then Bombay, and then Dean. I can't believe they would all bail on us like that!'
"Come on, princess. We're here." Maurae nodded her thanks to Luis, who was holding the door open for her. He winked cheekily, making her grin. She tapped his chin and went in. The six hockey players found their seats and settled in, waiting for the auditorium to fill.
Maurae was actually starting to get back into her old team rhythm of banter again, and it made her feel much better than she had in a long time.
"You know, you Ducks don't belong here at Eden Hall," snarled a voice behind them. Almost together, they turned, with Russ yelping out an incredulous, "What?!"
"Easy, Russ," Dwayne urged, placing a calming hand on the other boy's arm. "They probably just think for someone else. I'm Dwayne. We're the new hockey team. And you are...?" he asked cheerfully, holding out his hand.
A big beefy blond pulled a wad of gum out of his mouth and pressed it into Dwayne's palm. "Varsity. The only hockey team," declared his brunet neighbor, the same voice as before. "State champs?" Maurae glanced him up and down. A junior, no doubt, who thought he was better because he had money. She quirked half of her mouth up in an amused smirk. She bit back the sharp retort, settling for caustic instead.
"You know, I thought it required a modicum of intelligence to play hockey. At least some rudimentary math skills, like addition," she replied quietly, almost absently. "If we're the new team and you're the old team..." She held up one small hand and lifted a finger, then a second one. "Look, one, two! Wow, imagine that! There are now two teams at this school!" Then she swung around in her seat to face forward. Julie and Russ slapped her high fives and the others just shook their heads and grinned.
"You know, my little brother lost his JV slot when they brought you...yo-yo's in here," he sneered, determined to have the last word.
"He probably wasn't good enough," Julie shot back without turning around. The brunet leaned forward to stick his head between Maurae and Julie. He pointed towards the stage.
"See, that's my dad. He's going to get the board to revoke your scholarships. Just you wait." Russ grinned, and both girls knew what was coming.
"That's your dad? Nice outfit. Did it come wit' a yacht?"
The six teens snorted, struggling to stifle their laughter and the beefy blond quickly turned his laughter into faked laughter, making Maurae realize that he was quite as stupid as he looked. She shook her head, thoroughly amused, and settled down to listen to more speeches.
"We're proud to open our doors, via full scholarships, to a truly gifted group of student athletes," the dean said in conclusion. Maurae sighed in relief that it was finally over. "So please join me, in giving a big, rousing Warrior welcome, to the gold medal winners of the Junior Goodwill Games. May I present to you-" Maurae, Julie, Russ, Ken, Luis and Dwayne all leaped to their feet as the curtain came tumbling down around a lump of people.
"Oh, I'm so embarrassed," Maurae groaned, sinking back down into her seat. But she was hard-pressed to suppress a smile. Her team sure knew how to make an entrance.
"Hi," Charlie said sheepishly from the stage. "We're the Ducks." A ripple of laughter surged through the auditorium and Maurae just shook her head. 'Oh, no! Guys, what've you done?' Maurae thought. She stood up to follow the others from the row and glanced one more time at the Varsity boys in the row behind them.
"See you on the ice, sweetie," the brunet said snidely.
"Maurae," she replied. "My name is Maurae."
Caught off guard, and slightly surprised at her civility and manners, he looked her up and down. "Rick. Rick Riley."
"The pleasure, Rick Riley, I'm sure, is all yours," she said, finally following her friends from the row. Russ raised an eyebrow and Julie raised both but Maurae didn't say anything. They were on their way to the dean's office for a meeting with the rest of their team and the dean himself.
"Check it out, he knows Wayne Newton," Guy commented, staring at a picture on the wall.
"Charlie, man, this is not a good start to our year." Ken's voice was weary as he berated the captain.
"Don't worry, Kenny. These prepsies aren't going to do anything to us," Charlie said, deliberately ignoring the rebuke. "Whoa! Check it out! Antsville!" Maurae shook her head and looked around. "Look at 'em go."
"You can learn a lot from ants." The whole team drew back in surprise. "These Brazilian fire ants can teach you a lot about successful societal structure. You see, there's one queen in there. The rest are dedicated worker ants. Everyone pulls their own weight, no one complains. There's harmony and growth, same here at Eden Hall. Only you are the workers. The backbone."
"And you're the queen?" Russ couldn't resist quipping. Maurae smacked his shoulder, hard.
"Ow! What?" She shook her head in amusement.
When the dean finally let them go after lecturing them for a half hour about the structure and prestige of Eden Hall, Maurae's brain was completely numb. She was glad she had the first few of her classes with most of the others. They headed to the mess hall after visiting their locker room and sat at the same table with their trays of breakfast.
"This school is so stuffy!" Goldberg couldn't help exclaiming as he shoveled eggs into his mouth. The rest watched him in awe.
"No sweat, guys. We'll loosen them up in no time," Charlie said finally, digging into his plastic-looking omelet with great relish.
"Charlie, that's disgusting. How can you eat it?" Maurae asked, opening the package of Pop Tarts.
"It's edible, at least." Maurae shook her head and ate the rest of her meal in silence. When she was done, she crumpled it all up and stood.
"I'll see you guys later. I'm going to explore the campus. Don't want to get lost on the first day." She tossed her trash into a bin on her way from the mess. "Oy," she murmured, stretching her neck once she'd gotten outside. "I hate school," she added, going down mostly-empty halls looking for her assigned locker. She found it and easily spun the combination, pulling it open. Then she put in the textbooks she'd already gathered and slammed it shut.
"Hey there, babe." She rolled her eyes.
"Do you really have such an extremely small brain that you can't even remember my name or are you deliberately trying to demean me by calling me names not my own?" she snapped. Riley looked at her for a moment, puzzled, before he and his two friends started to smile.
"Are you extremely touchy about your name?"
"My mother gave me my name for a reason, and I happen to like it." She turned away from them only to have Riley grab her shoulder and turn her back.
"Hands off," she said coolly.
"I wanted to introduce you to my friends. This is Cole Aaronson and Scott Reynolds." Maurae nodded her head curtly to each of them and peeled Riley's hand from her shoulder.
"Nice to meet you. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
"What if we don't want to?" Cole sneered.
"Well do it anyway," she shot back. She backed up a little and grinned suddenly. "Hey, guys!" she chirped eagerly, waving past them at Fulton, Charlie and Adam. Adam came around and stood next to her, his eyes glaring coldly; Julie and Russ had reenacted the morning's encounter for the others before they'd been confronted by the dean. Fulton and Charlie backed him.
"Something wrong, Ro?" he asked casually, glaring at the three older boys.
"No, not at all, Ads, thanks."
"Headed to the library?"
"Yes, I was. Do you want to come?"
"Of course." He put an arm around her shoulders and glared harder at the three Varsity players before walking off, his arm still around her. "They weren't bothering you, or anything, right?" Fulton and Charlie waved and went off in the opposite direction, voices low, casting glances back at the three Varsity players until they'd turned a corner.
"Oh, they were trying to. But I just figured they were the preppie Welcome Wagon." He smiled. "Carrie and I talked about you last night," she said bluntly. "Well, not about you, in particular. She wanted to know about the team. She's pretty nosy, but I think she's a good person. She seemed very interested in you, me and Dwayne," she added.
Adam swallowed. "Really?"
"Yeah. She wanted an in-depth analysis of my feelings, and all sorts of things. I swear, the questions she asks me make me think more than the questions my mom asks me." She laughed.
Adam smiled. "Really?"
"You're repeating yourself."
"No, see, the tone was different," he retorted. She merely laughed again. "I'm serious. The same word, but it meant two totally different things."
"Right, Ads. Keep telling yourself that."
"I will," he chirped. She shook her head.
"You're entirely too chirpy for the first day of school," she pointed out. "What's up?"
"Well, I'm spending the rest of the morning and most of the day with my best friend, who also happens to be the hottest chick here. Why wouldn't I be in a good mood?"
"First of all, I'm not a chick. And second of all, who says I'm the hottest girl here?"
"I do. And Dwayne, of course, but not in those words. Also, your roommate. Need I keep counting? Riley also seems to think you're worth the attention," he raised his eyebrow. Maurae made a face.
"How did you know about Carrie?"
"The way her eyes tend to focus on girls more than on guys, and the fact that last night she introduced herself by flicking on the light and saying, 'Hey there, beautiful.' Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't beautiful an adjective used to describe girls?"
"And you think that Riley thinks I'm hot?"
"His eyes, too, seem to focus on you. I suppose your boyfriend is a given."
"And you're my best friend, so you have to think that," she teased. "And Dwayne isn't my boyfriend. A kiss in the woods, and then a year apart does not a couple make. I suppose... I guess I'd like us to be a couple, but...I don't know." She shrugged, lifting his arm a bit. He hugged her with that arm.
"Don't fret, my lovely. We'll find the perfect man for you, and I'll be your maid of honor." She giggled and shook her head. "Or at least an usher." They reached the library and he removed his arm from her shoulders to open the door for her.
"Thank you," she said, nodding her head to him as she walked in. He flicked her butt as she passed him, making her yelp and spin to mock-glare at his grinning face. She finally shook her head and turned again, placing her hands palm-out on her behind. Adam laughed. "You made me do it," she said.
"You look ridiculous walking around like that. How about if I promise not to do it again in public?"
"Deal," she said, removing her hands. She linked their elbows and led him to the science-fiction section, whistling softly at the selection. "Awesome. There's some here I bet even Averman hasn't read yet." Adam could tell this would quickly become her favorite place on campus, and he smiled. Then they went to get the rest of their textbooks.