penman: Your ideas have merit, but the morning after Hans' funeral was a Saturday, which is why the Ducks were playing street and why Orion had brought his daughter there. But you should totally write a story with your plan. It's a good one! I hope my story turns out good enough for your refined writer's palate. -wink-

AN: I love it when you guys tell me what I should do or not do! It makes me feel like somebody's actually paying attention. This chapter is dedicated to antiIRONY because she has put up with my distinct lack of inspiration far longer than she should have had to and because, girl, without you, Shayne would be nothing!

"Interlude: After the Weekend"

One look at the downcast faces at the Ducks' table told everyone that something was seriously wrong with the new hockey team. Varsity took it in and smiled their smug smiles, noting Charlie and Fulton's absences with something akin to glee. Riley was enthused. He thought that eventually, the rest would follow their captain and the school would be theirs once again.

He, and so many snobs like him, obviously hadn't taken into account the extreme tenacity of the freshman hockey players. Adam kept shooting looks over at them all through breakfast, trying to catch someone's eye, but they were all staring determinedly at the table or each other, all with glum expressions on their faces. He couldn't find any of the girls, but he figured they were still getting ready or something.

Not too many people were awake at seven, even though classes started in little more than an hour, but Maurae and Carrie had always been among the first ones down in the mess in the mornings. Adam scanned the room for Carrie; maybe she could tell him where Maurae was. He finally spotted her in a corner, with her usual crowd of theater geeks and...Ro! He got up and trotted over immediately, heedless of the eyes of his teammates following him.

"Morning," he said cautiously, not sure if she was over her outburst from Saturday. To his shock, not only did Maurae not answer, she turned and started talking cheerfully to the boy sitting next to her, one of Carrie's friends...Derek something. His face fell and he turned to Carrie for help.

The girl's usual smile had never been anything but sunny and bright for him, but now she was glowering at him angrily. "Maurae doesn't want to talk to you, Adam. I suggest you leave." His stomach dropped. "She would like me to remind you that she is not speaking to you until you and Charlie get over yourselves and realize you aren't enemies."

"Fat chance that'll ever happen," murmured one of the girls sitting to Carrie's right. Catching his sudden frosty expression, she shrugged, unconcerned. "What? It's true. Everyone knows you two are the most egomaniacal hockey players Eden has ever seen. An elephant will jump over the Empire State Building before either of you admits to the other you were wrong." Her bold proclamation actually earned a snort of laughter from Maurae, who tried to hide it in a drink of juice. But her eyes sparkled with amusement nonetheless.

Adam continued to stand there dumbly, with his hands in his pockets, as all the table continued to otherwise ignore him, something he was entirely not used to. After a few minutes, he shuffled his feet and walked away awkwardly, half-expecting her to call him back and say it was a joke. He'd gotten all the way across the hall before he dared to even glance back. His blue eyes widened when he saw Derek slip his arm around her shoulders and whisper something to her. He didn't see her response because he'd turned away too fast, but if he'd kept watching, he'd have been happier; she shrugged his arm off and shook her head, looking at Carrie and then getting up to leave.

Maurae moped through her classes, showing off a sunny smile that only she couldn't tell was entirely fake. She seriously considered ditching practice that afternoon, but decided against it, considering how pissed off Orion would have to be after what had happened on Saturday.

Sure enough, they were on the receiving end of first a brutal lecture and then a grueling three-hour practice session designed to teach them the discipline that they were "apparently sorely lacking." As a result, Maurae stumbled into her room in a fog of weariness, falling facedown on her bed without bothering to remove either her backpack or her shoes. Carrie prodded her foot, caught between being amused and being sympathetic.

"You still alive?" she asked.

"Uhh..." came the muffled answer.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Uhh..."

"Well, I'm here when you're ready."

"Uhh..."

"Is this a demonstration of the distinct lack of vocabulary I usually get from normal teenage girls?"

"Uhh uh..."

"Well, that was two syllables this time. An improvement." Maurae raised her head far enough to glare balefully at her far-too-cheerful roommate.

"Shut up, Carrie," she said, before letting her head fall again. Carrie moved up to sit next to her shoulder.

"You know you'll feel better when you tell me," the redhead pointed out reasonably. Maurae shook her head vigorously. "Come on. I can't keep telling Adam to go away if you won't tell me why! Sooner or later, he's going to ask as well."

"He knows why I don't want to talk to him."

"What have he and Charlie done that's more horrible than what they usually do?" Carrie asked curiously.

"Charlie quit the team," Maurae said softly, rolling onto her side so she wasn't muffling herself. "I suppose you already knew that, though." Carrie nodded confirmation but motioned for her to continue. "What I don't suppose you know is why." Here Carrie shook her head. "Part of it is his complete pig-headedness, but the larger part is that he's heartbroken over the things that have happened so far this year. Our old coach being replaced by the new, one of his best friends, and mine too, deciding to quit the team so he could attend public school instead of the "Preppiest of Preppie Schools." And then Adam making Varsity insetad of- and without- him. The worst part of it for him, though, I think, is the serious blow to his pride when Orion took away his C. Charlie's been captain since they were ten, and it's something everyone was used to. Now he doesn't know what to do with himself, and he's taking his injured pride out on everyone. Having Adam 'turn against him' was simply the last straw."

"So, this is all about Charlie and Adam?"

"At the heart of it, yes. Those two have been best friends since the State Peewee Championships four years ago. They just let me in. I know those two love each other like brothers, but they're too manly to show it now, and that's caused a lot of trouble between them recently." Maurae's eyes started to tear. "I feel like I'm losing everything that I love, and I can't do anything to stop it."

"Aren't you being a bit melodramatic?" Carrie asked tactlessly, almost immediately regretting her words.

To her surprise, Maurae smiled and giggled. "I am. I know I am. But these teenage girl hormones are hard to fight sometimes." Carrie grinned too and slid an arm around her roommate's shoulder. Maurae hugged her back. "Thanks for listening."

"Thanks for choosing to talk to me."

"I just don't know what the team is going to do, what with us being down five players."

"Five?"

"Yeah. Jesse and Portman were gone from the beginning, so we were already down two. But then Adam's quality made it three. I just can't believe that Charlie's stubbornness would jeopardize the team like this. I know he loves hockey, and he loves this team more than almost anything else. His quitting...even as angry and prideful as he is, this is something none of us expected. Him and Fulton makes it five."

"Fulton quit too?" Carrie asked, surprised. She hadn't heard that part of it. Of course, she hadn't really asked, either.

"Yeah. Skated out after Charlie without a word or even a look for anyone." Someone started banging on the door. "If it's for me, tell them I'm sleeping, okay?"

"Take your backpack off, or it won't be convincing," Carrie said with a wink as she slid off the bed and went to the door. Maurae removed her backpack and kicked off her shoes, and buried her face in her pillow once more. "Hey. Um...Maurae's not awake right now. I'll-"

"I don't give a damn if she's awake or not," interrupted a familiar voice. "This is important." The voice's owner apparently pushed past Carrie's guard stance, because a second later, someone started kicking the end of her bed relentlessly. "I know you're awake. I have some questions!"

"Go bother someone else, then!" Maurae groused, rolling over. She blinked up at her cousin's glowering face and sighed. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now. Go ask Julie or Connie."

"I did. They sent me here. I went to Fulton's room. Why isn't he answering his door? Why wasn't he in classes today?" Maurae sighed again and sat up, knowing that Shayne's impatient streak was the same as hers, inherited through their mothers.

"Fulton and Charlie quit the team. Walked out. And if they're not on the team, they can't afford to go here. They've left school. Can I go to bed now?"

"Hell no! Why would they quit? Both of them love hockey like you love hockey: a lot! Why would they quit it, especially in the middle of the season? What happened? What did you do to them?"

"What did I do to them?" Maurae spluttered, suddenly furious. "Why is it my fault?"

"I didn't mean you specifically, though your vehement defense of yourself is almost guilty. I meant what did the rest of the team do? It had to be you; no one else is friends with you guys."

"Thanks so much for that," Maurae said bitterly. "It wasn't us. It was Charlie's big mouth and his inability to control his freaking temper. He insulted our coach so badly to his face that Orion chucked him. Fulton followed of his own free will, without even saying a word. So don't lay blame where it isn't deserved."

Shayne's eyes and mouth were round with surprise. "Fulton and Charlie are that good of friends, huh?"

"Since Portman stayed in Chicago and Adam made Varsity, yes. They have become closer."

"Will they be back?"

"I hope so. We're as good as screwed without them," Maurae said, shoulders slumping wearily.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad," Carrie said, sitting on the edge of Maurae's bed again. Shayne flopped over on the end of it, still looking at Maurae. "Can it?"

"Have you ever seen one of our games?" Both girls shook their heads. "Charlie is our captain in all but name; our leading scorer."

"I thought that was your job," Shayne teased, trying to lighten the mood. Maurae smiled briefly.

"Don't interrupt," she chided gently as the smile faded. "Fulton is one of our enforcers, a defenseman. He's also got one of the strongest, most brutal slapshots any of us has ever seen, in or out of the pro leagues." Shayne's jaw dropped again. "They're both important parts of the team's offense and defense. Adam's already left one gaping hole we've been unable to fill. These two leaving...it creates more than a gaping hole. It creates a sucking void. We're down five players, and our confidence is wavering on the event horizon."

"I'm sure your coach knows how to compensate for their loss," Carrie said soothingly, Shayne nodding her support.

"Adam's been gone for a week, one game and numerous practices, and we still haven't been able to pick up his slack," Maurae replied frankly.

"Give it time," Shayne said with a careless shrug, wanting to talk about why Fulton had left, not the team and their problems.

"Time we don't have, Shay. Your parents might be able to afford to send you here, but my parents can't. Without this scholarship, I'm screwed at Eden."

"You won't lose your scholarship, will you?" both girls asked simultaneously.

"It's a hockey scholarship," Maurae explained quietly. "Not a sports and academic scholarship. Without hockey, I have no scholarship, no matter how high my grades are. And if we don't start winning games, they'll take the scholarships away from us. I read the fine print, though I don't think anyone else actually did." She paused to let it sink in. "So, I know what's at stake here."

"You'll all just have to work harder at it," Carrie said finally, indicating that the topic was closed.

Even Shayne could tell that Maurae didn't want to talk anymore. She nodded and left in a hurry. Carrie touched her roommate's shoulder sympathetically and returned to her own side of the room as Maurae gathered the stuff for a shower. It had been a long day and tomorrow couldn't get any better.