Sunny left the locker room with his head down and bag on his shoulder. Even though Alec said it wasn't his fault, Sunny didn't see it that way. It was his costly turnover that cost them the game. His teammates probably saw it that way too.
Alec was the only one who comforted him after the game. Everyone else left him to cry his eyes out. He also felt some of them were giving him the side eye when Coach B was addressing the team. He knew Coach B also blamed him for the loss, even though he didn't acknowledge it in his post-game speech.
If only he was more aware of his surroundings, then maybe they wouldn't have lost.
He walked into the fan area where there was a table full of sweets. He knew they were for the team, but he wasn't hungry. He forgone the table and went straight to his mother and friends, who each had a variety of emotions. His mother looked worried, Kel appeared to be giving him a supportive smile, while Aubrey looked angry.
His mom was the first to meet him, and she gave him a big hug.
"Are you OK? I saw you getting hit a lot, and I was worried you got hurt."
Sunny broke free from his mom before she could suffocate him. He kept his head down to hide his embarrassment from being doted by his mom in public.
"I-I'm fine, mom. J-Just a little s-sore," Sunny answered.
His chest and back were the two body parts that hurt the most after taking the brunt of the other team's hits. His arms hurt a little, but they were starting to feel better.
"It's a good thing the ice was there," Kel joked.
No one found it particularly funny, especially Aubrey. She looked like she wanted to hit Kel for saying that.
"That's not funny, Kel! They could've hurt him, especially number 48! I swear, every time they were both on the ice, he was gunning for Sunny every time he had the puck."
Sunny wanted to say he agreed with Aubrey's sentiment, but he didn't want her to go after Jared. All he wanted to do was go home and rest. He tugged on his mom's coat and told her his wishes, and she nodded. Though Kel wanted to stay for a few more minutes.
"Are you sure? The Bakers set up a table full of sweets for you guys, and you don't want to even get a cookie?"
Sunny saw the hungry look in his friend's eyes. He knew he would be disappointed during the ride back if he didn't get one treat, so he gave Kel the OK. His friend instantly lit up.
"Thank you, I'll make sure to grab you something!"
Kel raced to the snack table without a second thought. Aubrey sighed and dragged her hand down her face.
"Why is he like this?" Aubrey exhaled.
"I'll sh-share with you i-if he doesn't get y-you a-anything," Sunny said, causing Aubrey to smile and squeeze his hand.
As the trio waited for Kel to come back, a short blond woman walked up to them. She was wearing a cherry red shirt that had the Hart logo on the front and the number 70 on the back. She and Sunny's mom knew each other because they hugged and said a high-pitched "Hello."
"Harper, how are you?" Sunny's mom asked.
Harper chuckled as she broke off from the hug.
"I'm great! Sorry I didn't talk to you earlier. I tried looking for you, but the game started, and it's hard being a goalie's mom."
"Don't worry, I understand after watching Sunny today," Sunny's mom said.
Harper nodded before turning her attention to Sunny. She got in his face and patted the top of his head
"And you must be Sunny! I've heard so many stories about you from my husband. You were great out there, and tough too after being able to get up from taking all those hits and penalties."
Sunny kept his head down to hide his embarrassment. He was grateful for her praise, but he wished she respected his personal space. Thankfully, his mom lightly pulled her away from him.
"Anyway, it was great seeing you, but we're leaving soon. Just waiting for my son's friend to come back."
"Oh, before you go, let me know if you want me to make you a shirt. All the other parents have them with their kid's number."
"I'll think about it," Sunny's mom answered.
The two women said their goodbyes, and Kel returned. Thankfully, Kel got Aubrey something, and they didn't have to worry about those two getting into a fight. But Sunny still shared with her. Just seeing her smile made his day a little better.
After getting home on Saturday, Mari wanted them to practice nonstop to make up for the lost time. They practiced late into the night with only a break for dinner and a break to get ready for bed.
Sunday was no better.
The moment he woke up, Mari dragged him to the music room. He didn't get a chance to eat breakfast, but Mari promised him he would after five minutes of practice. Well, five minutes turned to ten, and then ten turned to a half hour. It wasn't until their mom reminded them to eat that Mari released him to relinquish his hunger.
Sunny wondered what Hero told her during their date because Mari had become more obsessive about their practices. She was harsher and more adamant about getting his part perfect. His mom was his only saving grace because she was the one to get him away from Mari, even if it was for a few minutes.
Hero did keep his word of coming over to watch them practice. He would make sure to compliment him and say he played perfectly. Sunny was thankful for the attempt, but he knew Mari didn't see it that way. She made sure to tell him what he did wrong when Hero left.
The practices also got worse after Hero left. She told him that he embarrassed her in front of Hero. She would leave him alone in the music room to practice nonstop and would only come back to scold him when he wasn't playing.
He practiced all day and for most of the night. Only stopping to eat. When he was alone, he was great, but when he was with Mari, all he made were mistakes.
He couldn't wait until the recital was over because he didn't know how much abuse he could take.
Sunny yawned as he struggled to keep his head up. He was exhausted from all the recital practices, and his teacher's monotone voice didn't help. He tried to drown them out, but all he could hear was that damn song.
"Hey, Sunny," he heard JJ whisper in his ear.
Sunny leaned closer to him so he could discreetly talk to him without the teacher noticing.
"The guys want you to sit with us at lunch today so we could talk about what went wrong on Saturday. You can bring Aubrey along if you want."
Sunny nodded. Aubrey would sometimes sit with the team to show her support and be with Sunny. He was glad she did that because he liked being around her, and it allowed him to share his lunch. He did feel bad about leaving his friends, especially Basil.
He had been eating alone a lot recently. Since Sunny and Kel had made their respective sports teams, they've been eating with their teammates more. Aubrey would sit with him on some days, but since Sunny was the one who brought her lunch, she would stick with him.
Sunny was also swamped with both hockey and recital practices. He had no time to hang out with his best friend.
It also hurt that Basil was the only one outside of Mari, who didn't know he played hockey. Sunny wished he could tell him so they could hang out, but he was still worried about Mari finding out. He didn't want to risk Basil taking a picture of him playing and Mari seeing it. So it was for the best to keep Basil in the dark until the recital ended.
The bell rang, and all the students went to their next period.
Since their previous class was the closest, Sunny and JJ were the first ones to make it to the cafeteria. Rudy was second with Mikhael in tow. After them were Aubrey and Tobias, and Sunny secretly gave her half of his lunch after she sat down. The only one they were waiting for was Alec.
As they waited, it gave Sunny the chance to look over at his friends' table. Basil was alone, and Sunny felt bad. He wanted to go and sit with him, but he needed to be here to talk about the game.
'Just wait until the recital,' Sunny thought.
Alec finally showed up with Victor in tow. He gave them all a friendly smile as he sat down. He also had to drag Victor down with him because the brooding boy looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to make sure someone showed up," Alec said, nodding his head over to Victor.
The brooding boy huffed as he disgruntledly ate his lunch. It got a light laugh from the group before they got serious.
"So, before we begin, I think someone needs to apologize for what they did on Saturday," Alec said, and Sunny gulped.
He didn't think Alec was going to single him out. He was going to take full responsibility for the loss, but he didn't expect Alec was going to be the one to make him.
"You know my dad is going to make you do it during practice, so you might as well get a head start on it," JJ added.
Sunny sighed in defeat. He cleared his throat to apologize, but Rudy beat him to it.
"Fine, I'm sorry, but Jared was asking for it after the things he said about Victor. I wished one of you had hit him after the way he celebrated."
He said that last part while staring directly at Mikhael. He responded by holding his arms out wide with an offended look on his face.
"Why are you looking at me? I did everything we learned during practice and what you told me."
"But you didn't do everything! If you did, then Sunny wouldn't have gotten as beaten up as he did!" Rudy shot back, and this piqued Aubrey's interest.
"So he was targeting Sunny the whole game?"
Rudy nodded, and a few of the others sheepishly joined him.
"It's what Jared does. We've heard from other teams that he would go after the new players," Tobias said.
"So why are you blaming me?" Mikhael asked.
Sunny also wondered why they were blaming Mikhael. For all he knew, he was doing what he was taught. He didn't even blame him for what happened.
"Because you're a defenceman. It's your job," Victor said bluntly.
Everyone paused for a moment because they thought he was going to add to what he said, but he went back to eating his lunch. Rudy then spoke to get everyone back on track.
"Our job as D-men is to not only help out the goalie but to also defend our teammates when someone tries to rough them up."
"Then why aren't you getting on the others' cases about it?" Mikhael questioned him.
"I will, but I haven't seen them yet. I'm telling you this now because what happened on Saturday shouldn't happen again."
Mikhael hung his head. Alec frowned and gave Rudy a disapproving look. He signaled at the downtrodden boy, and Rudy sighed before patting his back.
"I'm sorry for blaming you for what happened. It's my fault. If I didn't let my anger get the best of me, then we wouldn't be talking about this. It was your first game, and you're new to the sport, so I shouldn't be too harsh. You did a great job stepping up when I got benched."
Mikhael lifted his head and had a small smile on his face. Sunny could tell he appreciated what Rudy said but was still upset. He didn't blame him, but he was glad he was leaning toward forgiveness.
Basil sighed as he hid his face in his hands. He's sad, and he knows the cause of it. He's been spending less time with his friends.
It all started when Mari and Sunny started their recital practices. He was fine with it then because he knew his best friend wanted to spend time with his sister. He still had Hero, Aubrey, and Kel to hang out with, and it wasn't like Sunny and Mari didn't take time off to spend with them. Then everyone got busy with their hobbies.
First was Hero. He dove head first into his studies because he was at the age to be looking at colleges. Basil was able to handle it because he wasn't as close to him compared to the others. After all, he was the oldest. He was closer to Aubrey, Kel, and Sunny because he saw them more.
Then there was Kel. With basketball season starting, the energetic boy put all of his attention and effort into the sport. Which meant working out more, playing a lot of basketball, and eating with his teammates. It wasn't the first time Kel had done this, and Basil was expecting it to happen after summer break ended.
Then, out of nowhere, Sunny started eating with a bunch of different kids. Aubrey said it was because he was tutoring them, but he started having his doubts. He never saw them working, and he was in some classes with the kid who had a red streak in his hair, and he's never seen him struggle with work. He knew his best friend and first friend were hiding something from him, and he knew when it started.
The day when Aubrey brought that big bag onto the bus.
He knew it wasn't her softball bag because they all got her a pink one for her birthday. Softball season had also ended way before she started bringing that bag with her to school. Then she stopped bringing it every day to only bringing it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
What was also weird was that he never saw it in her homeroom's classroom. He did see it lying behind Sunny's homeroom teacher's desk. He also saw similar bags behind some of his teachers' desks or in the back of the class.
"So strange…" Basil quietly muttered to himself.
"What is Basil?"
Basil jumped when he heard their voice. He looked up to see a boy with brownish-black hair that was swept to the right. He was wearing a blue and black striped sweater and brown pants and shoes.
His name is Lloyd, or Pretty Boy is what a majority of the girls in school dubbed him. He is the prettiest boy in school, and some say if you look close enough, you could see sparkles radiate off of him.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just remembered something I saw on TV once."
Pretty Boy shrugged before taking a look at Basil's computer screen. He frowned when he saw it was empty.
"You still haven't started your article yet."
"Sorry, I'm just waiting for my friend to give me some time for an interview."
Pretty Boy rolled his eyes before going to his computer.
"Well you better get it down by Friday. Miss Thompson wants the school paper to be ready on Monday."
Basil sighed as he put his attention on his empty page. He joined the school paper staff because it gave him something to do until the gardening club started in Spring. The teacher also allowed him to use his camera to take pictures as well, but he had to pick a topic to write about. So, he picked sports.
He knows next to nothing about sports, except his friends loved playing them. The only reason why he picked the topic was because it would give him a chance to talk with Kel. The problem with it, though, was that he couldn't interview him for the paper. The basketball coach didn't want any of his players to talk to anyone who was part of the media.
Basil thought it was dumb because the media was the school paper, but he didn't want to argue with the coach because he scared him. So, Basil was left with nothing to write about. He couldn't ask Kel for help because that would be breaking the rules, and he couldn't ask Aubrey because he rarely ever saw her.
Basil sighed as he looked at his camera.
"I should at least try to do something productive," he said.
He got up from his desk and grabbed his stuff. He told the teacher that he'd be leaving early to take some pictures of some practices and that he'd give them to her tomorrow. She permitted him and he left.
He first went to the gym to snap some photos of the boys' basketball practices. Even though the boys' coach didn't want him to interview the players, he was fine with him taking pictures.
Basil walked up to the gym doors and opened them. He saw the players warming up, so he quietly moved to the bleachers to not distract them. He grabbed his camera and looked for Kel. When he saw him, he snapped a quick photo.
When it was printed, he looked it over. It was Kel in the air with the ball leaving his fingertips. Basil liked the picture, so he put it away before taking a few more.
He got some of the players passing the ball, taking shots, and going for layups. He wanted to take more, but the coach, a balding old man with a white goatee, came up to him.
"Going to need you to wrap it up. We'll be starting soon."
Basil nodded and quickly gathered his things to not get on the coach's bad side.
He left and thought about where to go next.
'The football team doesn't have practice today. The swim team already went to the center, and the girls' basketball team's practice is tomorrow.'
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see the person in front of him. He bumped into them, and he dropped everything.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention," Basil said as he quickly gathered his things.
When he was done, Basil saw the person he walked into was Mikhael. Someone who also started sitting with Sunny and his new friends. He was giving him a puzzled look, and Basil took the chance to leave.
He didn't get far when Mikhael stopped him.
"You work for the school paper. The sports section, right?"
Basil nodded, and it was then he noticed Mikhael was carrying a similar bag to the one Aubrey had.
"I'm m-mainly the photographer. I only chose sports because it was one of the remaining topics left," Basil answered.
"Yeah, I remember hearing Charlie say something about you not being good at your job."
Charlie, or Charlene, was another member of the school paper. She worked on the agriculture section of the paper, another reason why he chose the sports section. He was surprised she talked about him because he had never heard her talk during his time in the club.
"I-I don't really have anything to write a-about until the games start. It's mostly practices at the moment."
Basil thought their conversation would end there, but it appeared that Mikhael had other ideas.
"I might know something that could help you. But you gotta promise me that when you're taking pictures, you get my good side."
Basil didn't get a chance to respond before Mikhael wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him out of the school. He only hoped that he wasn't being taken advantage of.
"So I was thinking, to make you more aware of everything on the ice we'll have Rudy, Mikhael, and Keith try to check you before practice begins," Alec said, and Sunny wasn't a huge fan of it.
He didn't like the idea of three people who were bigger than him, trying to hit him. Alec must've noticed his displeasure with the idea because he quickly tried to clarify himself.
"They won't hit you hard, I'll make sure of it. Treat it like a game of tag, except everyone is it."
Sunny wanted to argue, but he knew this was as good as it would get.
Mikhael then walked into the locker room with a proud smile on his face.
"You're late," Rudy reprimanded him, but Mikhael didn't pay him any heed.
Since he was ready, Sunny left to get on the ice early. He didn't want to stick around for the argument that might take place between the two defencemen.
Sunny made it onto the ice and saw JJ, Tobias, Wyatt, and Milton were already warming up. He quickly got a puck and joined them. He skated over to the net and shot the puck, and like always, JJ stopped. He disappointedly shook his head before going to chat with Aubrey.
He didn't get far when he noticed his best friend aiming his camera at him. He instantly lost his balance and crashed onto the ice. He heard some of his teammates snickering behind him, but he didn't care because Basil now knew his secret.
He skated over to him with a mixture of shame and fear washing over him.
"Wh-What a-are you d-d-doing h-here?"
"Mikhael brought him so he could take pictures of him and interview him," Aubrey answered.
"Wh-Why?"
"I told you I'm part of the school newspaper. Don't you remember?" Basil said, and Sunny mentally kicked himself for allowing his stress to ignore his friend that day.
Before Sunny could make his case, Basil spoke up before he could open his mouth.
"Aubrey already told me everything. You don't need to worry about me telling Mari."
Sunny was relieved that his best friend wouldn't tell Mari. He was glad that he wouldn't have to keep his best friend in the dark about everything.
"But I am upset about you not telling me right away. I can keep a secret," Basil said.
Aubrey rolled her eyes before getting into Basil's face.
"What are you planning on getting me for Christmas?"
Basil slowly backed away, but Aubrey kept on pushing. She kept on asking him, and he looked at Sunny for help, but he left him to his own demise. He tried pushing her away, but she was a lot stronger than him.
"I'm getting you a–!"
"Don't answer. I'm just proving a point," Aubrey interrupted him, and he frowned.
"I see your point."
Sunny lightly snickered at his friends' antics before he felt someone knocking him off balance. He looked and saw it was Rudy.
"Alec told you we were doing this. Now, come on."
Rudy skated away, and Sunny looked over at his friends. They were encouraging him to follow, and he did just that. As he did, he felt a little bit of weight leaving his shoulders.