Chapter 12: The Girls Are Back

The first practice as a team proved to be a really good one. The girls being integrated into the team and being allowed to practice with the boys brought forth a revitalized energy and determination. And even though Evan, Logan, Anthony, the Johnson brothers, and Spencer willingly gave up their spots for the girls to have a shot, they sat on the bench watching the first practice. Teddi led the charge in laps around the rink; her face turned into an expression of fierce determination as she skated around, proving to be the fastest one next to Sam and the most focused one, and as she led them, Katie, Finley, Lauren, Maya, and Sofi followed her lead. Each time she passed Logan, she saw him smiling, and she knew that he didn't regret his choice for a single second. He wanted to let her have the chance to shine after she spent the past couple of weeks cheering him on; it was his turn to step aside for her and support her unconditionally.

Vargas was working them to the bone with twenty laps, one set going in one direction, another ten going in another. When he finally blew his whistle, they were all panting hard and kneeling at his feet, glancing up at him.

"All right, now that we have the girls integrated, this means we've got to be prepared for anything," he announced. "I've been doing homework on the Varsity; I watched their tapes from past games, and I'm not gonna lie to you all. They're good. Really, really good. They beat us last year in the J.V. versus Varsity exhibition, which means if you wanna get your pride back, you all better be willing to work."

Teddi nodded, sharing determined glances with the other girls. They were more than prepared to work. Tomorrow morning, they would meet at the rink at the break of dawn before their day of classes started, and it would continue this way all week long until Friday night when they played the Varsity team. In fact, it had been Teddi's suggestion to Coach Vargas that they do early morning practices leading up to the match, because any little extra practice they got in would help. And she was relieved that Coach Vargas seemed to agree with her on the idea.

"The way they ground your faces into the dirt last time was no fluke," Coach Vargas continued. "I know those of you who were with the Ducks will understand what I'm about to tell you. When Orion and I were with the Stars together, they called this blue-collar hockey. The opposing team won't get you on the first shot. They'll get you on the second, the third, and the fourth; they'll attack you from every angle at every opportunity and look for every single weakness. That's how they beat you. And that means –"

"Our best friend is gonna be defense, right?" asked Maya, sharing a look with Lauren.

"Yes," Coach Vargas said. "And because you girls joined, you painted a target on your backs. They're going to take advantage of you being smaller and not as fast and not as strong. The most considerable risk here is that the boys on Varsity won't fight fair; they won't treat you like girls and will obviously go for cheap shots. The problem is if they hit you too hard in the lower half of your body, you could risk a straddle injury. So, that means the only way you're gonna have a shot in this showdown is if you go on defense and make it count. This isn't just your shot; it's our second shot." Coach Vargas cast a poignant glance at Katie, who blushed vigorously as she looked down at her feet. "Now, on your feet. We're going to work on some defense drills in front of the net. Cheetah, you're up. And at this game, you're the starter."

Billy nodded, grinning madly before racing to the goalpost, smacking his stick against the metal rods as Coach Vargas dumped a whole bunch of pucks on the ice.

"Alright, kids, let's clean up the garbage," he announced. "I'm sure you're all familiar with this."

"You know it!" laughed Teddi, already going up in front of the net with Lauren, Maya, Sofi, and the others. The next thing they knew, Coach Vargas was shooting puck after puck at them, and they were racing around, clearing the pucks away from the net, working up a sweat. But Teddi wouldn't lie and say she wasn't having fun.

"That's it, girls! Nice save there, Maya! Keep it up!"

After practice for the night was over, everyone was panting hard. The girls went off to shower first while the boys waited for them to finish. Teddi tilted her head back and allowed the hot spray of the water to hit her sore muscles as she scrubbed her hair with her shampoo.

After Maya finished in the showers, she quickly got dressed in the Victoria's Secret sweatpants and T-shirt she'd packed away. She sprayed herself with Poppy from Bath and Bodyworks before exiting the locker room, shouldering her hockey bag. And as she prepared to wait outside in the hallway for Lauren so they could head to dinner, she saw Tommy Phillips approaching her, wearing a nervous smile.

"Hi," she said curtly.

"Hey," he said.

"Where have you been?" She didn't bother hiding the bitterness in her voice. Although she was glad that Tommy hadn't partaken in harassing Billy the last couple of weeks, she still felt that he was complacent in a lot of the maltreatment she and her friends had been going through, even though he insisted he was nothing like the rest of the Varsity team. But as mad as she was, she was still willing to hear him out; a part of her couldn't forget how sweet he'd been to her during the first game of the season at Eden Hall. And looking at him, he seemed remorseful and sincere.

"Acting like a jerk," he said. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened with dinner last week. And if I'm being honest, it was unfair of Alec and Cole to go after Banksy like that; it was two against one."

"That's an understatement," Maya retorted. "It was really shitty of you to just bail on us like that."

"I didn't think it was fair either," Tommy said, reaching for her hand. "I'm also sorry about what happened to Bombay. Is he all right?"

Maya sighed. "He's still comatose. Teddi's been to the hospital to visit him every night. He's the closest thing to a grandpa she has."

"Well, you know, after the Cardinals game, we never got the chance to go on that date. I say after the J.V. versus Varsity showdown, I owe you an ice cream still," Tommy said, smiling gently.

Maya managed to smile back. She was pleased that he remembered; that he didn't have an utterly thick skull and was thoughtful of the little things. "No, actually, you owe me a pizza at Pizzeria Lola. Specifically, a spicy, hot Lady Zaza."

Tommy lit up at that. "You like Korean food, too?"

"There's a lot you still gotta learn about me," Maya grinned.

"I bet," Tommy laughed, squeezing her hand.

At the hospital, Teddi and Henry sat at Gordon's bedside like they'd been doing every night since he got brought there, and instead of eating in the mess hall with the others on J.V., Teddi and her brother opted to eat dinner at the hospital, watching over Gordon. Tonight, Ted had ordered them all pizza, the good stuff from Pizzeria Lola, and they all got their own individual ones because they all liked their toppings differently – Charlie loved pepperoni and sausage (the My Sha-Roni), Casey liked the mushroom one (the Forager), Teddi loved the BFD (the one that came with Sunnyside eggs), Ted often opted for the classic Sweet Italian, and Henry, much to everyone's disgust, loved the Hawaiian pizza. As far as Teddi knew, nobody else in their family liked Hawaiian pizza besides Henry. Even their mother hadn't liked that before she passed away.

"Where did you come from?" Teddi asked disgustedly as she watched Henry dip his Hawaiian slice into ranch dressing (something he always requested whenever he ordered pizza from anywhere). "Are you sure you're not adopted?"

"Don't knock it till you try it," Henry said around a mouthful of bacon and pineapple pizza.

"That is disgusting. Ham and pineapple do not belong on a pizza. Much less dunked in ranch."

"Well, look at you! You order a pizza with a raw egg on it! So don't judge me!"

Teddi rolled her eyes and continued glaring in disgust at Henry's choice of food.

They all ate with minimal conversation between them. Being in the same room as Gordon was weird, and not having him be part of their family conversation. As far as Teddi knew, Casey hadn't left her husband's side since he'd gotten admitted to the hospital. If she wasn't working her shifts, she was right there. And she knew her dad had been spending the night in the hospital every night. Both of them looked exhausted; her dad had dark circles under his eyes, and her grandmother's skin was drawn and pale, her eyes almost sunken.

Luckily, Ted spoke for her. "Casey, Charlie, I think the two of you should head home and get some real sleep tonight."

Charlie glowered at him as he finished the last of his pizza crust. "Not gonna happen."

"Why are you such a masochist?" Teddi demanded, shaking her head at her dad. "Sleeping in a hospital chair is going to kill your back, Dad. Go home. Sleep in your own bed."

"And what if he wakes up?" Charlie asked, his voice weak as he tried to justify not leaving.

"The doctors will call you if he does," reasoned Ted. "Come on, I'll drive you and your mom home, and I'll have Fulton and Portman pick up your cars and drop them off. Afterward, I'll drive Teddi and Henry back to school so they don't get in trouble for breaking curfew."

Casey and Charlie nodded reluctantly. They knew Ted would continue putting up a fight until they complied. Teddi watched as her dad and Casey each took turns kissing Gordon on the forehead before they exited the room together.

Teddi sighed as Henry left to go use the bathroom. That left her alone with her step-grandpa, who lay there still, the tubes down his throat, helping him breathe, the IV lines running through his veins, more tubes draining the blood and fluid from his lungs, wires monitoring his brain activity, blood pressure cuffs monitoring his BP, cords measuring his temperature. He looked white against the sheets on the bed, the only color in his face being the dark circles underneath his eyes. The only indicator that he was alive was the steady lines showing his heart rate, pulsing evenly, not flatlining. Still, she couldn't help the hot tears that filled her eyes as she watched him and held his hand.

"I made the team," she whispered. "We won. Uncle Adam and Aunt Connie convinced the board to let the girls and me in on the exhibition. God, I wish you could've been there to see it; Adam was channeling you; you would've been proud. If we beat Varsity, the school will form a girls' hockey program that will take effect next year. Evan and Logan gave up their spots for me and Sofi." She smiled softly, ignoring the tears that stung on her cheeks. "I talked to Coach Vargas after practice finished tonight. I told him I wanna dedicate the J.V. versus Varsity showdown to you on Friday night. He's gonna let us. I'm just happy the girls are back and that we can finally play."

She ran her fingers along the back of Gordon's hand before continuing. "I think I know what I want. For a while, I thought about playing pro. I'd wanna go straight into the Professional Women's Hockey League right out of college, but afterward, I think I'd wanna go to law school like Uncle Adam, but I'd wanna do social justice; I'd wanna advocate for women's rights and children's rights because I'd want to pave the way for girls and women to have opportunities and better kinds of protection. And I'd prosecute. God, can you imagine me going against Adam in a courtroom?" She giggled, wiping her eyes. "I miss you," she added. "I just want you to wake up. Because you promised you'd dance with me at my sweet sixteen. I'm holding you to that." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before departing from the room so she could wait for Ted to come and pick her and Henry up.

The following afternoon at practice, Teddi once more led the team in a warm-up. But as they skated around the rink, they were sharply cut off by Vargas's whistle. Practice that morning had gone well, and Teddi was determined to prove that she could lead them. She knew Vargas was watching her closely and that this could mean a significant change coming forth if they ended up beating Varsity. So, when Vargas cut them off from warm-ups early and demanded they take a knee, she felt her heart pound fiercely in her chest as she glanced up at the J.V. coach, who looked at them all in the Barbarians jerseys critically as if something looked out of place.

What intrigued Teddi was that Coach Vargas had a cardboard box sitting at his feet; it made her wonder what was inside and what he would say to them all.

"You guys are not skating like Barbarians!" he declared. "You look like something else. A flock of ducks." He smiled, his eyes sparking with a sort of amusement at the looks of panic on his team's faces as he reached inside the cardboard box, seizing something. What he pulled out elicited a gasp from Teddi as joyful tears stung her eyes. After having dealt with so much devastation due to Gordon being in the hospital, it felt nice to cry happy tears for once.

"I spoke with Orion, Alex Morrow, and Constance Germaine. We got these custom-made, and Orion pulled some strings to ship them overnight. Hopefully, these all fit you guys." He fanned out the jersey, which was in the traditional orange and black of Minnetonka Preparatory, but on the front of it, instead of the ugly Barbarian logo, there was a duck bill hockey mask, and the logo was lined with gold.

"Holy shit!" gasped Nick.

"That's the Anaheim Ducks logo!" yelled Sam, pointing it out to everyone.

"And the Ducks are okay with us doing this?" asked Gordy, grinning widely.

"Consider it a gift from the Ducks to you guys," grinned Vargas. "They wanted to give something back to you all." He flipped the jersey around to show what it said on the back – CONWAY 96.

He flung the jersey toward Teddi with a swift motion before seizing another jersey from the pile; this one emblazoned with Nick's name. He hurled it toward Nick, who caught it eagerly. The kids clustered around him, their faces alive with excitement as they exchanged their old Barbarian jerseys for the fresh, vibrant Duck ones. Among the kids, Katie and Finley beamed with joy as they shared a special moment, swapping their jerseys. Up until this practice, the girls had to make do with oversized practice jerseys, so the new Duck jerseys, designed to fit female bodies, were a real relief for them. It was more than just a jersey; it was a symbol of identity and self-worth, something they felt they had lost since arriving at this elitist school. As they put on the new jerseys, it was as if they were reclaiming a part of themselves. But it was Billy who seemed the most affected. He wore the same jersey number as his mother, Julie, who had once been a Ducks goalie. The emotion on his face was palpable as he gazed down at his jersey, realizing that he was truly back where he belonged, with his real friends. Teddi understood how much this meant to Billy, considering how he had been separated from the flock since the beginning and hardly given a proper chance to say goodbye to them. Once they were all clad in their new Duck jerseys, they formed a V formation and glided across the ice, joyfully quacking.

"Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!"

This meant not only were the girls back, but the Ducks were back, too. And when they beat Varsity, the Ducks would be here to stay.

33 Sports Pub was packed when Hal Vargas arrived that night. When Ted called and asked him to get a drink, Hal could hardly refuse. Although the Ducks weren't a major pain in the ass to put up with, they were a handful, especially the girls. But he was glad that Evan Morrow made the right choice in stepping down because he was right: Teddi Conway was better than him, and he hardly missed Evan at all. Sure, Morrow was a good scorer and did his part on defense, but he was the body of the team while Teddi was the heart – everyone listened to her and naturally followed her lead just as well as they did Evan, and Hal knew that if things went in their favor, and there was a separate girls' hockey program to take effect next year, he wouldn't hesitate to make Morrow the captain.

He entered the sports bar's main dining room and saw Ted conversing with the owner, who was carrying a baby boy on his hip. Looking at the owner's face and then at the pictures on the wall, Hal knew that this was Greg Goldberg, the Ducks' original goalie who'd been coached first by Bombay and then by Orion. Ted was already nursing a bottle of Sam Adams, and gestured for Hal to come over.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Goldberg asked as he passed his infant son off to a blonde woman sitting at the counter, whom Hal assumed was Goldberg's wife.

"Do you have Yuengling?" Hal asked.

"Bottle or draft?"

"Draft."

Goldberg nodded, went to the beer taps, grabbed a glass, and poured Hal his beer. When the glass was placed in front of him, Hal raised his glass to Ted.

"Here's to the game," Ted said, taking a long sip.

Hal nodded, sipping his drink before saying, "They're a handful."

"I know from experience. I coached their parents."

"What were their parents like when they went to Eden Hall?"

"Stubborn, determined, passionate, rambunctious, and major pains in my ass, but a joy to coach and very teachable once they allowed me to teach them," Ted said, wearing a fond smile.

"They weren't always teachable?"

"You could say that. Conway, Reed, and Goldberg were the most stubborn of them all. Now you know why Teddi wasn't willing to give up fighting for girls' hockey – she's so much like her father," Ted said in a wistful tone. "Conway initially resisted being taught and was content with just scoring. However, I later realized that he had personal issues stemming from his biological father and stepfather abandoning him. I also learned how much he admired Bombay. But Bombay was either one of two extremes: a complete marshmallow or a hardened ass obsessed with winning. I couldn't be too lenient or too strict. Eventually, I earned Conway's respect. Where do you think he got his kid's name from?"

Hal nodded, taking another long sip of beer. Hearing this from Ted, Hal couldn't help feeling a little envious. Ted and Gordon each had a bond with the kids who'd been on the Ducks – the kids looked at them with so much love and adoration and were so used to the inclusivity; Teddi Conway had grown used to her father's approach to coaching and was used to playing with boys all the time, but her need to face the reality that in high school, that sort of thing was looked down upon, he knew he hadn't been the fairest to her because she hadn't been prepared for that. He winced as he remembered Teddi accusing him of being a sexist pig with obsolete views on women's rights, but that was far from the case – he snuck his daughter Finley onto the team when Finley begged him to find a loophole. Hal knew that any loophole out there was nonexistent, so his decision to let Finley masquerade as a boy to play on a team of boys came from a place of wanting to give her chances in an environment that would never give her a fair shot. Still, part of him was terrified of Finley facing the same fate Katie had faced – he remembered when Katie's head slammed into that goalpost, and she showed no signs of waking up.

On that note, he took another gulp of beer as if the taste of it could erase that memory from his mind. But he knew alcohol only clouded your mind and that it was just a temporary thing. What mattered was the permanent, what could be done to make changes right now. And while he was grateful for Teddi Conway for reopening his case, he knew that the pressure was going to be on their shoulders at the grudge match, that if this failed, they'd be proving those board members right in that girls had no place playing hockey.

"What was it like coaching a co-ed team?" he found himself asking Ted.

Ted sighed. "Banks and Germaine were the only women on a team of boys, and they had to share a changing room with the boys because there was nowhere else to go, which presented a risk. I knew the boys wouldn't take advantage of them, but changes were necessary. Banks was underutilized and disempowered during the Goodwill Games, and Germaine lacked self-preservation. Although she could take hits, she struggled on defense. It was clear they felt less important than the boys. I believed it was their turn to come first, especially Banks."

"I'll second that," said Goldberg, pecking his wife on the cheek and moving to kiss his son goodbye, but the baby was squirming and crying in his mother's arms as she bounced him up and down; clearly, the kid needed his nap. "I hated it when Orion put the Cat Lady in before me. I didn't want to give up my spot to her even though I knew she was better. The new Ducks are a lot more mature than I was – the fact that Evan and the others gave up their spots for the girls shows real humbleness and teamwork."

"And who scored our winning goal against the Varsity, Goldberg?" asked Ted, smirking in Goldberg's direction.

Goldberg laughed. "I begged Charlie to never do that to me again."

Hal couldn't help chuckling along with them. Ted seemed to notice his silent yearning for the Ducks' respect because he said, "You're earning it, Hal; they're seeing now that you mean well. But it also helps to let your guard down with them once in a while."

Hal's eyebrows shot up in confusion.

"If you show them that you feel things and if you allow them in, they'll change you," Ted said in that same, wistful tone he used when talking about Charlie Conway. "Conway did with me. Once I dropped my defenses, he dropped his – it was Bombay who showed him who I really was, and he realized he needed to do the same. That's the only way you'll ever be able to earn their respect. And you're doing it now. They're seeing what you really are. My advice: Don't be afraid of that. Because those kids are something special. Especially Conway, LaRue, Morrow, and Banks."

Hal nodded, smiling. "Thanks, Ted. When did you get so wise?"

"After I got married and had a kid. The car accident unknowingly helped, too. And coaching the Ducks in high school helps – those kids helped make me wiser, especially Conway. And I know those kids will do the same thing for you."

"I'll drink to that."

The name of the Pizzeria, Pizzeria Lola, is an actual location in Minneapolis. I've watched many episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and Pizzeria Lola was one of the places featured on that show, and it's still in business today.