Chapter 2 – Star Power
"I can't do this." Teddi felt stage fright settle in as she watched girl after girl audition, some of them notable, some downright cringe-worthy, and singing off-key. It was like watching the auditions from Pitch Perfect, but worse. There were some who had no business auditioning; some of them sang so quietly that Teddi couldn't hear at all.
"Don't second-guess it," Grace said, brushing her fingers through her blonde hair. "You can do it. We're not letting you back out, not today."
"Would we ever make you do something you can't?" Sofi asked seriously.
"No, but –"
"So, shut up," Grace said, voice just as serious. "Your voice is beautiful. You are gonna kill it."
Teddi inhaled deeply as her name was called. "Teddi Conway?"
She turned to her girlfriends, whispering, "If I trip on my way up there –"
"You won't," Grace said optimistically. If there was one thing the Robertson twins inherited from their father, they were innocently, obliviously optimistic. They weren't what Teddi would call "dumb" necessarily, but sometimes, their optimism was less than helpful.
Sighing, Teddi knew she couldn't turn back. She rose from her seat, nervously swallowing. Her mouth felt dry. She hoped she remembered the words to the song she'd be auditioning with.
She tripped on her way up the stairs of the stage and swore under her breath. Leave it to her, Spazzway, to trip over her own feet on the way upstage. She would've laughed if her face weren't feeling like an oven. She still could hardly believe she was doing this. She couldn't dance to save her life. She was a total klutz off the ice; it often made her wonder whether the person she was on the ice and who she was in real life were two totally different people. Still, she swallowed hard and took her spot on the stage, looking at the drama teacher, Mrs. Connors, who looked at her expectantly.
"Hello, honey; what role would you like to audition for?"
"Um, Judy . . . I guess," stammered Teddi, her face still hot.
"It's okay," Mrs. Connors said, "take a deep breath. Which song will you be singing?"
"'Speechless' from the movie Aladdin," answered Teddi.
"Okay, take it away."
Teddi nodded, closing her eyes. She opened her mouth, but no words came out as she stood there nervously, like a deer in the headlights. She tried to remember the words to the song, but they soon came tumbling out of her as she opened her mouth, making sure to project her voice enough to be heard. Somehow, as she began singing, she grew more and more comfortable as she poured everything into it, the lyrics reminding her of the uphill battle she'd faced last year to advocate for women's rights on campus. Now, she stood auditioning for a show that celebrated feminism in every way possible and had been years ahead of the #MeToo movement. She felt that this was her way of finally asserting herself even more and showing everyone around campus that she was no longer the lost little duck that had to fight her way back into the flock and play with the boys. It was all coming to this, where she could finally branch out to different activities that went beyond hockey – she could explore other interests now that she knew girls' hockey was here to stay at Minnetonka Prep.
As her voice trailed off, though, her breath caught in her throat as suddenly, her heart began to race, and her ears flooded; she could barely hear anything around her as her chest went tight with a sort of breathlessness as the color drained from her face, a sheen of sweat slowly breaking on her neck.
Opening her eyes, she began panting as her vision swam; whether they were misty with tears or the sweat that stung in them, she didn't know. But she couldn't get her limbs to work as suddenly, Sofi was by her side in a flash. She felt her best friend's hand rubbing her back as her hearing cleared enough for her to hear Sofi whispering, "Tee? Breathe, in through your nose, out through your mouth."
She tried, but couldn't get a breath in as her chest seared with fire that didn't compare to the heat she'd felt in her face earlier.
"Teddi, step down, go get a drink of water, honey."
Teddi shook her head as Sofi led her off the stage, still rubbing her back.
"Come on, breathe."
"I can't!" Teddi squeaked out, tears rolling down her face.
"Yes, you can. Take a deep breath slowly." Sofi slowly sat her down, still rubbing her back as she rocked back and forth. Finally, she caught her breath and began evenly breathing, but she still felt shaken as she buried her face into her hands.
"Are you all right?" Sofi asked her.
"I . . . I don't know," Teddi choked out. "I don't know what the hell that was."
"I think you had an anxiety attack. I mean, in a week or so, it'll be a year since Bombay got admitted to the hospital," pointed out Sofi.
"Don't remind me!" Teddi sniffled. "I already lost my mom. I . . . that was too close, him being in there."
"But he's okay now," Sofi pointed out. "He's been going to all his doctor's appointments, and you know your grandma won't let anything happen to him."
"That's beside the point, Sofe! Ever since Mom died five years ago, it's like I keep losing family no matter where I go."
"That's not true. You still have your dad, your aunts, and your uncles. Gordon and Casey are still around, and you've got Ted, too."
"But I hate that Mom won't be there for my sweet sixteen." Teddi lifted her head from her hands and stared up at the ceiling, hoping the fluorescent lighting would be bright enough to stop her tears.
"I know," Sofi whispered sympathetically. "But you know Connie will be there in her place. And Gordon will be dancing with you, too."
Teddi nodded. The logical part of her brain knew that. But there was still part of her that couldn't believe how much she'd endured the last four to five years. Between losing her mother, getting thrown out of the Ducks only to earn the title of being a Duck again, witnessing Billy suffer through injuries in the net and the bullying he'd endured last year at the hands of Varsity, needing to fight so hard for girls to have a hockey team at Minnetonka Prep, she was shocked at the fact that she was even still standing; she'd dealt with things that most fifteen-year-olds weren't equipped to deal with and still managed to be a honor's student, yet, this made her wonder whether she could take anything more at all.
Wiping her eyes, she hoped her panic attack didn't screw up her chances of getting the role she'd been dreaming of for weeks. And she watched Sofi go back to the auditorium so she could do her audition; Teddi inhaled and exhaled deeply, her gaze drifting back toward the auditorium doors.
"COME ON, LADIES! HUSTLE!" Coach Chase roared at the boys on Varsity. "PICK UP THE PACE! USE THAT TALENT GOD GAVE YOU!"
Evan Morrow swore colorfully under his breath as he skated up to the goalpost, taking his shot. Billy caught his shot.
"Good shot, Ev!" Billy said, having Jace clear the puck out of the zone.
Evan sighed deeply. While he was flattered to be picked for Coach Austin Chase's Varsity team, part of him was pissed to be selected for the second line. He also understood, however, that Spencer Vargas was the more experienced player, had made Varsity as a freshman, and had proven himself enough to be on the first line – Evan knew Spencer deserved it. But he also knew he wasn't alone. Tommy Phillips was bitter that he got bumped down to the third line and that Travis Bowman was pissed that he was on the second line while his previous partner, Oliver Underwood, made the first line.
It was a change that nobody was accustomed to. But there was the added pressure that Coach Chase was watching them and deciding who would be the captain. When the roster sheet got posted in the quad the day after tryouts, and nobody saw a definitive captain and alternates, everyone on the team was out for blood. Spencer obviously wanted it badly because he was in his junior year. Tommy really wanted it because it was his senior year and his last shot. Evan really, really wanted it because he'd been the captain of the Ducks, and he wanted to prove he could lead this group of upperclassmen to victory. However, he knew some upperclassmen still felt he didn't belong there, namely Abraham Izzah, Harry Hart, Arod Goldstein, and Joshua Finnegan, who'd been some of the worst bullies he'd ever dealt with last year. Being on a team with them was no better; they would never see him as their equal. And it wasn't helped by Joshua Finnegan outright refusing to defend him or give him passes during practice, which Coach Chase seemed to overlook.
Evan rolled his eyes as he watched the puck clear from the zone; he got his head in the game and retook center ice, staring down Spencer. At the very least, he had Logan and Nick at his side; even though Logan had played left center last year, Coach Chase put Logan in as a winger instead, probably because he couldn't think of anywhere else to put him.
He grabbed the puck and barreled across the ice toward Billy. He smoothly passed the puck over to Logan, who skated close to the net, only for Justin Maywood to check him slightly and clear the puck from the first line's zone. Izzah grabbed the puck and sped over to the second line's side of the ice, but before he could take his shot, Evan, Logan, Travis, and Nick piled up in front of Quinn Jordan to protect the post.
"Guys, clear it!" yelled Quinn.
Travis grunted, grabbing the puck and clearing it out of the zone; the puck clanged against the boards as Nick raced after it, getting the puck away from the wall before he raced into the opposing zone, Evan skating hard and hauling ass to cover Nick.
Finally, Coach Chase shrilly blew his whistle. "Change it! Hart, Mizrahi, Derrington! Trade places with the second line!"
The boys nodded, jumping over the guardrail. Evan sighed as he took his seat on the bench, having a swig of water as he watched Hart take center ice; so far, not even Harry Hart could get his shot past the Cheetah, and the guy was known for dirty play, and Evan didn't want to imagine the crap Hart would try to pull in order to get his shot. Evan secretly wondered if Hart had been part of the bullying Billy had gone through last year – the entire Varsity team had been intensely jealous of Billy because he was so talented and good enough to play on Varsity as a freshman. Their way of expressing that contempt had been through idle threats and isolation, to cut Billy down a few pegs and to try and separate him from the rest of the flock by making it clear that if he ever tried helping the Ducks and other underclassmen out, that things would get a whole lot worse for him. And Evan seethed silently as he watched Hart cross-check Spencer and steal the puck away, but he ended up rising to his feet in anger when he saw Harry hook an arm around Justin's neck and steer him toward the goalpost; Billy's face went white as a ghost underneath his helmet as Hart when barreling toward him with Maywood as the battering ram, and they collided with the goalpost.
"Call something!" Evan demanded of Coach Chase.
Coach Chase just shrugged nonchalantly. "That's hockey, kid."
Evan shook his head vehemently as he watched Maywood shove Hart off of him, but Billy wasn't getting up; in fact, he lay there frozen on the ice, staring upward like a deer in the headlights.
Evan's heart pounded. He had a feeling that Hart's stunt would bring up some bad memories for Billy. He still clearly remembered Billy's horrific injury when they'd been at Camp EPIC together that first summer; that summer had been hell on earth, and it had only worsened by Koobler fainting on the ice and Billy getting his jugular sliced open by an opposing player from the Dominators. He still remembered all that blood pooling on the ice, staining it a terrifying shade of crimson as Billy bled from his throat, with Ted Orion desperately trying to save his life, how Adam Banks had a severe panic attack, how everybody had felt physically ill with several people losing their lunch right there on the ice . . . poor Billy, all cut up and bloody, whiter than a sheet . . . Evan shuddered as he remembered it so clearly in his mind, and he could only imagine what Billy was feeling right now.
"Goldstein, change it!" snapped Coach Chase, watching as Arod Goldstein jumped over to trade places with Billy, who had yet to get up at all; Justin knelt near him in apparent concern.
"Billy, are you okay?" Evan heard Justin asking anxiously.
"Kid?" Spencer was asking.
"Billy, breathe, come on," Jace said. "In through your nose, out through your mouth."
"I can't!" Evan heard Billy choking out. "It's not working!"
"Get his helmet off!" Jace ordered Spencer, who knelt beside the goalie and removed his helmet. Evan jumped over the guardrail, Logan and Nick on his tail; he seized Billy's water bottle and skated over to the group clustered around the Cheetah, who lay there chalk-white with tears gathering in his eyes as he struggled even to breathe correctly.
"Billy, come on, take a deep breath," Evan said. "Can you get up?"
Billy, still choking and sobbing, extended his hand to Evan, who grasped it tightly and hauled him to his feet.
"You're all right," Jace said, patting Billy on the shoulder.
"Banks, clear off!" Chase demanded.
Evan shook his head in disgust. "Come on, man, let's go sit down and get you some water."
After Varsity practice was over, Evan and Spencer led the way into the locker room, where all the boys sat down heavily, exhausted and sweaty. After Billy's scare in front of the net earlier, Evan was in no mood to put up with Hart, who was still smirking, proud of himself and his stunt.
"Nice move earlier, Hart! If you did that, you'd be in the box!" Evan spat.
"Whatever." Hart rolled his eyes.
"There was nothing funny about that!" Jace snarled. "How about I paint you a picture? You try standing there in the net and have someone collide with you, and he skates over your neck and cuts open your jugular! Let's see what you look like afterward!"
"Guys, I'm okay." Billy's eyes filled with fresh tears.
"No, Banksy! What he did was not okay!" snapped Nick. "And you're far from okay! Don't lie!"
"Hey, you guys," Spencer said, instantly dispelling tension from the argument; everyone turned to glance at him, though the tension just as quickly returned when they noticed the grave look in his eyes. "You might wanna come over and see this. The captain positions got posted. And Evan, I'm sorry, you're not gonna like what you see."
"It can't be that bad," Evan argued, deciding nothing could be worse than Hart being an arrogant ass trying to take out Billy from the goalpost.
"Well, you're not the captain. You're not even an alternate," said Spencer hesitantly.
"Haha, very funny, Vargas," Evan chuckled.
"No, man, look."
Evan walked up to the roster sheet and peered at it. What he saw made his jaw drop to the floor.
Jace Cole (C)
Tommy Phillips (A)
Billy Banks (A)
His heart sank as he turned to glance at Jace, Billy, and Tommy, only managing a soft "Congratulations" at them before heading off to hit the showers, trying to hold back his disappointed tears.
A/N: The song Teddi sings for her audition is "Speechless" from the live-action Aladdin movie; if you want to see the version of the chapter that has the song, you can read it over on AO3, since I had to remove the lyrics due to copyright violations.
