the size of the rink was the first thing i noticed when we all entered it for practice. the second thing, was all the state championship flags. and thirdly, i noticed the diligent varsity players, who were practicing in front of us.

"they look pretty good." luis admitted, watching as they played. i nodded in agreement, they seemed to be very talented.

julie looked up at the ceiling, at the rows and rows of championship flags,"they sure won a lot of championships."

adam scoffed,"they're not so hot."

i shrugged, tilting my head to get a better look,"no, the captain is, he's hot."

adam scoffed and hit my shoulder,"babe."

i tried not to let my face scrunch up in awkwardness, but it didn't work.

he rolled his eyes at me and i sighed,"i'm sorry, blame my father, he's the one who gave me all these issues."

adam laughed, nudging me,"it's okay, i'll breakthrough."

charlie tried to reassure us,"come on guys, we could skate out there."

i shook my head, not sure that was true. but i had to stick with my team, so i skated with them to get on the ice.

however, it would seem varsity knew exactly what we were doing, because they met us at the door, the captain smirking,"if it isn't captain duckie."

fulton sneered,"get your dirty hands off of him."

the boy gasped facetiously,"ooh a bash brother. i'm so scared."

i rolled my eyes,"well, maybe you should be."

he stared down at me, knitting his brows,"if it isn't scarlett gilinksy. loved the way you kissed blondie after you won. it was hot."

i looked at him with disgust,"i'd prefer if you didn't comment on my kissing skills, thank you."

he scoffed,"i'll do what i want."

adam huffed,"hey, man, don't mess with me."

"or what?" he questioned, provoking all of us.

that's when everything hit the fan. a rumble broke out, and it took the varsity coach sweeping them away for it to stop.

once they were fully gone, we all got on the ice, warming up before our new coach arrived.

charlie turned to dwayne, smirking,"how about it, cowboy? round up?"

connie frowned,"shouldn't we wait for the new coach before we mess around, Charlie?"

i nodded, knowing this couldn't end well for us,"i agree, i don't think we should-"

"this is how we practice," charlie cut me off, "ducks hockey. he'll have to get used to is sooner or later."

i shook my head,"that's just...not how it works."

but charlie was tired of listening to me, and they had already started the game.

dwayne had his rope, and was swinging it around,"yee-haw! round em' up doggies!"

i decided to try one more time to convince charlie,"i just really don't think that's how it works, cap."

charlie scoffed,"loosen up, linsky."

i rolled my eyes and skated in the opposite direction of him. he was so hardheaded, it was exhausting.

i watched as averman hid in the net and i went to pull him out of it.

i laughed,"cheater."

"damn it, scar," he griped, grabbing onto danny,"you ruined my plan."

"averman!" danny laughed, attempting to shake him off.

charlie was caught and hit the ground. we heard a whistle causing us all stopped in our tracks behind charlie.

it was our new coach. who we had just officially met, while playing a game where we get caught with a rope, like cattle.

he spoke flatly and harshly,"my name is coach orion. you can call me coach or coach orion."

i eyed him for a moment, wondering why he looked so familiar.

charlie chuckled lightly, making fun of our new coach,"you can call me charlie."

we started to laugh, but it was very short lived when we saw coach's hardened expression.

coach shrugged,"that must be what the 'c' on your jersey stands for, huh? it sure doesn't stand for captain."

i raised my eyebrows, oddly finding his authority kind of attractive. i hated myself for thinking it, but i couldn't help it. bombay had a warped sense of authority, and he never quite got it right. coach orion knows exactly where he stands and i liked that.

russ attempted to save us, charlie declining the offer to respond,"sorry, coach. we were just messing with you, ya know?"

danny spoke, standing up for charlie,"bombay gave him that 'c'."

he nodded,"and i respect that. but that's the past, this is my team now. and i'll be selecting the captain."

charlie scoffed in disbelief,"you've gotta be kidding me, right? you're the rookie here, we've all been together four years."

coach stared at him harshly,"okay, charlie. laps. right now."

charlie sneered, throwing down his gloves, "how many, coach orion?"

"i don't recall saying." he answered.

charlie sighed and started laps. i knew he already hated our new coach, but that's just because he's only ever had bombay. charlie thinks he calls the shots, but that's just not true anymore.

coach turned his attention back to us,"now, you listen up and you listen good. we are here for one reason and one reason only," he looked to averman,"you know what it is? it starts with a 'w'."

averman thought for a second, answering like coach was our drill sergeant,"to win, coach orion, sir!"

coach answered immediately,"no."

russ started to laugh, but covered it up with a cough, after coach glared at him.

"to work," he gave us the correct answer,"high school hockey, is very hard work. and it all begins with self defense. i've seen your tapes. i know you can score goals. i just don't know if you can stop them."

"hey," goldberg interjected, offended at the words, but when orion was unamused, he stifled,"sorry, sir."

he started to berate us a little bit, but i was still mostly trying to figure out how i knew him, "you're not kids anymore or little duckies anymore. so, i'm not gonna treat you that way," i nodded, not totally disagreeing with his words,"you're gonna learn to play two way hockey; offense and defense. it's going to take one thing. it starts with a 'w'."

coach once again looked at averman to answer.

averman shouted,"to work, coach orion, sir!"

"wrong," coach shut him down again,"will. it's gonna take real will...if you wanna play in my barn. alright? count off, let's climb the ladder."

•

we were working with the goalies, starting with goldberg, who was letting all the pucks pass him by.

guy made the shot, and goldberg rolled his eyes,"yeah, merry christmas, guy."

i laughed and skated up to the puck.

goldberg's face fell, knowing i was going to destroy him, he tried to stall,"scarlett, scar, gilinksy, linsky, linsk-"

i sighed, resting my arm on my stick,"goldberg, what is your point?"

he smiled lightly,"can you go easy on me?"

i smirked,"no thanks."

i skated further away from the puck, causing goldberg to groan. i skated fast and jumped into a spin landing right in-front of the puck. i switched from right to left, before faking right and sailing the puck through the air right through goldberg.

"gilinksy!" coach yelled.

i skated over, a little scared that i was about to get yelled at,"yes, coach?"

he furrowed his brows,"where do i know you?"

i snapped my fingers, glad that he had recognized me too,"i was wondering the same thing. were you ever in seattle?"

he nodded slowly,"yes, for-" he faltered, not sure he wanted to tell me.

but it was too late, i had already pieced it together, knowing exactly why i knew him,"oh, yes, i remember. my mom was your daughter's ortho surgeon, i visited her at the hospital."

coach orion's daughter had a rare bone disease, that my mom managed to catch and stop, but it did result in the loss of usage of her legs. i would visit her in the hospital a lot, as i would with a lot of kids in the pediatric floor.

"that's it, that's why you look so familiar." he replied, putting his mind at ease.

i nodded and smiled,"how's she doing?"

"good, thank you," he answered, reverting back
to his tough demeanor,"get back to work."

i skated to adam, who had been watching curiously,"what was that all about?"

i waved my hand dismissively, knowing it wasn't my place to tell him.

"goldberg," coach called out to him, when he missed yet another shot,"when's the last time you practiced?"

goldberg smiled, trying to charm his way out of answering the question,"well, uh, we don't really practice per say. we either play or play around. you know, that thing that makes you laugh and smile. Ha ha ha!"

coach looked less than impressed, so goldberg went away and julie took over, doing much better than him.

•

we all sat in the locker room, legally deceased after practice. to be fair, we had been out of the game for months, we weren't used to the strenuous activity.

charlie walked in, starting to mimick coach, causing us to laugh. he finished right as coach walked in.

we jumped in surprise, not anticipating his arrival. but he said nothing, just walked to the cork board with a piece of paper.

"eden hall academy requires you to maintain a 'c' average to compete. i believe that's a bad rule," he told us as he pinned the paper to the board,"i don't want any 'c' players on my team. i want 'b''s or better or you're riding the pine pony. you've got fifteen minutes after each practice to clear the room. you've got homework to do, he walked to the front, and i thought he was going to leave, but he had more to say,"oh, and one more thing: stay clear of varsity until we play them in the j.v.-varsity show down."

"fifteen minutes?" russ complained,"man, i cannot move."

connie smiled, looking at the paper,"hey, guys look. he posted our positions."

fulton scoffed as he walked up to the board,"i don't believe this, i play left side not right."

russ frowned,"third line? man, that's a major diss!"

adam and i walked up, him looking wholly confused,"i'm not even on there."

i knit my brows, scanning the paper and finding his name,"yeah you are. adam banks, third line center," but he was under a different category,"varsity."

he raised his eyebrows,"i made varsity?"

my face went flat, upset that adam had been moved,"first line, center."

goldberg smiled,"that's the great thing about being goalie, you know? you always know where you stand. i just mind my own business, and take my place between the pipes."

averman, who was standing at the board, laughed,"you're riding the pine pony pal."

goldberg wasn't convinced,"hahaha very funny."

averman shrugged, not sure what to tell him, "julie's one. you're two."

i smiled,"fuck yeah, julie, congrats."

her eyes lit up,"thank you."

"how could he do this to me?" goldberg sighed.

i looked at him incredulously, wondering how he hadn't seen this coming,"are you serious?" he looked at me cluelessly, and i rolled my eyes,"julie plays circles around you, dude. the only reason you were starting was because bombay played favorites."

goldie looked at me with offense,"that's not true."

i didn't dignify his answer with a response, i new it was true. julie was clearly a superior player, and bombay never cared.

dwayne let out a breath,"this must be a mistake."

guy gave him a confused look,"what's wrong, dwayne?"

he bit his lip, staring at the paper, perplexed by it's words,"captain: scarlett gilinksy." 

i raised my eyebrows, my breath catching in my throat,"what?"

charlie glared at me,"scar, are you kidding me?"

i looked at him incredulously,"really? what do you think i did, charlie?"

he shrugged, not entirely sure,"that chat with orion looked pretty cozy. wanna tell us what that's about?"

i rolled my eyes,"that's really none of your business, charlie. but i didn't fucking steal your captain spot, okay?"

"how do i know that for sure?"

adam sighed,"she wouldn't do that, man."

charlie scoffed,"whatever, varsity."

i was absolutely seething as i changed,"charlie, you're just looking for someone to blame, and if you want it to be me, fine. but don't pretend that your shitty attitude didn't play a big part in what happened."

he didn't bother to answer me, so the rest of the fifteen minutes was spent in silence, everyone taking in what i had said.

it was harsh, but that didn't make it any less true.