~KIMBERLY'S POV~

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

I dig my hand from underneath my blanket and smash the alarm clock mercilessly.

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

Groaning in annoyance, I repeat my action and expect the annoying sound to be over.

BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEP!

" Oh for fucks sake!" I jolt up and grab my alarm clock with one intention only. To throw it to the ground and break it. Just before I smash it against the wooden floor of my dorm room, I realize it was not my alarm clock that woke me up. Well, first ringing it was, but not the following two.

"Come on, sleepy head. We are late!" my room-and teammate Alice shakes me. I bury my head in a pillow and mumble: "I hate you, Alice Rose Roy."

The mattress squeaks as she jumps on my bed and starts bouncing up and down: "I won't stop until you are awake!"
"I am awake, I am awake. Jeeesh, you are so annoying!"

"Nope. I just don't want to skate extra laps for being late."

Now I am really awake: "Extra laps for being late? On a morning practice? Oh, shitshitshit!"

I jump off the bed and the change of pressure sends Ali fly off my bed as well and on the floor.

"How long do we have?"
"Twenty minutes."

"Fucking shit! Are you ready to go? Your gear in a bag? Stick ready?"

"Calm down. You are the one who can never get up, not me. With an attitude like that you have zero chances of being the new captain."

Twenty minutes later Alice and I are on the ice, panting hard from all that running from our dorm room to the ice hall. I lean my head on the end of my stick and breath out a cloud of air.

"You are not in your last season shape, now are you?" Alice laughs, leaning her hands on her knees, her stick laying flat on the ice.

"You think you are?"

"Okay, girls, gather up!" our coach yells and we pile around him.

"Welcome back again, girls, I hope you haven't forgotten to exercise during the break...."
"Yeah,' I mumble to Alice, making her suppress a laugh, which comes out of her mouth like a snort. Our coach turns to the two of us and his gaze stops on our red faces: "You two don't seem in a good condition though."
"We ran all the way from our dorm. And running with a hockey bag is not fun," I answer with an innocent smile. Ali next to me huffs again, apparently trying her best not to start laughing. Coach O'Connell furrows his eyebrows before he looks at Alice with a stern look on her face, making her stop laughing immediately.

"Roy and Mayfield..." I close my eyes when he says Alice's and mine surname, knowing this will not be good. Damn, I should really learn not to speak my mind all the time.

"Goal line. The rest of you," he looks at our teammates and continues " off the ice. You two... sprints."

Alice behind me starts gasping for air. She has never been punished and I feel kinda bad for dragging her into this. I know how much playing for coach O'Connell means to her... As for me, I look up at his eyes and spit out: "How many, coach?"

"Let's make it five," coach has never seemed more entertained. I swallow few profanities and get on the goal line, however, silently cursing him. And my tongue.

The whistle blows and I barely have time for another sigh before speeding down the ice.

Four sprints later and I am out of breath. This is an absolute torture and I don't know if I can handle the entire practice. I quickly glance over Ali, who is in the same condition as I am. Breathless, red-cheeked, exhausted and with sore legs. We lean on a goal post and I whisper to her: "Just once more. Just once more."

"I hate you, you know?"
"STOP TALKING AND START SKATING!"

I close my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. I will never talk back to any coach. Ever.

Just once more. Once more and this is over, Kim.

Trying to keep my legs going, I speed up once again. But my muscles don't agree. One moment I am skating and in another moment my helmet meets the icy surface after my legs give up.

"KIM! Kimberly, are you alright?"

"I am fine, I am fine." I stand up and look at coach: "We done enough skating?"

A small smile draws on his face as he nods: "Yes. Drink some water and get back here."

Ali and I skate to the bench, our legs barely functioning properly. Alice looks at me while I am drinking that water like someone who hasn't drank in a while: "Why didn't you keep your mouth shut?"
"I know, I know, I am sorry," I mumble and pour some water on my face to cool down a bit.

"I promise I will try harder, okay?" I hug my friend before we skate back to have another two hours of practice.

Two hours fly by quickly and while changing out of my gear, coach assistant knocks. You should've seen the speed all of us grabbed our sweatpants, jerseys or those girls who were just getting into a shower, the nearest towel.

"May I come in?"

"Uh, sure!" Lauren, alternate captain of the last two years yells in response while quickly glancing around the locker room.

Thomas Moore, young and nervous-looking coach assistant walks in. It's obvious how uncomfortable is for him to just waltz into a locker room, full of girls.

"Coach asked me to bring Kimberly over to his office."
"Can't he wait?" I sigh and start unlacing my skates again.

"I am still in my gear."

"Now. He needs to talk to you right now. It's urgent."

I sigh and roll my eyes: "Fine. Give me five minutes to get..."
"Now. Even if you are in your gear, now."

When I catch Lauren's gaze and her shaking her head, I shut my mouth and get up from the bench. Pulling down my chest protector and pulling a hoodie on, I say to Thomas: "What's so important coach can't wait?"
"Just follow me, please."

Okay, I admit. His tone makes me concerned. Will my talking back bring bigger consequences than I could've ever imagined?

With a lump in my throat I wait after Thomas knocks on the door of coach's office for coach O'Connell to call me in. Waiting doesn't take long, but before I make a step into his office, I am a nervous wreck.

"Come on in!"

"You sent for me, coach?" I ask quietly when I enter. He looks up from a pile of papers and I see my name written on the top one.

"Ah, miss Mayfield. Take a seat, please."

I gulp hard when I sit down on the other side of his desk. My hands are clammy and shaky from fear what could happen.

"Firstly..."
"Sir, I would like to apologize for my behavior. I-I..."
"Can you please shut your mouth and listen to what I have to say?" he asks calmly, but his eyes are stern. My mouth instantly zips and I nod my head in agreement.

"Great. Listen, I know our team needs a new captain. But...that's not why I called you in. You know the Winter Olympics are coming soon, right?"
"In February. But right now it's only..."
"In twelve months. I know this are our off-season practices and those girls shortened their vacations to be back here, but that's not the point. The point is, this is men's team..."
I nod slowly, still wondering where all this is going. I mean, what does the men's team has to do with me? I am only a twenty-year-old student of Brown University with only wish to succeed as a hockey player.

"Kimberly, even though it's men's team...would you like to try your luck out there?"
"Out where? In the NHL?"

"No. As a part of the Olympic Team."

"Excuse me? Are we talking about US National Olympic Hockey team?"
"Yes. I've seen you handle a puck better then many guys. You have a great vision on the ice and with few girls you've had the chemistry on the ice since the day one."
"But, coach. I am a girl."

"I am aware of that, but the way you play...you deserve something bigger. So, you want me to keep you informed?"

"Yes. Yes, please, coach. I would love that."

"Great. And my intention is to get you to the tryouts in August. That means you will not get rid of playing during holidays. So you better cancel all your plans."

I stand up and smile at our coach: "Thank you, coach O'Connell. Thank you for believing in me. And not throwing me off the team for my attitude."
"Oh, and about that. I hope you know I won't give you the captain title. I know how much you wanted that, but you've proved you are not ripe for becoming a team leader."

"I know, coach. I think Lauren should be the captain. Not only she wants that more than anything, she is capable of leading us. And we respect her."

"I will remember your words, Kimberly. And you remember mine. You can make it at the tryouts."

As soon as the door close, I throw up my fists in the air, silently celebrating the praise I've just been given. Finally, someone saw what a girl from a dysfunctional family could do, if only she believes.

"Yes!" I silently squeal and run to our locker room to finally get out of this sweaty gear. When the door open, I realize Alice is still there, waiting for me, apparently.

"Ali?"
"Kim, is everything all right? Did he throw you out? What happened?"

"Everything's just fine. He...uh, he just needed to talk to me about my behavior. And I had to promise I'd try to work on it. I am still on the team, you are not getting rid of me this early."

She laughs and pulls me into a hug. And she also quickly pushes me away: "Ew, you are all sweaty! Get out of your gear and take a shower, I can wait."

"I'll be ready in ten, okay? What do you think about post-practice milkshake?"

"You can really read my mind. Just hurry up!"

While rinsing sweat off my body and off my hair, only one thing crosses my mind. How would anyone expect that a loud girl with sharp tongue would be good enough to be asked to try her luck as one of the players for the Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in 1980?

Alice:

Thomas Moore:

Lauren:

Coach O'Connell: