Love For A Game

Chapter 26

There are three minutes left in the third period of game five. We currently hold a 2-1 lead. The game has been even throughout, but now, Colbert is starting a push.

I jump on the ice with 2:47 left on the clock. Nicole dumps the puck into their zone. I grab it in the corner and go behind Colbert's net. A defender tries to come after me, but I go out in front to evade him. I pass to Luke in front and he shoots it high and wide.

I grab it and pass back to Nicole. She passes to Ryan, who lets a shot go. Nick Jenkins makes the save with his pad and the whistle blows, stopping the play. I skate over to the bench with 1:22 left on the clock.

The play starts up again. Darren grabs the puck and shoots it at Noel. Noel stops it with his blocker, sending it into the corner. Nathan picks it up and lobs it to centre. The Colbert defender grabs it and takes it into their zone.

I look to the clock. There is a minute left. Once the puck crosses centre, Nick Jenkins leaves the net for an extra attacker. We change players quickly and I jump on with fifty-two seconds left.

Darren brings the puck into the zone and lets a hard shot go. Noel gets a piece of it, but it goes behind him, and Nicole stops it on the goal line. A mad scramble ensues, about six players in the goal crease. Everyone is hacking away at it, but no one actually knows where the puck is.

I finally catch sight of it. Unbeknownst to anyone else, the puck is behind the net. I skate to it and pick it up. I then shoot it down the ice. The buzzer sounds and the mob separates. Everyone skates to the benches.

For now, we have stayed alive. The series now stands at 3-2 for the Crusaders. Two wins down, two to go.

As we sit in the dressing room taking off our equipment, the atmosphere in the room is electric. Everyone has a smile on their face. Finally Coach Bennington comes out of his office and signals our attention.

"A great sixty minutes out there," he says. "Hard fought victory. However, we still have two more. Don't let your guard down. They're a tough team and they will beat us up if we let them. The simple solution is, don't let them beat us up. Work hard in the corners and win the one on one battles. That's all there is to it. Good job today. In two days we'll do it again."

We all finish changing and leave the arena.

***

"Where to?" I say to Nicole once we are in the truck.

"I say we grab a bite to eat," she replies.

"Okay. Where?"

"It's your money. You decide."

"What about Mexican?"

"They got a place around here?"

"They have a Chili's. Is that close enough?"

"I guess so. Ok. Let's go."

We drive to the Chili's, which is twelve kilometres away. When we get there we go inside and get our table from the host, a booth next to a window.

We sit down. "That was a pretty good game," I say.

"Yeah, I think we played well," she says.

"We still have two to go, huh?"

"Yeah. It'll be a long one."

"We just have to keep going."

"I'm sure we can do it. You said before, you've gone through stuff with the team in the past. You've gotten through it."

"I know. I feel like this is different somehow. Like we are just prolonging the inevitable."

At that moment, the waitress appears at our table. She looks to be about twenty, and she introduces herself as Dana. She asks us what we want to drink. I order a Coke; Nicole orders a Sprite. Dana smiles and walks away.

"Jordan," Nicole says, continuing the conversation. "Don't look at this in a negative way. You'll only fail that way. You have to be confident in order to succeed. We can do this, Jordan. Believe that."

"Alright, you convinced me," I say. "I'll try to be more confident."

"Thank you," she says.

Our drinks arrive and the waitress takes our orders. I order enchiladas with rice and guacamole. Nicole orders a build your own taco dish. The waitress again leaves with a smile.

"Are you okay playing against Darren after what happened?" I ask.

"Of course," Nic says. "You think I'm afraid or something?"

"No. I'm just saying, because what he did was damn despicable."

"I understand that. I'm not letting it change anything. I'm still the same person I was before."

"How you just brush this off and put on like nothing happened, I don't know."

"I'd rather not get all the stares of pity from everyone else. Even the rest of the Raiders still do that, and I think I've done more than enough to prove that I'm fine."

"You have, I'll say that. I don't think you can stop the piteous looks, Nic. They're gonna still be there. It'll blow over soon. Just give it time."

Our meals arrive then. We both smile and thank the waitress who wishes is a good meal.

"I want this to blow over," she huffs. "It's all I can think about."

"It must suck," I say between bites. "Having that happen to you, boy did it piss me off."

"You know, you're more stressed about it than I am."

"What? No!"

"Come on. You haven't stopped talking about it."

"It needs to be said!"

"No, it doesn't. I've stopped talking about it. You should too."

"Are you kidding? You talk to me about it all the time!"

"Only because you bring it up first. Jordan, see the truth. What happened is done. You can't do anything about it."

"Alright," I say. "I'll stop."

"Good. Now, let's have a good meal."

"Amen to that," I say and grin.

____

The song on the side is "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", by Tears for Fears.