𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤~𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏

9. Play-Offs Present

Coach Bombay said that he had a surprise for us today and I was excited. I got dressed pretty nice today but I couldn't forget a flannel, my signature. With my outfit, I put on my dirty vans and I decided to do my hair. Instead of two braids, I curled my hair. When I was finished getting ready for the day I grabbed my black beanie then made my way towards the ice rink.

When I got there I saw everybody else standing outside. "What took you so long?" asked Connie, clearly freezing. "I was getting ready and I wanted to curl my hair," I said gesturing to the perfectly curled hair hanging by my face. She playfully shoved me and said, "Well you can't leave me here with these boys like that." I continued to talk with her while we were in the van onto the unknown destination. I saw Charlie talking with Adam and I was happy to see them connecting. Then we pulled up out front of the North Stars skating rink. Coach Bombay did a headcount as we walked off the bus and took us in. When we got to the rink we watched the North Stars finish their warmups. I was standing with Adam. "Brie look it's Mike Madano." He said pointing to him. I watched as he turned around on the ice and waved to us. I waved back in awe. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adam start to laugh at me. "What are you laughing at, Cake-Eater."I giggled while shoving him. "Nothing," he said flatly trying to control his smile. It was too hard for him and he began to laugh even more. While he was laughing I watched the North Stars walk off the ice and passed all of us. Then at the end of the line Mike Madano and Basil McRae. They stopped and began to talk to coach. "Hey, Gordo! Gordon Bombay, right?" asked Basil McRae. "You remember me?" asked coach astonished. "Sure, from Pee Wees. This guy used to rule in Pee Wees," said Basil looking at Mike. "I heard you were a farmer," asked Mike. I giggled at that. Everybody always got his job wrong. "Actually, I became a lawyer, but I'm coaching Pee Wee now and this is my team, the Ducks. Ducks, this is Basil McRae and Mike Madano," he exclaimed. All the boys made him look like an idiot by being sarcastic. "Hey, Ducks! Listen to this guy. He knows what he's talking about. If you ever want a shot, I'll get you a tryout in the minor-league clubs." offered Basil. They shook hands and the two players left us to go get ready for their game. "All right let's have some fun." said coach and we all ran onto the ice.

Connie and Guy skated around holding hands like love birds. I don't get what she sees in the kid but I supported them. Also, how could she be so ready to date somebody already? While I was watching them Goldberg skated over to me. "What do you want to date somebody now? I mean we all ship you and Char-" I cut him off. "No, I was just wondering how Connie could ever have feelings for Guy," I said. He shrugged and skated off. Did the guys really ship me with Charlie? EW! No offense to Charlie because he is good-looking but I would never date him. Then somebody else skated up to me. This time it was Adam. "Wanna play some one on one?" he asked. I nodded.

We played around with each other for an hour until it was time to get off the ice. Coach handed me a ticket and said to everyone "No these are your seats for the game. You guys are allowed to go and get snacks but meet me right at your seats, ok?" We all nodded. Charlie walked with me to the concession stand. "What are you getting Bubble's?" he asked me. "I was thinking of getting water, popcorn, and m&m's," I explained. When we ordered I noticed Charlie got the same thing. Copy-cat! I took my seat in between Fulton and Adam.

The game was almost over and we watched ourselves on the big screen. As I was watching I realized a special someone staring at me. I turned to face him. "What's wrong Cake-Eater?" I was confused with his behavior. "Thank you," he said. I looked at him a little lost. "Thank you for being the one to put all those bad memories behind and start fresh with me. Thank you for being nice to me when nobody else would and thank you for being one of the best friends I have ever had." he finished. "Stop being cheesy Cake-Eater," I said aloud. I leaned over and got close enough to whisper into his ear "No problem Banks." I hesitated before sitting back down. I thought about kissing his cheek. No, I shouldn't. Banks is just a friend and will always just be a friend. Hockey. Hockey is all I need to think about right now.

I turned to look at him and realized he was focused on something other than the game. I peeked my head around him to find Larson and McGill smugly smiling at Banks. McGill formed a gun with his fingers and pretended to shoot it at us. They then sat down. Adam turned back around and hid his face like he was embarrassed. Was he embarrassed to be sitting with me or the whole team? "Hey don't let them get to you like that. They are just trying to get into your head." I said. "Just leave me alone Brie," he said. I rolled my eyes. This kid has more mood swings than my grams.

For the rest of the hockey game, I sat in silence. Adam was clearly upset and I was too. How was he going to be rude to me after all I did for him? That night I just went home and went to bed. I wasn't in the mood to do anything else.