Linemates - Adam Banks

Scrimmage - 3

The group split into the two groups they were already in: the newcomers and the former district five ducks. Jesse and Dwayne lined up at the faceoff dot, Indiana taking her spot on the right wing.

"Great day for hockey, ain't it?" Dwayne asked Jesse who smirked back.

"Sure is, cowboy." Dwayne won the faceoff to his defender, who passed the puck up to Indiana. Indiana noticed the heavy pressure in front of her, so she quickly passed to Luis. Bombay yelled for Goldberg to look out as Luis barreled into the goal, leaving the puck behind him.

After thanking Goldberg for breaking his fall, the Ducks turned the puck around on offense.

"Let's go defense," Julie yelled out. Indiana rushed back on the backcheck and was ready to lift Adam's stick before he was taken out at the hips by Portman. Julie barely had to move her glove to make the save on Jesse's shot. After making the save, Julie threw out the puck to Indiana, who took it around the back of the net. Looking for a passing option, Indiana noticed every player was covered. As Charlie began to skate towards her, Indiana passed the puck along the boards to empty space, collecting it around the hash marks and skating towards Goldberg's end of the ice. Indiana took Guy on a one-on-one, deking around the boy before playing the puck through his feet. On a breakaway now, Indiana took a shot right in front of Goldberg, going top right and scoring.

"Nice shot," remarked Goldberg. Indiana thanked him before Bombay threw out another puck into the corner. The ducks and newcomers fought for it, Charlie eventually removing it from the scrum.

Charlie passed the puck to Banks, who made a move around Dwayne and deked around Julie, scoring.

"Nice moves," complimented Indiana as she skated past Adam. Portman continued to play rough, pushing over Fulton and taunting him. Averman and Guy attempted to come to Fulton's rescue but were pushed onto the back of the net by Dean.

"Look out," Coach Bombay yelled. The newcomers all looked at each other with confusion as Fulton lined up a slapshot. The shot rang past Portman, hitting the crossbar. The puck continued to hit the ceiling before heading directly towards the head of Don Tibbles. The group watched as he braced for it, instantly falling to the ground. Ms. MacKay kneeled above the man, continuously calling his name in an attempt to wake him. As he began to open his eyes, Miss MacKay asked, "Mr. Tibbles, are you alright?"

"I'll have the cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake, please" Mr. Tibbles responded.

"I think he'll be okay. We'll keep an eye on him," she stated. "Oh, I'm sorry, he didn't have a chance to introduce us. I'm Michele MacKay, their tutor."

Bombay laughed, "I'm Coach Bombay, their coach."

"Tutor?" Indiana asked. In no part of their talks with Mr. Tibbles had there been any mention of a tutor, or any schooling in general.

"Who said we need a tutor?" Banks asked, the group agreeing. Indiana felt having a tutor during an international multi-sporting event tournament was pointless. They would only be at the event for a few weeks-- a vacation from school wouldn't hurt.

"I don't need no school," Portman stated. Indiana sighed, taking back her last thought. Maybe some of these kids really did need school.

"You sure about that, hotshot?" Indiana asked the boy who looked back at her, clearly confused.

Goldberg spoke up, "Miss MacKay, we're America's team here. Shouldn't we just be concentrating on hockey? May I suggest optional attendance?" The group agreed, backing up Goldberg. Nobody would attend the tutoring sessions if they were optional, it was obvious.

Miss MacKay took a moment before responding, "Well that's not a bad idea." Indiana furrowed her eyebrows, not completely believing that this lady was being serious.

"Call me Goldberg."

"Goldberg. Yes, school will be optional," the group began to cheer. "However, should you not attend, you will not be eligible to play." The group let out a chorus of disagreements, stating how this wasn't fair. So, it was set-- three hours per day would be spent with Miss MacKay, learning many lessons in various subjects for the duration of the trip. As practice began to end, the players picked up the pucks and went to their respective locker rooms.

"Man, I can't believe we have to go to school," said Indiana.

"I can't believe that's the blueprint for team USA," said Portman.

"What do you mean?" Asked Indiana.

"I mean some of them looked like they had never had a normal practice in their lives," explained Portman.

"That's because they haven't. Goldberg was raving about playing games with eggs and picking up trash-- some weird stuff like that," Julie further explained.

"I mean that's why we are here to help, right? To make them better?" Indiana questioned. "Plus, some of them looked pretty good. Maybe they're just a little rusty."

"That Banks kid was good," said Julie, sending a look towards Indiana. Indiana looked back questioningly, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Conway looked good too. So did the girl-- Connie, I think?" Indiana stated, Julie confirming the girl's name. Right after the confirmation, there was a large banging noise coming from inside the arena, sounding as if a car had just run itself into the side of the rink. Indiana jumped to her feet, running out to the rink. Both Coach Bombay and Miss MacKay stood on the ice, watching in disbelief as three Ducks sat on a zamboni, crushed glass and wood around them.

"Holy shit," muttered Indiana.

"What idiots," came a female voice behind her.

Indiana spun around, noticing the brown-haired female duck standing in close proximity to her. "Connie, right?"

"Yeah, you're Indiana?" asked Connie. Indiana nodded. "It's not too hard to remember girls' names when you're one of three."

Indiana laughed, "Have you been the only girl on the Ducks for a while?"

Connie nodded, "We had one girl last year, but she wasn't very talkative. Otherwise, yeah, I've been the only girl hanging around with these idiots for a while."

"Everyone seems-- nice," said Indiana. It wasn't a lie, most of the Ducks welcomed the newcomers in with open arms after their little center ice scuffle. Some of the Ducks, however, did not enjoy change at all.

"The boys can be-- how do I say this? Overwhelming at times. I'm sure once you get to know them they'll open up," explained Connie.

Indiana nodded her head. Julie walked out of the room with her bag over her right shoulder and her pads over her left. "Oh, hey Connie. Are we dorming together in Los Angeles? You, me, and Indiana?"

Connie smiled, "Yeah I think so. That's the only plus of being with a few girls now-- no more rooming with boys who don't bother to engage in hygienical practices." The three girls scrunch their noses in disgust.

Guy walked away from the Zamboni mishap and grabbed his bag, "Connie, we gotta go," said the boy, rushing her.

Connie groaned, "Guy, you idiot." She turned her attention to the girls, "I'll see you at practice tomorrow?" The girls nodded, waving back to her as they walked towards the doors.