Two Rules

Chapter twenty-two: "uh, used to be figure skater"

"Uh, used to be figure skater" I correct, "I'll try to help though." I smile awkwardly. 

"Wait," a freshman, Jake I think, raises his hand, "you want us to figure skate?"

"I want you to be faster on the damn ice, and I know first hand that she's faster than any of you. Now shut the hell up and listen to her." He glares at the boy who instantly dips his head.

"Uh," I shift awkwardly, "I was gonna have you set up in a few speed and agility drills that will help you during games. So could everyone go to the end of the rink and get into a few lines?"

No one really moves, unsure of listening to a girl. Luckily, Noah snaps into captain-mode and shouts, "she said get to the end of the rink, move!"

Every player quickly skates to the end and the team of 30 gets into 5 lines, 6 players in each.

I skate after them and motion for Noah to come up and help me demonstrate, "help me real quick?" 

He nods and comes up. I hear a voice in the back whistle and say "pussy whipped." 

Before Noah can react, Seth speaks up from the front of a line, "hey #7, whatever the hell your name is, why don't you shut up and listen and maybe you'll actually get some ice time." He looks back to me, "go ahead Scarlett."

I smile gratefully at Seth and the rest of the boys look at me intently. 

I turn my attention back to Noah, "okay, so we're gonna push off with our left and go up on our right skate and then turn around on the single skate after about 15 feet, okay?"

He looks at me nervously, "Scar I don't think you want my help demonstrating, I can't do that shit."

I laugh, "alright fine, get back in line."

Once he's back in line, I do what I explained and push off on one skate and then sharply turn around. 

"Alright, boys, your turn."

I watch as the first set of players try, majority of them wobbly on one leg and unable to make a sharp turn. The rest of the boys are pretty much the same.

I suck in my breath as one of the last ones fall during the turn, "okay, so the key here is balance. If you're balanced on the ice, you're faster on the ice. Go again."

I run various drills for the next hour or so and see some improvement, but not much. My dad comes up beside me and sighs, "well, thanks for trying."

I laugh, "they'll get it, it's hard after an hour. Just run a drill or two each practice and their balance and speed will improve."

He nods and we both turn our heads when we hear a freshman complain, "how the hell are these stupid figure skating drills supposed to help us play hockey."

My dad glares and turns to me, "don't listen to him, I appreciate your help, I'll talk to them in the locker room."

"Don't worry I got this."

I search for his number and call out, "hey number 46, come here. The rest of you can go to the side for a second."

I borrow a practice stick that isn't too big for me and grab a puck. The 5'11'' freshman meets me in the middle of the ice, confused.

"You get the puck, speed drills are over. I keep the puck, you stop being a sexist jackass alright?"

I hear laughs from the team and the boy gets more annoyed and nods his head.

I put the puck on the ice and nod to my dad to blow the whistle. 

Once the whistle blows, I quickly get the puck and skate away from him, I skate around the entire rink, in-between various obstacles like players and cones. He is a solid 5 feet behind me during the entire time.