Sister of The Hughes Brothers

chapter 6

Picking back up from the last chapter

We headed back out to my family. They were still talking with the coach. It was around six, and that's when the rest of the team started to show up. I and bailey got pulled to do pre-game interviews together.

Interviewer 

Bailey and Bella,

how are yall feeling about tonight's game against the Knights?

Bailey - pretty good for right now. It will be a challenging game because we are trying to make it to the semi-finals.

Me- Ya pigging back on what she said, we have been practicing and conditioning for the past couple of weeks. I feel like we have what it takes to win tonight.

You guys have about 5 or 6 more games until the semi-finals. What precautions or steps are you going to take leading up to that?

Me- umm, we will keep practicing very hard and take care of ourselves, so we are healthy and prepared. ( I said, looking at Bailey and back to the interviewer)

this one is for Bailey. What improvements have you seen in your team during the past couple of practices?

Bailey- I think we have improved on certain plays that we kept failing on in the past. We also have been working on winning more puck drops( she looked at me for confirmation. I nodded, agreeing with her.)

Bella, in the past, everyone knows that the Panthers are yall the biggest rivals ( I started fidging with my hands at just the thought of them). They are also pushing hard for the semi-finals. How do you feel about going against each other later this week?

Me- ( before I answered, I looked slightly at Bailey and my family, who were standing behind the camera. I looked at Jack, and he mouthed breath. so I took a deep breath.) Ummm, we are in the top 5 of the best teams in our division. We all know that it will be a challenging and physical game for both of us. I feel confident going against them, but I will not let that stop me from playing with my all. Of course, I am nervous, but I feel pretty decent about the game.

They ask us a couple of more questions. Once they were finished, we stood up and walked over to my family. Jack side-hugged me. 

" you handled that well" he whispered to me. 

I nodded and looked at him with a smile. Coach said it was 6:30, and we needed to get warm-ups on. Bailey went ahead and already went to the locker room. So I hugged my parents and then my brothers.

" you are going to be amazing tonight. Love you bells," Quinn said while hugging me and then walking off with my parents.

Luke hugged me next. " play your heart out tonight. No matter what the outcome is, you are talented and amazing. Love you so much." he said while in a hug. I smiled into his chest.

"Love you, like," I said, letting go of the hug.

Jack looked at me with a smile. I hugged him the tightest. 

" you are going to be amazing tonight. Your anger against Elizabeth use it as motivation tonight. Love you!" he said while rocking us side to side. I nodded into his chest. 

" thank you for everything, Jack, seriously," I said, still hugging him.

"of course, I will always be there for my little sister. I will always be at your games when I can. I will do anything for you. Love you so much, Bella. I hope you know that." he says

I look up at him but still hugging him. I smiled, and he looked down at me and smiled.

"I know, Jacky, I love you more, "I replied. I kissed my forehead and realized from the hug.

"yall sitting where yall always sit?" I asked if they always sit on the center ice and opposite the side of the benches.

" you know it " he smiled well, walking to catch up with the rest of the family.

I have a pre-game schedule to get ready for the game. I walked into the locker room and to my stall. I took off the nice clothes and put on our uniformed shorts and t-shirt/or hoodie for waiting until getting dressed. 

First, I see our athletic trainer, John ( random name). He helps me loosen up my legs and gives me some exercise to do. Yes, I do a little bit of a workout before the game) After that, I went and got my stick cut to my liking so I could tape it. Then after taping, I join the rest of the girls for soccer and two touches in the back area. We do that for a little bit, or at least I do.

It was now 7:15. I head back into the locker room. I turned on some music and started to put my gear on. Once I was done, everyone else started to get ready. We head out to warm-ups at 7:30. I am always the first one on the ice( a superstition). 

I knocked over the warm-up pucks for us. I took a lap around our side of the ice. I grabbed a puck and started to do some stickhandling in place. I look for my family. They were in their seats, smiling at me. My brothers gave me this overdramatic wave. I chucked to myself. After 15 mins, we cleared the ice to back into the locker room. I was the last on the ice. 

My teammates all knew I had a specific pre-game schedule and superstitions. They don't question me anymore. We all sat at our stalls, and the coach gave us who was starting and who our linemates were. He gave us a pep talk. I know I am captioned, but I don't give speeches or motivational talks before games. I see myself like every other girl in this room. I don't see myself as someone on a higher pedestal. 

We had 5 mins before we had to go on the ice. I sit there zoning out and try calming myself down. The closer we got to going on the ice, the more nervous I got. It happens every game. Bailey sees me picking at my nails, trying to calm down. She sits in the stall next to me and holds my hand. I look up at her and smile.

" you are going to be fine. You get nervous every time, and then when you get on the ice, you forget about it every time. I got your back, and the team has your back. Now let's go win a game, shall we?" Bailey says, and she stands up, and I follow her. 

I nodded and smiled lightly. I put my helmet on. I gather the girls to do our hands-in. We do that before every game superstition.

"Team USA on three," I say, looking at all the girls in the circle

"One"

"Two"

"Three"

"TEAM USA!" we all shout in unison. We line up in the tunnel waiting for them to announce us. The person gave me the thumbs up. I start walking toward the ice. I ran onto the ice as they called my name. 

I heard the whole crowd cheering. As I lined up on the blue line furthest from where I came from( if you know what I mean), I stood near where my parent and brothers were. They were yelling their heads off. I looked at them and giggled. The rest of the team got called. We did the national anthem, and now it's showtime.

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Hey, yall, sorry for the short chapter. I have to get surgery on Tuesday on my ankle, so hopefully, next week, I can make longer ones and post more. I hope yall understand:)