flipped. charlie conway

61

leah sat in the change room, trying to cool down in their short break.

"dod you all enjoy that?" bombay scoffed as he walked into the room.

unable to recognise his annoyance, most of the team cheered a loud 'yes'.

their coach shook his head. "yeah, so did they," he silenced, "because they're still three points up, and we're one period away from defeat."

at that, the team sat glumly in their seats. adam slumped next to leah, and she could tell he was troubling himself with thoughts. the sister pat his shoulder assuringly.

jesse scoffed at bombay's disappointed stare. "if we can't beat them, we may as well keep our pride." a hum of agree,ent followed from the team.

"jesse, that's not pride," bombay shook his head, "sure, when dwayne roped that big oaf, part of me cheered. i've been there, i know how you feel. i wanted to cream that jerk who busted my knee playing in the minors. and i really wanted to go after stansson for that cheap shot! but you know what? my knee can heal," their coach continued, "but if i become someone i'm not— if i sink to their level... we'll i've lost more than just my knee."

leah frowned, feeling the frustration bubble beneath her chest as she glanced at her wrist. bombay always knew what to say when it counted most.

"we're not goons, we're not bullies. no matter what people say or do, we have to be ourselves. you," bombay pointed, "who are you?"

"dean portman." the boy hummed.

"from where?"

a smile lit up the stern boy's face. "chicago, illinois."

bombay pointed to another.

"guy germaine, from st. paul, minnesota."

"jesse hall from minneapolis, minnesota."

"julie gaffney, bangor, maine."

"luis mendoza. miami, florida."

"greg goldberg. philadelphia, pennsylvania." the boy jumped up.

"les averman. brooklyn park, minnesota." averman matched goldberg's pride.

"fulton reed. stillwater, minnesota."

"russ tyler. south central, los angeles."

"ken wu. san francisco, california."

"connie moreau, from minneapolis, minnesota."

"dwayne robertson, from austin, texas."

"charlie conway! minneapolis, minnesota."

"adam banks, from edina, minnesota!"

"leah banks, also from edina, minnesota."

"michelle mckay. duluth, minnesota."

"and i'm gordon bombay. minneapolis, minnesota."

a sense of pride lingered over the team as they clapped in cheer.

bombay stepped closer. "we're team usa, gathered from all across america. we're gonna stick together, you know why?"

jan appeared in the doorway with a satisfied smile. "because we are ducks, and ducks fly together."

as bombay pointed at jan happily, leah's heart sank a little. she never felt like a duck before, what would change now? nonetheless, it brought the team together.

"just when you think they're about to break apart?" bombay asked.

"ducks fly together!" the team chorused.