On and Off the Rink

Chapter Eight: Monday Practice

That's when Zach and James joined us at the table, followed by Sadie. "Looks like a team reunion over here! Anyone dreading tonight's practice as much as I am?" Sadie sat down next to me and James, while looking around the table for a response to her question.

"You have no idea!" My heart skipped a beat as Cam said these words. I had completely forgotten coach was going to kill us today on the ice for how we acted. "Ciara and I are in so much trouble! I'll never be able to walk again!"

"Oh yah I totally forgot that you all told Coach Rook off on Saturday. This is going to be a great practice." Parker smirked at us, enjoying our suffering just like everyone else at the table. That's when the bell rang. I jumped up from the table, because I knew I would be late to History if I didn't leave now.

"See you all at practice, where my funeral will be held." Cam groaned at my goodbye dreading three hours from now. I made my way down the hall knowing my afternoon would go by to quickly for my liking.

** ** **

I walked into the empty girls locker room, and headed straight for my locker. I quickly slipped on my gear just as Cam came into the room. "Hurry, I want to get warmed up before we die today, plus it don't want to be even close to late." I rushed Cam a little more than I should have, but I was stressed out!

"Ok, let's go." Cam pulled her long blond hair into a tight braid, shoved her helmet over her head, and followed me out onto the ice.

Thirty minutes of simple skating drills later, the rest of the team had finally made their way out onto the ice. I had pushed all my nerves away, just like I did before every game, and I was ready to skate my hardest. "Everyone to the center of the ice! Coach Tillman is out today, so it's just me." When I turned around to see Coach Rook yelling at us I almost fell over from nerves.

Once everyone had made it to the center he looked straight at Cam and I. "I have a little deal for you two. Were going to play a little two-on-two scrimmage game. It will be Ciara and Cameron against the rest of the team, which means no substitutes for them. If they can beat all of you by at least one point, I won't make this a hard practice for them. If they tie or loose, they won't be able to walk tomorrow. If I see anyone of you not playing your hardest, you will be joining them in the endless set of sprints and drills I have set up for them. Good luck girls." Coach Rook smiled straight at us just before walking off the ice.

The rest of the team followed him to the benches waiting to see who would play first, leaving Cam and I alone on the ice. "Ok, we need a game plan. I'll play forward and mid, if you want to take defense and mid."

Cam nodded then skated out away from the neutral zone, leaving me in the center circle to do the face off. Parker skated over to me, along with coach, who now had a ref whistle for the game. "We will do two periods instead of three with one intermission, good luck to you both." Coach then continued to list out the rules, but I tuned him out. I got into my game mind set, turning off the world around me and just focusing on the game.

The whistle blew right in my ear signaling that the game had begun. I won the face off and shot I back to Cam. She handled it for a while before passing it back up to me near the goal. I skated behind it, but was soon checked by Lucas and slammed into the boards. I heard no whistle noise come from Coach, so I kept playing. I returned the favor right back to Lucas a few seconds later and with that I got the puck. I again passed it off to Cam, but she lost it to Parker, who then took it down the ice and scored before we could get to him.

Cam took the face off this time, waiting for her revenge, which she got in the first thirty seconds after the next whistle. She pushed Parker to the ground and iced the puck. I caught up to it and shot it at the goal. The buzzer sounded and the whole girls team cheered from the bench. It was tied, but that wasn't good enough for us.

By the end of the first period, the guys had ended up scoring one more point, leaving it 2-1. I quickly skated over to our bench, ready for a nicely deserved bottle of water. Coach had been subbing people in and out all first period, but he only let the guys play. He knew that if one of our players went in they would let us score and he couldn't have that.

Again Cam and I took the ice with Parker and Lucas to start things off. We were getting a little tired, but they seemed completely fresh since they just had a nice long sub out. The whistle blew and I quickly passed it back to Cam, who swiftly and smoothly, took out both guys legally and made a goal. The score was now tied, but we still needed one more point to actually win.

I took the face off this time, but quickly lost the puck to Lucas who passed it to Parker. The game went back and forth between us, but no one scored. It finally got down to the last minute of the game with the score still at 2-2. Parker was skating down the ice on a breakaway ready to score again, but Cam was on his tail. She somehow caught up to him and swiped at his stick, making him loose control of the puck, giving her full possession. She passed it up to me and blocked Lucas so he couldn't get to me.

I could see Parker out of the corner of my eye, but kept skating. He illegally checked me from behind and I fell to the ground. He came down with me, forcing my stick to push the puck forward near the goal. With ten seconds left on the clock the puck slipped into the lower right pocket of the goal, changing the score on the board to shine 3-2.

"We won!" Cam came up from behind me and pulled me off the ice. "We actually won!" Cam's words rang in my ear, but I couldn't really comprehend the whole concept. My team mates all came out on the ice and tackled us to the ground again.

Being with my team again on the ice made it real. We had won, we really truly won.
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Author's Note:
They WON!!! So exciting! Of course Parker, Lucas, coach, and anyone on the guys team won't be to happy about this. Will they find a way to seek revenge in the future? Will the girls strike back with even more force? Keep reading! Please also comment and vote!!!!