LOVE TO HATE YOU | c. conway

two

he nodded pridefully. "yup, no more district five. ducks fly together."

she smirked. "yeah, but your ducks can't even fly to begin with."

"maybe not yet, but we've been practicing. you know, we're already getting better."

"well, good luck with that, conway."

the following hour was spent with bickering, and andrea trying her best to stay away from charlie; which was hard, because it was a small pond, and charlie was pretty persistent.

eventually, she left, walking home as the conway boy watched her walk away. man, he loved when she was annoyed.

          A few days later, andrea skated around the ice rink, her team all warming up as well. team practice was something andrea rather enjoyed, as her teammates weren't as brutal when there was nobody around to pick on.

as she skated, she heard some commotion at the bench. as adam skated by her, she caught his arm, stopping him and pointing towards the bench.

their coach, as well as the ducks new coach, and some strange man in a suit stood at the bench arguing.

"jones, banks! both of you, over here!" coach reilly called. the two shared a look, before skating over.

adam's father walked down to join them, looking confused. "is there a problem, coach reilly?" he asked.

"oh, no, no it's just a mistake, mr. banks." coach assured the man.

"are you one of these kids father?" the man in the suit asked. "450 and 451 north hennipen avenue, are those the kids addresses?"

adam's father always drove andrea to and from hockey. despite his usually hostile behaviour, he had come to like the jones girl. he sort of thought of her as his own daughter, since she was always with adam, whether it be at his house or a hockey rink.

he also took responsibility for her because he knew her mother wasn't around much. for a good reason, though. she worked hard as a single mother, as an on-call doctor. this meant she was rarely home.

sure, they had a nice home, and andrea had nice hockey equipment, but that stuff didn't come for free. with no partner to help split bills, andrea's mother payed for everything herself, and in order for them to keep living comfortably? well, she couldn't afford to be home much.

mr. banks frowned. "yes. so?"

the man in the suit continued. "well then i'm afraid there is no mistake. these kids are playing for the wrong team."

"what?" adam and andrea exclaimed.

"according to league rules, andrea jones and adam banks should be playing for district five."

adams father leaned forward. "these kids are hawks, not ducks."

coach reilly pointed an accusatory finger at the ducks coach. "is this your doing, gordon?"

the coach, gordon, smiled. "i'll expect to see them at our next game. we'll have uniforms waiting for you two."

"no way." adam protested.

mr. banks shook his head. "my son would rather not play at all than play for your team. i'm sure the same goes for andrea here."

andrea's brows raised. that wasn't true. sure, she didn't want to be a duck. but she also didn't want to stop playing hockey.

"fine, if that's what you want. but remember, if they play for the hawks, you'll have to forfeit every game for the rest of the season. boy, i'd hate to see that." gordon quipped.

with that, he walked off, coach reilly following quickly after him. adam and andrea shared a look.

the jones girl knew one thing for sure; she had never felt so lost.

The ducks excitedly chattered in the change room as coach bombay walked in, getting his teams attention.

"alright everyone, listen up! i got some good news. we're getting some new players, andrea jones and adam banks."

the team burst out in commotion, yells of shock, anger, and betrayal filling the room.

"they're hawks!" karp exclaimed.

"they're good players," bombay corrected.

jesse threw his glove down. "everybody hates them, 'specially banks. we don't need them."

"i'm the coach, and i say we do need them." he said. "if we make it to the playoffs, they could be a big help."

karp spoke up. "if? all of a sudden, you don't think we're good enough?"

peter pitched in. "no, he thinks we're losers. that's what he told reilly. we heard what you said, coach. you said we were losers and we didn't deserve to live!"

"that's not what i meant." coach bombay defended.

"i saw that picture of you missing the goal. you were a hawk, weren't you? guess you guys stick together to the end. you know what? i don't need your stinking equipment. see you around."

with that, peter dropped his jersey, leaving the change room. "peter, come back here!" coach called after him.

most of the team followed his lead, taking their exit. with only two players, the ducks were forced to forfeit.

AUTHOR SPEAKS!

THIS SUCKS!!! but just wait for the second movie it gets good