On and Off the Rink

Chapter Eleven: A Lesson on Manners

Monday Night...
Game Day...
Our two teams still don't get along...

It's been over a week since the pranks, and ever since there has been a new tension on the ice. During practice both the girls and the guys get overly competitive and beet down on one another in scrimmages, especially Parker and I. "Listen up! We play the Eagles tonight. Pretty big rivalry, Falcons versus Eagles, but it's nothing that we can't handle. I've notice some lingering tension on the ice all week and I don't want to see any of that crap tonight. Parker take center, Ciara and Cameron take the wings, Zach and Alex I want you as defenders, and last but not least I want Rose in the goal." Coach Rook looked around at his team before putting his hand out for a falcon battle cry before the face-off.

"Fear the Falcons!" Our team roared then split onto the ice.

The eagles echoed us with a "Mighty Mighty Eagles!" It wasn't as loud as ours since we had the home rink advantage of the crowd. I skated over to the right wing position, but glanced over at Parker on my way over. He bent down into position, ready to win the face-off. I wasn't sure if he was going to push all of our issues aside to help us win the game, but I damn well knew my team would. I looked forward again ready for the whistle, but was blocked by a large teenage boy right in front of my face.

"Hello sweetie, are you going to cook us a little snack at half time?" He sneered at me, and as I looked around I realized that the Eagles were made up of all guys. Just what I needed a sexist team.

"I'm sorry, but I thought you had that covered. It is the losers job isn't it?" I flashed him a cute little smile right before the whistle rung in my ears and the game had begun. The big jock, number five, who had been standing right in front of me shoved me down and darted for the puck. Parker had won the face off, but number five was headed right for him. He slammed into him from behind, but thanks to the blind refs the check went unnoticed.

I got up off the ground and skated down the ice where the Eagles were attempting to score. Rose saved the puck and slid it up to Alex who passed it off to Parker. He took it back into the other teams defense, skated behind the net and took a hook shot. The crowd went crazy, and so did the team when the puck slid under the goalies pads and into the goal, scoring us the first point of the game. We all got back into positions for the next face-off, prepared for the Eagles to retaliate.

** ** **

It was the third quarter and the we were down by two. We still had enough time to come back and tie, but it would take a miracle to win this. "Coach, please put me in!"

"I can't their just going to beat up on you all." Right now Coach had all guys on the rink. The other team was being extremely sexist and really putting the beat down on us. For our 'safety' Coach also decided to be sexist and take all of us out.

"Come on I can handle it!" I pleaded with him a little more. "I'm captain of the team, so I should be out there leading my team!"

"Yah, Ciara and I should definitely be out there. We could be a real asset on the ice. They haven't seen our tricks yet!" Cam came over to where I was arguing with Coach Rook and joined in. Cam was right though. Once they had seen what Parker could do they hadn't let him score since, leaving the score 1-3.

"Fine." I looked up at Coach shocked. Was he really going to let us play? "Thomas, Lucas, off the ice boys! Get on the ice ladies, your waisting precious time!" I grabbed my stick and skated out to the right wing where I began the game. I could tell the Eagles were tiring out, but since Coach took Cam and I out first period, we were fully rested. Truthfully I don't know how the boys on our team lasted with so little substitutes.

Parker looked over his shoulders, first at me then at Cam, seeing his new team before bending over to take the face-off. The whistle blew and the puck was dropped, but Parker did not gain control of the puck, number five did. I had a score to settle with him, and this is where I would do it. I swiped the puck from him before he could even get out of the neutral zone. I headed in the direction of our net, but I could see number five out of the corner of my eye. He took a lunge at me from behind, but I dodged him and he went straight into the boards. I was smart and used his weight against him by being just that much quicker, but it all backfired in just seconds. His stick got caught in my skates and I fell face first into the ice, but not before I heard the whistle go off.

"Number five, two minute penalty for hooking." The ref yelled and escorted him off the ice. That was perfect satisfactory for the way he was acting. Cam skated over to me and put her hand out.

"Are you alright?"

"I am now that I settled my score with that jackass." She helped me up and I skated to the center ready to take the face-off this time instead of Parker. He didn't question it and skated over to the wing I had been on. Number five's replacement was number thirty, and he was double the size. I decided that the only way to win this would be speed.

The puck dropped and I quickly pushed it towards Parker and skated to the net. It took number thirty awhile to comprehend and react to what had just happened, probably because of his size. Parker passed the puck over to Cam, and that's when I got a look at the clock. Twenty seconds and counting down.

"Cam, cover me." She nodded and lightly passed the puck off to me. I skated around her, and she took the blow from the defender giving me a free shot. The goalie was off balance and that's when I made my move and took the shot. The light on the goal blared red, showing that I had made it, then the timer went off right afterwards. I looked up at the score board, only to have my happiness crushed by a score of 2-3, we had lost.

All the guys on our team stormed off to the locker room while the Eagles celebrated on the ice. My team skated out to the center line ready to shake hands like we were taught to do at the end of every game. The Eagles looked over at us shocked, and I wasn't all surprised at it because of how the other half of the team stormed out. Our opponents graciously took a break from celebrating to shake our hands.

"Thanks for a great game ladies." Instead of saying a sneer comment with lots of attitude, the captain of the team sincerely said this to our whole team. I was extremely surprised at this, but smiled at them anyway.

"Thank you." I shook the captains hand, and moved toward the locker rooms. "Let's go ladies! I have a lesson to teach a group of guys." I threw my skates helmet and gloves into by bag and headed down the hall and away from the rink. I went past the girls locker room and around the corner to the guys locker room. Cam followed, but none of the rest of my team did, knowing the consequences of what might happen.

"I can't believe how damn selfish and rude all of you are!" I stormed into the guys locker room in a rage. They had been so inconsiderate to the other team. "You all are a huge group of sore losers and should be ashamed of how you acted at the end of our game!"

The guys stopped freaking out about the fact that a girl was in the locker room and actually started to listen. "What did we even do?" James looked up at me from where he was sitting on the bench in the center of the room.

"You were rude to the other team, and stormed off like little babies at the end of our game and didn't shake the other teams hands." Cam came up behind me and answered the stupid question for me. She knew exactly what I was mad about, because from our very first game together as a team, I had drilled manners to them. As a result we had the least amount of penalties in the whole league.

"I'm sorry, but is it that time of the month for you two?" Some guy from somewhere in the locker room shouted this out. He was lucky too, because if I had known who it was I would have smashed his face in.

"No actually, you all need to stop using that as an excuse to everything a girl does, and accept what you did wrong! All you needed to do was stay out there five more minutes like mature people and shake their hands." I paused a moment before continuing. "I am also your captain now too, not just Parker. You need to learn to treat Cam and I with a little respect as well, not just the other teams." With those final words, Cam and I stormed out of the locker room, making sure we got the last word on the topic.

We returned to the girls locker room, with an applause from our team as we entered. We must have been yelling pretty loud, because later they told me they could hear every word. I stood a little straighter and smiled a little bigger, because if I didn't get the point across to the guys, I at least knew my girls knew how to act.

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Author's Note:
Ever since I was little my mom drilled manners into my head. I hope you all learn a little something hear, because I really think no matter how a team plays you should always shake their hands at the end of a game. I also wanted to show Ciara can take some authority. Girl power rules, and anyone who puts a girl down for her trying to be herself sucks! Please just be respectful people!