Sparks Fly

thirty-six.

chapter 36: Punching Bags

Sparky and Adam were sitting at lunch with the Varsity team. Since they weren't allowed to be with the Ducks/JV team they were with. Varsity. The two felt out of place by the Varsity, especially Sparky, as she was the only girl on the Varsity.

Sparky had her head on her hand as she picked at her food. "You just gonna stare at it?" A guy named Rick asked her. Sparky looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"We're expecting you two at the party this Friday. Varsity sports only, so don't even think about inviting your little Ducks." Rick told the two Freshman.

"What time is it at?" Adam asked as Sparky took a sip of her water.

"It's after both JV and Varsity games." Said Scooter, he was one of the nicer Seniors. Sparky and Adam liked him a lot more than the other seniors, that was for sure.

Then in walked Charlie, Russ, and Fulton. Sparky looked away and bounced her knee. She pushed her food away and put her head back on her hand.

"You gotta eat." Adam said. Sparky shook her head and let out a sigh.

"I don't feel great today." Sparky said to him. He nodded and looked at what was going on.

"Oh, come on, my mommy made me brownies!" Charlie exclaimed. Sparky furrowed her eyebrows.

"Mom made brownies?" She asked herself. She shook her head as Charlie gave a sad look.

"Fresh warm ones." Fulton said, Sparky looked at Adam with furrowed eyebrows.

"My mom can't bake." Sparky told her boyfriend. He shrugged and took a bite of his lunch.

"Hey, it's too bad about your Bash Brother. Heard he was too scared to leave home." Rick teased Portman. Sparky only rolled her eyes as Cole looked in Charlie's lunch bag.

"Portman ain't scared of nothin'." Fulton shot at him.

Sparky smelled soemthjng that absolutely reeked. She plugged her nose and turned her head away from the "brownie".
"Smells like horse shit." Sparky said shaking her head.

"What the hell kind of brownies are these?" Cole asked Charlie with furrowed eyebrows. Charlie had a smirk on his face as Cole was disgusted.

"I gotta tell her to stop using the horse turds in the recipe." Charlie said patting Cole's shoulder. Sparky looked at Adam with a small smirk on her face. It was another Duck trick.

The three ran away with the whole Varsity team following him out. Someone threw the horse crap somewhere and it started to travel around the cafeteria.

Everyone had filed out of the lunch room with disgusted looks on their faces. "I knew it was horse shit." Sparky said with a laugh. Adam laughed with her as they ran out.

-

At the Varsity practice, Adam and Sparky were treated like rag dolls. They were getting constantly hit by all of the Varsity players.

"How'd the ice taste, Conway?" Rick asked as Sparky got back up. Sparky sighed as she got back on Defense.

"Why is anyone with the last name Riley a dick?" Sparky asked. Coach Riley, and Rick Riley. Two absolute assholes. Coach Wilson called subs, and Sparky skated off to the sideline.

On the sideline was Coach Orion was standing there with his hand in his chin. He was also the assistant coach for Varsity. He walked up behind Sparky as he looked on the ice.

"Conway, are you really going to let him push you around like that?" Orion asked her. Sparky turned around as she took her helmet off.

"But-"

"No buts, Conway. I've seen you play, you need to get more aggressive against this guy. Right now I'm not seeing the MVP of the Goodwill games. Show me that you are." Orion told her. She took a deep breath and nodded her head. She put a took off her gloves and grabbed her water. She took a sip of it and looked down. "Got it?" He asked her, she nodded her head again.

"I got it." Sparky said. Orion patted her back and Sparky watched him walk away.

She wished the person talking to her was Gordon. That's the only person she wanted right now. She knew he'd understand it from her point of view.

Sparky took another drink of her water and watched Adam get crashed into the boards. Adam hadn't been doing so hot, not at all. He wasn't scoring, he wasn't stealing, he was just a punching bag at the moment. That's what both of them were, except Sparky was trying. She was at least trying to score and play defense.

"Alright, Caroline you're in, get Banks."

When Sparky went in, she played defense on Rick. He was handling the puck excellently. Rick was a good player, Sparky wouldn't deny that.

While Sparky played defense, Rick went to make a pass, but Sparky quickly stole it from him.

She skated down the ice as she cradled the puck. She went by her defenders with ease by using a simple spin move. She got to the net, and used her triple deke she was taught. She scored again and sighed in relief.

She got pushed from behind and she sighed. "Nice one, freshie." Rick said. Sparky got back up, she looked for Orion who was nodding his head. He clapped as Sparky skated down the ice to play again.

Sparky had only wished she had Gordon to cheer her on. Yell at how good she was doing, she always got that. She wasn't getting that anymore. All she got was a shove by her team captain.

After practice, Sparky and Adam were cleaning up the ice. The JV team was just starting to come out. The two were exhausted as they picked up the pucks around the ice. "It's like we're rag dolls, or punching bags." Adam explained to her. Sparky nodded her head with a sigh. She looked over at her brother who was staring at the two.

"We have to be aggressive back then." Sparky said ti him. He nodded his head.

"What was Orion talking to you about?" Adam asked her. Sparky looked at Orion who was skating on the ice.

"That I have to be more aggressive." Sparky told him. Adam nodded her head.

"You talk to my brother?" Sparky asked him curiously.

"Uh not really. I just hear him calling us snobs 90% of the time." Adam said making Sparky laugh.

"I'm gonna put peanuts in his dinner today." Sparky threaten with a roll of her eyes.

"Then he'll put shellfish in yours." Adam joked. Sparky laughed at him.

"I'd like to see him try." Sparky told him.