the only exception - kenny wu

21. bash brothers

the second period ended, and they went to the locker room to calm down for a little bit. bombay walked in, and everyone stopped talking. "did you enjoy that?"

everyone cheered, the team agreeing on yes. "so did they, because they're still three points up and we're one period away from defeat."

the energy seemed to die down a little bit, and everyone sat down, except for jesse. "if we can't beat them, we might as well keep our pride."

arabella looked at charlie, who just glared at her. the rest of the team agreed, but bombay didn't. "jesse, that's not pride. sure, when dwayne roped that big oaf, part of me cheered."

"it was amazing, what are you talking about?" arabella cut in, smiling at dwayne.

dwayne laughed, and bombay just ignored her and continued. "but guys, i've been there. i know how you feel. i wanted to cream that jerk that busted my knee when i played in the minors."

"drake?" averman whispered in arabella's ear, seeing as he was sitting next to her again. she had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't laugh.

"and i really, really wanted to go after stansson for that cheap shot. but you know what? my knee will heal. and if i become someone i'm not, if i sink to their level, well, then i lost more than my knee. you understand?"

the team nodded and agreed, then watched as bombay stood in front of the locker room. "we're not goons, we're not bullies. no matter what people say or do, we have to be ourselves."

he pointed at dwayne, making everyone look towards him. "you, who are you?"

"dean portman."

"from where?"

"chicago, illinois."

coach continued, pointing at everyone. 

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

"jesse hall from minneapolis, minnesota."

"julie gaffney from bangor, maine."

"luis mendoza. miami, florida."

the energy seemed to grow, and goldberg stood up and proudly announced himself. "greg goldberg. philladelphia, pennsylvania."

"les averman. brooklyn park, minnesota."

"fulton reed. stillwater, minnesota."

"arabella myers. minneapolis, minnesota." she grinned at fulton, who threw an arm around her.

"russ tyler. south central los angeles."

"charlie conway. minneapolis, minnesota."

"ken wu. san francisco, california."

this is when it dawned on arabella. he was practically on the whole other side of the country. they'd probably never see each other again. she shook her head and focused back on the team, deciding to think about it later. 

"connie moreau. minneapolis, minnesota."

"adam banks. edina, minnesota."

"dwayne robertson. austin, texas."

"michele mackay. duluth, minnesota." miss mackay stood up, and arabella cheered for her.

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

with coach ending, the team cheered, and the energy was higher than the roof. "we're team u.s.a., gathered from all across america. and we're gonna stick together. you know why?"

arabella saw jan walk in behind bombay, and she waved at him. he smiled back. "because we are ducks! and ducks fly together!"

bombay turned around, smiling at the man. "that's right, jan."