Puck You

Day Two

I was only joking, but by the look on Kent's face he thought I was totally serious. "No, I didn't mean it like that, well sort of bu—"

"I'm just messing with you."

He let out a big breath of air.

"I thought I told you not to show up."

I didn't even have to turn around to know who was behind me. Sebastian really must have been stupid if he thought a meaningless threat would scare me away from my favorite thing in the world. I loved hockey way too much to give it up for him.

"Sebastian, I don't think now's the time to start something."

I got off the bench and turned around to face him. Matt and some of the other players were a few feet behind Sebastian. They all had the same exhausted look on their faces.

Sebastian glared at me in disgust. "I don't want you here."

I sighed. "The world doesn't revolve around all of your wants and needs buddy."

He looked like he was about to say something else but Coach burst through the doors with his beat-up clipboard and a whistle already in his mouth. "Come on kids, get your butts on the ice and start warming up!"

Sebastian continued to glare at me as I followed Kent out onto the rink. There were a few more players today, so hopefully we'd have a pretty solid team. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, which meant Coach wouldn't have to take too much time on technique.

"Alright everyone, I'm cutting tryouts short. This year we barely have enough to make a full team, and since everyone seems to have some background in hockey, no one will be cut. Which means today is our first official practice, and I want you all to work hard."

A few of the freshmen looked very relieved. I hadn't been worried, but it was good that we were getting a jump start on the season. We wouldn't necessarily need it, but it didn't hurt. Finally, practice began and we started warming up. After a few drills, Coach had us split up into forwards and defense. Coach Howard took the defense to one side of the rink, and Sebastian was in charge of the forwards.

"Alright everyone, before I start going over plays I want to warm up some more. Let's get into a quick shot and passing drill. Be precise, fast, don't lose control and make sure your posture is perfect."

We broke up into two groups of forwards and lined up at the blue line. Jake and Matt went first, followed by two freshmen whose names I still hadn't remembered. Next, Sebastian skated down and around the net. I moved forward in perfect stance and watched for the puck. Sebastian passed it to me in one quick motion, but the pass was way too far to my right and I had to stand up taller to reach for it.

"Come on Grace, I want to see good form!" he yelled over to me.

"Maybe if I had a good pass, I'd be able to!" I shouted back.

Sebastian skated over to my side and removed his cage. "Just like you don't talk back to the coach, you don't talk back to me."

I bit my tongue and gave him a short nod before skating back to the other line. Matt turned around to give me a sympathetic look before he took off into the drill. After a few more minutes of warming up, Sebastian called us into a huddle.

"Now that I see we have a few more forwards than yesterday, I'm not as worried. We need to condition every weekend for two hours a day. I don't want to see any slacking and I don't want any excuses. You work hard, or you get out. That's how this team runs."

I watched everyone in the huddle, taking in all the scared and excited expressions. Matt seemed amused by the nervous freshmen, and Jake just looked bored.

"Where are we meeting on the weekends?" I asked.

Sebastian didn't even look at me. Instead, he ignored my question and went on. "Saturdays will be dedicated to lifting, Sundays more circuit training. I love to condition on the ice, but I love to condition off the ice as well. After an hour of lifting on Saturdays, we will cool off with an hour run down by the boardwalk. If you don't show up at the school by seven in the morning, you won't be playing the following game."

I liked that Sebastian was strict when it came to practice and conditioning. Someone who could take charge and do what had to be done was necessary for a team to succeed. I supported his work ethnic but I didn't like him. For him to be an even better leader, he had to accept me on this team.

Practice carried on, and about twenty minutes before we ended, Coach gathered us up to go over plays. He went over the basics, and then the more advanced ones. I knew most of them from previous years in hockey, so the whole time I pretty much zoned out. It wasn't like me not to listen, but my whole body was screaming for a hot shower and it was all I could focus on.

"You look exhausted," Kent whispered to me.

I looked up at him and nodded my head. I was more than exhausted, yet some of the other guys didn't even look tired. It would take some getting used to before I finally didn't feel like death after a practice with Sebastian, but he was only helping me to become a stronger person.

"Hey, so a few of the guys are coming over to my house tonight. You should come."

"Will Sebastian be there?" I asked.

Kent laughed. "No, he's ditching us for Kate."

Good, I thought. "Okay, that sounds sort of fun."

"Sort of?"

"It sounds fun," I said with a chuckle.

"Hey, why don't you two listen to coach when he's talking?" Sebastian hissed at us. "You're already causing problems and its only day two."

I took in a deep breath of air and willed myself not to turn around and punch Sebastian right in the eye. He really knew how to get on my every nerve.

"Alright everyone, same time tomorrow."

Coach dismissed us and everyone dispersed. I was one of the first people back to the bench so I was able to grab my stuff and get out quickly. Once I got to my gym locker, I undressed and grabbed my towel. Thankfully the girls' locker room had separate showers, and when I found one that didn't look totally gross, I closed the curtain behind me and let the hot water run. The steaming liquid felt like heaven sliding over my sore muscles, and without even realizing it I let out a small groan. After just standing under the flow of the water for a few minutes, I finally washed my hair. I didn't rush, and by the time I was done, twenty minutes had gone by.

I turned off the water and wrapped myself up with a clean towel.  The whole locker room was filled with steam, but I was still able to see pretty easily. I thought I saw a flash of red over by the exit door, but after further inspection I realized I must have been seeing things. I took my time as I walked back towards my things, and when I finally got to my locker row I was surprised to find it empty. My equipment was gone, as well as my bag full of clean clothes. I checked my locker, but it was also empty.

And then it finally dawned on me.

Sebastian.