Blindsided

06 - Big Win

I haven't been down this hallway since my last game on the Burton Bears; I wasn't prepared for this when I came to this game today. I didn't want to put myself through this; facing everything I wish I had.

"You gotta talk to them," he tells me. I take a deep breath and shake my head. The tears are beginning to subside.

"That's Drake's job. He's Captain. Tell him to step up," I insist. The years that I had played we never put letters on our jerseys. When they went to provincials, they had to put them on and Coach went out of his way to make me Captain. I didn't play a single game, but he made sure that I knew I was still a big part of his team.

"He's being a pussy," he growls, loud enough that the guys can hear inside the dressing room. I would have expected to hear laughs and guys joking around, but all I hear is silence. This game determined where they were placed for League Playdowns. They needed to get their shit together.

I nodded reluctantly and Coach pushed the dressing room door open. I met Simon's eyes first and he couldn't even smile. I glared at him, silently telling him to grow a pair. He looked scared for a moment before a smile played across his lips. Jared stood up and looked between Coach and I, confused. Coach gave him one look that told him to sit down.

This was pretty untraditional. Ex-players weren't usually allowed in the dressing room, especially not girls. But all of a sudden all eyes were on me and I felt the pressure of the entire game on my shoulders. Some of these guys hadn't even played with me before; how was I ever going to earn their respect before we had to be on the ice. Not we, I told myself, You're never going on that ice again.

It felt like I had punched myself in the stomach. But I pushed through the pain and put on a brave face for the team.

"Drake. What's going on out there?" I questioned. I pushed my voice through the room so that my question reached everyone. Drake straightened, sitting up taller. He definitely wasn't the tallest guy on the team, but there was something about him that demanded respect. Brandon, sitting next to him, straightened and waited for his Captain's response.

"We aren't following through with our plays. They know exactly where we're going to be and we can't adapt to work around them," he explained. His voice wasn't booming, like Coach Hicks, but it was captivating. It held everyone's attention, including mine. I mulled over his words and imagined the face off, center ice.

"Who's starting the period?" I demanded from Coach. He listed off the four players that were on the ice, because we were still serving a penalty. "Okay, you guys are going to have to play defensive for the first 20 seconds, but as soon as the play is even again, you move the puck. You drop your plays. They're going to anticipate everything you do. You find open ice and you get there. If you're tired, get off the ice. If there's a single player not giving 100 percent every shift, they're useless."

I felt a power, a ball of pure energy surge through me as I drew the face-off on the board. I could feel every pair of eyes following my movements, listening to my every word.

As the guys put their helmets back on, I caught Jared's eye and he shook his head. I gave him a confused look, but he ignored it and went back to running through a play with his line. He was contradicting everything I had just said. I noticed Simon overhearing it too and he shrugged.

"Jared's mouth hasn't stopped moving since warm-up. You had five minutes with these guys and I can already feel the energy. We're gunna win because of you," he whispered. Being on skates, Simon towered over me, my forehead easy below his chin. He had to lean so far down to whisper in my ear that he had to lean on his stick for support. He grinned at me and winked. "Aren't you going to smack me on the ass Coach?"