It's Maggie Brooks's first year at Eden Hall Academy and she can't wait to dive into a school year full of fun. Down to earth and understanding good girl, Maggie finds herself getting into a crowd her brother and his friends don't necessarily want...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The next day, Maggie sat among the crowd and was surprised to see Linda sitting in the crowd to watch the board meeting. She'd taken her seat beside the girl and Nevaeh had come a bit late, just before the meeting was about to end, but then Coach Orion called in their lawyer during this non legal proceeding.
The room was quiet with Varsity standing on one side of the room and JV to the other, both teams with their coaches and in the middle was a large oak table with the board members. Dean stood at the podium at the end of the room, listening and waiting. The crowd was quiet, whispering among one another if needed, but nothing more.
Maggie had seen Gordon Bombay walk into the room and JV's faces had lit up. She knew he was their former coach, but she could've sworn he'd gone to LA for work. Maggie didn't know him personally, but her father and Scooter talked about the man all the time. The man who a losing Peewee team into something, who went on to winning the championships and then competed worldly and won the Gold, too. That man was the definition of success.
"As counsel for Coach Orion and the freshmen hockey team, I'm here today to set forth your legal options." Bombay walked down the pathway between the chairs and the JV team. " So that you may make the best possible decision for all parties concerned."
"Mr. Bombay, this isn't a legal proceeding." The Dean spoke.
"Not yet, but I can assure you that it will be." He answered as board members shook their heads, not liking the dilemma.
Mr. Brooks was among the table of people and was stuck between what to do for the sake of his children and what was the right choice. Both his children had come up to him, both giving prime reasons as to why he should keep or get rid of the Ducks. Mr. Brooks usually took his only daughter's side, but he took into consideration Scooter and Danny's comments, they were after all hockey players.
"Do you mind?" Bombay asked, passing his bag to Dean, who held it while he got folders from the side. "These scholarships...an offer...became a binding contract upon the signatures of the recipients and acceptance by the Ducks. They cannot be voided except for cause, which I guarantee you, you have none." Bombay paced around the room.
"Should you decide to pursue the cancelation, I will slap you with an injunction. I will tie this matter up in court for years until long after these kids have gone off to college. And I will collect damages. I will win. Because I am very, very good. You know why I'm so good? I had a good education. You gave it to me and you're gonna give it to these kids."
Maggie glanced over to Nevaeh, who sat bored, as was she herself, but they were there to support their friends and see the final decision. "I'm bored. You owe me froyo after this."
"Sure." Maggie nods. "After this."
"Got it." The girl nods, excited for that.
"Now," Bombay continued to pace around before stopping at the podium, right in front of it, where the members sat and awaited for this speech to be over with. "Some of you may be snobbish enough to believe that these Ducks don't belong at Eden Hall. Let me tell you, you are dead wrong. These are remarkable young people. You give them their full shot and I promise you they will succeed not only on the ice, but in the classrooms as well. These people are my friends and I know what they can do." He nods. "Accordingly, I demand that you reinstate their scholarships for their benefit and your own."
Dean looked around the room, hands together as he glanced to the board members who looked at one another. Everyone was quiet as Bombay shook hands with Orion. A woman had sigh, sitting closest to the podium. "I move that the scholarships, be reinstated."
"Is there a second?"
With all the members motioning for the scholarships to be reinstated, the meeting was over and the Ducks were staying at Eden Hall. With cheers and smiles, the kids hugged one another and thanked Coach Bombay as Varsity turned their backs with sighs. Maggie and Nevaeh walked out of the room with Linda by their side, who began a conversation with them. However, it didn't last when both teams had came face to face in the hallway.
Varsity approaching JV. Rick upset that things didn't go his way and the cheerleaders scoffed as they noticed the three girls standing among the group of Ducks. "I'm just glad you're back." Linda told Charlie, Maggie staring at the boy who treated her and Nevaeh like dirt.
"Hey, congratulations on destroying our school." Rick approached.
"Hey look, it's our school too." Ken said nicely.
"It's everyone's school, you stupid jock." Linda spat.
"No, it'll never be your school. Don't you get it? You're our own little affirmative action, brought in for color to entertain us, but you couldn't even do that. Your fancy lawyer kept you in on a technicality, but you'll never belong.
"You'll never be anything more than a bunch of rejects here on a free ride." Cole interjected.
"Free ride?" Russ spat, glaring at them. "Look at you rich boy!" He looked him up and down, arms crossed. "Mummy and daddy gave you everything, huh?"
"Hey, JV-Varsity game's on Friday. Then we'll show the whole school what a joke you really are. Then maybe you'll leave on your own." Rick shot back, confident they would win and destroy the Ducks' reps. Rick reached a hand forward to touch Charlie's tie, who swatted his hand away firmly. "It'd be...the honorable thing to do."
"You know we're gonna hurt you." Cole adds.
"Listen," Charlie scoffed. "You guys had an unfair advantage last time. You had one of us: Banksie."
"Oh, well keep him. He never had the heart of a Warrior anyway."
"Hey, Biff. one more thing. After we beat you, the Warriors die and the Ducks fly." Russ smiled.
"Hey," Rick raised his hands. "Anything you say, Loser. Hmm?" He stepped away. "Maggie. Nevaeh."
Neither girl had moved, they were on the Ducks' side, not Varsity's. Maggie looked to her brother, who looked back at her, but he didn't say anything. He didn't shake his head in disappointment, but nor did he smile in satisfaction. "Not going." She answered.
"Yeah, you have your side and we got ours." Nevaeh replied.
"Really?" Cole spat.
Maggie stepped out of line from the far side and approached them at the front of their group. "Don't worry," She smiled sarcastically. "I won't ruin it all for you." She smirked.
Rick bit his lip and Cole scoffed. "Whatever, let's go."
"Losers." Stacey called, Rick's girlfriend and followed them.
Maggie and Nevaeh turned to meet the team, clearly knowing they didn't belong, but nor did they stick out. They were in the middle almost. "Well," Maggie began. "We should get going."
"No." Charlie spoke up. "We'll need your help."
Nevaeh crossed her arms over her chest. "And what makes you think we wanna help you, Conway?" She scoffed, not liking his sudden change of attitude. "Huh-"
"Nev," Maggie placed her hand to her best friend's arm. "I think what she means is, we deserve an apology, Conway. Just a short one."
"All right," He nods, knowing it was the right thing to do. The group smiled and the girls awaited. "I'm sorry for treating you guys like the snobs you are and all due respect, I'm hoping you two would consider being my friend and helping the team get back to their feet."
"Accepted." Maggie nods.
"Not quite-" Maggie stared over to Nevaeh, she sighed with an eye roll. "Fine, accepted as well."
