miracle • guy germaine

come together

fulton wound up, ready to shoot, when the puck was stolen by a member of the opposite team.

fulton skated after him, ramming into his back to retrieve the puck. the player slid down the ice and reed got ready to take his shot.

with only eight seconds left on the clock, i was biting my nails in anticipation.

"shoot it!" i yelled, wondering what had him so stiff.

he took the shot and all the opposing players dove out of the way, including the goalie. the shot burst through the net, leaving a gaping hole in the back of it.

but i had no time to worry about fulton's brute strength, because us ducks had just officially made the playoffs.

•

to celebrate our playoffs qualification, coach bombay had taken us to the minnesota north star's hockey rink. i had never been to a professional rink, and i couldn't even enjoy it, because all i could see was guy and connie walking together, laughing together.

my bag and stick felt heavier as i walked, seeing as all my energy was being put into boring holes into the backs of my friend's heads.

"why does your face look like that?" banks chuckled lightly, looking down at me.

i stiffened, letting whatever expression painted my face fall,"wh-what do you mean?"

he rolled his eyes playfully as he held open the door to the stadium for me,"don't worry, you don't have to tell me. i already know why you look so upset."

"thanks," i smiled, referring to the open door, before questioning what he had said,"and, um...what exactly do you know?"

"come on," he nudged me playfully, glancing at guy,"you like him."

i felt myself blush, a little embarrassed that someone who i barely knew had figured me out so quickly. it briefly crossed my mind that maybe i wasn't as good an actor as i thought, but tried to dismiss the outlandish theory.

"i- i mean," i stuttered, trying to think of some way to redeem myself. it took a minute for me to realize there was nothing i could do to save face, so i decided to just give it up,"is it really that obvious?"

"yeah, really obvious." he replied, causing me to hide my head in my hands. the whole thing was just so embarrassing.

"wow," i started, glancing down at my shoes, "fantastic."

adam smiled lightly, deciding it would be best to change the subject,"nice rink though, huh?"

i chuckled, grateful for the opportunity to talk about something else,"yeah, imagine playing for all those seats."

this rink had easily thousands of seats, and the very thought of playing in front of them made my skin crawl.

"i do imagine," adam replied, letting out an amazed breath,"all the time."

"right, i forgot. you're like a total prodigy." i nodded, coming to a stop at the rink doors.

"prodigy?" guy turned around, looking at me with raised eyebrows,"that's a strong word."

adam looked between us with an amused smirk,"she said it; i didn't."

before guy had any time to respond, the north stars started to file to the locker room, walking right past us.

"just to be passed by is an honor." i joked, though it was a very obvious and universal truth.

guy laughed, shaking his head slightly as basil mcrae and mike modano came to a stop in front of us.

"hey, gordo!" basil smiled, throwing all of us for a loop,"gordon bombay, right?"

we watched in shock as they shook hands. even coach seemed a little surprised as he asked, "you remember me?"

"sure, from peewees," he replied, turning to mike,"this guy used to rule in peewees."

mike nodded, shooting a smile at bombay,"i heard you were a farmer."

coach laughed,"actually, i became a lawyer."

i nodded solemnly, letting out a sardonic laugh,"and he quit for the likes of us. can you believe it?"

basil and mike looked over at me, smiling in amusement.

"this your star?" basil asked, but it seemed he already knew the answer.

coach knit his brows in confusion,"why do you ask?"

"the star's always have the most to say." he replied, causing me to smile sheepishly.

"got that right." guy muttered, nudging me playfully.

"well, ducks, this is basil mcrae and mike modano." coach changed the subject, not wanting to give away his playing cards just yet.

we all had our remarks, most of them along the lines of 'duh' or 'like we didn't know that'.

"alright." coach dismissed our sarcasm, knowing it was really his own fault for stating the obvious.

"ducks, listen to this guy," basil advised us,"he knows what he's talking about."

"sometimes." i replied jokingly, earning a hush from connie.

"if you ever want a shot, i'll get you a tryout in the minor league clubs."

coach smiled lightly, taking kindly to the offer, "thanks."

"no problem, nice seein' ya." basil grinned, walking away with mike.

coach turned to us, once they were far enough away,"alright, let's have some fun!"

we all dropped our bags exactly where we stood, wasting no time in skating onto the ice. our playoffs present had actually been a lot better than what i expected.

"lacey," coach skated over, handing me a puck, "you think you're ready?"

i stared at the puck dauntingly, feeling a little nervous to practice such a move around my colleagues, "right now?"

coach glanced around, like this was the most perfect time to start,"do you see a better opportunity?"

i glanced at him for a moment, my nerves getting the best of me. while i pretty much had the triple deke down to a t, i didn't wanna embarrass myself if i couldn't do it.

it took me a while to finally grab the puck, but when i did, i felt a chill run down my spine. i dropped it at the blue line, and did my best to practice what i had been taught.

i skated with the puck towards the empty goal, no one around me even seeming to realize what i was doing. all expect adam, who leaned against the rink wall, watching intently.

the last thing i needed was for the best player on our team to critique me, but i didn't seem to have a choice.

i faked once, twice, and three times. my smile grew at least two sizes as i shot the puck into the goal.

"yeah!" coach exclaimed, skating over to me and grinning,"you did it, tran!"