╮team bonding time╰
Aubrey shifted uncomfortably at the constant tugging of her tied-together teammates. She had managed to get stuck with the right side of her chest pressed against Dean's back and the left side of her back pressed against Fulton's chest. She pushed against Dean's shoulder pads to push herself to the left and sighed in relief when she could finally move her arms.
She adjusted her blue, mesh jersey that Bombay had given her and glanced around at the mix of red and blue. She shifted again and sighed through her nose as she leaned heavily against Fulton. She turned her head and glared at Bombay as best as she could for tying them together, claiming it was for team bonding.
"This is more crowded than a truckload of goats," Dwayne grumbled and leaned as far to the side as he could.
"Somebody better watch their hands," Julie announced annoyedly as she glared at the boards directly in front of her.
"Averman," Connie complained and rolled her eyes as she leaned away from him.
"Yeah, someone licked me!" Averman groaned and pulled off his glove to wipe the spot where he had been licked.
"This is the worst team bonding exercise I've ever heard of," Aubrey mumbled and pushed her fly-away hairs from her face.
"You got that right," Dean commented, shifting in place as he looked over his shoulder at her. Aubrey's cheeks stained a light shade of red and Dean fought back a small laugh.
"Oh, I smell somethin'," Guy moaned and everyone stopped to take a deep breath through their noses.
"Goldberg!" they chorused and Aubrey gagged quietly.
"It wasn't me," Goldberg defended, tiredly.
"No," Dean started and pulled his hands from his sides to lift them in the air, "it was me!"
"Thank you!" Goldberg sighed as the rest of the team loudly complained.
"I think I'm going to throw up," Aubrey groaned and gagged a second time.
"Thanks, just don't do it on me," Dean said and craned his neck again to look at the girl. Bombay blew his whistle loudly and Aubrey began breathing through her nose as she looked at her coach.
"I don't know how to make this any clearer," Bombay started as he circled his players. "You are a team. And to win this thing, you have to work as one. Now as one, skate."
Aubrey sighed deeply through her nose and shifted to the left as half the team shifted to the right. She mumbled to herself as they all lost their footing and fell to the right. She groaned quietly as the breath was knocked out of her chest when Charlie and Guy landed on her. She grabbed Fulton's shoulder with one hand and Dean's with the other and shuffled upwards until her head was out from under her teammates.
"Everyone goes their own way, everyone falls down," Bombay said and stared down at the pile of red and blue. "Now get up and try it again."
✩
"All right, all of you move to your right, now," Dean demanded and glanced at as many teammates as he could.
"Who made you boss? Everyone to the left," Fulton said and began to shift to his left.
"Yeah, left guys. Come on," Charlie said as half of the team listened to Dean and the other half listened to Fulton. Aubrey took an annoyed breath as she fell straight down beside Connie and grimaced as a jolt ran up her back and across her shoulders.
"This is so stupid," she whispered and rolled her eyes as Connie nodded along.
"You guys can argue all you want," Bombay started as he looked at his team with his arms crossed over his chest, "but I am not untying you until you move as one."
"We're gonna be here forever," Connie scoffed quietly and Aubrey fought to keep her face neutral.
✩
"Now you're learning! Communication! That's it! Good, together. Move together," Bombay encouraged as the team finally managed to skate without falling. He turned around and clapped once as continued instructing his team. "Charge! All right! Right turn! Turn right. Yeah, that's it!"
✩
"You guys are startin' to look like hockey players," Bombay said as he picked up a lasso that laid on the ice in front of the kneeling team. Aubrey narrowed her eyes curiously as he walked to the side of the group. "I'm proud of ya, team. You worked hard today. But hockey should also be fun. Rancher Dwayne?"
"Yes, sir!" Dwayne answered and turned at the waist to look over his shoulder at Bombay.
"Round me up some stray cattle there," Bombay said in a bad imitation of a country accent as he held out the lasso to Dwayne.
"Uh-oh," Aubrey whispered as Dwayne took the lasso from Bombay.
"My pleasure!" Dwayne yelled with a wide smile. Aubrey followed her teammates in quickly jumped to their feet and scrambling away. She laughed loudly as Dwayne began to follow her. She held up her hands, skated backward, and shook her head as he twirled the rope over his head. He tossed it at her and she squealed as she turned her head away while swatting at the rope. She looked back and laughed as he grinned at her before chasing after Averman.
Aubrey continued to laugh loudly as Averman taunted Dwayne. She whooped loudly as Dwayne twirled the lasso over his head and followed Averman as he back skated away. Dwayne threw the rope and it caught around Averman's shoulders. Bombay blew his whistle and pointed at Averman before motioning him off the ice.
"Get outta here!" Aubrey yelled at Averman as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled the lasso over his head. She tossed it toward Dwayne and jokingly pushed Averman toward the box. When Dwayne pulled it back to him and pointed at her, Aubrey laughed and quickly skated away.
✩
Aubrey and the rest of her teammates followed Dwayne as he chased after Charlie. Dwayne twirled his lasso over his head as he prepared to throw it and Charlie slowly speed up. Aubrey cheered loudly when Dwayne threw the lasso and hooked it around Charlie. Bombay blew his whistle again and motioned Charlie off the ice. Aubrey laughed loudly as she formed an L with her fingers and held it to her forehead.
"Loser!" she yelled as she followed him to the box with her hand still on her forehead.
✩
Aubrey skated between Julie and Goldberg and quickly ducked out of the way when Dwayne tossed the lasso at them. She groaned through a loud laugh as she let her head fall back when she noticed the lasso had landed around Julie's shoulders. Dwayne gathered the lasso and threw it at her but she ducked under it and quickly skated away.
"You suck, I don't!" Aubrey said, pointing at Dwayne before pointing at herself with her thumbs.
✩
"Go, Guy!" Aubrey cheered as he ducked under the lasso Dwayne had thrown at him. He high-fived her as he passed and stopped to do their simple handshake. Aubrey looked up at Bombay and clapped twice and pointed at him, causing him to laugh harder.
"Aubrey!" Guy said and yanked her arm. She stumbled sideways and looked behind her and grinned when she saw the lasso laying across the ice.
"Sucker!" she yelled and pointed at Dwayne as she stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. She laughed loudly as she ignored her deep blush and skated away.
✩
Aubrey breathed heavily as she continued to evade the lasso Dwayne was throwing at her. She giggled as her teammates chanted her name from the box. She twirled in a small circle to keep from getting caught in the lop at the end of the lasso. She watched as Dwayne pulled the lasso back to him and circled it around his hand.
He tossed it at her again and she reached out and grabbed it with both hands. She skated toward Dwayne and dropped the loop over his head with a wide grin. She turned to her cheering teammates with her arms held out to the side and dramatically took a bow before rushing to the box with a crimson blush.
✩
Aubrey stood beside Fulton in the back line as they followed the steps Dwayne was showing them. The team had split up into two lines with Dwayne in the front as he showed them the steps to a line dance he had brought from home. Everyone soon began to add their own steps to the dance. Fulton grabbed Aubrey's hand and loosely twirled her in a circle before letting her go and smiling as she spun in tight circles beside him.
She stopped and laughed loudly as Bombay began to branch out from the dance and add his own moves to it. She pointed to him when her teammates looked at her and Bombay flushed when he noticed their stares. Aubrey whooped loudly and lifted a fist in the air as he brought his arms in front of his face and waved them out for the music to stop when the team began to laugh loudly.
✩
Aubrey loosely wrapped her arms around Fulton's shoulders as she stood beside him. He reached up with both arms to hold her hands. He grabbed one hand and kissed her palm before dropping them back around his neck. Aubrey blushed and bit the inside of her bottom lip as she buried her face into the back of his shoulder. She lifted her head and pressed a short kiss to his cheek before turning to watch Tibbles shift beside the covered object he was standing by.
"Ta-da!" Tibbles said as he pulled the white sheet from the object it was covering. Aubrey gasped loudly at the large Wheaties box with their picture printed on the front of it. She tapped Julie's arm and pointed with it and both girls grinned widely.
"That's awesome!" Connie exclaimed from the table directly in front of the box.
"Way too cool!" Aubrey added and Connie nodded.
"Hey, y'all, that's us!" Dwayne announced from beside Tibbles and pointed at the box excitedly.
"Duh, whattaya know?" Fulton sarcastically replied and Aubrey pulled her hand away to playfully hit his chest. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into him and quickly pecked her lips. He tugged her in front of him, pulled her back to his chest, and laced her hands with his at her stomach.
"Today, it's a Wheaties box," Tibbles started and regained the team's attention. "Tomorrow, it's video games, action figures, lunch boxes. The sky is the limit! Now, just to make sure that everyone knows who you are, try on one of these!"
Tibbles lifted a jersey from the box in front of him and everyone gasped loudly. Aubrey sharply inhaled through parted lips and let her jaw drop as she whipped around to look up at Fulton. He pushed back the hair that had flown over her shoulder and grinned down at her before turning back to look at the jersey.
"Brought to you by those wonderful people at Hendrix for all your hockey needs. Fulton, here you go," Tibbles said and tossed the jersey to Fulton. He leaned around Aubrey to grab it before it hit her and held it out in front of her.
"These are so cool!" Aubrey said, briefly looking up when Julie, Adam, and Luis rushed forward to grab theirs. She reached out with one hand and rubbed the fabric between her fingers. "They're so soft," she whispered and ran to the box to grab hers. She pushed her way to the box, tugged hers out, and ran back to Fulton and held it up in front of her.
"What do ya think?" she said and grinned at him.
"Think it looks just like mine," Fulton answered and laughed as he leaned away when Aubrey swung at her.
"I like it," she said and traced the small twenty-eight printed on the front.
"And you'll look very pretty in it just like you do in everything," Fulton said and gently grabbed her elbow to pull her into his chest. She rolled her eyes and smiled as heat rose her neck and through her face.
"Still coming over tonight?" Aubrey asked and folded her jersey over her arm.
"'Course," Fulton answered as he smiled down at her.
✩
Aubrey slid a hanger into the shoulders of her jersey and hung it on the door knob of her closet door. She picked up Fulton's jersey from the end of her bed, neatly folded it, and laid it back on the corner of her bed. She smiled at Fulton as he shifted against her headboard. She sat on the edge of her bed, shuffled backward, and laid back to rest on his stomach. She bent her knees and crossed one knee over the other, relaxing as Fulton ran a hand through her hair.
"We'll be in Los Angeles at this time in a few days," she said, turning her head to look at him. She lifted one hand to her mouth and bit at the dead skin around her fingernails before draping her arms across her stomach.
"Might get on TV," Fulton mentioned as he softly smiled at her and laid his free arm just above her stomach.
"What if we are on TV? We could be famous!" Aubrey gasped as she lifted her head slightly and broke into a wide smile. She dropped her head back on her stomach and tilted it to the side as her bedroom door slowly opened. She quickly ran her tongue over her chapped lips and smiled at Seth as he slid into her room.
"Oh!" Seth said as spotted the folded jersey on the corner of Aubrey's bed. "You guys got your jerseys today!"
"Pretty cool, aren't they?" Fulton asked as he slid one hand into Aubrey's and watched Seth lift the jersey from the bed.
"Man, maybe I should've played hockey instead of football," Seth said as he admired the blue and red jersey.
"Shouldn't have quit football and you might be going with us," Aubrey said and stretched her foot toward him to nudge him. She snickered softly as Seth dramatically rolled his eyes and swatted at her foot.
"Move over," Seth said and pushed Aubrey's legs to the side. He continued to push her as she rolled over Fulton and grunted as she gripped her sheets to hand on. He gave her one last shove and he sat on her bed beside Fulton when she rolled off the side.
"You jerk!" Aubrey said as she gripped tightly at the sides of her sheets. She scrambled to her feet, reached over Fulton, and slapped roughly Seth's shoulder.
"It's so soft," Seth sighed as he ran his hand over the jersey and leaned against the headboard. "Go get us some snacks, Aubrey."
"Get your own snacks!" Aubrey said as she walked around her bed and tugged on Seth's arm. "This is my room anyway!"
"You hear something?" Seth asked and lightly tapped Fulton's shoulders. Aubrey's exasperated expression fell into a sharp glare when Fulton shrugged and the two looked around the room in confusion.
"You'll pay for this. Both of you will," she seethed quietly as she looked between the boys. She fought back a smile when both boys glanced at each other nervously before looking back up at her. She straightened her back and whipped around, ignoring Fulton and Seth's concerned mumbling.
"Mom!" she yelled as she stomped out of her room and down the short hallway toward the kitchen, "Seth stole my boyfriend and my room!"
✩
"Ancient Greece was the beginning of western civilization," Miss MacKay explained as she paced the freshly cut grass in front of the picnic tables the team sat around. "See, in Greece, they didn't have professional sports or Wheaties boxes. So the athletes completed for a different reason. Anybody?"
Aubrey ducked her head and ran her fingers through Fulton's hair. She smiled as he relaxed and leaned against her as she shifted in her spot beside Charlie on top of the picnic table. She let her hand drop on Fulton's shoulder as she bit at her thumbnail, waiting for one of her teammates to answer the question. She lifted her head and looked around as she pulled her thumb from her mouth.
"Falafels?" Goldberg asked and Aubrey ducked her head to laugh with the rest of her teammates.
"You wish, Goldberg," Connie snickered and Aubrey laughed harder into Fulton's shoulder. She looked over at Connie and the two lifted finger guns at each other and pretended to shoot them. She dropped her hand and lightly placed her chin on Fulton's head as she watched Miss MacKay glance around the young team.
"Charlie?" Miss MacKay asked him after the laughter calmed and he had raised his hand.
"Pride," Charlie answered as he let his hand fall across his lap.
"That's right. The various city-states waved their flags and wore their home colors proudly," Miss MacKay explained and looked at the team with a small smile. Aubrey gave him a thumbs up and smiled when he returned it.
"Did America always dominate?" Fulton asked and leaned forward to place his elbows against his knees. Aubrey lifted her head and straightened her back as she laced her fingers.
"That's a good question," Dean defended as everyone laughed at the question.
"No, America wasn't around back then," Miss MacKay answered softly. "Don't forget that compared to other countries, America is still young, forming its own identity. America is a teenager just like you."
"Like us?" Jesse asked curiously and pulled at his fingers.
"You bet! A little awkward at times, but always right there on the verge of greatness," Miss MacKay kindly answered and Aubrey licked her lips as she proudly looked around at her teammates. She shifted slightly and glanced at her lap with a light blush.
✩
Aubrey slowly exited the bathroom of Adam's basement as she tied the strings of the pair of black sweatpants she stole from Fulton. She tucked her white t-shirt into the sweatpants and adjusted it as she settled in beside Connie on the small loveseat. She pulled their shared blanket around their shoulders and crossed her legs as she settled in. She grabbed the bowl of popcorn she'd brought down from the kitchen and sat it on her knee as she watched Adam slip the VHS tape into the player at the bottom of the TV stand.
"Take your time, Adam. It's not like we want to watch this movie tonight or anything," Aubrey said and averted her eyes to her bowl when Adam turned to glare. She pressed her lips together as she and Connie quietly snickered.
"Shut up, Aubrey," he snarkily replied and finally got the VHS tape into its player. He grabbed the remote from the small coffee table as he passed it on his way to the couch straight across from the TV. He hit play and grabbed his drink as he sat on the couch between Fulton and Charlie. He dropped the remote on the table, leaned back, and pulled a blanket onto his lap as he settled into his seat.
Aubrey grabbed a piece of popcorn from the bowl in her lap and threw it at Guy, who sat in the recliner directly across the basement from the loveseat. She quickly looked back at the TV when Guy cut his eyes at her as she and Connie fought back quiet giggles. Aubrey sat up so Connie could lay her legs across the loveseat and threw another piece of popcorn at Guy as she laid beside Connie. She licked her chapped lips and cut her eyes at Guy as she took a drink from her coke can. She threw another piece of popcorn at him and she and Connie couldn't fight back quiet snickers when it hit him in the side of the head and he jerked wildly.
"Oh my God, Aubrey, are you five years old?" he asked and threw a large handful of popcorn at her.
"Guy, you're so wasteful!" she exclaimed and hurried to gather the popcorn that landed on the floor so she could stuff it in her bowl. "Here, help me put these in the bowl," she whispered to Connie as she lifted the few pieces she grabbed. She held her hand over her shoulder and Connie quickly took them to drop them in the bowl.
"Hey, I want that back! It's mine!" he said and crawled across the floor to gather what was left.
"No, it's on our side of the room," she said and repeatedly pushed his head to the side. "It's ours! Leave it alone!"
"Oh my goodness, what happened to wanting to watch the movie!" Adam yelled and sat up to pause the TV.
"We're not even five minutes in, nothing important has happened!" Connie explained and leaned over Aubrey to grab the popcorn on the floor while Aubrey pushed Guy back.
"Except all the important stuff happens at the beginning!" Fulton explained and threw small pieces of popcorn at them.
"Yeah, like my popcorn being stolen!" Guy explained and sat up to push Aubrey on the couch.
"Keep holding him, I've almost got it," Connie said and grabbed a small handful.
"Ha!" Aubrey exclaimed as she glanced at the couch. "Charlie's already asleep," she explained and fell against the back of the couch in laughter.
"I don't know how. You're being loud as hell," Guy said and held Connie's arms in one hand as he gathered the remaining pieces of popcorn in the other.
"No, I'm not. Take that back, Guy Germaine," she whispered as she grabbed his cheeks and squeezed lightly. Guy tossed a piece of popcorn at her face and scurried away when she jerked back.
"You rat!" Aubrey whisper yelled, pointing at him as he climbed into the recliner. He stuck his tongue at her and blew a quiet raspberry as he sat down.
"Can we actually watch the movie now?" Adam sighed and held up the remote.
"Mhm," Aubrey hummed as she and Connie settled back into the loveseat.
✩
"I don't know what I've been told," Bombay yelled as he drove a golf cart down the middle of an empty road with his team skating along behind him.
"I don't know what I've been told," the team echoed as they kept up with Bombay.
"Team USA's gonna win the gold."
"USA's gonna win the gold."
"Listen up and listen good!"
"Listen up and listen good!"
"We're all headed for Hollywood!"
"We're all headed for Hollywood!"
"Sound off!"
"One, two."
"Sound off!"
"Three, four!"
✩
Aubrey sat her elbow against her suitcase and leaned her weight against it as she tried to zip it. She huffed and stood up straight when it wouldn't close. She pushed her hair over her shoulders and began trying to close it again. She whined and stomped her feet quietly when she couldn't get it too close.
"Hey," Seth said and Aubrey quickly turn around as he entered her room. "Need help?" he asked and walked to the other side of her bed.
"Please," Aubrey confirmed and smiled when Seth pushed down on the top of her suitcase. She quickly zipped it up and sighed in relief as she pulled it to the ground. "Thanks," she said and watched him slowly walk to her door.
"Will you sleep with me tonight?" she asked shyly as she sat on her bed. Seth slowly nodded and turned her light out as he walked back to her bed and laid down beside her.
"You excited about the Goodwill Games?" Seth asked as he pulled her covers over his shoulders.
"Mhm," she hummed as she bit at her fingernail anxiously.
"Hey, don't be nervous about the fact that me and mom won't be there. You'll have Fulton and Connie and Guy and Charlie," Seth assured as he brushed her hair away from her face before tucking it behind her ear. "And me and mom will be listening to you on the radio. If you're on TV, we'll be watching."
"I know," Aubrey shakily sighed and moved on to biting her thumbnail.
"You can call us every night if you want. Mom would love that," Seth said and rolled into his back as his eyelids became heavy. "But you'll have so much fun you'll forget to call," he whispered and smiled when he looked back at Aubrey and saw that she'd already fallen asleep.