╮love to get to know ya╰
sloane sighed as she let herself be tugged from side to side by her tied-together teammates. she looked over her shoulder at fulton as she blew her stray hairs from her face. she leaned to her left and pushed against dean's arm until she was out from between him and fulton. she adjusted her blue, mesh jersey, and looked over her shoulder when charlie caught her arm. she shoved her hair out of her face and licked at her chapped lip. she closed her eyes when she felt the beginnings of a headache and let her head fall forward slightly.
"this is more crowded than a truckload of goats," dwayne said while leaning as far to the side as she could.
"somebody better watch their hands," julie announced annoyedly while staring across the ice at the boards across from her.
"or i'll make you," sloane said, opening her eyes to tiredly glance Julie's direction.
"averman," connie complained while rolling her eyes as she pulled away from him.
"yeah, someone licked me!" averman groaned and yanked off his glove to wipe at his neck.
"this is so not cool," sloane said, closing her eyes again while letting her head fall against fulton's shoulder.
"oh, i smell somethin'," guy said, making everyone pause to smell through their noses.
"goldberg!" they chorused and sloane opened her eyes and lifted her head to glare at the goalie.
"it wasn't me," goldberg defended, tiredly.
"no," dean said and pulled his hands from his sides to lift them in the air, "it was me!"
"thank you!" goldberg sighed while the rest of the team complained loudly.
"god, my head hurts," sloane said, rubbing at her forehead. she cut her eyes at Bombay when he blew his whistle and glared at him as he slowly began to move.
"i don't know how to make this any clearer," bombay started as he rounded his tied-together players. "you are a team. and to win this thing, you have to work as one. now as one, skate."
sloane took a deep breath and began pulling to the left while the rest of the team leaned to the right. she gasped when she lost her footing and fell to the right, grunting as the breath was knocked out of her. she shifted uncomfortably as she glared at bombay for a moment before sighing heavily and relaxing completely.
"everyone goes their own way, everyone falls down," bombay said and stared down at the pile of red and blue jersey-clad players. "now get up and try it again."
"i wonder if he has tylenol," sloane rhetorically mention, staring at bombay as she and the team stood up.
✩
"all right, all of you move to your right, now," dean demanded while glancing at the teammates closest to him.
"ew, no," sloane blurted out before turning away with her tongue pressed between her lips to suppress a smile.
"who made you boss? everyone to the left," fulton said while shifting sideways.
"yeah, left guys. come on," charlie encouraged as half of the team followed his instruction while the other half followed dean. sloane grunted softly as she fell straight down and a jolt ran down her left leg.
"my gosh, that hurt," sloane seethed as she slammed her eyes shut. she pressed her hands to the ice and pushed herself up while lifting her knee off the ground.
"you guys can argue all you want," bombay started as he crossed his arms over his chest, "but i am not untying you until you move as one."
"if i hurt my knee the next time i fall, bombay, i'll hobble my ass right on out of here," sloane said while awkwardly pushing herself to her right leg.
✩
"now you're learning! communication! that's it! good, together. move together," bombay encouraged as the team finally were able to skate together 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, picking up the lasso that laid in front of the kneeling team and walking to the side of the team. sloane curiously watch as she moved to kneel on her right knee. "i'm proud of ya, team. you worked hard today. but hockey should also be fun. rancher dwayne?"
"yes, sir!" dwayne answered while looking over his shoulder.
"round me up some stray cattle there," bombay said in a poorly imitated country accent.
"uh-oh," sloane said as the whole team turned to look at Dwayne.
"my pleasure!" dwayne responded and began to smile widely. sloane jumped to her feet and laughed as she skated away with dwayne following her. she gasped out laughs as he twirled the lasso over his head and began to shake her head. she quickly spun to her left when he threw it at her.
she whooped loudly as he pulled the rope back above his head and pointed at her, beginning to twirl the lasso again as he chased averman. she cheered and egged on dwayne while averman turned around to taunt him. she exclaimed and then booed when dwayne threw the rope and it landed around averman's shoulders. bombay blew his whistle, pointed at averman, and motioned him off the ice.
"you dummy! why'd you have to get caught?" sloane jokingly asked while shoving averman. she removed the lasso from averman's shoulders and tossed it at dwayne while continuing to push averman to the box. she watched dwayne collect the rope, point at her with a wink, and quickly scrambled away when he skated toward her.
✩
sloane skated just behind and to the right of dwayne as she and her teammates followed him in chasing charlie. she waved charlie backward as dwayne twirled the lasso in preparation to throw it and charlie began to speed up. when dwayne threw the lasso, sloane ducked between him and charlie with her hand raised to catch the lasso. she groaned but smiled as bombay blew his whistle and motioned charlie off the ice.
"i tried!" sloane told charlie, glancing at him before turning attention back to dwayne. she spun away from him when he threw the lasso again and held an L to her forehead before pointing at him.
✩
sloane skated between goldberg and julie, staring over her shoulder as dwayne chased them. she ducked out of the way when he threw the lasso at them. she reached her hands out when her knees buckled and she caught herself on the ice. she pushed herself upward, turned around, and groaned when she noticed the lasso had landed around julie's shoulders. dwayne quickly grabbed enough of the lasso to toss at her and she speedily maneuvered away from it.
"no, stop! leave me alone!" sloane laughed as dwayne closed in on her. he tossed it at her again and she dodged it before skating away.
✩
sloane whistled loudly when guy squared to duck under the lasso dwayne threw at him. they high-fived as they passed each other and speed up as dwayne tauntingly passed them. she looked up at bombay and pointed at him as he laughed. she grunted when someone grabbed the back of her pads and shoved her forward. she turned around to see dean holding her pads and looked over his shoulder to see the lasso laying across the ice behind him.
"just saved your life," dean said and dropped her pads.
"appreciate you, dude," she said, patting his arm as he skated away from her.
✩
sloane shoved away the sweaty hairs stuck to her forehead after she evaded dwayne's lasso once again. she pointed at her teammates as they began chanting her name and took a wide arch toward them to skate down the box to high-five them behind her back. she dropped into a squat when dwayne tossed the lasso at her and skated away as she rose to her feet. she watched dwayne gather the lasso again and sharply moved to the right when he threw it at her.
"ah!" she exclaimed when her left knee slowly gave out, causing her to slowly fall. "no, no, no," she said, laughing as she held her hands out to dwayne as he closed in on her. he quickly bent over to wrap the lasso around her shoulders and raised up with his hands lifted over his head.
✩
sloane stood beside fulton in the second line of players following the line dance dwayne was teaching them. she began to clap and turn a slow circle as the rest of the team began adding their own moves to the line dance. she reached her hand out to fulton and he spun her in a circle. she looked over her shoulder and turned around when bombay began adding moves to the dance. she laughed and clapped once as the rest of the team stopped to watch.
"go, bombay!" sloane cheered as everyone soon stopped and cheered on bombay. he flushed when he noticed everyone's stares and lifted his hands to wave them to stop the music. sloane blew a loud raspberry and held up a thumbs down at bombay before skating toward the box.
✩
"so you guys were really that bad until last year?" julie asked, crossing her legs at the end of sloane's desk as she watched the girl braid her hair.
"oh, it's was so bad until bombay actually started to care," sloane answered and lifted herself off her small desk chair to tuck her leg under her. "after he stole adam from the hawks and talked fulton and the duncan siblings to play with us, we got a lot better," she said as she finished her second braid and let her arms fall onto her lap.
"and fulton hasn't always played hockey?" julie asked while pulling one of sloane's pillows onto her lap.
"no, he played football until last year. he was really good too. his mom was pissed that he quit until she realized how much more he enjoyed hockey," sloane explained and slid her hands under her thighs. "it also didn't hurt that she really likes me and the fact that we're dating," she added with a growing smile.
"i can't believe he's your first boyfriend though! i mean you play on a team with only one other girl and none of the boys have ever asked you out?" julie asked as she grabbed at her ankles and leaned forward slightly.
"would any of the boys on your team ask you out though? they're too much like my brothers," sloane answered and both girls cringed as they laughed slightly.
"yeah, you're right," julie answered, closing her eyes while she shuddered and pretended to gag. she opened her eyes and they laughed again when they made eye contact. sloane glanced at the clock on her bedside table and sighed when she realized it was time for her next insulin shot.
"it's time for my next insulin shot," sloane said, dramatically rolling her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet. "we can go after i take it. connie should be close to being ready," she explained and lead julie into her kitchen.
✩
sloane laid her left forearm on fulton's shoulder and slid her right hand into her back pocket. she glanced between julie, luis, and adam before shifting her gaze to the large rectangular object covered by a white sheet that tibbles and dwayne were standing beside. she stared at guy until he looked at her and tilted her head toward the box once she caught his attention. he shrugged in answer and they both snapped their attention back to the box when tibbles grabbed the sheet.
"ta-da!" tibbles said while pulling the white sheet from the box. the team gasped excitedly at the large wheaties box with their picture printed across the front. she smiled up at fulton before smiling across the room at connie, guy, and charlie.
"that's awesome!" connie said, gripping the back of the chair she was sitting in.
"pretty cool," sloane said while moving her arm around fulton's shoulders.
"hey, y'all, that's us!" dwayne announced from where he stood beside tibbles and pointed at the wheaties box.
"duh, whattaya know?" fulton sarcastically said, drawing a snicker from sloane. she briefly placed her forehead against the back of his shoulder and attempted to stop laughing. she lifted her head and pulled her hand from her back pocket to push her hair off her shoulder.
"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 pulled a blue jersey with thick red stripes running down the sleeves from the box in front of him, causing the team to gasp loudly. sloane's mouth parted a bit and she looked up at fulton with a growing smile. she brightened slightly as she pulled away from Fulton and straightened.
"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 him. sloane reached out, grabbed the jersey, and pulled it toward her.
"nice catch there, running back," sloane said and laughed softly. she glanced to the side when julie, adam, and luis rushed forward to retrieve their jerseys.
"i wasn't a running back," he responded while snatching the jersey from her. "i was a linebacker," he clarified. he stuck his tongue out at her before nudging her forward to get her jersey.
✩
"ancient greece was the beginning of western civilization," miss mackay explained while passing 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?"
sloane ran her hands through the ends of fulton's hair and crossed her left leg over her right. she adjusted her knee brace and scratched at the scars lining the sides of her knee. she slowly began to unclip her brace and winced when charlie gently elbowed her side. she glared softly at him as she slowly began to reclip her brace while rolling her eyes.
"falafels?" goldberg asked and the team laughed at his answer.
"you wish, goldberg," connie retorted with a short laugh.
"i'll get falafels with you later, goldberg. don't worry about these bozo's," sloane said and winked jokingly at him. goldberg gently tapped his fist to his chest and pointed at sloane and returned his attention to miss mackay when she returned the gesture.
"charlie?" miss mackay asked him when he raised his hand.
"pride," he answered and let his arm 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 soft smile.
"did america always dominate?" fulton asked, leaning forward to press his elbows to the top of his knees. sloane sat her hands in her lap and dramatically rolled her eyes as everyone laughed softly.
"that's a good question," dean defend while leaning backward.
"shut up, you guys are dumb anyway," sloane said and jokingly glared at her teammates.
"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 answered. sloane shifted and slowly uncrossed her legs as she and her teammates glanced around at each other.
✩
sloane sat the ziplock with her insulin bottle, syringe, and needle inside on the counter of fulton's hallway bathroom. she pulled the syringe from the bag, stuck the needle in it, and grabbed the small insulin bottle. she rubbed tiredly at her eyes and lifted the hem of her shirt to tuck under her arm while filling the syringe. she bunched the skin of her stomach and glanced at the doorway when fulton's three-year-old sister, rowan, stopped beside her to watch her give herself the shot.
"what are you doing?" rowan asked and laughed while pushing his hair from his face.
"taking medicine," she answered as she dropped the capped needle and empty bottle into the bag. "what are you doing?" she asked and tapped her cheek.
"came to find you," rowan answered and wrapped her arms around sloane's legs.
"you found me," sloane said, picking her up when she held her arms up. she carried rowan into the living room and stopped in front of the couch fulton was sitting on.
"it's past your bedtime, rosie," fulton said while grabbing rowan's leg to shake it.
"no, it's not!" she said, laughing loudly as she leaned toward fulton. fulton reached out to grab her and sat her in his lap while he pulled the blanket on his lap around her shoulders.
"tell him just a few more minutes," sloane said and smiled at rowan as she sat down beside on fulton's left. she tucked her right leg under her as she sat and wrapped her left arm around her left knee as she brought it to her chest.
"just a few more minutes," rowan said, letting her head fall back as far as fulton would allow her to look up at him.
"stop being a bad influence on my little sister," fulton said while playfully glaring at sloane.
"come on, row-row, i'll take you to bed and it'll be fun," sloane said and grabbed rowan to run her down the hall to her bedroom.
✩
"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!"
✩
sloane stared blankly at her half-full suitcase and turned to her closet. she pulled a few shirts, jeans, and shorts from their hangers and tossed them on her bed. she bit at the chapped skin on her bottom lip as she folded the clothes. she huffed while struggling to correctly fold one of her shirts and grabbed what she'd folded to shove them angrily into her suitcase.
"sloane," brynn said, walking into sloane's room with one arm tucked behind her back.
"what?" sloane huffed as she returned her attention to attempting to fold her shirt.
"might need this in la," brynn said and pulled her arm from behind her back to reveal her sister's new jersey.
"thanks," sloane said and grabbed the jersey from brynn. she folded it quickly before aggravatedly unfolding it when it was slightly crooked. she folded it again and dropped it on top of her suitcase.
"have you packed your medicine already?" brynn asked while sitting on sloane's bed beside her suitcase. she watched sloane shove her hair out of her face, lift her clothes, and sigh when she realized the bag her medication had been put in wasn't in her bag.
"not yet. i will later," sloane said as she pulled her shirt from the front of her body. she blankly stared at the wall across from her and licked at her lips while breathing somewhat heavily.
"sloane, your medicine is really expensive. You can't forget it!" brynn scolded and tilted her head to the side.
"you think i don't know that it's expensive? i pay for half of it," sloane snapped, huffing loudly as she jerked a pair of jeans off of her bed to fold them. she irritatedly shoved them on top of her jersey and flipped the top of her suitcase.
"you pay for half of it?" brynn asked and shifted on sloane's bed.
"how do you think we can afford for me to take it?" sloane said and roughly yanked at the zipper of her suitcase. "is it hot in here? like hotter than normal?" she asked as she fanned her hands in front of her face.
"what's wrong? you're very anxious," brynn asked while crossing her legs.
"i'm nervous about going to la by myself," sloane said, grabbing the leftover clothes sitting on her bed to toss them at her closet. she turned to brynn and placed her hands on the back of her hips. "what if i have an emergency?"
"sloane, you haven't had a diabetic emergency since you were eight. i think you'll be fine," brynn answered and zipped sloane's suitcase halfway.
"yeah, but what if my body just knows i'm gone and i have one?" sloane asked and crossed her arms.
"don't guy, charlie, and connie know what to do if something happens?" brynn said, leaning backward to prop herself on her hands.
"that doesn't mean they'll know to do it, brynn, we're thirteen years old," sloane said while rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. "i'm gonna get my meds before i forget. and possibly stick my head in our ice machine," she said, leaving her bedroom to retrieve her medicine while continuing to fan her face.
✩
sloane glanced around the airport at her teammates saying goodbye to their parents while keeping one arm wrapped around her father's waist. her lips formed a small pout as she laid her head against her father's shoulder. she lifted her other arm to grab her other wrist when clint wrapped his other arm around her to pull her closer.
"did you get everything packed?" clint asked as he sat his chin on top of her head.
"mhm," sloane hummed and sighed slightly.
"you're gonna call when you can, aren't you?" clint asked while turning his gaze to his daughter's teammates.
"soon as i get to my dorm," sloane responded as she pulled away to look up at him. "are you guys sure you can't come?" she asked, crossing her arms as she looked at her mother desperately.
"we wish we could, so bad," rebecca answered and reached up to cup her cheeks.
"i know," sloane said, sighing as she attempted a smile. she wrapped an arm around brynn's shoulders and closed her eyes as she pressed her cheek against her sisters.
"bring back a gold medal, kid," brynn said while pulling away from sloane. she picked up the backpack sloane was taking as a carry-on and handed it to her. "and have fun," she added as sloane slung the bag over her shoulder.
"gonna try," sloane said and grabbed the handle of her suitcase as she followed her teammates toward security.