CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: welcome to
eden hall academy
It felt like only a month ago, she was twelve years old, standing beside adam as she gathered the courage to step into the ducks change-room for the very first time.
in reality, it'd been years; and now it was time for andrea to grow up and start high school.
she wasn't exactly jumping for joy. after they'd won the junior goodwill games, the ducks had been awarded full athletic scholarships to some prestigious school, called eden hall.
andrea didn't want to make assumptions about what the students would be like, but it was hard not to. she'd heard they were snobby, and full of themselves.
but, she had the ducks with her, so she was sure she'd be just fine. speaking of the ducks, another crash! rang in her ear. she looked up, wincing at the sound of the aftermath of fulton's shot.
andrea was sat on a makeshift chair she'd made, (it was just an overturned recycling box, she wasn't all that creative), eden hall welcome pamphlet in hand.
in an attempt to get over her first-day-of-school nerves, she'd taken to reading up as much about the school as she could. she'd learned they had horse stables, and some kind of fire ants, and that their varsity hockey teams over the years had won many state championships.
"fulton," she speaks, the boy turning towards her. "you think our new coach will be any good?"
another reason for her worry was that a few weeks ago, coach bombay had informed them he wouldn't be coaching them at their new school. coach bombay had made the ducks— what were they without their creator?
fulton shrugged, turning back to the alley and winding up for another shot. "dunno. i'm more upset about portman."
he shot, hitting a car window. seconds later, charlie conway was rollerblading down into the alley, ducks jersey on and backpack slung over one shoulder.
"fulton, you ever think about shooting down into the alley and not at the road?" he asked, before his eyes landed on andrea.
he wolf whistled at her, leaning back and fanning himself off as he saw her. she rolled her eyes, flipping him off. "well someone looks good! you trying to impress me, babe?"
"can it, charlie." she said, crossing her arms.
"hey, you look great! can't i tell you that you look great?" he asked, shrugging.
she shook her head. "no, you cannot. new rule, sorry."
"awh, shucks." he joked, coming to a stop beside her. he motioned for her to scoot over, sitting beside her. "my mom says hi, by the way."
andrea had met charlie's mom over the summer. sure, she'd seen her at hockey games, but she'd never actually had a conversation with her until charlie invited her over for dinner.
andrea loved his mom, and his mom loved andrea. charlie loved to joke that she liked his mom more than him, to which she'd reply with, clearly, since i don't like you at all.
she furrowed her brows. "your mom dropped you here? why didn't you just get a ride straight to school, dimwit?"
he threw his arm over her shoulder, looking down at her. "am i not allowed to skate to school with my favourite person ever?"
she shrugs him off, lightly punching his arm with a smile. "no, because now it means i have to skate to school with the most annoying person ever."
fulton just watched awkwardly, unsure of what to say. "um, am i third wheeling?" he asked, looking between the both of them.
andrea rolled her eyes, knowing charlie's response would be childish. "don't worry, fulton. you can't be third wheeling us, 'cause drea here has made it very clear that we are strictly platonic!"
she sighed. "charlie..."
yes, you heard that right. despite having kissed charlie at the championship game after iceland, she told him she didn't want to be anything more than friends. he'd told her he'd wait until she was ready, which only made her feel guilty.
the first time they had the conversation, it hadn't gone exactly as planned.
"charlie, look, i was excited, okay? so i just... you know," she said, refusing to meet his eye.
"so, you only kissed me 'cause you were excited about winning the game?"
"yes! you get it. i would have kissed anyone, honestly."
that had probably not been the best choice of words, nor was it true. though she wouldn't admit it, andrea was just scared. and the best way to avoid that fear of her feelings was to pretend there was no feelings to begin with.
"that's crap, andrea, we both know it. you didn't just kiss anyone, you kissed me! there were plenty of other eligible bachelors around and you know it."
but after having the talk for the millionth time, charlie took it as a challenge. he had said that if she was in denial, (which she definitely wasn't!) he'd wait until she was ready to admit her, quote, 'undying love.'
"i still can't believe portman isn't coming," fulton said. "he's staying in chicago, how uncool is that?"
this was the first time charlie was hearing the news. andrea looked down at her hands. she was upset, too. though she knew him for only a short time, dean had been a good friend to her.
"no, you've gotta be kidding me." charlie said.
fulton shrugged. "he found out bombay bailed, and he bailed too. what good is one bash brother? what am i now, mr. bash? the bash man?"
he took another shot, this time earning a loud complaint. "ow! hey, watch it, please!"
goldberg skated down the alley, holding his head where he'd been hit, luckily wearing a helmet. "that hurt."
"sorry, goldberg." fulton said, shrugging.
the goalie gave all three of them looks. "oh, no problem, guys. life isn't bad enough, i've gotta worry about being nailed off the ice too. why am i always getting shot at?"
andrea raised a brow at him. "you're a goalie, dude."
goldberg put his hands on his hips. "well put. thanks, andrea. real sensitive."
she gave him a sarcastic smile. "you're welcome."
charlie stood from beside her, offering a hand and pulling her up. "well, let's go. we wouldn't wanna keep the preppy snobs waiting."
they met up with some of the other ducks, the group rollerblading down to the school. it wasn't too far, but they were already late.
she skated beside adam, nudging him with her shoulder. "hey, banksie. nervous?"
he shrugged. "a little, yeah."
she nodded. adam had been a bit off with her since the end of the junior goodwill games, and she couldn't figure out why. she didn't push it, instead just tried to give him his space. but not too much space, because even if something was bugging him, she wanted him to know she was still there for him.
"charlie? uh, charlie!" goldberg yelled as the team turned right. goldberg was not the best rollerblader, and instead of going right, he went straight, headed for a set of stairs. "i'm a goalie not a skater!"
charlie sighed and skated after him. "i'm coming, goldie!"
andrea smiled as she skated with the remaining ducks, knowing charlie and goldberg would catch up with them eventually.
a few minutes passed, and she was starting to get worried. but, just as she opened her mouth to ask her friends if they thought the two were okay, she heard screaming.
she looked up to see the two boys flying over the bridge above them, landing on the path and catching up with the rest of them like nothing had happened.
charlie was soaking wet as the ducks cheered for goldberg, andrea covering her mouth as she laughed.
charlie shook his head. "goldberg, don't you ever do that to me again!"
they reached the school, definitely late to the assembly that was being held mostly for themselves. they skated through the gate past two kids on horses, andrea shaking her head at the sight.
they reached what looked like the back door for the auditorium. hopefully, they could just sneak in and grab some seats, without being noticed.
charlie opened the door, ushering them all in. the room was dark as they skated forward, before running into the curtain of the stage.
apparently, they'd gone through the wrong back door.
tangled in the curtain, goldberg's yelling in their ears, they all fell to the floor, taking the curtain down with them.
she could hear students laughing as she tried to break free of the curtain. finally, with a little team effort, they pushed the curtain off of them.
andrea's face went red with embarrassment as she looked at the crowd. the dean stood there, shocked, looking down at the bunch.
"hi," charlie said. "...we're the ducks."
AUTHOR SPEAKS!
yessss she's too scared to
admit she likes him😍