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Excuse the mistakes
Sorry this wasn't up sooner, but I was watching Meekakitty live @BullseyeU and got distracted... Upside, she answered one of my questions!
Dedicated to Shady234 because she's my buddy :)
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“Have you seriously not finishing unpacking yet?”
I looked up from my laptop, where I was just finishing an English assignment, and I saw Penny standing next to the only stack of boxes in my room. She’d come over after school to work on homework, but that really meant Penny wanted to go through my closet while I worked on homework.
“I’ve been busy,” I replied defensively, and I gestured at the boxes, “Besides, there’s only books and knick-knacks in there; you know, useless things.”
“So you unpacked all your CDs and DVDs, but not your books,” Penny said, and I blushed as I glanced over at my bookshelves, which was stocked with my music and movie collections.
“I don’t have much time to read,” I stated, and then I finished the last sentence of my English assignment. I sent it off to the printer downstairs, and I closed my laptop and sat it down on my bedside table, which was really just a stool. Then, I flopped back on my bed and crossed my arms over my face in exhaustion.
“So,” Penny drawled, and I could feel as she plopped down on my bed, “You wanna tell me what’s going on between you and Dane?”
“What?” I asked, my eyes snapping out. I propped myself up on my elbows, “What are you talking about?”
“C’mon, Kels,” Penny replied, giving me a knowing look, “He got you on the team and he keeps standing up for you when the other guys give you crap. What’s going on between you guys?”
“Absolutely nothing,” I stated firmly, and I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I’d told Penny about Dane standing up for me the other day at practice, when the guys were getting on me about the sprints, and now I was regretting it. I really didn’t need her starting to think that there was something going on between us, when clearly, there wasn’t.
“Well,” Penny sighed, shaking her hair out, “It’s only a matter of time.”
I raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t respond because my relationship with Dane wasn’t exactly a topic I wanted to dive into. He was my captain, and maybe slightly a friend, but that was it. I couldn’t tell if Dane was defending me because he liked me, or if he was doing it because that was something captains do; keep peace amongst the team.
“So,” Penny drawled, breaking the silence that had settled in the room, “Are you excited for Friday’s game?”
“I guess,” I replied, and I shrugged. “I mean, I don’t want to get in another fight, and I heard this team isn’t exactly clean. I really don’t need your dad getting on me about stupid penalties again.”
“You know,” Penny said, tipping her head to the side, “I think my dad is actually starting to like you.”
If I had been drinking something, it would’ve come shooting out of my nose.
“What?” I asked incredulously, “You can’t be serious!”
“I am, Kelsey,” she replied, and she pulled her knees up to her chest. “In the kitchen last night, he was talking to my mom about the team. She asked about you and how you were doing, and he actually smiled at her.”
“Really?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up.
Penny nodded like she couldn’t believe it either, and then she continued. “He said that you were having trouble fitting in and stuff, but that you had spunk and perseverance.”
“It’s about damn time he noticed,” I replied, and Penny laughed.
“Now, he’s never going to admit to liking you,” she stated, “But deep down inside, I think he does, and I think that he’s glad that you’re on the team. He said that the guy deserved for you to deck him, but that you should learn to control yourself.”
“See, I’m taking that as a compliment,” I declared happily.
“As you should,” Penny replied, and she grinned. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he gave you more playing time on Friday.”
“Well, I would,” I said honestly, and Penny rolled her eyes.
“I’m going to start attempting my math problem set now,” she stated, and she reached over the side of her band and grabbed her stuffed backpack. I watched in amusement as she hefted it onto the bed and started unzipping it.
“You got enough stuff in there?” I commented, nodding at the folders and binders sticking out.
“Shut up,” she muttered, and she flipped open a notebook and started to type something into her calculator. Watching Penny work on math was like watching an old guy try and figure out a PlayStation. She knew that it was supposed to work out, but she had no idea how.
As Penny immersed herself in trigonometric functions, I let myself think about what she’d said about her dad. Was he really starting to like me and having me on the team? I sure hoped so because if Coach Hannover did, being on the Ice Devils would probably get a lot easier. My teammates, seeing that their sexist coach had actually taken a liking to me, might not feel like they needed to torment me and tell me that I sucked.
Then again, it could also piss them off more.
I decided not to think about it anymore, and I pulled out my physics homework to work on. We were currently dealing with magnetic forces and these stupid things called right hand rules that absolutely made no sense, and every time I was in that class I wanted to throw a chair through a wall. Physics made me incredibly violent.
As I started writing down answers that I knew were totally wrong, there was a loud buzzing sound. I frowned, but before I could ask Penny if she heard it as well, she pulled out her phone from her pocket and flipped it open without looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?” Penny called as she punched something into her calculator. I could hear someone talking on the other end, but I couldn’t make out any of what they were saying.
Suddenly, Penny groaned, and she rolled her eyes. “Seriously?” she said, “I’m not even close to being done with my homework… Well, I was busy… No, I was not raiding her closet!” I snorted, and Penny gave me the evil eye before returning to her phone call.
“Fine, I’ll come out,” Penny said grumpily, “I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Then, she hung up the phone and groaned at me. “I have to go,” she stated unhappily, “My mom is outside. Apparently, my grandma is coming over tonight for dinner, and I have to go entertain her while my mom cooks.”
“That sucks,” I replied, and Penny nodded.
“You’re not the one who gets to talk about knitting and decorative soaps,” she muttered, and she closed her notebook and calculator. She shoved them back into her backpack and zipped it closed. Then, Penny slid off of my bed and pulled her bright pink converse on.
“I’ll walk you out,” I said, and I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up. I shoved my feet into a pair of worn Old Navy flip flops, and then I threw my hair up into a messy ponytail. “Let’s head on out.”
I lead Penny out of my room and down the stairs to the front hall. Since my dad had started work, I was spending my afternoons alone until about five thirty, when he usually got home. So, having Penny over was nice while it lasted. God knows that after she left, I was going to glue myself to Netflix to watch Skins like a loser.
I pulled open my front door and Penny walked outside with me following close behind. Immediately, I heard the sound of a stick slapping against the pavement, and then the sound of a puck hitting the back of a net. I looked to Dane’s yard to see him shooting pucks in his driveway, shirtless.
“Hot damn,” Penny whispered, and I rolled my eyes. Yes, Dane had very… defined muscles, but I didn’t need to drool over them.
“Keep on walking,” I muttered, nudging Penny’s shoulder.
“You know,” she said over her shoulder as she ignored me, “Now would be the perfect time to go over there and thank him for sticking up for you. I’m just saying, you wouldn’t want to waste such a nice opportunity.”
“Yeah, we’ll see,” I replied, and I nudged Penny a second time.
Suddenly, a car honked, and both Penny and I jumped. Penny swore under her breath, and she turned to the cherry red Jeep Wrangler waiting idly at the curb outside my house. “Don’t do that, Mom!” she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air.
“Hi Penny!” her mom yelled back, and I realized that her mom wasn’t oblivious; she was just trying to embarrass her daughter. I laughed to myself as I walked behind a stomping Penny, and as we drew nearer to the car, Penny’s mom waved at me.
“You must be Kelsey!” She said happily as Penny opened the passenger door and climbed inside.
“That I am,” I replied with a smile. Penny was the spitting image of her mom, right down to the small birthmark at the top of her right cheek. It was really cool.
“I’ve heard so much about you,” Penny’s mom gushed, and I grinned.
“All good, I hope,” I said, and Penny’s mom shrugged. She was Coach Hannover’s wife, after all. She was bound to hear some unbecoming comments about me at some point.
“Well,” Penny’s mom said as she switched her car into drive, “Penny and I have to get home to start dinner before her grandmother gets there. I’m sure I’ll see you again, Kelsey.”
“Bye,” I replied, and I waved as Penny’s mom peeled away from the curb. Then, I shoved my hands in my pockets and started back across my lawn to my house. However, just as I reached my front door, I glanced over at Dane, who was still shooting pucks on net, and I paused.
I never really did thank Dane for sticking up for me after practice on Monday, despite the fact that today was Wednesday. We didn’t have practice tonight, so I wouldn’t get a chance to thank him then. Penny was right; now was actually a pretty good chance.
“Here we go,” I muttered to myself, and I took a deep breath before walking over to his driveway. “Hey Dane,” I said, getting his attention. He finished shooting the puck he had on his stick, and after watching it sail into the top shelf, Dane stood up and leaned against the butt end of his stick.
“What’s up, Kelsey?” he asked tiredly, which made me think he’d either been out shooting for a while, or he just didn’t want to talk to me at the moment.
“Hey,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest awkwardly, “I didn’t really get a chance to thank you for sticking up for me at practice on Monday.” Dane didn’t move or even respond, so I just frowned and said, “So, thanks, I guess.” Then, I turned on my heel and started to walk back to my house, mentally kicking myself for sounding so weird.
“Kelsey, wait.”
I stopped in my tracks and hesitated before turning to face Dane. He’d laid his stick across the top of his net, and he had one hand on the crossbar and one hand was clutching a water bottle. “Yes?” I asked.
“You’re a really good hockey player,” he stated bluntly, and I blinked in surprise. “However,” he continued, “you need to watch yourself on the ice. The refs are going to be watching you a lot more, since you’re a girl, and you can’t afford to get stupid penalties like punching that one guy.”
“Yeah, I know,” I replied genuinely. I really didn’t need anyone else telling me that I’d taken a stupid penalty. I was there; I saw it.
“Dane!” Both Dane and I looked over at his house, where there was a petite woman waving at him from the front door.
“What is it, Mom?” Dane called back, glancing over his shoulder at me for a moment.
“Can you come take the trash out, honey?” she asked, and Dane let out a short, quiet groan before nodding.
“Yeah, just give me a minute,” he said, and then he grabbed his stick and turned back to me. “I have to go, but I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Dane said, and I nodded.
“See you tomorrow,” I replied, and I turned and started to once again walk back over to my house. Just as I reached my front door and swung it open, Dane called my name for the second time. “Yes?” I asked, turning to look at him.
“I’m glad you’re on the team.”
Then, Dane was gone, off to help his mom with some chores.
I think that it’s safe to assume that at this point, Dane and I were friends.
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Ooh! Does Coach Hannover actually sorta kinda like Kelsey? Are Dane and Kelsey friends? TUNE IN TO THE NEXT CHAPTER TO FIND OUT!
...wow that sounded extremely lame...
Somebody told me my chapter titles were too long. To them, I say: "This is my book, and I'll make rambling chapter titles if I want to damnit!"
I'm hoping to update sooner than it took me to get this chapter up, but I have so much work to do for my senior year this summer. I have college searches, and SAT prep since I'm retaking it, and I also am student directing the fall play so that's a lot of junk. I'm also playing travel hockey and writing. I'm just a tad bit busy, but as we all know, writing is my life so don't freak out.
Song on the side is Alligator by Tegan and Sara (I know, the music video is weird. The song is really awesome, though). I saw them in concert on the 13th when they opened for Fun. It was a kickass concert!
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