In A Jam

by Megan Sparks

  “Ooh, and it looks like Dee Stroyer has been ejected from the bout for gross misconduct. She won’t be allowed to sit with her team for the rest of the evening,” Jesse said.

  Holly, back from the penalty box, looked like Christmas had come early. “I will not rub it in her face, I will not rub it in her face! But dang it feels good!”

  Now there was no doubt in Annie’s mind that they were going to win. Dee Stroyer was the Rollers’ best jammer and with her out of action, and the Belles’ substantial lead, victory felt almost certain. But Annie reminded herself not to get overconfident. It was still possible for the Rollers to win.

  5:27 minutes left and Annie couldn’t stand still. The Belles were thirty-three points ahead. There was still a slight chance they might lose if the High Rollers got another power jam, or if a few Belles got sent to the box. But instead the Belles widened their lead to forty points.

  3:41 and Carmen was doing a happy dance by the bench.

  With one jam left, there was still the smallest chance the High Rollers could catch up. It was possible. But they didn’t. The whistle blew, signalling the end of the bout, and the season.

  “And that’s it folks. Final score is one hundred and forty-five to ninety-seven. The Liberty Belles, who last year came bottom of the league, are your new league champions! Congratulations to all our roller girls!” Jesse switched from the Christmas songs to Queen’s “We Are the Champions” as the Liberty Belles skated their victory lap with huge grins on their faces. When Liz was handed the trophy, there were tears in her eyes.

  They had won, they had won! Annie still couldn’t believe it. It was like a dream come true.

  “Everybody get together. I need to take a photo.” Sharmila’s dad waved them into the middle of the rink. They all stood with their arms around each other, except for Holly who had to pose in front with the trophy.

  All the other parents, including Dad, snapped pictures too.

  “Can you email that photo to Mum, please?” Annie said to Dad, as he pulled her into a huge hug. She wanted Mum to know the good news straight away.

  “You got it, champ,” Dad said.

  Annie got hugs from Lexie and her friends, Coach’s kids, Jesse and his little sister Katie, and even Keith, before she got a chance to dash to the person she most wanted to celebrate with.

  As she approached, Tyler slid his phone back into his pocket. It was an awkward hug and when Annie leaned over to kiss him, he turned his head so she got his cheek instead.

  “Did you see me score?” Annie teased as she repeated what Tyler often asked her after his matches. Her Cheshire cat smile wasn’t going to disappear anytime soon. “Twenty points in that power jam. And a straddle spin.”

  He didn’t even try to look excited about her role in the victory. “Yeah, you were great. Get out of those weird clothes and let’s go. The guys are waiting for us.”

  A few weeks ago, Annie would have rushed to do his bidding. But now she could only hear him being bossy.

  The glory of being a league champion dwindled as anger rose up in Annie’s chest. She knew he had been texting or playing on his phone for most of the bout, but she’d given him the benefit of the doubt and hoped he’d looked up a few times. She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “No, I’m heading to Rosie Lee’s. It’s our Christmas party, and now our championship celebration too. I told you about it ages ago.”

  Tyler shook his head. “No you didn’t.”

  Annie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She could find the text and show him, but she didn’t want to be that kind of girlfriend. Better take the conversation a different route. “Why don’t you join us?”

  “I’m not hanging out with a bunch of freaks!” Tyler said loudly enough for several people to turn and stare at him, including Holly and Sharmila, who looked ready to use their toughest blocking moves on Tyler.

  Annie crossed her arms over her chest. “These ‘freaks’ are some of my best friends.”

  Tyler let his arms flop to his side in exasperation. “Look, I let you play roller derby tonight, but now it’s time to hang out with my friends.”

  Let me play? No, sorry, mate. “You can go if you like, but I’m staying.”

  Tyler’s green eyes flashed in anger. For the first time since Annie had known him, she didn’t find him attractive. He leaned over and hissed, “If you choose to hang out with them over me, we’re over.”

  What? Really? Annie didn’t even hesitate with her answer. “Fine. Be that way.”

  It took a second for Tyler to understand what she was saying. His cheeks flushed. “No one turns me down. You’re going to regret it.”

  “No, I’m not.” Annie lifted her chin up with more certainty than defiance. “Anyone who puts down my friends insults me too.”

  Tyler’s face got even uglier and Annie couldn’t think of a single reason why she ever liked him. “You’re just as big a freak as the rest of them.”

  “Cheers,” Annie said without sarcasm. She watched Tyler, her ex-boyfriend now, storm out of the rink. Immediately, Lexie and Lauren appeared out of nowhere and put their arms around her. She’d loved being his girlfriend, but Tyler Erickson had never been a true friend.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “How’re you holding up?” Lexie asked as she artistically arranged cookies on a plate. Dad had driven the two of them back to Rosie Lee’s to get things ready for the Christmas party; the rest of the team would be there in about ten minutes.

  Annie turned off the steam wand and poured the hot milk into a large carafe. “I’m a bit sad, but I’ll be fine. I’m more bothered by how stupid I was around him. I think I liked being his girlfriend more than I liked him. Does that make any sense?”

  “No, but I’m glad you’re handling it well. It’d be horrible if you got all mopey and stopped eating and all.”

  Annie laughed and filled the jug with more milk to steam. “My dad is the best cook in the world. It’d take more than a bad break-up to get me to stop eating.”

  “Excuse me?” Dad called out from the kitchen. “Best cook in the world? Try the entire universe, and then you might be closer to the truth.”

  Annie turned the knob of the steamer so she wouldn’t have to burst Dad’s bubble. She wasn’t lying about Tyler though. OK, so she loved how gorgeous he was, and it had been really flattering that he’d asked her out. They’d had some fun times together. When he wasn’t putting down her friends. Or always demanding that they do what he wanted them to do. Or trying to prove he was fitter than she was. Now that she really thought about it, he wasn’t very nice. Next time she got a boyfriend, he wasn’t just going to be hot – he’d better be nice, too.

  Annie poured the last of the steamed milk into the carafe and got a long-handled wooden spoon to make sure all the chocolate had dissolved into the milk before sealing it tight. The carafe held around twenty-four mugs of hot chocolate – just about enough for a team of hungry roller girls.

  Dad came out of the kitchen with a huge bowl of whipped cream. “I took your advice and made peppermint whipped cream for the hot chocolate. Absolutely no touching it until everyone’s here.”

  As soon as Dad went back to the kitchen, Annie handed Lexie a spoon and grabbed one for herself. Checking to make sure Dad couldn’t see them, they both sneaked a taste. It was pure heaven. The peppermint wasn’t too overpowering and the cream had a subtle vanilla undertone. Forget the hot chocolate, Annie could have eaten the whole bowl of whipped cream on its own.

  She was saved from temptation by the door jingling open; Lauren and Jesse were the first arrivals. Then came Coach Ritter with her two kids. The rest of the team arrived within minutes. Liz walked in with the trophy. She set it on display at a central table and every once in a while checked to make sure it was still there.

  “I overheard you and the soccer god.” Holly made a rude gesture before grabbing a handful of white-chocolate-covered pretzels. “What a jackass. Just saying, anybody who disses you, a
nd your friends, is not cool. Screw his good looks.”

  “Thanks.” Annie knew by the way gossip flew, there wasn’t anyone in Liberty Heights who didn’t know that the soccer captain and the English girl were no more. Might as well get used to being single.

  Everyone got served hot chocolate (Lexie helped Annie shape the peppermint whipped cream into beautiful mounds) and the cookies made several rounds.

  “Oh my god, this is sooo good,” Lauren moaned as she tried the hot chocolate.

  Liz agreed. “And these are the best cookies ever.”

  Annie waited for Dad to buff his fingers against his shirt or brag that he had taught Martha Stewart everything she knew, but nothing. He wasn’t even in the café area. Weird. She hoped he wasn’t prepping for tomorrow. The party was supposed to be chill time for everyone. One workaholic parent was more than enough.

  The door to the café jingled open and Annie was just about to tell the customer that they were closed, when a white-bearded man in a red and white suit poked his head in.

  “Ho, ho, ho! I hear we have some roller derby champions in the house. Is that so?” Santa asked.

  “Yeah!” the girls all cheered.

  “Well, then. I think I might have some presents for you.” Santa let himself in and heaved a flour bag off his shoulder. Annie grinned. Where could “Santa” have possibly found such a convenient sack for his loot?

  Abbey and Brandon dashed up to him. “Do you have anything for us?”

  Santa leaned over his huge belly to look at Coach Ritter’s kids. “My, my. You must be part of the junior team. Let’s see what I’ve got for you.”

  He pulled out two presents: remote control cars, one green and one red. The kids loved them and were immediately driving them around the café. Lauren and Carmen even looked a tiny bit jealous.

  “And for the rest of you, I got a special shipment from my elves.” Santa started handing out the presents from the team’s Secret Santa exchange.

  Sharmila squealed when she opened the make-up kit Annie had bought for her and immediately started trying it out.

  Lauren wouldn’t let go of the basset hound stuffed animal Liz gave her.

  Holly freaked out at the hot pants on which Carmen had ironed-on the word “Kickass” in big letters across the bum.

  Even though Lexie wasn’t a roller girl, Annie had got her best friend a new set of colouring pencils just like ones she’d been using when Annie and Mum had gone running in the park.

  Coach Ritter got a box of chocolate truffles that Annie suspected were homemade by “Santa” himself.

  Annie opened her present slowly, savouring the moment. She knew what it was from the shape, but didn’t know exactly what it held.

  “Total Anne R. Key”, the CD label said, listing songs she had never heard even though they were by some of her favourite bands. She put the CD on right away. OK, so the gifts were meant to be from a “secret” Santa, but only one person could have put something like that together.

  Jesse was wearing his present, a black bandana with skulls, and was nodding to the music when Annie came up to him.

  “Nice tunes,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Annie said. “Somebody in this room must have really good taste.”

  “Introduce me when you find out who it is.” Jesse grinned mischievously like he had when he gave Annie her new skates.

  Annie gave him a quick hug and whispered in his ear, “Thanks! You rock!”

  Santa’s booming voice carried across the café. “Oops, looks like someone’s under the mistletoe.”

  Annie quickly broke away from Jesse. But it wasn’t her, rather Coach Ritter, who was staring at the branch above her head. Santa stuck out his cheek and tapped it with a finger. Instead, Coach Ritter grabbed him by the furry collar and pulled him in for a real kiss. With the whole team cheering, Santa wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back.

  Annie collapsed into a chair. It’s just mistletoe. It doesn’t mean anything. But who was she kidding? She wasn’t young like Coach’s kids (who were still playing with their cars and hadn’t noticed a thing). Annie had seen it coming. But even though she was OK with it, it still made her feel strange. Coach Ritter wasn’t Mum.

  She felt a squeeze on her shoulder and reached up to hold Lexie’s hand. What would she do without her best friend?

  “Boy, it’s hot in here.” Santa pulled at the collar of his red suit to let some air in. The team kept cheering and making cheeky comments about why the temperature had risen. Santa smiled sheepishly, grabbed the empty flour bag, and disappeared into the back. A few minutes later, Dad reappeared as if nothing had happened. “Sorry, guys, I must have dozed off. Did I miss anything?”

  Coach Ritter winked. “I’ll fill you in later. But for now I’ve got a few gifts of my own for the team.”

  She pulled out a folder from her bag. “I don’t have them in any order, it’s just how they were printed out. Holly gets the ‘Life of the Party Award’, for always keeping us from taking the sport too seriously.”

  Holly held the certificate against her chest and wiped pretend tears from her eyes. “I’d like to thank my momma and poppa for believing in me, and all those little people I had to roll over to get to where I am today.”

  The comments, and insults, flew good-naturedly as Holly strutted back to her seat.

  “The ‘Most Feared Award’ goes to Lauren.”

  Everyone laughed as Lauren accepted her award with the stuffed dog still in her hand. On the rink she might have been the hardest blocker to get by, but off the rink she was a softie.

  “For Liz, our captain, I have the ‘Most Valuable Player Award’, for leading the Liberty Belles to their first ever championship victory.”

  The whole café erupted into cheers and whistles that took several minutes to quieten down. Once everyone had settled again, Coach continued handing out awards to everyone else on the team. Except Annie.

  Maybe she forgot to print mine. Maybe it slipped out of the folder and she didn’t notice.

  “And last, but not least, I talked with the other coaches and we all agreed that the league-wide award for ‘Rookie of the Year’ goes to Annie.”

  “Yeah it does!” Jesse screamed while Lauren stuck two fingers in her mouth for an ear-piercing whistle.

  “I still remember when you crashed into the barrier because you didn’t know how to stop,” Liz said as she gave Annie a hug. Annie remembered it well. It had been the first day of the Fresh Meat workshop that had taught her how to play roller derby. I can’t believe I was that bad just a few months ago.

  She took her certificate and gave her widest smile while Dad took a picture. Somehow she got the feeling that either the picture or the certificate, or both, would end up on the wall at Rosie Lee’s.

  The party settled down after that with the girls going over the highlights of the season and helping themselves to more goodies. When Brandon fell asleep with his hand still clutching his car remote control, everyone started packing up and arranging lifts home. Dad carried Brandon to Coach’s car and didn’t return for a good while. Annie didn’t ask but got the feeling that “Santa” hadn’t been the only person Coach Ritter kissed tonight.

  After the team left, Annie, Lexie, and Dad worked quickly to get the place all tidied up.

  “Dad, I forgot to thank you for the skates earlier,” Annie said as she swept the last crumbs. “They’re amazing. I know they weren’t cheap.”

  Dad held the dustpan in place for Annie to sweep into it. “They’re from your mother too. We’re both very proud of you. You’ve grown so much.”

  Annie playfully shoved him. “No, don’t say that! I don’t want to change my derby number. Six foot isn’t nearly as cool as five foot eleven and a half.”

  “You know what I meant, Beanie,” Dad scolded playfully. It wasn’t often Annie beat him to a tease. “I wouldn’t have thought it, but I’m really glad you joined the roller derby league instead of cheerleading or basketball. It’s been a great sp
ort for you.”

  “And let’s not forget who introduced you to that great sport,” Lexie said as she came out of the kitchen with the mop bucket.

  Annie held out her arm in presentation. “The one and only Alexis Raquel Jones.”

  Lexie bowed deeply and repetitively. “Thank you, thank you. Just so you know, as your agent, I have the right to twenty per cent of all your future earnings.”

  “Hey, if she gets twenty per cent, then I should at least get fifty per cent for raising you,” Dad said as he emptied the crumbs in the bin.

  Annie pretended to grumble then grinned. “How about VIP passes to my first professional bout?”

  “Deal!” Dad and Lexie said at the same time and they all laughed. Dad went back into the kitchen while Annie insisted on taking over the mopping. Without needing to be asked, Lexie shifted the tables out of the way and returned them to their usual spots after Annie had mopped each area.

  When the girls had finished, Lexie seemed to start gathering up her things.

  “Aren’t you sleeping over?” Annie asked, wondering if she had said or done something wrong.

  “Of course I am. I just wanted to give you your Christmas present.” Lexie hid something behind her back for a few seconds before revealing it to Annie.

  “You—” Annie started to say that Lexie didn’t have to give her anything, but then she saw what it was and all words left her.

  It was an oil painting of two women on a park bench, one with wild ringlets and the other with long legs stretched out in front of her. Annie recognized them instantly – the smiling faces were her and Lexie, except there was an older look about both of them.

  “Is this us all grown-up?” Annie asked.

  Lexie shrugged and looked a bit sheepish. “Kind of. I was imagining us hanging out together when we’re older in some exciting place like New York or London. I know that’s kind of silly, but—”

  Annie didn’t let her friend finish. She set the painting down and flung her arms around Lexie. Even after how Annie had treated her over the last few weeks, Lexie wanted them to stay friends for years? It was like winning the championship bout all over again. “I love it!”