Roller Hockey Rumble

by Matt Christopher

  “See?” she called as she retrieved the disk. “It’s easy! And when it’s done right, it can really fake out the other team.”

  “It’s gonna take a lot more than a few good drop passes to fake that team out,” Jonas said from behind them. “A lot more.”

  X and Jonas stood outside the rink. They looked upset. “We just checked out the competition,” Jonas continued. He and X sat down at a picnic table. The others joined them.

  “And?” Bizz prompted.

  “And,” X said, “They. Are. Big.”

  “How big?” Mark asked.

  “Let me put it this way,” Jonas said. “If the zoo reports that its gorillas are missing, I know where to find them.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Bizz tried to think of something to say that would wipe the worried looks off their faces. “You know, even if they win, I’ll bet they won’t want to come over here to play. Why would they, when they can play on that lot?”

  Jonas shook his head. “Some big department store bought the property. The construction trucks have already started ripping up one side of the lot. No way Frank and his goons will be playing hockey there anymore. And if they win on Saturday, no way they’ll let us play hockey here anymore.”

  Bizz felt her stomach tighten. It was her fault they were in this mess. It was up to her to make sure they didn’t lose. And that meant whipping them into shape — fast.

  “All right,” she said, getting up. “So they’re bigger than us. Big deal! We can’t give up without a fight. So let’s go!”

  Slowly, the others got up. As they skated onto the rink, Bizz said, “For the first play, let’s try —”

  “Hang on!” X said, frowning. “What about my plays? And we still haven’t decided who’s playing forward.”

  Bizz checked her watch. “We’re losing time, here. Let’s do rock-paper-scissors to see whose plays we use.” X nodded.

  “Rock — paper — scissors — shoot!” they chanted together. Bizz stuck out her hand, holding it flat like a piece of paper. X’s hand was balled into a fist.

  “Paper covers rock — I win,” Bizz said. “Now do it with Jonas to see who plays forward.” Jonas won and skated triumphantly to the front line.

  “Now can we start practicing? Good.” Bizz consulted her paper. “Mark and Savannah will be our de- fensemen. X and Charlie will try to keep us from scoring.”

  As X and Charlie skated to their positions, Bizz called the others to huddle around her. “Okay, I call this the stack play. Jonas, you start with the puck. Pass it to me right away, then skate toward the goal. Mark, you follow behind him. Savannah, you’re behind Mark. I’ll pass to Mark and take off for the goal. Mark does a drop pass. Savannah picks up the puck and shoots it back to me or to Jonas, whoever’s got a clear shot on goal. Got it?”

  Mark and Jonas nodded, but Savannah wrinkled her brow in confusion.

  “Hello, Savannah!” Bizz said impatiently. “Anybody in there? Do you understand the play or not?”

  Savannah looked at Bizz with hurt eyes, but she nodded.

  “Then let’s do it!”

  They took their positions. Jonas dribbled toward the goal. X and Charlie immediately came out to double-team him. Jonas flicked the puck to Bizz. As

  X and Charlie turned to attack Bizz, she shot the puck to Mark. Mark caught it. Savannah then skated up behind him. He looked over his shoulder and called out, “Ready?”

  Oh, brother, Bizz groaned inwardly. Why don’t you just tell them you’re going to do a drop pass?

  Sure enough, just as Mark lifted his stick, X swooped in, reached out his stick, and snagged the puck.

  “Well, at least the defense is on top of things,” Bizz said as she watched X take a shot on goal. “Next time, Mark, try to be a little less obvious, okay?” Mark grinned sheepishly.

  “Okay, next play. Three-man weave. Simple. Jonas, you, me, and Mark line up on the center line. I’ve got the puck. I pass to Jonas, on my right, then skate behind him and take his spot. Jonas, you dribble to the middle, then pass to Mark. Mark takes your place, you take his. Got it?”

  “What do I do?” Savannah asked.

  “Stay back and out of the way,” Bizz replied shortly.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Eyes downcast, Savannah skated to a spot near the goal. Mark and Jonas exchanged glances, then took up their positions.

  “Let’s do it,” Bizz said. She passed to Jonas, then swung around behind him. Jonas skated to the center and passed to Mark.

  So far, so g— oh no! Bizz squeezed her eyes shut. Instead of weaving behind Mark, Jonas skated in front of him. Amazingly, Mark managed to control the puck while dodging around Jonas. Now he made his way toward Bizz, getting ready to pass.

  “You cover her, I’ll get him!” X yelled to Charlie.

  With a roar, he skated as fast as he could right at Mark.

  Mark shrieked, lost his balance, and fell down. Unable to stop, X fell on top of him. The puck skittered off Mark’s stick and rolled toward Savannah.

  “Pick it up! Pick it up!” Bizz called. But Savannah was skating toward Mark and X.

  Luckily, the boys were unharmed. “Is that your leg or mine?” X joked as they untangled themselves. They started laughing.

  “All right, all right, break it up,” Bizz said gruffly. Still laughing, the boys got up.

  “Nice play,” X commented as he dusted himself off. “A three-man weave with a two-man pileup! It’ll fake ’em out for sure.”

  All at once, Bizz’s blood boiled over. “Will you guys get serious?” she yelled. “And you,” she added, turning to Savannah, “you let the puck go right by you!”

  “I thought those guys were hurt!” Savannah protested.

  “Who cares? If this had been a game, you could’ve scored when they were down! Can’t you do anything right?”

  Savannah stared with shocked eyes at her friend. Then she took out her mouth guard, removed her helmet, and skated out of the rink. A moment later, she disappeared into the Community Center.

  “What’s with her?” Bizz asked.

  Mark, no longer laughing, shook his head in disgust. Without replying, he followed Savannah.

  Bizz watched him go, then turned to see Charlie and X collecting their stuff. “Oh, great, you’re going to quit, too?” She threw her hands up. “Jonas, help me out here!”

  Jonas looked from Bizz to Charlie and X and back again. “I don’t know, Bizz,” he said. “I think you need more help than I can give you.” He joined Charlie and X. Together, the three skated off toward the ramps and rails, leaving Bizz by herself in the empty rink.

  “Fine,” she muttered savagely. “Be that way. Who needs you?”

  “You do,” came a soft voice from behind her. Bizz whirled around and came face-to-face with Alison.

  Bizz jutted out her chin. “Okay, you’re right. I can’t win Saturday’s game all by myself.”

  “No, you can’t,” replied Alison. “But if you’re not careful, by yourself is the way you’re going to be — and not just this Saturday, either.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re a smart girl. You’ll figure it out. Hopefully, before it’s too late.” She skated away.

  Bizz unbuckled her helmet and took off her pads. Then she picked up her mouth guard — and suddenly, she thought of Savannah. Savannah, her best friend. Savannah, who barely knew the first thing about roller hockey but was willing to play against a team of huge kids because her friends needed her.

  And how had Bizz repaid such loyalty and bravery? By behaving like a jerk — and not just to Savannah, but to all her friends!

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Bizz gathered her things and hurried out of the park. She had a plan.

  When she got home, she ran to her computer and logged on to her e-mail account. She selected her friends’ names from her address book. Then she typed a letter:

  Guys, I’m wicked sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I can’t believe I made
that bet without talking to you first – and then I tried to take over the team, which was totally wrong. And today, I wanted to win so much that I didn’t even care if Mark and X were hurt! If you guys don’t want to do the game on Saturday, I’ll meet the other team and tell them we forfeit. They’ll have a good time laughing at me, but I deserve it. And besides, they can’t use the rink all the time, right? Maybe when they’re not using it, we can play for fun, like we used to. If you want to, that is.

  She pressed the send button and was about to log off when she decided to write one last note.

  Savannah, I want to say a special sorry to you. Even though you don’t know how to play roller hockey yet, you were right out there trying to learn enough to help out on Saturday. I think that’s awesome. I hope you can forgive me, because I don’t want us to stop being best friends.

  That night, Bizz fell asleep wondering what school was going to be like that week. Would her friends talk to her — or would she be left alone, as she had been at the rink?

  She got her answer the next morning, when she checked her e-mail before school. There was only one message. It was from Jonas.

  Meet at my house tonight after dinner.

  Bizz couldn’t tell if it was friendly or not. Then a new e-mail, also from Jonas, came through.

  I’ll make dessert!

  Next to his message was a smiley face.

  Bizz let out a sigh of relief and logged off. As she went downstairs, she felt as if she were walking on air.

  “I thought you were going to make dessert.” Bizz sat in Jonas’s kitchen, watching him scoop chocolate ice cream into bowls.

  “I’m making it get out of the freezer and into your bowl, aren’t I?” Jonas shot back.

  Bizz loaded the bowls onto a tray. “Jonas?” she whispered as they headed down to the basement to join the others. “Are you sure everyone’s okay with me now?”

  “They’re cool,” he assured her. “We all thought sending an e-mail was the stand-up thing to do.”

  Downstairs, Bizz handed a bowl to Savannah, grabbed one for herself, and sat down next to her friend. “Thanks, amiga,” Savannah whispered. “For everything.” They grinned at each other.

  X took a bite of ice cream and said, “My brother Brendan once told me, ‘X, there is no I in t-e-a-m.’”

  “So your brother can spell,” Jonas said. “What’s your point?”

  “My point is that if we’re going to win on Saturday, we have to think about what’s best for the team instead of what’s best for ourselves,” X said. “I’ve been so busy trying to get everyone to look at my plays, I didn’t bother to see if Bizz’s were better. If they are, then they’re the ones we should use.”

  Jonas nodded. “I’ve been so busy making sure I got the position I wanted, I didn’t let anybody else play forward.”

  “And I’ve been feeling hurt because I was left out,” Savannah said softly. “I know I’m not a strong player — yet. It’s better for the team if I sit out unless I’m absolutely needed.” Bizz gave her friend a squeeze.

  Everyone turned to Mark. “What?” he said, his mouth full of chocolate ice cream. “Near as I can tell, the only time I’m a problem to the team is when I fall down!”

  Everyone laughed, then X said, “The point is, if we’re gonna beat these guys, we gotta work together. Bizz, get out your plays!”

  “I will if you will,” Bizz replied.

  CHAPTER NINE

  In the end, they decided that Bizz and Jonas would play forward, with X and Charlie backing them up and Mark in the goal. Midway through the game, X and Jonas would switch, “to confuse the enemy,” as Jonas put it. Savannah would sub in as needed.

  “But don’t get too used to riding the pine,” Bizz warned. “I promise to make a hockey player out of you yet!”

  And she kept her word. Every day after school, Bizz coached Savannah as best she could while they all worked on plays. At the end of practice on Friday, everyone agreed that Savannah deserved the “MIP” award for Most Improved Player.

  “Those guys better watch out tomorrow,” Bizz observed as Savannah dodged around Mark and slammed the puck into the net, “or they won’t know what hit ’em!”

  Bizz was still feeling fired up the next morning. The day was clear, and the temperature was mild enough for sweatshirts instead of coats.

  “Too bad,” Jonas commented. “I look much bigger when I’m wearing my coat.”

  “I don’t think it would matter,” Mark said hoarsely. “Look.”

  Coming toward them was a group of boys. Big boys — and lots of them.

  “Please tell me that’s a football team that got lost on the way to a game,” Savannah pleaded.

  “’Fraid not,” X said. “Meet the enemy.”

  Frank broke out of the line. “Ready to rumble?” he growled.

  “Let’s get this game on!” Bizz shot back.

  The players took their positions, and Bizz and

  Frank readied themselves for the face-off. “One of my guys will drop the puck,” Frank said. He reached for the disk, but someone else grabbed it before him.

  It was Alison. She had a whistle around her neck. “Thought I’d come by, make sure everyone plays an honest game.” Bizz sent silent thanks to the teenager.

  Alison blew her whistle and dropped the puck. Bizz stabbed it free and sent a pass to Jonas. A defenseman lunged for him. Jonas braked to a stop and fired the puck backward to X, who winged it to Bizz. She took off like a shot for the goal.

  Okay, Charlie, she thought, here comes the drop! Without glancing behind her, she lifted her stick and left the puck behind. Just like they’d practiced, Charlie snagged the disk. He dodged around one defense-man and flicked a pass up the rink to where Bizz was waiting.

  Without hesitation, Bizz slapped the puck toward the goal. The shot felt good, but the puck ricocheted off a post. Bizz dashed forward to retrieve it. The goalkeeper got to it first and sent it spinning to his teammate. A few quick passes later, the puck was in the net behind Mark. Score: one to zero.

  “Let’s get it back!” Bizz called to her teammates. Alison dropped the puck for the face-off. This time, Frank won control. He made a beeline for the goal. His teammates roared down with him. With a series of quick passes, they drove past X and Charlie. Mark didn’t stand a chance. The puck hit the net, and the score was two–zip.

  As Bizz skated back to her spot, she whispered to her teammates, “If I get the puck, three-man weave. Me, X, and Jonas.” The others nodded.

  After a brief battle of jabbing sticks, Bizz came away with the puck. Jonas flew up one side of the rink, looking for a pass. But X was undefended, so Bizz flicked the puck to him. Using short, sharp passes and quick turns, the three wove toward the goal. Moments later, Bizz slapped a shot — score!

  Bizz raised her arms in triumph.

  Slam!

  Someone hit her from behind! She crashed to the ground, landing hard on her leg. Her teammates clustered around. “Sorry, guys,” Bizz said weakly. “I’m out. Guess that means we lose.”

  “Says who?”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Savannah took her mouth guard from her pocket and shoved it into her mouth.

  “Savannah, these guys are really good. Are you sure?” Bizz asked.

  Savannah tossed her hair. “I’m sure.”

  Bizz’s teammates helped her to the picnic table. Jonas fetched an ice pack from the Community Center. Meanwhile, Alison sent the boy who hit Bizz to the sidelines. Then she skated up to Bizz.

  “You okay?” she asked. Bizz nodded. “That hit from behind earns your team a penalty shot. Who do you want to take it?”

  Penalty shots were tough. The puck was placed in the face-off circle. The shooter had one chance to get the puck past the goalie. If that one shot didn’t make it in, too bad. But if it did . . .

  Bizz looked at her teammates. A goal now would even up the score, giving them a fighting chance at victory. X and Jonas could probably do it. She wasn’t sure ab
out Charlie or Mark.

  Then she turned to Savannah — and smiled. “You take it,” she said to her friend. Savannah looked startled, but she skated to the face-off circle without arguing. Alison placed the puck before her, stepped back, and blew her whistle. The goalie crouched in the crease. Savannah raised her stick behind her and swung.

  Thwack!

  The puck soared toward the goal. Bizz held her breath as the goalie lunged forward, reached out his glove — and just managed to knock the puck away. As the other team cheered, Savannah slowly skated back to her friends.

  “I blew it,” she said sadly.

  “Are you kidding me?” Bizz cried. “Do you know how difficult penalty shots are? And he almost didn’t stop it! Not bad for someone who’s only been playing for one week.” She grinned at Savannah. “Now get out there. They can’t win that game without you!”

  Savannah hugged Bizz and skated to her position on defense. X moved to the front line with Jonas. Charlie and Mark took up their same spots — and the game was on.

  Back and forth went the action. Jonas and X worked well together on the front line. Between them, they scored three goals. Savannah did her best on defense, clearing the puck to the side whenever it came loose near her. Charlie teamed up with the front line for some plays and stayed back on others. And Mark saved almost as many goals as he let in.

  Almost, but not quite. When Alison blew her whistle to signal the end of the game, the score was uneven. Frank’s team had won seven to four. They celebrated by making woofing noises and rolling upraised fists through the air. Then, after shouting “loo-oo-sers!” a few times, they left the park.

  Alison made sure Bizz’s leg was okay, then she left, too.

  The kids sat around the picnic table.

  “I can’t believe we lost,” Jonas said. “No more rink, no more hockey.”

  “Shoot, we can still play,” Bizz said. “We’ll find a place. And we’ll get better until our team totally rocks! And when we do,” she finished, her voice full of determination, “we’ll challenge those guys to a re-match. So, who’s with me?”