by Elicia Hyder
I nodded and turned my toes toward her, gently bumping her with my side.
Her glare was disapproving. “You’ve got to commit to it, Lucy. Really hit me.”
I sucked in a quick breath and skated at her again. This time she wavered but her skates didn’t budge.
She dragged her rear skate to stop, pulling the tail of my T-shirt to stop me too. “Listen,” she said. “This is as much of a mental game as it is a physical one. This is the perfect opportunity for some aggression therapy. Dig up some anger, channel its energy, and use it to destroy your opponent.” She put her hands on her hips. “What pisses you off, Lucy?”
West Adler never asking me out pissed me off, but that would lead to daydreaming rather than aggression. Even though it had been weeks since I’d vowed to put him out of my mind, the thought of his grin still made my knees gooey.
My boss often made me nuts, but I was pretty sure we’d shared a moment over the whole Lawson Young ordeal, albeit a very small one. She’d basically left me alone since that morning, and I was feeling more sympathy for her these days than hostility.
Dad and Katherine’s lightning-speed romance was up there on the frustration scale as well, but something that made my dad so happy could never give me enough fuel for physical brutality.
That left my mom. And, yep. There was a crap-ton of fury still bottled up in that compartment. I was mad at the cancer. Mad at the universe. And even a little mad at her, though I tried to keep that one slathered with thick layers of sorrow and longing. When it comes to the dead, sadness is so much easier to stomach than anger.
Kelly pointed at my face, jarring me from my thoughts. “That. Whatever that is. Knock my ass out with it, Lucy.”
As we took off down the track, snapshot memories clicked through my mind like slides on a View-Master wheel.
The time I’d begged her to stop smoking.
The day she’d laughed off going to the doctor because her cough was “just allergies.”
The vision of her pale and tiny body, lifeless in that bed.
My pulse throbbed in my ears. I charged Kelly again, bending deep in my knees before exploding up and slamming my shoulder into her rib cage, just behind her arm. Her right skate came down hard on the floor to push back against me, and I bounced off her, falling sideways and backward onto the track…
…onto the track right in front of Grace’s wheels.
Grace tried to stop in time.
But failed.
*
Just before impact, I rolled to my side and ducked my head into my arms. Grace’s zebra-striped knee pad came down hard on the back of my left shoulder. I didn’t exactly pass out, but the pain triggered stars that twinkled in my eyes and paralyzed me on the floor. The sound of the whistle was still ringing in my ears while I watched the remainder of practice from the bleachers, and held an ice pack to my shoulder.
“Let me see it,” Olivia said with a twisted grimace when she skated over at the end of practice.
I turned my back to her and removed the ice pack. Kelly had helped me strip down to my sports bra when we applied the ice. I had worried she’d have to cut the shirt off me, it hurt so badly, but she didn’t.
I heard Olivia suck in a sharp breath through her teeth. “Oh, Lucy.”
“Is it bad?” I asked. I hadn’t seen it since it first happened. Immediately, the spot had flashed a bright pink.
She leaned closer. “It’s going to be a nasty bruise. Do you think you should go to the emergency room?”
Kelly had asked the same thing.
“No. I can move my shoulder. It just hurts like hell.” I turned back to face her. “You were great out there today.”
And she was. She’d spent the last twenty minutes of practice knocking around the coaches like she was Muhammad Ali on roller skates.
“Thanks. It was fun.” She dropped down onto her knee pads in front of me and began unlacing my skates, a task I’d been unable to do myself.
I could have kissed her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I also have some ibuprofen in my purse if you want some,” she said, glancing up at me with a sympathetic smile.
“That would be great.”
Grace, Monica, and Zoey skated over. Grace looked like she might burst into tears. “Are you OK, Lucy?” She’d asked that question about a hundred times since I fell underneath her. “Can I do anything at all to help?”
I forced a smile and a nod. “I’ll be fine. Nothing’s broken. And it wasn’t your fault, Grace. Stop beating yourself up about it.”
Olivia freed my feet from the skates, then pulled off my knee pads. “I’m surprised you made it till now without serious injury. I’d had you pegged for a broken leg last week.”
I winced as I stood. “Shut up.”
“Do you still feel like riding all the way to Indianapolis?” Grace asked. “It’s going to be a long time in the car.”
“Yeah, I’d like to. If I can get a shirt on,” I said.
Grace carried my skates and pads over to my gym bag, and we followed her. She flashed a smile as she put my skates in my bag. “I’m pretty sure shirts are optional at the playoffs.”
I laughed, and it hurt.
“If it makes you feel any better, you were killing it out there with Kelly before you went down,” Zoey said.
I smirked. “Thanks.”
“Seriously. I even heard Kelly say so when she came back from the track,” Monica agreed.
“Really?” I asked.
“It’s true. I saw you hit her just before I…” Grace’s voice faded away and her eyes fell to the floor.
With my good arm, I threw the ice pack at her. “Let it go. It was my fault.”
She nodded, but her expression was unconvinced.
Full Metal Jackie skated over to us, carrying something in her hand. “How’s the shoulder?”
“Kinda feels like fire and death are brewing under my shoulder blade, but not too bad,” I answered.
She laughed and held out what she was holding. “Put this on a couple of times a day. It should help.”
I looked at the white jar. “Arnica cream?”
“I use it all the time. It’s great for bruises,” she said.
“Thank you, Jackie.”
“Don’t mention it. Something tells me you’re going to need a lot of it.”
I laughed and dropped the jar into my bag. “You’re a fast learner.”
“You’re doing good though. Keep it up.”
I could’ve melted into a puddle on the floor.
“Are you going to watch the bout today?” she asked.
Nodding, I gestured around to my friends. “Yeah. We’re driving up there as soon as we leave here.”
She gave me a thumbs-up. “Great. Then I’ll see you there.”
I held up the jar. “I’ll replace this for you.”
She waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m retiring, so I won’t need it anymore.”
“You’re retiring?” Grace asked beside me.
Jackie touched her stomach. “Yep. Came down with the Nine-Month Injury. I’m due in the spring. My first kid with my husband.”
“Congratulations. That’s awesome,” I said.
She beamed. “Thank you. I’ll see you guys in Indiana.”
*
The inside of Monica’s minivan reeked of sweat and arnica cream by the time we reached Indianapolis five hours later after stopping for lunch and to refresh my shoulder’s ice pack. We’d spent almost the whole drive studying for our roller derby written test. We arrived at the Indianapolis White River Fieldhouse just after five o’clock that evening. The arena was buzzing with activity. It was a similar scene to my very first derby bout in Nashville, except this time I knew a little bit about what was going on…and there would be no West Adler lurking in the crowd.
Or would there be?
It was possible he’d be there, I guess. He was a team sponsor after all, and the team was going for the championship.
&n
bsp; No. No. No. You’re over him. You will not spend the entire day out with your friends searching for the guy who blew you off.
I did spend the entire wait in the ticket line searching for him, however.
“This is so exciting!” Zoey squeaked, gripping my arm when we finally got our tickets.
“Come on,” Grace said, pulling Monica forward. “They’re selling Nashville merchandise.”
We followed her to a table full of Tshirts, buttons, magnets, and posters. Kraken was working it. “Hey!” she cheered when she saw us. She came around the table to give us hugs.
“Hey!” I embraced her, carefully favoring my tender shoulder. “Are you not playing today?”
“Yeah, I am.” Her eyes searched the crowd. “Just waiting on Jackie to get here and take over sales for me. You guys want some swag to support the team? You get twenty percent off.”
“Definitely!” Grace said. “I’m buying shirts for everyone.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I argued.
“I almost killed you today, Lucy. A T-shirt is the least I can do.” She tossed me a white shirt off the stack.
“What happened today?” Kraken asked.
“I was doing hits with Kelly and wiped out in front of Grace.” I turned and pulled down the stretched neckline of my shirt.
“Ouch. That’s going to be pretty tomorrow.”
“I know.” I sighed and shook my head. “Sometimes I really wonder what I was thinking when I joined this sport.”
“I think we all feel that way from time to time. When I started, I couldn’t skate at all.” She put her hand on my good shoulder and lowered her voice. “I was even worse than you.”
I laughed.
“Hang in there, Lucy. Someday you’ll be skating in the playoffs too.”
Olivia and I found seats in the crowded arena while Grace, Monica, and Zoey went to get drinks. All three levels of the stands were filled with fans sporting an assortment of team colors. I looked at my brochure. Twelve different teams were playing that weekend, and if Nashville won again, they’d play on Sunday for the championship spot in November.
The girls finally crossed the arena. They were carrying beers and popcorn. I waved from our spot halfway up the bleachers.
They climbed the stairs and inched their way across the row to us. We slid down the bench to make room.
“One for The Prodigy,” Grace said, handing a beer to Olivia.
“Oh geez.” Olivia rolled her eyes as she accepted.
Monica leaned forward with a wild smile. She handed me a cup. “One for The Trip Hazard.”
“Hey!” I whined.
Laughing, Olivia pointed at my face. “That’s so you.”
I couldn’t really argue.
Grace raised her cup in the air. “This beer’s for Zoey. Congratulations on kicking cancer’s ass!”
“To Zoey!” we all cheered and awkwardly clinked our cups together over the heads of the people in front of us. I, of course, had the hardest time stretching toward them, but my teammates came the rest of the way to meet my cup.
“I’m so glad we did this,” Olivia said, looking around the arena.
Zoey wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve. “Me too.”
Grace leaned forward. “How are you feeling, Lucy?
“Or should we start calling you Trip Hazard?” Olivia interrupted. She pointed at Monica. “Because that’s funny.”
I slumped in my seat. “You guys are so mean to me.”
“Have you thought about another roller derby name?” Monica asked.
“Maybe.” My cheeks flushed with heat.
Olivia swiveled in her seat to punch me in the good shoulder. “You didn’t tell me!”
I rubbed the spot she’d hit. “You didn’t ask.”
“Well, what is it?”
I grimaced. “It’s not much better than Trip Hazard, actually.”
“Tell us,” Zoey insisted.
“Lights Out Lucy,” I said, scrunching up my nose. “My brother used to call me that when we were younger.”
Grace dropped her head back and howled with laughter. “Oh my god, I love it.”
Monica’s eyes widened and she pointed at me. “Your number could be L0L, like L-zero-L.”
Olivia clapped. “That’s awesome.”
“What about you, Prodigy? Have you come up with a name?” Monica asked.
Olivia shook her head. “Haven’t given it a single thought.”
Both of Zoey’s hands shot straight up in the air. “I know what mine is!”
We all turned to look at her. “What?” Olivia asked.
She put up her palms and wiggled her fingers for dramatic effect. “Chemosabe!”
I laughed and sipped my beer. “That’s very appropriate.”
“What about you?” Olivia asked Monica.
“Are you kidding? My name is a derby name.” Monica reached down beside her and pulled something from her purse. It was a Lockwood Academy name badge on a lanyard.
“Dr. Monica Hooker,” I read aloud. “You’re a doctor?”
Olivia laughed. “You’re a hooker?”
Nodding her head, Monica tucked the lanyard back into her bag. “Yes and yes. I have a PhD in music and teach high schoolers at Lockwood Academy. I also failed to keep my maiden name when I married Derek Hooker. Roller derby will be the only place I don’t have to threaten detention over my name.”
“Oh my god, your number could be how much you charge an hour,” Grace said.
“How much are hookers?” Zoey asked.
We all exchanged confused glances. “You should Google it,” I suggested.
“Heck no!” Zoey’s face was bright red. “I use my work phone and don’t need that showing up in the history.”
Grace was looking up at the ceiling. “I’m pretty sure Julia Roberts charged a hundred dollars an hour in Pretty Woman.”
“That’s going to be so funny,” Olivia said, her chuckles finally fading.
I looked down the line at Grace. “What about you, Grace? What’s your derby name going to be?”
“Because I’m a seamstress—” Grace drummed her fingers on the table—“Britches Get Stitches.”
We all laughed until the people in front of us turned to look.
“That’s great.” I was laughing so hard, my eyes were watery. As I dabbed the corners with my sleeve, I looked at Olivia. “Any ideas?”
“She’s The Prodigy,” Grace insisted.
She blew out a slow sigh that puffed out her cheeks. “I can’t use The Prodigy. People will think I’m a snob.”
Grace waved her hand. “Who gives a shit what people think? The vets say you’re the best newbie the team has ever seen.”
“They do?” Olivia straightened in her seat.
Monica nodded. “Everyone says it.”
“Well, I’m not going to be the Trip Hazard.” I frowned and shook my head.
“Why not?” Olivia leaned against me. “Everyone says that too.”
I couldn’t hit her, so I stuck out my tongue.
She started laughing. “I wonder if they can print one of those falling stick figures on the back of your jersey.”
“A stick figure wearing skates,” Zoey added.
Olivia pointed at her. “You’re right. She doesn’t even need a name. Just the symbol. Like Prince.”
“I hate all of you,” I said, staring out at the track.
“You really should win some kind of award for being the first major injury of our group,” Monica said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Grace said. “After all, that’s what this sport is about, right? Big hits and big injuries.”
Monica nodded. “It’s not a matter of if you’ll get hurt, but of how bad and when.”
Alarm bells should have sounded in my head at this revelation. They didn’t.
Zoey raised her cup in the air. “I’m changing the toast! This one’s to Lucy. May you stay alive the rest of the season!”
Eve
ryone in the arena started cheering. But, thankfully, it wasn’t for me. We all looked out just as our team skated onto the track followed closely by the skaters from Richmond.
Unfortunately, the cheering wouldn’t last.
The Music City Rollers lost the bout to the Richmond Vixens in a blowout.
87 to 176.
Ten
By Monday, I was mobile again, but it still hurt to move my left arm. The back of my shoulder was sporting a black and deep purple bruise the size of a small cantaloupe. If the arnica cream was working at all, I would’ve hated to see the site without it.
When I got to work, on my walk down the hallway to my office, Audrey called my name. Well, she called out for Lily, anyway. It was the first time my metaphorical testicles didn’t shrink at the sound of her voice. We’d bonded, I was almost sure of it, and the icy chill I seemed to feel whenever we crossed paths had officially faded.
“Good morning, Audrey.”
She didn’t look up from her laptop screen. “Jana Carter released another live video this past weekend. They showed a clip of it on Good Morning America today.”
I blinked. “Um…”
“Where are we at with it in our marketing plans?” It was obvious she was struggling to maintain her volume and tone. The icy chill returned with a quickness.
Sure, Jana Carter was a trendsetter in Nashville. She was bordering on legend status in country music and had sold something crazy like thirty million albums worldwide. I got that. But why, oh why, was she ruining my Monday with her stupid live videos?
“I talked with Ava about that last week,” I said. “It’s all set up and ready to go. We just need to send out a couple of teaser clips inviting fans to watch—”
“For Jake,” she said, cutting me off.
I nodded. “Well, yeah.” Wasn’t that what we were talking about?
She turned her palms up. “What about everyone else?”
I looked around the room like everyone else might be standing behind me. “Huh?”
She finally looked at me. Nope, glared at me. “Have you figured out how we can implement it to use with all of our other clients?”
“Uhh…”
Sitting back in her chair, she folded her arms over her chest. “You’ve been working here for a while now. I assumed you would know that I expected to be able to implement this marketing strategy for everyone we represent.”
