by David Skuy
No one said a word. He wondered what they were thinking.
“I never thought of it that way,” Pudge said. “It’s an interesting idea, I guess.”
“It’s more than interesting,” he responded. “It’s, like, totally interesting. It’s, like, over-the-top interesting. What could be —”
Nick interrupted. “What about the commitments we signed? It seems a bit bogus to quit two weeks before the start of the regular season.”
They walked back to the lawn. What could he say to that? He searched his brain for an answer.
“Nick, I see your point. On the other hand, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Sure, we can all play on separate teams, play it safe this year. But I say, take a chance and play together. Think about the school team. Pudge and Zachary, we could be on the same line again. Scott and Nick, you could be defence partners again.”
“My dad would kill me after he made all those calls to the other coaches,” Pudge said.
Scott and Nick seemed deep in thought. Charlie turned to Zachary.
“I know giving up a spot on the Snow Birds is tough. They’ve got an awesome lineup. But that team is stacked. You’d just be another player. On the Hawks you’d be a star and get twice the ice time. It’d be cool to have you on my wing. I bet we’d lead the league in goals.”
Zachary nodded, but didn’t say anything. He looked away.
This was going nowhere. Maybe Pudge …
“How about my left winger?”
Pudge returned his gaze for a moment. Charlie grew hopeful. There was something about the look in his eye.
“It is an interesting idea, I guess,” Pudge said.
Not exactly an over-the-top reaction — better than a no, at least.
“Maybe you guys can think about it. I’m gonna take a shot and, well … it’ll be cool either way. We can play on the same team or against each other. I wouldn’t mind dangling Scott with the puck a few times.”
“Science fiction, Joyce,” Scott said. “I’m too inside your head to fall for your bogus moves. But wait till you play Nick. He tends to wet himself and get distracted.”
Nick pretended to be horrified. “I thought you weren’t gonna tell the boys about that … problem.”
“No secrets among friends — although I kinda put that on Facebook,” Scott said.
Nick shrugged. “As long as it’s only all the kids at school.”
They started cracking jokes about how their teams stacked up against each other. Charlie couldn’t really join in. The Hawks weren’t even a team yet. The conversation gave him a chance to think about it, however. The Hawks gave him a real chance to play in the top league after all, and maybe Pudge would switch since he didn’t know guys on his team. Matt was also looking for a team. He used to play for the Wildcats, and since the school tournament he’d become a friend. Matt didn’t like Jake any more than Charlie or Pudge did. He had to accept that Scott, Nick and Zachary probably wouldn’t leave established teams — especially Zachary. The Snow Birds were a dynasty.
“Anyone hungry?” his mom called out.
Scott leapt to his feet.
“There’s enough for everyone,” his mom laughed.
“Not if I eat it all first,” Scott replied, racing up the steps into the house.
“I’ll give you a call later to talk about the Hawks,” Charlie said to Pudge as they followed.
Pudge nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Charlie could have punched himself. The guy was obviously not into it. It was stupid to expect anyone to quit a team just to play with him. Plain dumb. He needed to be cool about it. It would be enough just to make the Hawks.
Charlie forced himself to grin and he laughed along with the others as Scott struggled to stuff two bananas into his mouth on a dare from Nick.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Skuy spent most of his childhood playing one sport or another — hockey, soccer, football, rugby. Now he is a writer and lawyer who lives in Toronto, Ontario with his wife and two kids. He still plays hockey once a week and remains a die-hard Leafs fan.
He began writing the Game Time series to try to capture the competition, the challenges, the friendships and the rivalries that make sports so much fun.
David Skuy won the 2012 Silver Birch Award for his novel Undergrounders.
