Making the Cut

by David Skuy

  That wasn’t a problem for Gabriel. He pulled the puck back a fraction and flipped it up under the crossbar, before taking a late hit. He spun to the ice on his knees and popped back up seemingly in one motion.

  Charlie marvelled at his right winger’s skills. What a goal — truly worthy of the highlight reel. As they lined up for the faceoff, Charlie noticed Savard was dead serious for the draw this time, as were all the players. Lesson learned by everyone: don’t take a shift off or the puck’s in your net.

  Charlie leaned into Savard and inched his stick forward in anticipation of Clark dropping the puck.

  13

  STICKS AND STONES

  Corey’s phone rang. The door to the bathroom flung open, and he came bounding across the room to grab it from the nightstand next to his bed.

  “Hol’ on a sec, Da …” he struggled to say, his mouth full of toothpaste. He returned to the bathroom to spit and rinse his mouth.

  Scott and Nick came into the room. “Is there a Joyce in the house?” Scott called out.

  “You dudes ready to play?” Charlie asked.

  Corey had spent most of last night talking about the capture the flag game they were playing this morning.

  “The winning team gets a cup,” he told Charlie, “and the other guys gotta clap you off the field; and they have to wait for you to eat breakfast. It’s totally awesome. And last year I snagged the flag for the win and the guys carried me on their shoulders. It was a total riot.”

  He had laughed about that for what seemed like forever. But he didn’t look too happy now as he came out of the bathroom and tossed his phone onto his bed. His mood changed instantly when he saw Charlie’s friends. “I’m totally stoked for capture the flag,” he said to them. “Did I tell you I found the flag last year to win it?” he asked Charlie.

  Charlie nodded.

  “I did not know that,” Scott said. “Please, tell us all about it.”

  The last thing Charlie wanted was another play-by-play of how Corey had nabbed the flag.

  “We’ll be late if we don’t get going,” Charlie interjected. “I don’t need Jen busting me for a punctuality infringement again.”

  “Those are big words, Charlie,” Nick said. “Have you been taking your smart pills?”

  “You can get smart pills?” Scott exclaimed.

  “You can,” Nick said, in a sad voice. “But unfortunately, you need to have a brain first or the pills don’t work.”

  Scott’s shoulders sagged. “I should’ve gone to the Wizard of Oz for some brains when I had the chance.”

  “Why didn’t you?” Nick asked.

  “It’s a long story. There were these flying monkeys, and a tin guy, and a dog, and this nice girl with an awesome voice …”

  They all headed to the front doors.

  Corey tugged on Charlie’s shoulder to hang back. “Your friends are good guys, but they’re kinda weird, aren’t they?” Corey whispered to Charlie.

  “You have no idea,” Charlie said.

  It was still early and there was a chill in the air. Charlie was a touch cold and he bounced lightly on his toes to stay warm.

  “Didn’t your mommy tell you to go to the washroom before you left the house?”

  Jake exchanged a high-five with Zane.

  “Good timing, dude,” Markus chimed.

  Charlie stopped bouncing.

  “What’s going to be your excuse for cheating at capture the flag — a weak bladder?” Jake continued.

  The guys around Jake laughed loudly. Charlie rolled his eyes.

  Jake kept going. “Heard about your lost equipment. Maybe you should tie a string from your bag to your finger so you don’t lose it again.”

  Charlie bit his lip to help control his temper. Jake would love for him to say something. Then he’d diss him back and all the guys would laugh some more.

  “You must be all happy and giggly ’cause you scored a goal in scrimmage yesterday. Mommy would be so very proud of her little Charlie-Warlie.”

  Charlie caught Slogger’s eye. Then he noticed that Simon and Gabriel were watching him too. Nick and Scott were also staring at him intently, and Savard, Burnett, and Cameron were quietly looking on. Were they waiting for him to respond? He took a deep breath. All camp he’d ignored Jake as best he could, figuring he shouldn’t lower himself to his level. His instincts told him maybe he’d let things go too far without standing up for himself. He ignored the growing knot in his stomach.

  “You’re not too chatty today, Charles,” Jake continued. “Run out of lame things to say?” Zane snickered behind him. Jake snapped his fingers. “I have an idea. Why don’t you regale us with the tale of how I pounded you out this season?” He turned to Zane. “Unfortunately, my good buddy got so scared after our tussle he didn’t play for a month. Ain’t that right, Char?”

  The fight was a low point in the season for Charlie. He’d just been cross-checked by Jake and was totally out of it. After the fight, Jake had acted like he was the heavyweight champion of the world.

  “Why don’t you tell the guys who won the championship this year,” Charlie said quietly.

  He snorted. “Worst team in the league gets totally lucky, and you act like you won the Stanley Cup.”

  “But the Rebels did win — and the Wildcats did lose; and I think you play for the Wildcats. Doesn’t that make you … I don’t know … a loser?”

  Jake’s eyes narrowed. “We were winning until the ref gave the game to you.”

  “I think you mean you were winning until you quit on your team.”

  About half the camp was listening to them now.

  “On second thought, I think you talk too much,” Jake snarled, stepping towards him.

  Charlie had no intention of fighting. “You’re like a bad video game,” he said. “Same thing over and over. We all know that when the pressure’s on, you quit. You quit our high school team in the semifinals, and you quit against the Rebels in the championship game.”

  “I think that makes him a quitter,” Scott said to Nick.

  “It all adds up,” Nick said.

  A buzz rose amongst the players. Charlie guessed that tidbit of information surprised them big time. Jake acted like the toughest guy at camp — but tough guys don’t quit.

  “Attention, everyone,” Jen yelled.

  That broke things up and they all turned towards her and Trevor. She waved red and blue cloths over her head, and dropped a canvas bag to the ground.

  “As those of you who’ve been here before know,” Jen said, “the only thing bigger than the Challenge Game is the Capture the Flag Cup.” Trevor held the cup over his head, which garnered a loud cheer.

  She continued. “We’re going to do something a bit different this year. Instead of matching the teams against each other, we’ve divided the camp into two groups — Blue and Red.” She pointed to a pile of pinnies on the ground. “I’ll call out the Blue team first and you’ll take the south end. Trevor will help organize you. Grab a pinny when your name’s called and head down there. As you can see, in each end zone there’s a banner with your team colour.” Jen held up the two bands of cloth. “These are your flags. You can hide them in the forest, but they must be clearly visible from at least one direction. Hiding your flag completely will result in automatic disqualification.

  “I’m standing on the centre line. Tackle an opposing player on your side of the field and that player must go to jail. You’ll see a big circle around the banners in chalk — that’s jail. Jailed players can be freed if a team member runs through the chalked circle.”

  “Do you have to run through it or can you just put a foot inside?” someone asked.

  “What do you think, Trev?” she asked.

  Trevor scrunched his face to the side. “One foot inside is good,” he declared dramatically.

  Jen laughed. “One foot it is. First team to find the other team’s flag and carry it back to his own side is the winner. The boundaries are the rinks on my left and the ri
dge of the escarpment in the forested area, overlooking the ravine on my right. Careful of the forest. There are fallen branches and logs everywhere and the escarpment is very steep. We have two hours, so we might have a few games. But the cup goes to the winner of the first game. Good luck.”

  “Jen and I will be judging,” Trevor said, “so keep to the rules. Just like in football, if your knee touches the ground, you’ve been tackled.”

  Jen began calling out names. Charlie got called early for the Blue team, and he was glad to hear Slogger, Gabriel and Simon were also on his team. Scott and Nick were Red, unfortunately.

  “Charlie, I don’t want you crying and having a tantrum when we win,” Scott said. “It’s so embarrassing, and it reflects very badly on me since everyone knows I’m your mentor and idol.”

  “I’ll try to keep it together,” Charlie said, forcing himself to joke around. He was still preoccupied with his run-in with Jake.

  “And let’s remember to just have fun — and use your words,” Nick said.

  “And no put-downs,” Scott said emphatically.

  “You’re not the boss of me,” Nick replied.

  Slogger was laughing his head off. “Let’s get away from these dudes. They’re a bad influence.”

  Corey came over to Charlie with his fist extended. He wore a red pinny. Charlie punched his fist. “You guys stoked?” Corey said to Scott and Nick. “We gotta smoke these guys.”

  “Yeah, absolutely,” Scott said slowly. “We just gotta … smoke them — big time.”

  “If we don’t, then … we won’t have … smoked them,” Nick said.

  “I’ll see you boys down at the banner,” Corey replied, oblivious. “You’ll see me running down the field with the blue flag.”

  He slapped Charlie and Slogger and ran off, high-fiving Trevor as he passed him.

  “I have to admit I think he wants this more than me,” Scott said.

  “Gentlemen, could you please get to your team ends. We want to get started,” Jen said to them.

  “I’d like to apologize for my friends,” Scott said solemnly. “They simply won’t listen. I pleaded with them to go to their respective banners, but they refused. The problem is they want me to tell them more stories about my hockey career, and of course, how I play the game and strategy and all that. I guess it’s my fault for being so interesting.”

  Jen slung her arm across Scott’s shoulders. “Perhaps you could show some leadership skills and get going yourself, Mr. Slatsky.”

  “That was my plan, except —”

  Charlie intervened. Scott could go on forever. “Jen, order him to go, or this’ll only get worse. Trust me.”

  She nodded at him. “Now that’s good advice.” She pointed at Scott and Nick. “You two — get going. Red needs you.”

  “Did you hear that?” Scott gasped. “We’re needed!”

  “Heigh-ho!” Nick sang.

  “Heigh-ho!” Scott replied.

  “Heigh-ho … Heigh-ho … it’s off to Red we go!” they sang in unison.

  Simon and Gabriel waved Charlie and Slogger over.

  “Hey, Trevor,” Gabriel called out. “Us four will be an attacking unit. Okay?”

  Trevor nodded, and turned back to sorting out the rest of the Blue team. Charlie surveyed the scene while everyone waited for the game to begin. The forest wasn’t that wide because of the escarpment, but it did offer the only cover.

  “Maybe we should slip off into the forest before the game starts,” Charlie whispered, “and we can use the cover to get deep into Red’s end before they know we’re coming.”

  “Charlie, that’s sneaky, devious and underhanded,” Slogger said. “So let’s do it.”

  Simon and Gabriel nodded, both grinning broadly. Charlie walked behind the crowd of Blue players milling around their banner, and when he thought the Red players couldn’t possibly see them he snuck into the forest, with Slogger, Simon and Gabriel close behind.

  “Attack mode, Zebra Squad,” Charlie said. “Move out.”

  14

  BATTERED AND BRUISED

  All four boys ran off, although it wasn’t easy with all the trees, brush, fallen logs and branches. Some of the trees were huge, especially the evergreens. They wound their way as best they could, hugging the hillside to keep out of sight.

  “Zebra Squad,” Charlie hissed. “Danger at twelve o’clock.”

  Two Red defenders were wandering through the woods towards them. At that moment, Jen blew her whistle. The game was on.

  Charlie and Slogger ducked behind a tree. Unfortunately, Simon and Gabriel only found a scraggly bush to hide them. They lay on the ground, but the Red players spotted them.

  “Over here,” one of them cried, and three more Reds came bounding over.

  Simon and Gabriel scrambled to their feet and ran towards the field, with the Red defenders hot on their heels. Charlie pulled on Slogger’s arm.

  “We can sneak along the ridge. They’ll be too busy with those guys.”

  “Proceed with caution, dude. We’re in enemy territory.”

  Charlie grinned and together they continued along, looking closely for Red’s flag.

  Off in the distance Charlie heard someone yell, “You’re going to jail!” which got his adrenaline going.

  “Let’s regroup behind those bushes and figure out where the flag’s hidden.”

  They wasted no time throwing themselves behind a huge evergreen tree.

  “We need some walkie-talkies to communicate with Headquarters,” Charlie joked.

  “I’m sure they’d be impressed that we found a tree to hide behind,” Slogger laughed.

  Charlie peered through the branches and spotted Simon and Gabriel being led by three defenders. “Looks like they captured two members of Zebra Squad.”

  “I think our mission is clear,” Slogger said.

  Charlie pretended to talk into a walkie-talkie. “Delta, Delta, this is Zebra Squad. We’re attempting a rescue before capturing the flag. Over.”

  “What did they say?”

  “Couldn’t hear them. Signal is jammed.”

  They crawled along the ridge, dropping to the ground if a Red player came too close and, using the trees as cover, wound their way closer and closer to Red’s jail. Charlie got to within ten metres, using another big evergreen as cover. Slogger was a little ways back, hidden behind the trunk of a massive maple. Four of their teammates were in the jail, including Simon and Gabriel. Five defenders were guarding and taunting their prisoners.

  “You guys managed to stay free for about ten seconds. Enjoying the game?”

  “Check out this dude — I think he’s crying.”

  “And this one’s wet his pants.”

  They laughed uproariously.

  Charlie held up three fingers and Slogger nodded. He counted down, and then they both charged the jail. Charlie, who had been closer, got there first.

  “Freedom — Blue team!” he screamed.

  “Where’d he come from?” a defender yelled, scrambling to his feet.

  The prisoners scattered in every direction, as the Red defenders charged after them.

  “Zebra Squad — meet at midfield,” Simon yelled.

  “There’s that Joyce guy,” a Red player said. “After him!”

  Charlie saw Slogger race to the open side of the field. “Go for it, Slogger! I’ll see you in friendly territory,” he yelled, opting for the forest instead.

  It was tough going, and because he was running so fast, he came close to wiping out a bunch of times. His daredevil tactics worked, however, and soon he managed to put some distance between himself and the Red players.

  “We’d better go back to the jail,” he heard one guy say.

  “Yeah. He ain’t worth the hassle,” another said.

  With a sense of relief, Charlie slowed up. He figured the Blue end was about twenty metres further, and then he could safely leave the forest. Charlie ambled to his right, looking around for an opening.

  J
ust then, he felt a hard thump in the stomach, and his breath left him. Ambushed! The defender wrapped a pair of enormous arms around him in a bear hug and tackled him to the ground, landing full on top, winding Charlie again. The defender was huge and Charlie couldn’t move.

  “Yo! Come over, guys. I got Joyce.”

  Just his luck to be captured by Zane. “You can get off me now,” Charlie gasped.

  Zane answered by pressing Charlie’s head into the ground. A pine cone dug into his forehead. Then, “Get up slowly,” Zane ordered.

  Charlie crawled to his knees. Zane jerked him to his feet.

  “Chill, dude. It’s just a game,” Charlie said.

  The other defenders who’d been chasing him had doubled back when Zane called them.

  “Zane, awesome tackle,” Richard said.

  “You’re down, Joyce,” the other kid said.

  Charlie was still catching his breath.

  “Aw, poor little guy’s upset. Can anyone get this baby some juice?”

  “That’s funny, dude. Joyce needs some juice.”

  “Hey. Let’s call him Juice,” Richard said gleefully.

  “Call him Apple Juice,” Zane said, which caused an uproar of laughter.

  “Into jail, Apple Juice!”

  Charlie felt like he was back in grade three. These guys were so lame. It was irritating to get caught, but he was sure Zebra Squad would set him free in no time. The tackle was hard to take, though. Punching a guy in the stomach and then slamming him to the ground was way over the top. But then what else could he expect from a mental case like Zane. He trudged off towards Blue’s jail. Zane and the others began talking behind him in muffled voices. He struggled to hear. He heard the words ridge and plan, and then Richard distinctly said, “trouble,” and Zane said, “Who cares?” What were they up to, he wondered.

  He focused harder on listening, but they’d stopped talking. About a second later he found out anyway.