Rebel Power Play

by David Skuy

  He didn’t answer.

  “Joyce?” Scott prompted.

  “Umm … I don’t know.” He was too excited by the news to listen. It was perfect — a AAA team in Terrence Falls with ten open spots. That meant he had a shot at playing competitive hockey this season — or, better yet, they could all play for the Hawks! That would be way cool. Hockey was practically the most important thing in his life. It was the only thing that had made things bearable after his father died and they moved to Terrence Falls. And now, out of nowhere, some guy decides to sponsor a brand-new team. It was like a miracle.

  “Can you believe it?” Charlie said. “Isn’t it too bizarre for words?”

  “Is what too bizarre for words?” Pudge asked.

  They were all staring at him. Didn’t they get it?

  “The Hawks … the new team. We could all play together. It would be like the school team — only better, because instead of just playing a weekend tournament, we’d be on the same team for a whole season. We almost won the Champions Cup — we could even give the Snow Birds a serious battle.”

  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.

  2

  HAWK TALK

  Charlie locked his bike to the fence and headed to the front doors of the school. The bell hadn’t gone yet! His homeroom teacher, Mr. Hilton, had given him a serious lecture yesterday about being on time, and he didn’t want to get on his bad side.

  He looked around for a familiar face. Things were a bit better at school lately, at least compared to a month ago when he didn’t know anyone. Lunch period had been torture then. Now he could hang with some of the guys from the tournament team. A loud voice caught his attention. Jake was talking to Liam and Thomas. His three least favourite people.

  There was also a new kid with them. He was huge, even bigger than Jake. There were a couple of girls too — including Julia Chow! That bugged him. Why would she be hanging out with Jake and his lame crew?

  “Whatever,” he muttered, and walked off to the side. He leaned against the wall. No big deal. He’d learned to be by himself since coming to this school. Then he spotted Pudge near the parking lot. He was talking to Mike Dunn, and another kid Charlie didn’t know. Mike didn’t have much time for Charlie — and frankly, the feeling was mutual. Mike was a show-off, always bragging. But since his father was sponsoring the Hawks, it made sense to be friendly.

  “What’s up?” Charlie asked.

  Pudge pointed at Mike. “He’s filling me in on the Hawks.”

  “Rumour has it you’re thinking of trying out,” Mike said.

  “I’m pretty stoked. All the other teams are full — and I spoke to every coach about ten times. My season was about to go down the drain — until I heard about the Hawks.”

  “You’re kinda counting your chickens a bit early, aren’t you?” Mike said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Tryouts start tomorrow. No one’s made the team yet — except for a few key players.” He laughed and slapped his friend’s back. He stared at Charlie defiantly.

  His dad was the sponsor, so naturally Mike would be on the team. Charlie knew that. Still, he could tone it down. The guy was hard to take. He decided to ignore the diss. No point getting into it now.

  “Fair enough. I only meant I’m going to give it a shot, and if I make it, then cool.”

  Mike shrugged. “I should tell you that centre is taken, so don’t get your hopes up about playing there.”

  “You’ve got three centres who can outplay Charlie?” Pudge asked.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Charlie said. “We’ll see what happens at the tryouts. I don’t care where I play.”

  “Team’s going to be awesome,” Mike said. “And centre is spoken for — so deal.”

  “Centre’s not an issue. I just want to play — ”

  Mike cut him off. “You should count yourself lucky if you make the team. We’re going to build a powerhouse — keep the team together for a few years and rack up some trophies. The right players gotta be there from the start. There’s a major tournament in Boston we’re going to, and we may even train in Sweden next year.”

  “That’s going to cost a lot,” Charlie said.

  Mike laughed. “Don’t worry
about money. You win by doing things right — that means first class, dude. The sponsor’s going to make sure of that.” He winked at his friend. “If any other guys from school are thinking of trying out, tell them there are no guarantees. Coach is looking for character — real hockey players. No room on the team for scared little boys.”

  Charlie fought to control his temper. Mike was way out of line, since he was only on the team because of his dad.

  “What about goalie?” Pudge said. “I bet the best goalies have already committed.”

  “Taken care of, dude.” Mike shook hands with his friend, adding a back slap for good measure. The boy grinned and puffed out his chest. “This is our goalie — Simon Godfrey.”

  Simon thrust his chin upwards. Charlie guessed that was his way of saying hi.

  “Where’d you play last year?” he asked.

  “Played for the Downsview Eagles,” he said.

  Charlie shot a concerned look at Pudge. The Eagles played in the A division. The jump to AAA would be huge.

  “The league was total garbage,” Simon said. “My parents forced me to play because the coach was a family friend. I told them no way I was going back. I think I got twenty shutouts — no kiddin’. When Mike told me about the Hawks, I accepted the offer.”

  Charlie pretended to be impressed. “That’s incredible,” he said. “Twenty shutouts in one season — you must have won the championship.”

  Simon spit on the ground. “The team totally choked. We lost in the semis to a team we’d beat like ten times during the regular season.”

  “Tough luck,” Charlie said.

  “Simon’s gonna dominate,” Mike said. “In fact, Alexi Tolstoy asked me about the team, and I told him to stay with the Snow Birds, unless he wanted to be backup.”

  Charlie knew Alexi was the best AAA goalie in the league — hands down. He couldn’t believe what Mike was saying. Before he could reply, the bell rang and all the students began to shuffle to the front door.

  “See you at the tryout,” Charlie said.

  Mike shrugged. “Later.”

  Simon thrust his chin out again and followed Mike.

  Pudge put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder, holding him back.

  “What do you make of that?” Pudge said.

  “Don’t mind saying that I’m a bit freaked. Can you believe he told Alexi to get lost? Alexi’s good enough to win a championship by himself.”

  “Mike’s living in a dream world — always has. He thinks he’s the next Sidney Crosby and can’t understand why he never makes a good team. If his father wants to win — and from what I know about the guy he’s competitive — then he’ll want you on the Hawks.”

  They headed up the stairs to their lockers. Charlie slapped the railing.

  “I’m totally spaced. I forgot about Matt. He turned down his spot on the Wildcats because he didn’t want to play with Jake.”

  “That’s a familiar song,” Pudge said.

  “I hear ya. I bet he’ll be totally stoked about the Hawks. I’ll talk to him today.”

  Pudge made a sour face. “Not so sure about Matt. He’s been kind of busy lately.”

  Charlie waved him off. “This is hockey. He’s got to play somewhere.”

  “I’ll catch up with you,” Pudge said. “Got to get to my locker before class.”

  He ran off. Charlie spotted another kid who’d been on the school team. He lived a block away from him on the same street. They weren’t the closest friends, but he liked his serious-minded neighbour.

  “Hey, Dylan. How’s it going?”

  “Not bad. Things are busy with hockey starting up. Did you figure out what you’re gonna be doing?”

  Charlie quickly filled him in on the Hawks. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed that some of the guys might switch over and we can play together, which would be totally awesome. Of course, that might not happen,” he added.

  “Not sure that’s the best idea,” Dylan said slowly. “Mike’s not the easiest guy to deal with, and I don’t think his father’s any picnic either.”

  That made Charlie uneasy. Dylan never dissed people. “You’re probably right about that. But I’m hoping the other guys will balance things out. Mike said his dad was committed to building things up and … we might go to tournaments and stuff …” He didn’t know what else to say.

  “Who’s playing goal?” Dylan asked suddenly.

  “Simon Godfrey.”

  It seemed that Dylan was trying hard not to laugh. “Good luck at the tryout,” he said. “Tell me how it goes.”

  They said goodbye and Charlie went into his homeroom as the bell sounded.

  “How is Charlie doing today?”

  “I’m good, Mr. Hilton,” Charlie said. “Been busy working on the book report.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Hilton said. “I’m looking forward to reading it.”

  Charlie took his seat and pulled out a folder. He’d worked all weekend on the report. His teacher hadn’t thought too much of his first one, but this time he’d put in the effort. He flipped the pages, scanning anxiously for mistakes. He didn’t want to let Hilton down again, not after the school tournament. He’d been the coach — and probably the best coach Charlie had ever had.

  The crackle of the speaker interrupted him. The other students stood for the national anthem.

  “Good morning, students. Would everyone please rise.”

  Charlie gave his report a final hopeful look and stood beside his desk.

  3

  COACH’S CORNER

  Charlie glanced at the clock and groaned. The tryout started in ten minutes.

  “I’m driving as fast as I can,” his mother said. “We’ll make it.”

  “We’ll make it for the end of the tryout. I’m going to look like an idiot, being the last one on the ice.”

  “You won’t look anything of the sort. We’re here.”

  She pulled up to the front doors. Charlie raced to get his equipment from the trunk.

  “Don’t forget I’m working tonight,” she called out. “Grandma is home. You’ll need to walk back, or else catch a lift with someone.”

  He was in too much of a hurry to worry. “No problem, Mom,” he said.

  “Good luck, Charlie. Have fun.”

  He flew through the lobby and practically jumped an entire flight of stairs. The dressing rooms were at the end of a long corridor. As he approached, he could hear Mike’s voice above the others.

  “I gotta get some wingers with wheels,” he said. “I don’t want to be waiting for guys to catch up all the time.”

  Charlie didn’t relish dressing in a room with Mike. He saw another dressing room was open and continued on. A huge grin spread across his face. He was greeted by one of the most awesome things he’d ever seen.

  “Nice of you to join us,” Pudge said.

  Nick and Scott saluted on cue.

  This was beyond his wildest dreams. He never thought Pudge, Nick or Scott would actually switch teams.

  “You weren’t going to tell me?” he managed.

  “We thought you’d start crying,” Scott said.

  “You were probably right. What made you decide?”

  An awkward silence followed. Finally, Pudge said, “We talked it over last night. You were right. This is a chance to play together. We might not get another — ”

  “Now I’m gonna start crying,” Scott said.

  They all laughed and began joking around as Charlie dressed hurriedly.

  “Too bad Zachary didn’t come,” he said, pulling on his pants. “I can understand why he’d want to stay with the Snow Birds. But it would’ve been perfect if he was here.”

  “I called him. He agreed to think about it,” Pudge said. “Not sure if it’s possible, though, since he’ll miss the first tryout.”

  Charlie could barely contain his enthusiasm. Even without Zachary it was amazing to have his three friends on the team. As he finished tying his skates, a man popped his head into the dressing room.
He had thinning grey hair and a long face. Charlie thought he looked tired.

  “The Zamboni is coming on the ice,” he said. “We’ll start as soon as it’s finished.”

  That gave Charlie a chance to look around the room. He recognized some of the players. Two guys he didn’t know stuck out. One was retying a skate and the other was taping his shin pads, as if they’d done the same thing a thousand times.

  Charlie did a double take when the boy tying his skate looked up. They were identical twins. Their likeness was almost freaky. The twin taping his shin pads caught him staring. Charlie cleared his throat a few times, trying to think of something to say.

  “How are you guys doing?” he said finally. “I know most of the guys trying out, but I haven’t met you before.”

  “I’m Christopher,” the skate-tying twin said. “This is my brother Robert.”

  Charlie said hello, and then introduced his friends.

  “So you look like you’ve played a bit of hockey,” Charlie said after the introductions were over.

  “We have,” Robert said.

  “Did you play last year?”

  “Yup.”

  Not the most talkative pair, he thought.

  “What team did you play on? I assume you were on the same team since you’re wearing the same sweaters.”

  “We played for Watford,” Robert said.

  They even sounded the same, Charlie said to himself. He still couldn’t tell them apart.

  “They’re a double-A team, right?” Pudge said. “Pretty good one too, if memory serves.”

  “We won the championship last year,” Robert said, “so I guess we had a decent team.”

  Charlie was encouraged. That was the longest reply yet. He decided to focus on Robert. He seemed the more outgoing of the two.

  “So Robert, what school do you go to?”

  “We go to Flemington.”

  Charlie and his friends exchanged looks. Terrence Falls had beaten Flemington in a shootout in the semifinals of the tournament. Charlie had scored to tie it up in the last seconds.

  The twins started laughing.

  “We don’t want to talk about that game,” Robert said.