Candy pushed past Hailey’s costume and gave her a withering glance as she passed. Candy slithered close to Josh, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him like he was her trophy.
“Let’s get out of here. This party is lame,” Candy announced to those of us gathered on the front porch. “Costumes. God. How pathetic.” She seemed to have forgotten she was dressed up.
“Yes. I’m so glad you came as yourself, Candy.” Hailey said. “What are you, a hooker?”
Josh’s laugh burst out like thunder. Candy hit him and shot Hailey a poisonous look. “Zack, come with us. Jane’s driving us to Josh’s place. Mona’s coming, and I think she likes you.” She wiggled her finger at me and winked, turning to block out Hailey. “Your hockey puck friend can drive herself home. She’s used to leaving alone.”
I glanced at Hailey, her face expressionless except for the tightness of her lips. Mona slipped out from behind her and stumbled on the front porch into the night air. She was lucky she was well lubricated with alcohol, considering the scanty amount of clothing she wore, otherwise she’d be freezing her almost exposed ass off.
“Zacky, keep me warm.” Mona stepped towards me, sliding her hands around my waist and untying my sash.
I tried to untangle her and get my sash back as Jane squeezed out onto the front stoop dangling car keys on her fingers. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Mona playing with my sash. When Jane looked at me, a chill ran down my back. She dismissed me, turning to her brother and his attached-at-the-waist girlfriend.
“Josh, bring your wench, we’re going.”
“Zacky’s coming with us.” Mona giggled, grabbing at my hands. I pulled away.
Hailey charged down the stairs, knocking into Mona as she tried to squeeze past. Hailey was furious, but somewhat slowed by the bulk of her costume.
“No, I’m not!” I said, at the exact time same that Jane growled, “No, he’s not.”
I grabbed Hailey by the arm, trying to keep her from taking off without me. “Hailey, wait. I’m coming with you.”
“Don’t do me any favors,” she fumed, as she tried to shake me off.
“Zacky, I need a little company. Warm me up,” Mona moaned on my other side, seemingly oblivious to everything but herself.
I brushed her off my arm. “Leave me alone, Mona,” I snapped. My voice finally made an impact and she responded by stepping away, her eyes wide with disbelief.
I glanced at Jane. Ahead of us, on the driveway now, her arms crossed, her foot tapping up and down. At my side, Hailey grumbled and cursed as I held her arm.
“I’ll see you around,” I said directly to Jane. She looked right at me with her big pale eyes. For a moment the rest of the world faded as Jane and I stared at each other. Then she glanced at Mona, looked sort of disgustedly at me, and then pointedly looked away.
“Let me go.” Hailey stomped on my foot, hard.
“Oww!” I said, glancing down at Hailey, but not letting go of her arm. Jane walked away, with Josh and Candy following unsteadily behind her, arm in arm. Josh sang a happy little tune, oblivious to the conflict hanging in the cool night air.
Mona stared at me. “Aren’t you going to come?” she pouted.
When I shook my head no, she made a mewing sound, turned and fled, running and stumbling as she tried to catch up with Candy and Josh.
Hailey stopped squirming and I let go of her arm. “Did you think I was really going to leave with her?”
She shrugged.
“Give me a little credit, okay, Hailey?”
“I should have known.” She mumbled under her breath.
“What?”
“That you have the hots for the bad girl and wouldn’t ruin it for a fling with anyone else.”
Too bad I already had. I sighed.
“Jane is not a bad girl.”
Hailey giggled and pulled on my arm. “You didn’t even deny it. You do love Jane, the weirdest girl in junior class.”
I ignored her peels of laughter. I wanted to beat myself up for being so stupid with Mona. Then I thought about Jane’s frightened voice from inside the bathroom. Mac was going to pay for scaring her, for trying to hurt her. He was also going to pay for what he’d said about my dad. How I felt about him was one thing. But a guy didn’t call down another guy’s dad. I ignored what was in my head and concentrated on the pain in my bladder.
“God. I have to pee so bad my teeth are floating,” I growled.
I spotted a bush. “Wait there. I’ll be right back.”
I heard Hailey cracking up as I watered the MacDonalds’ rose bushes. The least I could do for Trevor.
“Oh, Zack. You really are a hockey player,” she yelled, sounding almost proud.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE WIN GENE
It was time to make my move.
“Coach Cal. I need to talk to you,” I called through my facemask.
The coach nodded, skating around me to keep his eye on the drills going on across the rink.
“Sure, Chase. Talk to me after practice, now get back in there.”
“I want to talk to you about the captain position.”
He stopped moving and stared at me. “What about it?”
“Is it still open?” I moved my feet back and forth on the ice.
Coach Cal glanced across the ice at Mac. He stood behind the goalie’s net, his stick holding the puck still as he watched us.
“Not so much, son. We’re well into the season now.” He looked back at me, his face sober.
“I know. But I think I can do a better job. Maybe I could motivate the team. Shake things up.” Coach Cal’s eyes went back to Mac. He’d passed the puck to another player.
We were on a losing streak. The coach cocked his head. He lifted the whistle hanging around his neck to his lips. “Let me think about it, son.” He blew the whistle and skated away from me, towards the scrimmaging players in front of the net.
I smiled, as I watched him go. Thinking about it. A good start. My belly tingled with the power building inside. My hockey DNA. I gripped my stick hard. Time to start playing hockey like I’d been born to play it. I’d been slacking off, but in that instant, I knew I could get it back: ignite the “win” gene. A thrill raced through my entire body, like I’d just peeked at a girlie magazine in the grocery store. I felt more alive than I had in weeks.
“Oof.”
Someone shoulder checked me hard from behind. I stumbled and then fell on my knees, completely caught off guard.
Mac sprayed ice in my face with his skates as he stopped right in front of me.
“What’s the matter, Pretty Boy? Not used to a little one-on-one?”
“Back off, Mac,” I growled and stood up on my skates. I used my extra couple of inches to my advantage and stared him down.
“You really need to get some practice time in, instead of spending your time sucking up to the coach. You act like a girl, the way you expect special treatment on the ice.” He didn’t move away from me.
I grinned, not letting him goad me. “And I think you need to work on your leadership skills, big guy. Talk around here is you’re not living up to your captain status. You kind of blow as a leader. Never mind that you can’t score a goal.”
Sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle. I was planting some seeds. And in a way it was true. Hailey and I had been discussing his unworthiness as a captain just the other day. I knew most of the guys on the team agreed, but they were all too chicken to say anything.
Mac glared at me, his eyes slits under his clear plastic hockey visor. “Bullshit.”
I shrugged.
I actually saw his left eye twitch. In a flash he threw down his stick, stepped forward, and shoved me with both hands. I let myself fall to the ground again, taking a bit of a dive.
Then I heard Coach Cal’s whistle.
“Chase, MacDonald. Cut it out,” he bellowed as he speed skated towards us.
I pushed myself up off the ice again.
“Mac. Go to the locke
r room and cool off. Chase…get the hell out of here. Get over to the scrimmage.”
Mac started to protest.
“Zip it, Mac. Start acting like the captain of this team and not some stupid hothead.”
I worked hard to keep myself from smiling. The seeds were planted in the ground. Fertilized, even.
I turned away from Mac and the coach as they argued back and forth. I glanced into the stands. Jane’s head was up from her book. I caught her eye, and she immediately ducked her head back down and started reading again.
I grinned.
Mac’s dad rushed from the stands towards the glass. His face distorted with rage, he was already beginning to yell like a madman. My smile widened.
“What the hell is going on,” he hollered at the coach.
I skated away from them towards the rest of the team scrimmaging by the net.
“What’s up?” asked Josh when I skated towards him, ready to show them what I was really made of.
“Coach Cal says Mac’s being a stupid hothead.” I echoed the coach’s very own words. I shrugged and skated into the action.
#
“Are you crazy, Zack?” Hailey hissed, jumping out from behind a corner as I emerged from the locker room.
It had been unnaturally quiet in the locker room before I’d left. Mac cleared out before I hit the changing room, where the bragging and kidding were low-key. The guys kept glancing sideways at me, as if I were going to self-combust or something. I wasn’t sure if they were pissed at me or on my side. They sensed something big going down, maybe a changing of the guard? They didn’t know yet who’d win, or even who deserved their support.
“Shouldn’t you be working?” I asked Hailey as she grabbed my arm and pulled.
“I took a break.” She frowned. “Mac’s dad is fuming. What did you do to him out there?”
I just shrugged. I wasn’t raised to be afraid of adults. Even irrational, scary ones like Mac’s dad. Daddy wanted to take me on? Well, I was okay with that.
Luckily, there was comfort knowing I was an asset to my team. Of course, even if they rebelled and kicked me off for mutiny, I could always play hockey somewhere. Truth be told, I wasn’t married to the Huskies and their no-shower, rancid locker room. Except Jane’s brother played for them. Which forced Jane to be at all the games and practices. And I needed time to work on her after that Halloween party. There still was that. Hmm.
As soon as I rounded the corner, my mother rushed towards me. Her face was bright red, her eyes almost burning, a sure sign she was angry. People say my mom and I look alike. If it’s true, every emotion I experience must be written all over my face. She’s not exactly a poker face, my mom.
I stopped walking and straightened myself up to my full height as she hurried towards me.
“Zachary! Come on. Let’s go. We’re out of here.” She almost bounced as she gestured with her hands, hurrying me along.
I glanced down at Hailey. She stared at both of us with big eyes.
“Hello, Mrs. Chase,” she said in a shy, un-Hailey-like voice.
Mom glanced at her and gave her a quick dismissive smile.
“Hi, Sheryl. Don’t mean to be rude, but we have to go. Now, Zachary!” Her attention was back on me. Her face was pulsing.
“Okay, Mom. I’m coming. Chill.”
I sauntered behind her as she hurried towards the exit of the rink. She was like a horse at the gates, penned up and furious, needing to escape and run.
She glanced nervously around, then stopped walking and took a step back, putting out her hand to stop me from moving further. That’s when I saw him too.
Mac’s dad.
He strode across the lobby to reach us, practically running. I watched him approach, careful to look him straight in the eye. I couldn’t help a nervous little grin though. I mean, it’s a little intimidating to be the red flag with a fully grown bull charging me. Mac’s dad looked like he wanted to string me up by my privates and leave me hanging until I was dead or at least incapable of manly acts. He hurried towards me with rage in his eyes.
“You,” he shouted. “Boy. You wait right there.”
My mom cursed. I stared at her, shocked. She never says bad words. Ever.
“Please act like a grown-up and leave my son alone,” she said to the advancing madman. She took a step so she was right beside me.
“Let me handle this, Mom,” I said. I planted my feet in the ground, stood a little straighter, and casually dropped my hockey bag to the floor. Hailey stepped up so she was on my right, beside my arm. Great. How tough could I look, flanked by a pair of short women?
“Who the hell do you think you are?” he demanded as he rushed towards me.
“I’m Zachary Chase, but the boys call me Zack Attack,” I answered, my nervous smile getting a little wider. I put out my hand to stop my mom from moving towards him. He looked like a pissed-off caged bear that was about to escape his confines to deliver payback for real or imagined wrongs. I didn’t envy Mac, being on the end of this anger at home.
“Wipe the insolent smile off your face, boy, and show me some respect when I talk to you.” Mac’s dad was the kind of corporate shark you could spot a mile away. It was all about winning and demanding respect. His blondish hair was shaved close to his head. I imagined premature baldness. His thick neck matched a broad, thick body. Seasoned and fit, but he was still shorter than me.
Thankful for the slight height advantage, I sincerely hoped I wasn’t actually going to need it. I stayed optimistic that Mac’s dad wasn’t about to take a round out of me in the middle of the hockey rink, in front of my mom. To her credit, she held her tongue.
I stared straight into his eyes, though, not backing down. I also didn’t show the building anxiety that was making me a little jumpy. I was almost tempted to call him sir, but I stopped myself. From what I’d seen and heard of Mr. MacDonald, he certainly didn’t deserve it.
“I show respect to my elders when they earn it, Mr. MacDonald.” Even I was surprised by how calm my voice sounded. I sensed my mom and Hailey staring at me like I’d turned into a blue-headed monster.
Behind Mac’s dad, I saw some of my teammates moving closer to the action. No sign of Mac in the area yet, but I knew he’d be around soon. I glanced back at his dad’s lethal eyes, now refocused on my mom.
“You raise this hippy kid in a barn, lady? Look at his hair. He looks like a girl.” He scoffed.
To my mom’s credit, she didn’t flinch or fire back an insult. She stared him down with a look that would have sent me scurrying for cover. Mr. MacDonald didn’t know what he was dealing with. He didn’t want to piss off Mrs. Chase.
“I sure don’t play like a girl, though, do I? Sir.” I pronounced sir with what I hoped was irony. I glanced at Hailey and my mother. “No disrespect to these females at my side.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the unmistakable form of Jane, moving closer to the confrontation site. I didn’t doubt all eyes were on us now. I really hoped not to embarrass myself.
“Please don’t insult my son. Treat him like an adult. He’s sixteen,” my mom said through clenched teeth. Very clenched.
“Your son is a fairy–boy, ma’am. The only reason he’s playing with the Huskies is because of your late husband. Whose reputation, by the way, explains some of this kid’s wild behavior. He doesn’t deserve to be on this hockey team.”
That was it. My mother inhaled a sharp breath.
Calling me names and going after her late husband was one thing. Insulting my hockey skills was a whole other matter.
I jumped in. “Hey, keep my family out of this, Mr. MacDonald. God. It’s just a game. Lighten up.”
“If it’s only a game to you, then you shouldn’t be on the team,” Mr. MacDonald spit out and crossed his arms as he stared down me and my mom.
I took offense. “Whatever, dude. I like to win as much as the next guy.” I turned away from him and picked up my hockey bag. Hailey moved in closer again, once the bag
was on my shoulder. I wasn’t going to stand around talking to this goon all day.
“I wouldn’t know it from watching you play. You’re lazy and you contribute nothing but animosity to this team.” Mr. MacDonald’s eyes flashed and he grinned the meanest smile I’d ever seen.
My mom actually growled in anger. I glanced down at her, a little concerned about that noise. She was practically foaming at the mouth, and she was about to defend her cub. I jumped in before she started yelling.
“Maybe it just looks that way because this whole team needs to be pushed. Maybe even with a new leader, sir.” I used the same ironic tone. “Your son’s an uninspiring bully and a terrible team captain.” I heard a whoop of rage behind him, proof that Mac lurked. Now he charged forward, heading straight for me. I dropped my bag again, automatically stretching my arms out in front of Hailey and my mom, protectively.
My mom pushed my arm away and stepped in front of me. Oh good. Now my mom wanted to fight Mac.
Luckily, he stopped.
I gently moved my mom aside. Mac stood in place, his foot practically scratching at the ground, ready to charge me like a bull.
“I’m not going to fight in front of my mom,” I told him. “Matter of fact, I’m not going to fight you at all. You want to settle this, let’s do this on the ice.”
I stared into his dark eyes. “That a deal, Mac? Or are you all words, no action. Think you can show me up on the ice?”
Mac took the bait. “Penalty shots. Next practice.”
I suppressed a smile. No problem. I shrugged and tried to look worried.
“Most goals out of ten shots. Pick your goalie,” Mac said, looking pleased with himself.
“Forget it, Trevor.” His father growled behind him. I heard uncertainty under the indignation. He was afraid I’d beat his son. He wasn’t a stupid man. “You’re not making deals with this punk. I want him off the team.”
“He’s the best player out there, hands down,” my mom piped up. She wasn’t going to let anyone berate my hockey skills. “Your boy afraid?”
Oh good. Now my mom was taunting them.
PLAYING FOR KEEPS Page 5
