I listened without comment.
She stopped walking for a moment. “You know, Zack, Mac is not a good person to have as an enemy,” she blurted out.
She shrugged off her backpack, unzipped it, and stuffed her books inside. I held out my hand to take it from her, but she shook her head and put the backpack back on. “Forget it. I can carry it myself.” She started walking again.
“That the voice of experience?” I asked. “Is Mac an enemy of yours?”
“I can handle Mac,” she told me.
“I don’t think you should have to.”
“I can handle him.” She walked fast, and I adjusted my stride to keep up to her.
“Like I said, I don’t think you should have to. I’m not going to stand by and let him do anything to intimidate you or anyone else.”
She glanced up at me, and there was something in her face I couldn’t read.
I touched her arm and stopped walking. “I’m too late, aren’t I?” I asked.
She stopped, then started moving again, but avoided looking at me. “Mac’s a pig. But don’t try to fight my battles. I’ll handle him myself. His dad though, he’s a psycho. He doesn’t like you. He can make things really hard for you.”
I laughed. “His dad? I don’t think so. I don’t want to brag, but I do okay on the ice, you know.”
“I know you’re good, Zachary. But Mac’s dad is crazy.”
“Oh? How do you know I’m good?” I teased. “You never actually watch me play. You’re always reading those books of yours in the stands.”
She ducked her head. “There was a time that I really liked hockey.” Her eyes widened a little, as if she couldn’t believe she’d just said the words out loud. “I should. I’ve grown up in a friggin’ hockey rink watching Josh. I even used to play. But now I hate it. I hate it.”
I decided not to push. This girl didn’t invite interference.
“Is that right? Well, I’m kind of indifferent these days.”
She looked up, rolling her eyes. “You? You probably poop hockey pucks.”
I laughed. “Uh, no. Actually I don’t. But, you want to know a secret?”
She nodded.
I grinned. “I might go after the captain position.”
Her eyes widened. “You can’t! Mac’s always been captain.”
I shrugged. “Things change. Seems to me, everyone in this town lets him get away with things. Too many things. Maybe Coach Cal wants to shake things up.”
We stopped on the curb to cross the street leading to the coffee shop in the strip mall.
“You’re either really brave or really stupid,” Jane said.
“What do think?”
She glanced up at me. “It’s a toss-up. I hope you’re not stupid.”
I nodded. Smiled. “Nope, I’m not stupid. That’s a start, right?”
I opened the door to the coffee shop, holding it for her. She stared at me before walking in. “Where did you get your manners? You for real, Zachary?”
I laughed. “Why does everyone keep asking me that question?”I asked as she slipped by me. I smelled vanilla in her hair.
She shrugged.
I followed her into the restaurant to a line. Despite her protests, I paid for her hot chocolate and we grabbed a table for two and sparred. I didn’t even feel nervous finally able to talk to her. She kept me on my toes, and she even made me laugh.
When we got on the topic of Mr. Wright, Jane told me she thought he was great. I sipped at my hot chocolate, waiting for the right time to jump in and tell her I might try out for the school play.
Even with my back to the door, I heard the unmistakable squeal of girls coming into the restaurant. Jane’s eyes darkened.
“Jane and Zack Attack. Isn’t this interesting,” a high-pitched voice called out from across the restaurant.
I turned as Candy rushed towards us, dressed in a tight pair of jeans and a tiny t-shirt. Behind her were a couple of girls. I watched them all approach. Mona wore a short plaid skirt and tiny tank top. Her eyes scanned the restaurant, trying not to land on us. I couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or pissed off.
“Last thing I heard, you were pounding on Mac in the hallway, and now you’re cozying up with Janie?” Candy glanced back at her groupies. “Is this totally creepy, or what? What do you think, Mona? Is your boy making his moves on my sister-in-law? Now, I heard you were, like, a little odd, Zack, but Jane? This is just way over the top. What do you think, Mona?”
Mona didn’t answer. She hung back as if she wanted to be anywhere else in the world. I wondered what was wrong with her. People said she had a crush on me, so maybe she was uncomfortable seeing me with Jane. Something wasn’t right about her expression though. She didn’t look jealous; she looked like she wanted to disappear. This didn’t look like the same girl who’d promised me a blow job a couple weeks ago. I wondered if she was on something.
Candy grabbed Mona’s skinny bare arm and pulled her towards our table. Mona looked into my eyes and then quickly at Jane.
“Candy,” Jane said. “Since you’re so catty, why don’t you order a bowl of milk from the front counter, okay? Zachary and I are friends. We’re having coffee. Just take a chill pill, okay?” She avoided looking at Mona.
Candy crossed her arms and glared at her. “Be nice or I might have to tell Josh you’re being mean to me again.”
Candy allowed Mona to drag her to the front counter.
Jane shook her head. “I can’t believe my brother has the hots for that girl. She’s totally evil.”
I watched her. “Chill pill?
She smiled, shrugged.
“So. Are we really friends, Jane? Cause you gotta know. . . I meant what I said. . . .” I let my words hang in the air, unfinished.
Her face changed. She turned red and didn’t look me in the eye.
That’s what I thought. I didn’t say it out loud.
“Did you hook up with Mona after the Halloween party or not?” she asked, still not meeting my gaze.
I shrugged.
She glanced up. “I heard you did.”
“Didn’t.” I smiled.
She looked up and caught it, and a grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Because I wouldn’t want you to catch anything.” She frowned then, and glanced back to the front counter. “They’re total lushes. Drinking all the time. Candy is a major bad influence on Josh.”
“Mona was the one so drunk at Mac’s Halloween party.” I glanced at Mona and Candy.
“I know. I saw her. She’s been on a downward spiral ever since seventh grade.” Jane followed my glance to Mona. Mona looked almost gloomy.
“Oh?”
Jane glanced back at me. “We used to be really good friends. When we were younger.”
“Really?” I looked back at Mona and then at Jane, with my eyebrows raised.
“She was different back then. So was I. People change.” Her facial expression hardened a little. The subject officially closed. She glanced down at her watch.
“I should get back to school. I have a class.…”
I tried not to show my disappointment. I’d been making progress, but for some reason, she’d closed off again. Shut me out.
Seemed like there was history I wasn’t supposed to know. Jane stood up and I joined her. We walked to the trashcan and dumped our paper cups. I moved to the front door of the restaurant and held it open.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty strong. I can even open doors myself sometimes. You always hold doors open for girls?”
I shrugged. “My mom freaks if I don’t.”
She slipped past me. She smelled like a girl, softer than she appeared with her dark hair and clothes. We strolled back to the school in a slower, compatible silence.
Before we reached the front doors I blocked her. Looking down at her, I took a quick breath. “You want to go out with me sometime?”
She hid a smile, her cheeks pinkened. Good signs, as far as I knew. I honestly didn’t kn
ow what her answer would be.
“Maybe,” she said. She turned and ran to the front doors, zipped up the steps, and disappeared inside, just as a group of girls burst through the doors. They spread out in front of me and I couldn’t see Jane any longer.
“What are you smiling about, Zack?”
Hailey. She stood in front of me on the top step, her long auburn curls piled on top of her head, her hands on her hips. Her eyebrows were scrunched up and her face appeared shadowy.
“Zachary Chase, from what I just heard, you were in a fight with Mac in the hallway. That’s nothing to smile about.”
“Hey, Hailey, I already have a mother,” I called up.
“Oh, I’ll give you more shit than your mother.” She glared at me. “Did I just see Jane fly by me? That have anything to do with your goofy smile?”
“Bug off, Hailey.” The other girls giggled, enjoying the show.
Hailey stepped down the stairs and stood beside me, her neck stretching back to look me in the eye. “Zack. What on earth were you doing with Mac? Are you trying to commit social suicide?”
“Social suicide?” I started up the stairs and she followed close on my heels.
“Mac runs things around here. You may not like it, but you have to accept it--at the rink and at school. He hates your guts. He’ll make things pretty hard for you.”
“I think it’s too late for that. You want me to be afraid of him?”
She made a face.
“You think he’s a better hockey player than I am?”
She shook her head vigorously, rushing behind me to keep up with her short legs. “That’s not the point.”
“No. The point is this. He’s a bully. Maybe worse. He has no respect for anyone but himself. I don’t like the way he leads the hockey team, and I really don’t like the way he treats the girls in this town.” I made a sharp turn around a corner towards my next class. Hailey stayed on me.
“It’s not your job to stop it. It’s been going on a long time.”
“Well, someone has to try. It might as well be me. What do I have to lose?” I stopped and Hailey crashed right into me.
“Yeah. Think about what you have to lose.” Hailey said, then sighed dramatically.
I stepped away from her. I wasn’t afraid of Mac, and I wasn’t going to conform or pretend to go along with him just to make things easy for myself. After all, who ever said things were going to be easy?
#
Josh Parker sprinted up behind us in the hallway and slapped my back. I stopped but Hailey kept moving, practically running down the hallway to get away from us. Funny the way my tough friend acted around him. Like she was nervous.
“Hey, man. How’s it going?” Josh asked, as he leaned against the locker behind him. He watched me closely.
In spite of myself, I tensed up, as if I was about to be quizzed about my future aspirations or my intentions towards his sister.
“Good. What’s up dude?” I raised my brows and tried to look relaxed, instead of like I’d just asked out his twin sister.
He didn’t say anything for a minute. I shifted my feet a little and ran my fingers through my hair.
“Uh. I wanted to ask a favor of you, actually,” he said.
I breathed out. “Oh?”
He looked around the hallway to see if anyone was listening. The crowd was dwindling down as kids scrambled to class. “You’re an okay guy. And I need some help from someone who doesn’t have a big mouth. You know what I mean?”
I didn’t answer him yet. The buzzer rang and I glanced around the now empty hall. I was late for class. I didn’t even have my books out of my locker yet. On the spot, I decided to ditch it. A skip on my record was worth a date with Josh Parker’s sister. Well, kind of a date.
“The thing is. . . well, my parents are kind of freaking on me. About my drinking, I mean, you know? I do like to party a little too much. And I’m trying to get it under control.” He looked down the floor and then glanced around at everything in the hallway--except for me.
“So. I thought, you could, you know, maybe make sure I don’t get too plastered at parties with the boys? You know?” He kept his voice low and avoided looking at me, embarrassed.
I stared at him. “What?”
He pushed off the lockers. “You know. Just make sure I don’t drink too much. If I look really drunk, don’t let anyone feed me any more liquor.”
“Um. Josh. You could probably just try drinking less.”
He laughed, but his face stiffened up. “No. I mean it, man. Once I get going, it’s like I have no control anymore. I just keep on drinking until I’m out of it. I thought, since you’re usually the most sober guy around, you could keep an eye out for me--without making a big deal about it.”
“Maybe you should try just having one drink. Or maybe only two.”
He looked at me like I was the crazy one. “Would you mind just doing it, man? My parents are going to freak if I come home totally out of it one more time. I’m on a short leash. It’s just for the next couple of parties.”
I shrugged. “I’ll do what I can, bro.”
He nodded. “Cool. Thanks, man. And I’d appreciate it if you kept this, you know, under your hat.”
I lifted my fingers and pretended to zip my lips. He clunked my knuckles and turned to walk in the opposite direction.
“See ya, Zack Attack.”
I watched him leave.
The guy clearly owned a drinking problem. I didn’t know what I could do to help. I wanted to, but I also wanted to be on the good side of his sister. How I handled this would depend a lot on Jane.
CHAPTER SEVEN
SUCK IT UP
In hockey, sometimes a good pass, or a set of passes, can be as much fun as scoring. It’s like magic when you skate right through traffic, bouncing the puck off a teammate--even if it was Mac. Wham, he got a clean poke into an empty net as the goalie dove the crease on a fake. A play that would stick with me.
Next shift.
“Oof.”
I fell to the ice, automatically curling up into a fetal position. I couldn’t breathe. In the background I heard a whistle blow, and then the referee was down on his knee, right in my face.
“You okay, kid?” he said.
I couldn’t answer him because I couldn’t catch my breath.
Mac’s face appeared over me. He bent down on one knee. His dark eyes were little slits in his face. I wondered if I was hallucinating. He looked exactly like the devil. He leaned in closer.
“This is just a little taste of things to come. Get on my bad side and the team won’t be looking out for you. Accidents are bound to happen,” Mac said.
He stood up, and in the distance, I heard him arguing with the ref, shouting about penalty shots and the unfairness of the
hit I’d taken. Bastard.
I lay still. The world whirled around me and I tried to catch my breath and get my wind back.
Coach Cal bent near my face. “Chase? You okay?” He disappeared and I heard him shouting. “Get the paramedics out here. He’s out of it.”
“No,” I managed to whisper. “I’m okay.”
The coach got down on both knees. “Can you get up?”
I shook my head.
“Mac. Get over here. Help him up.”
I moaned my displeasure, but Coach didn’t hear it, or else didn’t understand my reaction. It was Mac’s job as captain to help me.
Mac leaned down again. “You stupid prick. This is only the beginning,” he whispered right into my face.
“Parker, help me get him up,” he shouted behind him.
Mac slid an arm under one of my armpits. Josh came and lifted me on the other side. With my head down, gritting my teeth in pain, the two of them helped me skate off the ice and into the box. I heard light applause from the crowd.
“Take him to the locker room!“ Coach Cal ordered the boys.
I shook my head. “No. I’ll be okay.”
Mac spoke into my ear. �
�I know a goon on every team in this league, Chase. You’re going down.”
I fumbled my way onto the bench and sat still, trying to catch my breath.
“Maybe I will go to the locker room,” I said to the assistant coach a few minutes later.
Coach Cal leapt back up on the bench and watched the players as the action resumed.
“You need some help?” the assistant asked.
I nodded and the two of us walked slowly down the hallway to the locker room. Inside, I lay on my back and caught my breath.
I’d never been in pain like this before. I wanted to cry. I didn’t even see who had sucker-punched me, but he’d hit me harder than I’d ever been hit before. I’d been standing alone, prowling the blue zone, but the play was in someone else’s hands. From nowhere I’d been charged, and a stick had been buried deep into my ribs.
I sat up and tried to peel off my equipment. I touched my ribs tenderly and sucked in my breath. There had to be something broken in there.
It took me a good half hour to get my clothes on.
By the time I finished changing, the guys came whooping into the locker room. They were howling and making a lot of noise.
“Nice pass, Mac,” Cole said, as he dropped onto the bench. “Hey, Zack Attack, you pussy. Couldn’t even get your ass back out to watch us win our first game in two weeks? I scored the winning goal. Smoked it right in off a pass from Mac.”
“Pussy is right,” Mac said. “Need some tissues for your tears?”
“Knock it off!” Coach Cal shouted at Mac as he came into the locker room. “Chase. How you feelin’?”
Suck it up. That was the rule. “Fine. I’m fine, Coach.”
I didn’t get up or move. I sat in place, slumped against the wall, with half a grimace, half a smile as the guys bragged about their moves on the ice and made fun of the other team. Soon enough, as always, the talk turned to girls.
“Zack, you see Mona and Candy in the stands?” Josh said. “Come out with us. Mona is hot and she wants you, man. She wants you bad. She’ll kiss your belly better. And a whole lot more.”
PLAYING FOR KEEPS Page 8
