flipped. charlie conway

17

the next weekend, coach bombay brought his team on a celebratory excursion to the state rink.

"this is so cool," connie gushed as the team walk in, admiring the large ice rink.

"i don't believe it!" jesse exclaimed, looking around with the same look of awe on his face.

leah concluded that coach bombay was awesome: he was inclusive, strategic and caring. no wonder charlie idolised him - it was like he had every opportunity prepared on a platter! the ducks were very fortunate for their sponsorship.

leah didn't even pay attention to the professional hockey players conversing with gordon bombay, as she was too eager to glide onto the holy ice blessed by the blades of world-famous hockey stars. the ice glimmered under the bright artificial lights, similar to that of the night sky if inverted. leah could see the grains of shaved ice dusting the frozen surface like pollen upon a honeybee's small legs. intricate patterns split the ice's surface with swirling, tumbling carvings just like that of the wind upon the pond's trees. leah really saw the beauty in everything.

before she knew it, coach bombay was shaking one of the two players' hand and her team were flurrying onto the ice excitedly. finally.

the smiles on the ducks' faces were all leah needed to see in order to have fun. sure, she could have sat and studied the ice's surface all afternoon and had a great time herself, but the time spent beside her brother and new friends was livening in a way she always seemed to forget.

adam twirled around his sister, ravelling her eyes in a spiral which seemed to make her brain tilt like a ship at sea.

"leah, race me!" adam enthusiastically halted to a stop. the dizziness in leah's mind quickly evaporated as she got into position.

"three, two, one," guy loudly announced, "take off!"

the two siblings shot out of their skates as they raced around the rink. leah had always been the slightest speed faster, adam possessing the strength whilst she possessed the strategy. they were both fast, but when it came to competition, leah was like a lightning bolt. just as she and adam rounded the ice to skate around the opposite side of the rink, adam began to tug on leah's hood.

"hands off, slowpoke." she shouted, quickly shoving adam down to the ice as she sped away.

"hey, that not fair play!" adam jokingly called out after her, knowing he only did it to rile up his sister. it was amusement for adam, and he would rile her up anytime, anywhere.

charlie smugly huffed and rolled his eyes, "yeah, she never plays fairly." he commented to greg goldberg. greg looked to charlie with a questioning and unfamiliar glance, using charlie to continue. "c'mon, don't look at me like that! she's a cheat, i'm sure you've seen it."

greg shrugged, "seems like exactly what the ducks need: a winner! even if she was a cheat, we win now."

"so it's all about winning to you?" charlie narrowed his eyes frustratedly, "not honesty? or respecting the rules of hockey?"

greg sighed, "she's a part of our team now, charlie." the goalie skated away to have fun with his team without the burden of charlie's apparent hate towards their arguable best player. charlie gripped his stick and skated over to coach bombay, who was chasing connie, jesse, lester and terry. charlie joined in the fun and soon enough, his problems were temporarily forgotten.

the ducks' time on the ice was the most fun leah and adam had experienced all year, so when they were notified that it was time to leave the ice to watch the upcoming game, the entire team were filled will longing for more time on the ice yet excitement to see the professional game.

they were lead to their row of seats where everyone shuffled in. from left to right, seated in order were coach bombay, tommy, terry, peter, tammy, greg, connie, guy, charlie, jesse, dave, lester, fulton, adam, then leah. leah didn't mind being a bookend, since adam was next to her. even though he was conversing with fulton about the upcoming game, which leah absentmindedly listened to, she didn't feel like she was on the end.

as the remaining audience members found their seats, leah looked around the rink in interest. she saw people balance drinks and bags of popcorn in their hands, and she grew nervous watching them make their way down the stairs. there were people squeezing themselves past others in their row to get to their designated seats.

leah's eyes landed on the two people she had been dreading the mere sight of the past month. their black, puffy, quilted jackets stood out like daisies in a meadow of grass. their hair was slicked down with gel and looked harder than a rock. leah awkwardly averted her gaze as larson and mcgill stared down the girl with menacing glares. mcgill nudged larson, clearly making a joke as the two chuckled obnoxiously.

she looked over to adam, who was excitedly bouncing out of his seat. no wonder the two hawks were laughing at their new rivals, they looked goofy. leah nudged adam, who sat down questioningly as she hid behind her hand. it didn't take long for adam to notice larson and mcgill, the latter of which held an imaginary gun and pretended to shoot two shots at leah and adam.

the boy sank into his seat and his behind his own hand, as if the two could disappear from larson and mcgill's sight. leah and adam weren't ashamed of their new team, as they clearly loved the ducks, but they were ashamed of their situation. they didn't want to be traitors, but they were, and now the banks were infamously known as traitors in their side of town.

"hey, look! it's us!" lester pointed to the big screen excitedly, waving his hands as he stood up and jumped on the spot. fulton pulled adam up, who consecutively pulled leah up, and the team waved and clapped happily. leah just wanted the game to start already.