REM [A.G]

one.

Toronto, Canada
2018

I love Canada. I don't know if it's the nippy weather or the fact that they have this food place called Nandos and it was amazing.

Either way, I love it.

But that shit they say about all Canadians being friendly? Forget it.

I stared up at the ceiling, my back on the ice for the fourth time tonight. "Goddamn." I breathed out and clutched my stick before rolling over in time to see the puck fly into the net.

"They got something against you." I nodded in agreement as my teammate helped me up, her hand patting my back.

I slid against the side of the rink in time to see my mom doing her usual. Spitting profanity faster than her hands moved, her eyebrows furrowed to display her blatant disapproval.

Holding up one hand, she eyed me before huffing and dropping onto the seat next to my dad. "S.E!" My coach called and I slid to a stop in front of our bench before walking in, a Gatorade squeeze bottle handed to me. "Getting your ass handed to you, huh?" Coach said while tapping another players back to sub in for me.

"I swear they must've watched our tapes or something." I squeezed the bottle to make the water shoot into my mouth before lowering it. "Do you want me to fall back? I've been playing more offense, I can take the defensive role now."

He looked down at his chart, then back at the ice. "Actually yes. Focus on two, she's the lead scorer as of now." I nodded and sat the bottle down before leaning against the waist high wall barrier.

It took maybe five minutes before one our players intentionally went offsides to get me back in.

I clutched my stick and hit it against the ice twice before pushing out, skating to the middle of the ice. "What are we doing?" Riley asked.

"Focus on D, stop the damage." I looked up at the scoreboard and saw we were down one, six minutes left. "Let's do this." She nodded and skated to the circle where her and the opposing player would face off.

Once the puck dropped, it was all scrambling from there. Canada was good, very good. They knew how to weave between each of us easily and if I wasn't playing them, I'd revel at how remarkable it was. But.. I was playing them.

I zeroed in on number two, (the one who was single handedly kicking all of our asses) and pushed against the ice to catch up to her once she got the puck. I didn't waste anytime as I drove my shoulder forward, my weight distributing straight into her chest as I sent her flying back.

I internally smirked at her shocked face as I scooped the puck up and started down to the opposing goal.

"Left left!" I heard called out so I quickly did a body fake, (faking left, then pushing right) which made the defender leave me open long enough to slap the puck down the line to Riley.

She pulled her stick back and instantly a blur of black shot right through the goalies legs.

I smiled as she pumped her fist, everyone rushing over to congratulate her while I back skated to our side again, not celebrating just yet. "Nice pass, S.E!" I looked up again and nodded at coach when he clapped my back when I passed him. "These are the last three minutes, give it everything you've got, kid."

Three minutes tend to fly by when you're doing something in a rush. Say, trying to finish a school lunch before the bell rings, copying homework answers before it needs to be turned in.. Your mom pulling up and you rushing to take the chicken out of the fridge after she told you two hours ago to do it. Time seems to fly by for those instances but right now, man.. seemed like three minutes became three hours.