flipped. charlie conway

19

in their next game against the hornets, leah and adam shone like never before. the crowd were absolutely ecstatic, pleased with how the addition to the team had lifted the ducks' spirits and improved their collective play.

leah shot two of their five goals that game, adam shooting two himself and fulton scoring one of his own. the hornets made three goals, all of which leah was highly impressed by.

the semi-final against the cardinals was a little more challenging. the cardinals had great defence, and could stop almost any attack. fortunately, leah had practise weaving between players and happily passed the puck to her teammates. guy scored a goal, lester scored a goal, adam scored a goal and leah scored a goal. it was a shame the cardinals only scored two and were eliminated, because the cardinals were a strong, cohesive team in leah's opinion.

"we're going to the finals!" coach bombay cheered in the locker room after the game, shouting over the cheers of his team. cans of soda were sprayed across the sweaty players, soaking the children in a sticky residue.

before leah could process what was happening, coach bombay poured a large cooler full of ice-cold water over leah's, terry's and dave's head. leah let out a yelp of shock as gordon laughed hysterically. leah teasingly sprayed her coach with the sticky soda substance, giggling as adam joined in. soon enough, the entire team were averting their sodas from each other to coach bombay.

gordon cheered victoriously, "next up: the hawks in the final!"

the rest of the ducks cheered excitedly, feeling the thrill of their winning streak. though leah felt confident, she also had to remind herself that the hawks had also won all their games. there was no room to be cocky. the hawks were good, and leah was determined to show those suckers just how good a hockey girl can be.

charlie let his arm fall as he realised their last game of the season was due in a week - against the hawks. would leah switch sides and sabotage all the ducks had worked for? charlie wouldn't be surprised if she did. and honestly, charlie partially hoped that she would so that she could never come back to the ducks. adam was alright, but there was a possibility he could do the same. if either of them switched sides, it would finally be bye-bye banksies time.

to prepare for the upcoming game against their rivals, adam and leah spent four of the next six afternoons at the frozen pond. with its thick surface of ice and small space, it forced adam and leah to play smart. it was the hard, mind-challenging practise they needed.

"leah, i'm exhausted. let's go home." adam puffed as he caught his breath.

"you think we're good enough yet?" leah annoyedly hissed. adam shook his head, knowing that he could only give the response his sister wanted. any other response and he would be out on the pond much longer. "exactly, now you start." leah sent the puck over to adam who tiredly cradled it in his stick and prepared to be 'good enough', just so that he could go home. adam thought they were good enough players now, but he didn't what to start an argument with leah. if adam ever thought they should practise, then they would practise. it was his duty to return the favour.

adam shuffled the puck in front of him, planning a strategy in his head to get past leah. she was a great player in defence, but even better at intercepting the puck and switching to an attacker. adam had to think of something.

"we'll get home at midnight if you keep standing there!" leah threw her hands up, willing her brother to do something.

adam quickly raced forward wth the puck, shuffling it in front of his feet as leah approached him. as she came closer, adam diverted to his left, frustratedly groaning as she followed and blocked his path. in the heat of the moment, adam spun around her and overtook her path. he quickly shot the puck into the bank and cheered victoriously as it flew in.

"yeah!" adam cheered as he threw his arms high into the air.

"that's what i'm talking about!" leah hollered, high-giving adam happily. they skated to the bankside together and collapsed into the snow as they puffed.

leah let out a yawn, stretching out on the thin blanket of crisp white snow. "maybe you're right, we should go home."

"yeah, not like we're playing the hawks tomorrow or anything." adam sarcastically scoffed, laughing as she hit his arm.

"i just hope we'll be good enough." leah sighed, staring into the sky as it transitioned from orange to navy.

"me too." adam let out a sigh of his own, pulling his sister up so they could make their way home.