The new kid

On the inside...

"Morning dad." I say walking into the kitchen.
"Good morning. Want any breakfast?" He asks.
"No thanks, I'm late for practice. Bye." I run towards the door.
"Bye then!" He yells. I wave and walk out the door. I have my roller blades on so I can get to practice quicker.

"Hey Logan." I sit next to him.
"Hey y/n." He reply's.
"You excited for your first hockey practice?" I ask.
"Well, yeah, yeah I guess. I'm very nervous though." He chuckles.
"Well considering you can't even skate, I would be nervous too if I were you." I laugh and nudge him.
"Thanks for the support." He rolls his eyes playfully then laughs.
"Nick here, still podcasting, but now embedded with the new don't bothers team. Reporting live from the inside. First impressions, gotta love a sport that starts with hot cocoa." Nick says into his phone.
"All right, guys, let's do this. Hockey-time." Evan walks in.
"Mom, you alright?" Evan asks.
"I just... I'm excited. I'm excited, but I'm nervous, you know. I want this to be great for you, and I've never coached before." Coach replies.
"You've been watching my hockey practices since I was what, four?" Evan states.
Whilst Alex and Evan are having there conversation I decide to make friends with Maya.
"Hey." I say to her.
"Hey. Y/n right?" Maya asks.
"Yep. I think it's so cool that you joined our team. Considering well" she cut me off.
"I was a popular kid'. Yeah I get that a lot." She laughs.
"I can tell we are gonna be really good friends!" I smile.
"Hey, guys. Um, welcome to the first practice of the don't bothers." Coach says and we all cheer.
"I'm Coach A." She chuckles nervously.
"Yeah, doesn't work." Evan says.
"Just call me Alex. And today, we're gonna start with a really cool passing exercise." Alex says.
"You guys heard Coach. Let's lace-up." We all  grab our gear.
"No, not that kind. Today, we won't be touching the ice, but we will be breaking the ice." Coach explains.
"But I'm wearing long underwear." Maya complains.
"It's like a candy." Koob says.
"What does that mean?" Evan asks Alex.
"Well, I don't wanna play by the ducks rules, because we're a different kind of team. We're nice, and they can suck it. I wanna try a new approach and work on trust and bonding. So today, we're gonna sit in a circle and pass a puck around and play a game called outside in. Where everyone says something that might seem obvious about them on the outside, but then reveals something on the inside that not everyone might know." Alex tells us.
"So not skating at all? Our first games Saturday." Evan sighs.
"We will get there. Don't you worry. Okay, let's circle up." Coach says.
"Coach Alex is taking a more touchy-freely approach. Her son, Evan, my new and soon possible best friend, seems skeptical. Let's see how this plays out." Nick says into his phone.
We all sit in a circle.
"This, is the trust puck. When you are holding a he sacred trust puck, the floor is yours. Sam?" Coach passes it to Sam.
"Uh.. Outside, I like skateboarding, and I act kinda crazy, but, inside, I have no spleen. It burst when I crashed into a stop sign. I am a mess in there." We all look at him like he's crazy.
"Hi, I'm Maya. Uh, I have this talent where I can zero in on someone's weakness and destroy them. Like I might tell you that your puffy vest is very 2017. And then every time I saw you, I'd say other things from 2017 just to get in your head. Like, Lego Batman movie or fidget spinners." Maya says.
"But this is one of my favourite vests. It's got a lot of useful pockets." Coach says.
"I guess pockets were big in 2017." Maya shrugs.
"You know what else was big in 2017? Hockey! Now come on, let's go." Evan stands up.
"Not just yet, baby." Alex says.
"I'm Lauren. Outside, I'm a female warrior, and people say I dress weird. Inside, I used to have a crippling fear of death, but then I realised the fact that everybody, popular kids, freaks, we all have this vast nothingness waiting for us. In a strange way, it gives me a sense of peace." We all look at each other.
"All right, Lauren, making us aware of our mortality. Thank you. Koob? Koob? His eyes are open, but I'm not sure he's actually with us. Koob?" Coach waves her hand in front of his face.
"Outside, I'm a gamer and spend a lot of time in front of a screen. Inside, I think we might all just be a series of ones and zeroes and living in a digital simulation." He looks at us all blankly.
"Hello, my name is Evan. On the outside, I love hockey. And on the inside, I also love hockey. So really looking forward to playing actual hockey." Evan says.
"I love your passion. Good job." Alex nods her head.
"Hey, guys, I'm Logan. God has blessed me with a solid head of lettuce. And I love dogs. On the inside, me and my dad just moved in with my aunt, because my parents are getting a divorce. My mom cheated on him. I also love cats." He looks down to the floor.
"Hi, I'm Nick. I have two moms who are both awesome and different in surprising ways. I'm a huge fan of hockey but haven't really played it a lot. But I'm excited to take this journey with all of you. On the inside, I look like Logan. Maybe a little taller." He finishes.
"Very good, you guys. That was amazing. I think we are finally ready.... wait y/n you haven't spoken yet." Everyone looks at me.
"I'm good." I shrug.
"Come on, tell us." Coach says.
"Fine. On the outside, I'm a brave careless kid. And on the inside, I'm looking to be loved by someone other then my dad. My mom drowned two years ago. I was there I witnessed it all and now I feel empty, like a part of me is missing. I do like to skate but I mainly skate because if I don't I feel like my dad will be disappointed in me. He was a duck. Adam banks you might know him. Yeah, okay I've said to much." I have a tear falling down from my cheek. Everyone gives my sad looks.
"Um... Okay let's go play hockey." Evan says.
"Um, no we are going to do trust falls." Coach says.
"Did she says trust falls?" Koob asks.
"I like falling." Sam says.
"Hey y/n. You alright?" Logan asks me.
"Um, yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I wipe the tear off of my cheek.