Linemates - Adam Banks

Extra Practice - 8

"Hey guys," Averman yelled to the rest of the group while they headed back to the hotel. "We are going to the beach if you want to come!" Charlie, Connie, Julie, and Indiana nodded and followed Averman.

Noticing one of them missing, Indiana turned to see Adam straying behind, staring at his shoes, "You coming?" she asked the boy.

"I think I'm going to go to the rink and skate a bit," said Adam. Indiana nodded, turning around and following her sister. The girls all walked to their hotel room, grabbing bathing suits, sunscreen, and other essentials. Indiana watched the two girls pack frantically, not really feeling in the mood for a beach day. She continued to think back to her conversation with Adam earlier, admiring his concentration and commitment to both the team and the sport. If there was someone who deserved to be rewarded for his commitment, it was surely Adam Banks. Indiana quickly decided that she did not feel like attending the team beach trip, as she felt her social battery slowly draining. At least, this was the excuse she had made up in her head, ignoring the thoughts of the boy lingering in the back of her mind.

"You know what, guys. I'm not feeling too well," Indiana sighed, laying back onto the bed. "I think I might just take a nap if it's okay with you guys?"

Julie stopped packing her bag, looking at the girl with concern. She walked over to Indiana, feeling her forehead with both sides of her hand, checking for a temperature. "Do you want me to stay with you?"

Indiana shook her head, "Nah, it's probably nothing. You guys go hang out; I'll see you when you get back." Julie sighed, packing her sunglasses before yet again asking Indiana if she was alright. Indiana confirmed that she was simply tired, ignoring the worried look from Julie. After reassuring Julie thousands of times that Indiana was okay, Connie and Julie left to meet Averman, Guy, and the others down the hall. After hearing their voices disappear, Indiana popped up from the bed. Adam was right, team USA would have to be at their best if they were going to defeat Iceland and win the gold. Indiana shrugged her bag over her shoulder, grabbing her stick and walking out to the rink nearby. The rink was vacant besides the blonde boy sitting on the bench, tying his skates.

"Hey," said Indiana, walking onto the bench and sitting beside him. Adam looked up, seemingly shocked to see his teammates face. Adam pulled out his headphones and turned his attention to her.

"Hey," he replied, a smile lingering on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing here, Banksie? You wanna win, right?" Indiana asked the boy.

"Hell yeah, I want to win." The boy responded anxiously.

"So, let's practice," she said, grabbing her skates out of her bag and tying them tightly. Adam dropped the pucks onto the ice, pushing them to one of the goals. Adam turned to watch the girl tie her skates with admiration glimmering in his eyes. He hadn't met a girl who seemed so driven by the idea of furthering her hockey career. Hell, not even most of the ducks had even thought about keeping hockey in their futures. Indiana grabbed her gloves and stick and stepped onto the ice; the front of her hair pulled loosely out of her ponytail.

"You uh, you gotta teach me how you shoot so well," Adam complimented.

"I'll teach you how to shoot more precisely if you teach me how to handle the puck better," remarked Indiana. Adam smirked, grabbing all of the pucks and spreading them out a bit.

"It's just kinda something you get used to, but here's something I usually do," stated Adam. Adam demonstrated the drill, using a blue puck to stick handle around the other black pucks. After a few minutes of not touching a single black puck, he looked up at the girl. "Your turn."