flipped. charlie conway

59

leah rose in the morning feeling like a savage and bloodthirsty vulture. as soon as connie's harmonic alarm tune bounced off their dorm's walls, leah's eyes had shot open. today was the day.

rolling her shoulders as she attempted to shake off the previous night's soreness, leah curled her lips into an excited smirk. "rise and shine!" she cooed to connie and julie, each stretching from their positions in bed.

julie groaned. "i'm so nervous, i think i might be sick."

"me too." connie pouted, slapping her hand over the whistling alarm. as the girls bustled out of their cosy beds, leah looked down bashfully. her eyes fixated on her newfound source of hope in california — her recovered wrist.

the banks girl twirled it thrice to the right and twice to the left. the movement felt as fluid as the soft ripples that drifted over her beloved pond, back home in minnesota. she felt as weightless as the birds soaring through the californian sky in the dim hours of the morning.

a curt rap sounded at their door. "we're leaving, get your asses to the bus!" the voice of dean rattled the door on its hinges.

the three scurried to the rowdy bus. julie and connie flowed through light conversation as they made their way downstairs, but leah couldn't bring herself to listen. the second her foot landed in the aisle of that bus, her mind honed in to one thing: iceland.

the bus ride to the stadium was almost torturous. traffic held them in place for minutes at a time, and the rink was overfilling with an audience before they'd even arrived. there were so many eyes watching team usa, and it made leah crave glory more than ever before. the pressure was on, and it felt good.

as team usa shuffled into the change room, wasting no time to tape their shoulders and warm themselves up, leah sat outside the door waiting for coach bombay. with her stick in hand, she twisted it into the ground impatiently and tried to control the nervous smile that etched upon her face. it seemed hours had passed, watching news presenters and emergency operators rush past. bombay should have blended in, but his starred bomber jacket and faded blue jeans made him stand out from a mile away.

"coach bombay!" leah greeted as he jogged down the hall, "i can—"

"hey, leah! you get yourself down to the bench. i'm about to talk to the team." bombay waved his hand, steadying himself on the wooden doorframe. before he'd even finished his sentence, bombay flung himself into the change room full of hockey players. leah frowned as he disappeared from her sight.

"wait, coach!" leah called, adamantly following the blue-jeaned man into the change room.

bombay clapped his hands, earning the attention of team usa. the room burst into joyful cheers, hyping one another up for the upcoming game against iceland. gordon was preoccupied with the team, and leah felt completely ignored. but she wouldn't give up on what she wanted most. she wanted to play.

"team," bombay began, "this is the moment. the moment we've all been waiting for. perhaps it hasn't gone to plan," bombay spared a glance to an impatient leah, "but we are a team. and no matter what happens, we will work hard and stick together. yeah?"

"yeah!" the team chorused. with her impatience, leah felt steam begin to pour out of her ears. adam frowned at his sister curiously, noting that she had her bag slung over her shoulder, hair in tight braids, and stick in hand. why would she need any of her hockey gear?

as bombay opened his mouth to speak once again, leah stepped closer. "coach bombay." she stared, feeling her impatience diffuse as his attention turned to her. an eager smile rose on leah's face.

bombay frowned. "leah, what's up?"

the room fell silent as they observed the interaction. adam's eyebrows furrowed even further.