burning soul | adam banks

𝐨𝐧𝐞

"And last up is Elena Miller from Tallahassee Florida. She is a very talented stickhandler but her speed makes her even better." Mr. Tibbles explained this to my new coach who is also the new USA Junior team coach.

I carefully pulled the puck between my legs and sped down the ice before I pulled the puck back and shot. The puck quickly left the ice and rushed into the net. Top shelf. I celebrated internally and then turned around to the other players surrounding me.

There was a group of players all wearing green jerseys with ducks on them. I heard they were all from Minnesota. There was also a super good goalie whose name was Julie or Julie 'the cat' Gaffney. Then there was a boy named Luis. He was super fast but could not stop..that's what she said. There was also a Ken Wu who apparently was a figure skater but Tibbles convinced him to play hockey instead. There was also Dwayne. He was so funny and the best stick handler I have ever seen. Lastly, there was a guy named Dean Portman. He was a total goon and was pushing people over, but I would be lying if I said I didn't find that just a little bit attractive.

After the players got introduced and the ducks had their little fight the coach yelled at us and then tied us up with a rope. He insisted that this was good for team bonding. With my luck, I got placed next to this really annoying guy.

"Hey cutie, what's your name again?" He asked. I just rolled my eyes and ignored him. "Come on sweetheart don't be afraid to tell me" He replied after I didn't answer. I was sick of his shit and elbowed him in the groin. This caused him to fall back and soon enough the rest of the team was all on the ice.

I get up clearly annoyed with the boy behind me and I feel a sense of relief when the coach blows his whistle, signaling that practice is over.

I quickly escape the rope and skate off the ice to the locker rooms.

As I was sitting in the locker room Julie and another girl walked up to me. "Hey Elena, I'm Julie," said the goalie. "And I'm Connie," said the other girl. "Hi, it's super nice to meet you!" I say plastering on a smile.

"Because we are the only three girls we have to learn to stick together. We are also sharing a dorm room so we actually don't have a choice," Connie said half serious, half chuckling.

I let myself smile a little but I don't think that the friendship will last too long. I have hockey to focus on. There are a ton of scouts and fans watching. I left my team in Florida for this. The last thing I will do is let them down. So if that means no friends here then so be it. 

Once we were all changed into our normal clothes we left the locker room to see a woman we didn't recognize. She had curled blonde hair that touched her shoulders and blue eyes. 

"Hello everyone," she said with a smile. "I'm your tutor for the time being as you are playing hockey" Then the other goalie whose name is Goldberg jumped in trying to negotiate a deal and make school optional. we were all sure it was going to work but it in fact did not. If we were to skip school we can say goodbye to hockey and hello to the bench. 

Later that night Tibbles introduced us to our dorms. I thought we would be completely separated from the boys, but it turns out the only thing that keeps us apart is a thin wall and a door that barely locks. we have to slam it a few times before it actually closes. 

The girls and I got settled into our room. We made our beds and unpacked all of our clothes in the three dressers that were provided. We had all also brought decorations for our room. We were all very different people so after putting up all the decor the room looked odd. But weirdly, I liked it. It was cool seeing all of our differences displayed around our room. 

The girls and I were sitting on Julie's bed when the boy who I think is named Charlie came into our room and told us to get ready because we were going out to eat.