Meet Me at the Rink

Chapter 17

~ Allison ~

"Alright, we're going to run that drill one more time before we have a water break. Then after the water break, we'll run a scrimmage for the last ten minutes of practice." I say as the twelve-year-olds in front of me got up from taking a knee before skating away to create three lines at the far end. "Alright girls, you ready?" I ask bringing the whistle up to my lips as they nod. "Go!" I shout then blow the whistle as the first group runs through the drill.

Not only do I help out with the Timbits practices but every other Monday night, I run the U12 girl's practices for my cousin's team when my uncle, who's the coach can't since he works the night shift at the police station every other week.

"Okay ladies, go grab a drink then I'll divide you into two teams for the scrimmage!" I exclaim as the girls skate over to the bench for water. "Okay so the forwards in green and the defence in yellow, go to the left side of the ice. Forwards in red and defence in blue, on the right side." I say as they part ways to their sides of the ice. "Team red and blue start with the goalie and then we'll switch halfway through." I say as one of the girls puts her bottle down on the bench and skates over to me.

"Does that mean we have to hit the goal post for our goal to count if they don't have a goalie to start?" She asks. "You've got it!" I say as she goes to tell the other girls. "Okay, let's get ready for face-off!" I shout skating to centre ice to drop the puck. I drop the puck and the scrimmage begins.

As the girls were playing, I felt as if someone was watching me from the stands. I scan the mostly empty stands which only contained a couple of parents watching their daughters while a couple of other parents chatted amongst themselves. When I turn to look up the ice, watching the girls battle in the corner for the puck, I spot the culprit standing behind the glass in the corner. When my eyes meet his, he smiles a warm smile in which I return. How is it that I always run into Austin at the rink?

** After Practice **

"Alright, great practice out there tonight ladies! I'll see you all next time!" I say to them in the dressing room before exiting the room and sitting on the chair outside of the room to take off my skates.

A tall shadow stands in front of me and clears their throat. "Excuse me." The voice says as I stop untying my skates and look up to find Austin looking down and smiling at me. "Well, hello Austin. Fancy meeting you here." I say. "Well hello to you too. Didn't know you coached U12 girls." He replies. "Oh, I don't coach them full-time. It's my cousin's team and I run their practices every other week when my uncle, who's their head coach works the night shift." I reply.

"That's very kind of you." Austin says. "What are you doing here?" I ask. "What, you not happy to see me?" He laughs with a huge grin on his face. "No, it's not that! I am happy to see you, just confused as to how you knew I was here." I reply. "Actually, I didn't know you were here to be honest with you. I came to watch my sister's game, she's on the ice next." Austin replies as I take off my skates and put them in my bag before putting my sneakers on.

"Awe, look at you being a good supportive brother!" I exclaim. "Yeah, yeah... You wanna stay and watch? You can meet her after the game... You know since I've already met your siblings." He asks as I stand up and walk down the hall with him. "Alright, I'll stay." I smile as we walk over to the stands and find a seat before the game.