For a Boy

Chapter 10

I stood next to Sariyonna and her friend, whose name I still didn't know. We are up 6-0 against Trinidad and Sariyonna and I were going nuts! The team was passing the puck around, dodging and weaving between the opposing team's players, Connie in control of the puck as she shot and scored, making the score 7-0.

"Yes!" I screamed, jumping up and down. "Woohoo!"

"Let's go!" Sariyonna jumped with me, our arms wrapped around each other. I leaned over the railing, getting high-fives from Luis, Julie, and Guy.

"Yeah, high-five some more!" Some kid said. "Man, my little brother could score on these guys!" The kid was dark-skinned, like Jesse, but a little bigger than he was, wearing a backward baseball cap, a decorated t-shirt, and jeans, a pair of black Air Force 1's on his feet. I leaned back and looked at Sariyonna.

"Who the hell is he?" I asked her, but Jesse spoke up before she could respond.

"Man, why don't you go bother him then." The hockey player retorted, giving me a 'who does this guy think he is' look.

"Haha! I ain't even got a little brother." The boy laughed at Jesse.

"Hey, Jesse, quit gabbin' and get on the ice." Bombay patted the boy on the shoulder and he entered the ring, putting his helmet on correctly. "Show me you want it, son. Go!"

"Yeah, show us you want it, son. Go!" The random boy mocked the coach, and the man just looked at him with a slight smile on his face. "'Kay." He walked away. I shook my head and looked at Sariyonna.

"That's Russ. He lives in my neighborhood with his older brother and his parents." She sighed. "He's not usually this much of an asshole, so I dunno what his problem is today."

"Friend o' yours or somethin'?" I asked her as I watched Jesse gain control of the puck skating down the ice.

"Hell no." The girl shook her head. "I don't like him, though I don't hate him either." She shrugged. "He's got his days." Sariyonna and I watched as one of the Trinidad players dove onto the ice and tripped Jesse, making him slide into the net with the goalie.

"Oohhh." The ref called a face-off as Jesse got to his feet, skating over to the player that tripped him, giving the kid a shove.

"Jesse, forget about it! Let's go!" Jesse got out into the penalty box for roughing. The kid, Russ, was over by the penalty box and continued to mess with Jesse as he was already pissed off. Jesse tried to reach over and grab him.

"Yeah, I ain't likin' this Russ kid." I shook my head. "Seems like a complete ass."

"Like I said, he's got his days." Sariyonna shrugged. "Now, I've gotta ask. Who's your boyfriend." I started laughing as Fulton and Dean got onto the ice.

"'Course, you'd be wonderin' that!" I pointed out to the ice. "I'll introduce you to him later. Fultons gettin' out onto the ice with Portman."

"Who's Portman?" Sariyonna asked.

"He's number 21." I pointed to the other guy coming around the goal net behind Goldberg. "When I first met him, he was an asshole and tried to hit me 'cause I called him an asshat 'cause he was bein' one. But he didn't like that I called him out in his tomfuckery." Sariyonna and I laughed and cheered as Fulton and Dean knocked down other players and scored another goal. 8-0! Fulton and Dean had their own celebration and were bowing to the audience.

"Oh, my God. They look so excited!" Sariyonna and I looked at each other and smiled.

"Bash Bros!" We laughed and high-fived each other. The game ended soon after that, the final score being 9-2. We won.

"Yes!" I screamed. "That's my team! That's my team!" Sariyonna and I hugged and jumped up and down in our seats.

"All right, way to go!" The team stood in a circle around Bombay. "That wasn't a game, that was a statement!" They all split and started heading off the ice.

"Hey, Sari. Wanna go meet the whole team?" I asked excitedly.

"The whole team?" Her eyes widened.

"Yeah! I've got a VIP pass so I can get back to the locker rooms. And I can bring one person with me if I so choose." I lifted the pass to show her before turning back to the ice. "Hey, Bombay!" The man turned and looked at me with a smile. "We'll meet you by the locker rooms!" He gave me a thumbs up and I grabbed Sariyonna's hand, dragging her away from her friends after telling them to wait outside for her. I showed the security guard my pass and he let us by without complaint.

"So I'm gonna meet everyone?" The girl asked me as we got to the locker room doors.

"Yes. Fulton, Portman, my boyfriend. The whole team." I smiled at her and put my hand on the door handle. "Wait out here a sec." I opened the door a little bit. "Hey, y'all decent in there?" A chorus of 'yes's came from the team and I walked in, looking around for a raven-haired tall boy. Spotting him next to Dean, I smirked. "Hey, Fulton."

"Hey, Evelyn." He waved as he wiped the sweat off his neck and face with a rag.

"Ya have a personal fan waitin' outside for ya." I said in a sing-song voice and his face turned red.

"P-personal fan?" He asked.

"Mhmm. Goes by the name of Sariyonna? Met her before the game?" I giggled. "Ringin' any bells?" His eyes widened.

"Shit."

"No. Not "shit". Get your butt up off that bench and go talk to her." I grabbed him by his wrists and dragged him to his feet. "She's out there waitin' all alone." I ushered him toward the door and he stepped out, closing the door behind him. I brushed the invisible dirt off my hands and smiled, crossing my arms. "My work here is done."

"Look at you. Bein' a little wingman." I heard Dwayne walk up behind me. I was quick to turn around and back away from him.

"Don't even think about it, Dwayne Arnold!" I pointed at him. He laughed. "You know better. Don't even think about huggin' me or nothin' until you've showered."

"But, darlin'!"

"But darlin' nothin'!" I exclaimed. "You're covered in sweat and you smell gross. If anyone gets this jersey dirty or covered in sweat, they're loosin' a limb." I looked around the room and saw that everyone was staring at me. "Now, my new friend is waitin' outside to meet y'all. So hurry up and get showered and changed." I clapped my hands together and began walking toward the door when arms wrapped around me, lifting me. "No! Damn it!"

"Sorry, honey! I couldn't wait for my victory hug!" Dwayne kissed my cheek and set me down. "Now you can go." I huffed and crossed my arms.

"No good luck kiss for you at your next game." I walked out of the locker room.

"Hey, Evelyn!" Sariyonna smiled at me.

"Hey!" I stood next to her. "Fulton, you can go back in there and change now." He nodded and waved to Sariyonna. She waved back and smiled as he walked back into the locker room. I smirked and looked at her. "So, how'd it go?" She ranted to me about how sweet he was and about what they talked about before the team came out, clothed in their matching outfits and most of them showered. Best first day in Cali ever!