𝑯𝒆𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒉 | ᴹᴰᴳᶜ

9: Backstabber

"I can't believe Evan would even consider going back to the Ducks after everything he's done to get me to join." Sofi told us.

"This whole place reeks of betrayal." Lauren said.

"Yeah. Don't let my naturally joyful eyes fool you. Inside, I'm hurting." Logan said.

"What's wrong with Sam?" I ask.

"He's pretty bummed." Koob told me.

"Yeah, but I've never seen him just sit there before." Maya added. "He's always skateboarding into walls."

"Or me. He often skateboarded into me." Nick added. "Sam, what's going on?" I asked.

"I don't know. Evan going behind our backs like that. It's like I don't have the will to be crazy." Sam told me. "I hate what he's done to you!" Lauren said, slamming her fist onto the counter. Then Evan and Alex walked in.

"Oh! Thank God! I didn't think anybody was gonna be here." Alex told us. "Nick forced us. If it was up to us, we wouldn't be." I said. "Hey, don't bothers, looks like you're ready to bother." Alex said, walking towards us. Everyone ignored her. "What did I do?" she asked. "Gave birth to a traitor." Maya said. "Okay, looks like we've got a team problem. And the only people who can solve a team problem is the team. So I'm calling a team meeting. Players only." Alex said. Oh God. "Okay. All right. Everybody in." Alex told us, bringing us to the locker room. "Stay in there until you figure things out." She told us. "You're keeping us in a room that smells like feet until we make up?" Maya asked, annoyed. "Yes, exactly!" Alex said, closing the door. Evan stood in front of us as we all sat in silence.

"Thank you all for coming." he said. "I'm only here cause Delilah is. Which is surprising!" Logan said. "I know, right?" I replied. "And your mom did just lock us in." Maya added. "True. And you want to know what else is true? That I only went to one Ducks practice." Evan said, causing everyone to get even more annoyed. "But as soon as I got there. I knew something felt wrong. I'm never going back. Please. You guys have to forgive me. We have a big game against the Hornets coming up, and we have to pull together if we want a chance of beating them." Evan told everyone. "Are they looking for a new player? I heard you're available." Logan told him. "Nice." I said before fist bumping him. "You were supposed to be our captain. Our fearless leader." "I know. I screwed up. I'm sorry." Evan went on as we went on and on fighting. "You totally let us down." Koob said. "You can't just walk all over us like that." I told him. "You think you're better than us?" Nick asked before saying,"Who am i kidding? I can't pull off anger." "It's not about who's better. It's about loyalty. You just went and screwed everything up." Maya told him. "Maya, should you really be lecturing anyone about loyalty? You're the one with the history of ditching people." Lauren said, now turning to Maya. "She's not the only one." Logan said. "Why didn't you guys invite me to the sleepover you had?" Logan asked the boys. "I mean, I live across the street from you! Yes, Delilah did sleepover at my house, but I saw you popping Swedish fish all night. Every fish was like a dagger to me!" Logan said to Nick. "It was a best friend hang, okay? Koob was just an impromptu addition." Nick told him, making Koob mad now. The fighting went on and on, everyone fighting with everyone. As I went over to sit by Sam, who still seemed odd, because I didn't want to argue. I hate yelling. I put my earbuds in and played music. Alex walked in.

"Great meeting. Good job. Let's calm down and make some friendship bracelets." she suggested. "They'd be bracelets woven of lies." Lauren told her. Then the power completely went out. "Nice one, Evan." Logan blamed. "Oh, come on. That's clearly not my fault." Evan spoke back, making us all agree. "I mean, it's 75%." Logan said quieter. Bombay took us to the woods on a trail after the power went out. "Where are we? What's happening?" Lauren asked as Bombay and Alex led us to a frozen lake outside.

"Here it is. Nature's Ice Palace." Bombay said. I like this! "Where's nature's WiFi?" Maya asked. "And nature's Cocoa Bar?" "Pond hockey. Shinny. Pick-Up. Whatever you want to call it, it's the reason so many kids fall in love with the game when it's played out here. On the pond, there are no boards, no zones, and no one in the stands. Out here is where you get the tactical edge on your opponent. So we're gonna develop your sixth sense. Instinct." Bombay went on.

"Yeah, my instinct tells me I'm more of an indoor person." Nick said. "That's why we'll start small. No gear. No skates. Just feel the ice under your feet." Bombay told us. We did as he told us, and lastly, we delicately passed our phones with partners. I was partners with Logan. "Oh! Delilah! Your dad's calling should I pick up?" Logan asks."Sure! He's probably going to say he's working late again!" I told Logan. He nodded and picked up my phone. Bombay came over. "What's going on?" Bombay asks as Logan is talking to my dad."Delilah!" Logan says, handing me the phone. "My dad." Bombay nods and grabs my phone. "Hi, dad! We're busying at practice! Please leave a message! And yes, this is Gordon Bombay." He said, hanging up and putting my phone back on the ice. We were packing up to leave. "Are we still mad at him?" Nick asked. We all nodded and told him that we were still mad. Then Evan took off his C. "What are you doing?" Sofi asked. "I don't deserve this. A real captain doesn't do what I did. A real captain stays with the ship. And a real captain stays with the crunch. Now, I don't get to wear this until I earn it back." Evan told everyone. "Okay. We forgive you." Lauren said, and everyone agreed. The next day, we went out to the pond again. Sam never showed up. Bombay helped Koob learn he really could be an amazing goalie. Alex made us try to play blindfolded. Didn't end well. Logan and I just stuck by eachothers sides the whole time. Falling on each other here and there. It was a complete fail. Sam told us he was quitting, but thankfully, Evan convinced him otherwise! I don't know what I would do without Sam! We're a duo on the ice! Like the Bash Brothers from the original ducks! The Smash Siblings! We were tied with the Hornets 3-3. When Alex convinced us to use our blind trust and we won! 4-3.

I went home and really wanted to tell Dad about our game and day, but he wasn't home. I really wanted to tell someone, so I looked out my window that faced the backyard and told my mom about our game!