𝑯𝒆𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒉 | ᴹᴰᴳᶜ

TRACK SEVENTEEN: Bad Moon Rising

Cole put on a video this morning about something called, "The Coach Classic." The video ended and he spoke.

"Ah! The coach classic! I love it! That game is tomorrow night, alright?" He announced. "Now I've seen some pretty stellar talent here the last few days!" Cole looked at me as well as pointed with his right eyebrow slightly raised. "Little afraid you might give the coaches a run for their money. Who wants in?" People cheered, clapped, and raised their hands.

"Everybody wants in? That's good! Unfortunately, only ten kids get to play. Selected at random. Now, if you are one of the lucky ones, tomorrow morning when you wake up and you open up your door, you're gonna find a golden jersey with your name on it. It's like Christmas if you come from a very violent family," He gestured to the screen. "Take a look."

I watched a kid pass everyone on the ice so smoothly and score a goal. The kid took off his helmet and it was Jace. The same Jace would has something weird wrong with his shot.

I turn around to look for him. When I saw him all the way in the back, and he was already looking at me. I gave him a small smile and he looked embarrassed then walked away.

🏒

I found Jace in the hallway, sitting on the floor, throwing a ball against the wall, and catching it. "Hey, rookie." That nickname couldn't help but slip out. After he caught his ball, he shot me a look of confusion. I wanted to apologize, but I knew that would lead to me explaining myself and I knew I had no good reason. I kept my mouth shut and just stared back at him, waiting for his response.

"Hey, Spider-Man." He said. "Why don't you play the same as you did in the video back there?" I asked. "Why'd you call me a rookie?" He dodged my question as I did the same to him. "I did some research and you were ranked 3rd in the country for your age. They said you were good enough to play in the NHL." "Thanks for letting me know, Spidey. I'll have to check that out." He replied, sarcastically.

"You don't wanna talk about it?" "You don't wanna hear it. I mean, you're at hockey camp- you love hockey! You don't wanna hear how it can mess you up." "What if I do wanna hear?" I asked. His serious expression quickly turned to one of agitation.

"Okay, you wanna hear about how all the pressure that my dad put on me made me choke in the biggest game of my life and score on my own goal? Or do you wanna hear about how I had a meltdown, and now I have a glitch in my shot that won't go away? You wanna hear that one, Parker?"

"Look, I get it. You have a screwed up life now and it made you into an asshole, but-" "No, you don't get it," He stood up and stepped towards me. "And even if you did, we're two different people who handle things differently." He said.

"I did some research on you too, Parker. You're dad was a Mighty Duck, he never knew about you until a little over a year ago, and even before he came into your picture, your life was all sunshine and rainbows," He ranted. "And not to mention, you got to play hockey for fun!" He added in a mocking way. "Little Lilah Parker got everything she wanted and more-"

I grabbed the collar of his hoodie and pinned him against the wall, getting in his face. "Don't call me Lilah. Don't you ever fucking call me Lilah." He hesitated for a moment but pushed me off of him.

"Kids like you come from around the country to train with my dad and be the best." He said. "Congrats on being a part of EPIC- The Elite Performance Ice Center. I really hope that works out for you, Parker."

We stared at each other for a moment in silence before he stormed off. I let out an annoyed breath and walked to the lounge where the team was. "Hey, guys." I greeted, pretending Jace and I's heated interaction didn't happen.