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✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦ 1.2
Victoria stood between Connie and Averman, the Ducks lined up next to or behind Coach Bombay and Tibbles, as the new group skated up to them. It was a mix of excitement and apprehension for Victoria. One girl led the pack, surrounded by four boys. Among them, a particularly imposing boy caught her eye. He had the build of an enforcer—tall and burly.
Coach Bombay turned to Tibbles. "Tell me about my new kids."
Tibbles nodded and glanced at the newcomers. "That's Luis Mendoza," he said, pointing to an attractive boy with black hair and brown eyes. "He's from our Miami club. A real speedster. Incredible skater." Luis zipped around the rink, showcasing his impressive speed, Victoria, who had always prided herself on being the speedster in the original Ducks group, felt a pang of insecurity. She didn't want to lose her spot to someone else.
"I clocked him at 1.9 seconds, blue line to blue line." Tibbles informs Bombay.
"Good-looking skater," Connie remarked, her eyes widening with admiration.
"Agreed," Victoria echoed, sharing a giggle with Connie.
"Very good-looking. What do you think, Guy?" Averman asked, nudging Guy, who was eyeing Luis with a critical gaze.
"Shut up, Averman!" Guy snapped, elbowing him. Averman stumbled and fell onto the ice with a laugh.
"He's got one minor problem," Tibbles interjected as Luis skated to a stop and collided with the boards. "He has a bit of trouble stopping." Bombay winced at the sight.
"I'd say so," Goldberg added, with Fulton and Jesse chuckled in agreement. The group of new Ducks skated over to help Luis up, and he sighed, "I almost had it that time," as the Ducks shared a quiet laugh.
The next boy skated in front of the Ducks, tossing aside his cowboy hat with a cheerful, "Yee-haw! How is everyone? Y'all ready to play some puck?"
Jesse couldn't resist a quip. "Hey, look. It's Hopalong Gretzky." The Ducks laughed as the boy, Dwayne Robertson, demonstrated his incredible puck-handling skills, bouncing the puck on his stick with ease.
"That's Dwayne Robertson from Austin. Best puck handler I've ever seen," Tibbles explained. Bombay raised an eyebrow.
"you mean for his age?" he asked, but Tibbles shook his head.
"No, I don't." Dwayne continued to show off, saying, "Hey, this is easier than ropin' hogs! Yee-haw!" Victoria watched in awe, trying to understand how he had become so skilled.
Tibbles gave Bombay a pointed look. "He does have a tendency to showboat."
Bombay snapped out of his daze, blinking. "Wow."
"There's Julie 'The Cat' Gaffney," Tibbles said, pointing to a girl who had just grabbed her helmet from atop the goal. "She won the state championships for Maine three years in a row."
"Well, we've got a goalie, Goldberg," Bombay said, looking at Goldberg, who was currently pumping himself up in the goal. "All right! Bring 'em on, man! I'm ready for this! I'm the man! I'm the man!" Victoria rolled her eyes as Goldberg fell into a split and groaned, "Uh, help."
"Watch this," Tibbles said with a smirk. Victoria skated up, taking a shot on goal, which Julie caught effortlessly. Julie's skill impressed everyone, including Bombay.
"Well, we could use a backup," Bombay said, making Victoria roll her eyes again as she skated back to the group.
A short kid skated towards them, performing half spins. Bombay recognized him. "Isn't that the kid from the Olympics? The figure skater?"
Tibbles confirmed, "Yup. Ken Wu. What can I say. Convinced him that hockey had more of a future. We put a stick in his hands, and nobody's been able to touch him."
Victoria noticed the last boy as he yelled, "Yeah! Show time!" He was an attractive kid with a bandanna, looking every bit like an enforcer. He wore headphones and used his stick as a guitar.
Bombay, astounded, asked Tibbles, "That guy's a teenager?"
"Yeah. Hormones," Tibbles replied.
"He's a goon!" Bombay said, watching as the bandanna-clad boy, Dean, sang along to his music, shoving Charlie and Adam out of his way.
Dean then shoved Averman to the ground and wrapped his arm around Dwayne, yelling, "C'mon, Tex! Sing with me!" Dwayne, clearly terrified, shook his head quickly as Dean shrugged and skated off, pushing another Duck.
"Here ya go, sweetie!" Dean said, tossing his hockey stick at Julie. He then skated over to Victoria, draping an arm around her shoulders and smirking. "Has anyone told you you're the hottest on the team?" Victoria blushed, and Dean winked before skating off to join Ken.
"My kids don't play that kind of hockey," Bombay declared, his tone stern as he observed Dean's behavior, especially with the girl he thought of as a daughter.
"I believe they're called enforcers, Gordon. When you play Iceland, you'll need him," Tibbles said seriously, watching as Dean placed Ken on top of the goal, patting his helmet.
"My little man," Dean said, giving Ken a playful shove.
"Who does this guy think he is?" Fulton fumed, angered by Dean's antics and flirtation with his sister.
Tensions flared as the Ducks began arguing with the new group. Screaming over the top of one another and not letting anyone get a word in.
"Everybody freeze!" Bombay's voice boomed through the rink as he blew his whistle. "Now, We didn't come here to fight! We came here to play hockey! We're Team U.S.A. You represent your country—"
Tibbles cut him off, which earned him a sharp look from Bombay. "That's right!"
"Now, I want you—" Tibbles continued, but Bombay interrupted him again with a dirty look, causing Tibbles to stop.
"Hey. You don't need me here. I've got an appointment anyway. I need to see Miss McKay, the team tutor," Tibbles said as he began to leave.
"Don," Bombay called, holding out his hand.
Tibbles handed over his whistle. "You'll get it back at the end of the school term," he said with a smirk, prompting more laughter from the kids.
"All right, Ducks! Show 'em what you got! Let's scrimmage!" Bombay announced, blowing his whistle. Everyone quickly got into their positions as the scrimmage began, the tension easing into focused competition.
