Olympic Fire [Miracle on Ice]

CHAPTER 1: What To Expect?

~KIMBERLY'S POV~

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

I dig my hand from underneath my blanket and smash the alarm clock mercilessly.

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

Groaning in annoyance, I repeat my action and expect the annoying sound to be over.

BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEP!

" Oh for fucks sake!" I jolt up and grab my alarm clock with one intention only. To throw it to the ground and break it. Just before I smash it against the wooden floor of my dorm room, I realize it was not my alarm clock that woke me up. Well, first ringing it was, but not the following two.

"Come on, sleepy head. We are late!" my room-and teammate Alice shakes me. I bury my head in a pillow and mumble: "I hate you, Alice Rose Roy."

The mattress squeaks as she jumps on my bed and starts bouncing up and down: "I won't stop until you are awake!"
"I am awake, I am awake. Jeeesh, you are so annoying!"

"Nope. I just don't want to skate extra laps for being late."

Now I am really awake: "Extra laps for being late? On a morning practice? Oh, shitshitshit!"

I jump off the bed and the change of pressure sends Ali fly off my bed as well and on the floor.

"How long do we have?"
"Twenty minutes."

"Fucking shit! Are you ready to go? Your gear in a bag? Stick ready?"

"Calm down. You are the one who can never get up, not me. With an attitude like that you have zero chances of being the new captain."

Twenty minutes later Alice and I are on the ice, panting hard from all that running from our dorm room to the ice hall. I lean my head on the end of my stick and breath out a cloud of air.

"You are not in your last season shape, now are you?" Alice laughs, leaning her hands on her knees, her stick laying flat on the ice.

"You think you are?"

"Okay, girls, gather up!" our coach yells and we pile around him.

"Welcome back again, girls, I hope you haven't forgotten to exercise during the break...."
"Yeah,' I mumble to Alice, making her suppress a laugh, which comes out of her mouth like a snort. Our coach turns to the two of us and his gaze stops on our red faces: "You two don't seem in a good condition though."
"We ran all the way from our dorm. And running with a hockey bag is not fun," I answer with an innocent smile. Ali next to me huffs again, apparently trying her best not to start laughing. Coach O'Connell furrows his eyebrows before he looks at Alice with a stern look on her face, making her stop laughing immediately.

"Roy and Mayfield..." I close my eyes when he says Alice's and mine surname, knowing this will not be good. Damn, I should really learn not to speak my mind all the time.

"Goal line. The rest of you," he looks at our teammates and continues " off the ice. You two... sprints."

Alice behind me starts gasping for air. She has never been punished and I feel kinda bad for dragging her into this. I know how much playing for coach O'Connell means to her... As for me, I look up at his eyes and spit out: "How many, coach?"

"Let's make it five," coach has never seemed more entertained. I swallow few profanities and get on the goal line, however, silently cursing him. And my tongue.

The whistle blows and I barely have time for another sigh before speeding down the ice.

Four sprints later and I am out of breath. This is an absolute torture and I don't know if I can handle the entire practice. I quickly glance over Ali, who is in the same condition as I am. Breathless, red-cheeked, exhausted and with sore legs. We lean on a goal post and I whisper to her: "Just once more. Just once more."