Passion's Instinct

Forty

Hayden

That morning I went to practice, despite the thick ice on the road. I told my team we could've just played hockey outside, or I could've just skated there.

It was crazy cold outside this morning, almost unbearable. But I made it there, and in no time was practicing with my team.

But there were always these two guys there who would pick an argument just about anything. Benjamin, who some called the Benji the Ballerina because he was too skinny to play hockey and he moved like one, and the other, Joel, who played hockey hardcore. The two didn't make a great match.

We split up into two groups to play against each other, and we started the practice game with no problem.

Of course, there was always a negative to your positive.

Benjamin and Joel both ended up on my team. Benjamin was the goalie, which was usually Joel's job, so he was already mad about that. When Benjamin let the puck slide in six times consecutively, Joel started to get even more mad. Like, really mad.

"Dude, can you ever just block a puck?" Joel yelled, ripping his mouthguard out.

Benjamin just stood there, in his big suit of armor that made him look ten times bigger than he actually was.

"Well? Eat some, and then you'll be wider so you can block the goal!"

After that, it was complete chaos on the ice. The coach was calling a timeout, but no one was listening; they were all yelling at each other instead.

Then, everyone against Benjamin except for a few gathered in a swarm and skated across the ice, milling over anyone in their way. I swore my team sometimes was like a group of teenage boys trying to stir up some trouble. That's what I hated about it.

Not noticing at the time that I was in the way, someone skated past me, bumping me hard in the gut.

I doubled over and lost my balance, hitting the ice hard. Before anyone noticed, I got up again, doing my best to recover as quickly as possible.

Luckily, to my best interest at the moment, the coach called it quits for the day and pulled Joel and Benjamin to the side.

As soon as I was done in the locker room and carried my duffel bag out to the car, I set it in the back and opened the driver's side door, sliding into the seat.

I angled the front mirror back so I could see in the back seat, to see a pair of blue eyes staring back at me and a wagging tail.

I laughed, turning back to look at the husky puppy I had just rescued from the curb before hockey this morning, owning no collar or tags. "Wait until we surprise Natalie and the kids with you when we get home."