The Exchange

Chapter 17

Yelling at Viktor about hockey things was actually a lot more fun than I expected. And as a loud person in general, I expected it to be very fun.

"Do it again!" I shouted across the rink to Viktor. "Your pivots are sloppy."

"No, they're not. I feel like you just want me to die," Viktor sputtered. "Can we just call it a day?"

He was about half-right on that. "No. Shut up, or I'll make you do five million suicides."

He skated over to me and made sure to spray me with as much snow as possible when he stopped. "Please, Candy Cane, I need a break. My brain is going to explode."

I rolled my eyes and wiped the cold snow off of my face. "What a pity. Get back out there. You had enough energy to be an asshole, so it's obvious that you're just lazy."

"Can you at least explain what exactly I'm doing wrong?"

"When you're turning, it looks almost like a U, rather than a clean pivot. Go to the marker and turn at it, not around it. Make sense?"

Viktor looked at me blankly.

"Oh my god, you're so dumb. Isn't this supposed to be your domain, not mine? What aren't you getting?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, I got it. It's just that this isn't helping anything."

"Why don't you shut up and do what I say? It's getting your heart rate up, and you need to work on your explosiveness because from what I've seen, you're nothing special."

How did I not come up with this idea sooner? I had a free pass to say whatever the hell I thought about him. What a goddamn life I was living.

He lowered his eyebrows. "I haven't played in a while, Candy Cane."

"We'll get to the fun stuff once you prove to me that you aren't worthless, so stop with the excuses. I don't know who let you get away with them up until now, but I won't. You're skating like a baby duck with its head cut off," I said.

He turned away from me, then went back to the drill we set up.

"I need a whistle or something. Go!" I yelled.

This time, his strides were more powerful, like determination filled his skates. At each marker, he exploded out of his turn like a bullet.

I smirked to myself. I found a way to manipulate him: question his ability.

3. I like it when you shut up and do what I tell you.

He trudged back over to me once he was finished, breathing heavily. "How was that?"

I shrugged. "Well, you tried, at least."

Damn, I was good.

"Uh, yeah, I tried. Was that good?" Viktor said.

"It was good for the JV team, sure," I said.

"JV? What even is that?"

"Junior varsity. That's where they put all the guys who suck at hockey."

He shook his head and hunched over. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"I didn't think you'd catch on to my assassination attempt so quickly. I'll try to kill you again tomorrow after school."

He looked at me. "Again? I don't even want to know what you have in mind for tomorrow. I have a feeling you might actually try to kill me. Americans are weird like that."

I smiled.

4. Pro tip from Viktor: Trust no one. Not even your best friend's sister who hates your guts. Especially not her.