Bombay's Twins

Captain Blood...

Coming back from the hallway, Elliott had stopped inside their locker room, overhearing Coach Bombay and Don Tibbles talking. Coach was giving an excuse about their effort and how it was practically the kids' fault for not showing off. "How pathetic." She shook her head and walked into the room further to see her devastated teammates after the lost.

After their game, Team USA sat inside their locker room gathered together. Garrett walked over with no jersey as he stepped next to his sister, who was pulling her elbow pads off. Tired, all the teammates leaned against one another tiredly and out of breath. Upset from their lost, the team was ready to head out for the night and go to their dorms or have showers. Portman and Fulton were a little more upset than before, seeing as now Bombay was really pushing the limits now.

Bombay walked in to the room with his hands shoved into his dress pants. The team together with benches and leaned against the lockers across from the ones Bombay was walking by, they were quiet. Bombay shook his head. "Fourteen to four." He said a few times, shaking his head continuously as he looked at each of his players.

Charlie Conway, especially, was struck by this and Bombay's attitude. Everyone had towels around their necks or on their shoulders, some didn't even have towels. The massage table was in the middle of the rooms, the players stood or sat around it. Garrett and Elliott in front of the table next to Julie, as Portman and Fulton were the few behind the twins, on the other side of the table, leaning against the open metal wired lockers.

"You know what word comes to mind when you think of that? Hmm?" The coach questioned his players. Stopping in front of them. Each of the kids looked up at him, sweat dripping down their hot red faces, even though they've been off the ice for a good ten minutes, they were hot wearing their sweaty gear all together in bunch with no where for the mucky air to go. "Pathetic!" Bombay called. "You guys were brought here to play hockey."

Garrett stared at the ground, leaning forward a little, his arms resting on his knees. Elliott sat next to him, her arms crossed as she leaned back against the massage table. Garrett was really upset, the way he was treating the team right now wasn't super acceptable, but recognized by most coaches. Most had stern talking-to's with their players and team after games like this. This was a first in a long time for the Ducks, and most seemed to think they knew what was coming, the early stages of hell.

"What about you?" Jesse spat from his stool next to Averman, who looked up with a bewildered expression after Jesse had the guts to speak up.

"What about me, Jesse?"

Julie piped up quickly before anyone could further the conversation. "Coach Stansson knew everything about us. They were ready for us." She pointed out, clearly mad with him. The others realized that two and knitted their brows with shocked faces.

"And you spend your time driving around in fancy convertibles talking to those sponsor fools." Luis backed her up, having another point.

"Or hanging with the Iceland lady." Fulton spoke. "We saw you Saturday night."

Dean nodded towards Coach with a blank face. "Eating ice cream with the enemy, huh, Coach?" His entire team ganging up together to fire at him, which he did not like at all.

"What?" Everyone questioned, becoming sad after hearing this. They looked at one another with pained faces. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"Hey." He calmed his players down, or tried to. "Hey, what I do is none of your business. Is that clear?"

Everyone had spoke up or nodded, even Elliott. Garrett hadn't moved and Coach Bombay saw that from his eldest child. "Garrett, am I clear?" He asked once more.

Garrett stood up, taking every by surprise. "No, you're not clear. You can't just go around treating us like this!" He called, his voice getting louder by the word and his tone becoming angrier by the second. "Bad enough I've been treated like that most of my life." He spat. "You might be Coach Bombay, hit sensation from crap town Minnesota, but I'm not."

He walked over to his locker, taking his gear off. The others sat there, really surprised by this. They were surprised Elliott hadn't said a word. Some of the others started getting undressed when Bombay stopped them, ignoring Garrett Caldwell's remark, which had hit him quite hard. "Don't take those pads off. Everyone stay in your gear. We got practice." He said sternly.

"Tonight?" Goldberg asked, not able to do any more of anything for the rest of the night.

"Garrett, get those back on."

Garrett stopped and turned, standing on the edge of his skates because his feet were sore. "Pardon?" He asked with an attitude.

"I know you heard me, don't be stupid." Bombay told him coldly. Garrett listened before something like this turned into some big blowout where things would be revealed. Elliott gazed over at her brother with worried eyes, but looked back when Coach Bombay snapped his fingers for them to hurry up and get out on the ice.

On the ice, Bombay walked up and down the line as his players skated from the end boards to the blue line. One next to the other, two rows facing each other, they skated with too many thoughts on their mind, too much achy muscles and bad memories floating back to their heads. He didn't talk to one of them once as he watched them skate back and forth. When he blew his whistle, they stopped, but then he blew it again.

Watching Charlie on his right skate back and forth, he shook his head and continued. Gazing to his right to see Portman, who ignored Bombay and simply followed the whistle's order. He blew it once and everyone stopped, next to him stood Charlie and Portman. Charlie pulled his helmet off, hunching forward as he caught his dry breath. "This isn't too much fun, Coach." He told him.

The rest of his players gathered on a knee or stood behind in a crowd, watching Charlie and Bombay's exchange. "Who said this was supposed to be fun?" He asked.

Charlie stood up straight, heaving in a long deserved breath. "You did when you coached the Ducks."

"Well, I don't see any Ducks here, Charlie." Bombay fired back, causing Charlie to become a little pained by this. Charlie and Bombay had always been close throughout hockey, even when Bombay had dated his mother and before he left for the Minors. Now, everything seemed to getting torn by a massive tornado of anger, feelings, and sorrows. "All I see is Team USA one loss away from elimination." He turned away from the young brunette. "Twenty more sprints, let's go!"

Garrett shook his head and stopped as everyone was completing their sprints. Everyone looked at the light haired brunette who had the guts to face their Coach. Of course Charlie did, but Garrett wasn't afraid to speak the harsh truth truthfully. "Caldwell, what are you doing?! Get back to those sprints!"

The eldest Caldwell shook his head, lazily holding his hockey stick as he skated at the pace of a walk back and forth down the ice, his stick dragged forward in front of him lightly. "I am sprinting. Can't you see? Me feet haven't stopped, they're still going, Coach." Garrett expressed with a forced smile and tone of sarcasm.

Bombay brought his hands to his hips, mad and frustrated with this child. Even after his breakout speech in the locker room, he was excited to see what he had to pull now. He may not know his kids well, but he's never known about this attitude from Garrett. "Get to your sprints, properly." He seethed with venom.

"I'm done." He shrugged, cutting out of line. Passing by Bombay, he headed for the boards.

"If you step out that door, you're off the team!" He shouted from the ice. His teammates watched as they sprinted back and forth, side by side.

Garrett laughed, stepping out the door and slamming it shut. "You can't kick me off the team! You need me! Without me, you don't got Elliott!" He shouted back, his back facing the ice as he walked off and pushed the locker room door open. Letting it slam shut behind him.

"Damn it!" Bombay cursed loudly, turning to his players who slowed down. "Let's go, stop slacking off!" He called.