Adam Banks: Purple Among White [2]

Chapter 1

I clutched my arms rest on my plane seat in excited anticipation. I was on my way to meet the Duck team, the pee wee legends. Well, I wasn't just going to meet them. Was going to become one of them. I was excited to show off my talent.

"Ready?" Mr. Tibbles asked as our plane landed. 

"Yes." I said. I wanted to jump up and down in the plane aisle, but I knew I would regret it later on. I always did. 

When our plane landed, I made sure that Mr. Tibbles and I were the first ones off. We made our way to baggage claim, picked up our bags and my guitar, and hurried outside to Mr. Tibbles' waiting limo. I took a deep breath as we pulled up to the hotel.

Mr. Tibbles had explained to me that there were five other kids who had also been chosen as new Ducks: Dean Portman, Ken Wu, Dwayne Robertson, Julie Gaffney, and Luis Mendoza. I was apparently the best out of all of them. He also told me that I was picked up after all of them, which meant that they were all already inside the hotel or down at the ice rink messing around. 

Mr. Tibbles led me inside to the reception desk and signed in, then handed me a key.

"You're room 202, with Julie. I'll meet you down here in half an hour. I want to show you where the rink is." Mr. Tibbles told me. I nodded, took the key, and headed to the elevator. 

When I reached my room, I noticed that one of the beds had shoes and a hockey bag next to it, so I took the other bed. I unpacked my clothes and shoes, then headed to the bathroom with a makeup bag in hand. I brushed my waist-length hair, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. Plane food is disgusting. 

"Hello?" I heard from the room.

"Hi." I called. I packed up the bag, stuck it in a drawer in the bathroom and poked my head out to see a girl standing there.

"Hi. I'm Julie Gaffney. Are you Courtney Riley?" She asked. 

"You bet." I smiled and crossed my arms.

"I love your hair. My parents won't let me dye mine." Then she hesitated. "Mr. Tibbles told us that you were from England... and that you were the princess. Is that true?"

I smirked and mocked a cursty, switching to my English accent. "Princess Courtney, at your service." I laughed and straitened, switching back to my American accent. "Yes, it's true."

"Cool." Julie grabbed my hand and dragged me to the door. "C'mon, the boys are out in the hallway, waiting to meet you. I'll introduce."

I left my room and almost ran into a muscular boy's back. 

"Dean, move." Julie said. The boy turned around and backed up. Then he caught sight of me.

"Well, aren't you a pretty. Like what you did to your hair, babe." He smirked and crossed his arms. 

I copied his stance and rolled my eyes. "Name's Courtney, use it." 

"Yeah, okay. You met Dean. That's Luis Mendoza, Ken Wu, and Dwayne Robertson."

"Hi. Nice to meet you." I said. 

"Howdy." Dwayne said, tipping his cowboy hat.

"Do you figure skate?" Ken asked.

"Yup." I said. Nobody said anything. "What?" I asked. 

"Dean said that he bet five bucks that you'd brag that you're the best in England." Luis said. "I said I bet five bucks that you wouldn't." He turned to the boy. "Pay up." 

Dean grumbled and stuffed the five dollar bill into the boy's hand. 

"Yeah, I don't really like to talk about England." I said. 

"Why?" Dwayne asked. 

How do I answer that? I can't tell them that it was because England was all a lie, at least not yet. I had four months to learn to trust them. And the Ducks. I just shrugged. 

"Well, I have to get goin'. Mr. Tibbles wants me in the lobby so he can show you the ice rink." I turned to leave, but Julie stopped me.

"That's why we're here. He said he had something else to get to. Go get your skates and your stick."

I grabbed my stuff and headed to the elevator with the rest of them.

"You really like red and black." Ken commented, nodding to my skates and stick. I shrugged. What could I say.

"Hey, babe, you wanna show us what you're made of?" Dean asked, smirking and nodding to the ice when we got to the rink. 

"In hockey or figure skating?" I asked.

"Figure skating." Dean said. "I love to see a babe show off her skill."

"Yeah, whatever. Call me Courtney, Dean. You're gonna regret it if you don't. And just so you know, I'm not showing off. I do dangerous things when I figure skate." I said, tying on my skates. I skated onto the ice, quickly thinking up a small routine. When I started, I made sure that it was fast and full of dangerous jumps, twists and turned. I completed the dance with a round of back filps and back hand springs.

"Whoa! That routine was compicated enought for olympic skaters. Adult olympic skaters. How did you get so good?" Ken asked, a huge smile of awe one his face.

"Practice, I guess." I said. I turned to the waiting group behind me and tapped my stick on the ground. "What are we waiting for? Let's play!" I cheered. 

I was on a team with Dwayne and Dean. Dwayne, it turns out, is good at puck-handling, just like me, though I'm better than he is. Dean is an enforcer. I could be if I wanted to be, but I'm short and not strong enough to knock down most of the boys I used to play against back in Brooklyn. 

Luis is was a speed skater before he played hockey, and it shows. He's only five seconds slower than I am. Julie is an amazing goalie. Ken is also a figure skater.

"Hey, guys!" We heard. We stopped playing and turned too see Mr. Tibbles standing at the edge of the rink, my hockey bag in hand. "Get changed into your uniforms. The Ducks'll be here in thirty minutes." He tosses the bag to me. "You left this in you room." 

"Sorry." I said, though I wasn't sure why. He hadn't told me to bring it here.

I quickly changed into my hockey uniform, excited. 

I was going to meet the Ducks in thirty minutes!