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completing leah's good week of school with a successful hockey victory was certainly on her agenda. things were going well, and adam and leah were still dominating all their hockey games with their 'brains, brawn: beauty'. coach reilly had averted to calling them his beautiful banksies, because together they were his guaranteed victory. the full games exhausted adam and leah, but it was worth it.
to leah, it sometimes felt like coach reilly was the only one to appreciate her. sure, adam and her had their moments together, but she was no larson or mcgill to adam. leah didn't praise her brother for every snide, cheeky comment he made. but she was a hawk nonetheless, and she was part of the team.
what made leah proudly identify as a hawk was the fact that coach reilly seemed to be the only person that believed in her, ever. she was a hawk because of him. leah's position on the team and her time spent on the ice was the only time she ever received acknowledgement from her friends and even her brother. she was like a balloon: fun when filled with hockey helium but mediocre when filled with everyday carbon dioxide.
and leah loved playing with adam, more than anything. she had the speed, he had the strength, and together they had strategy and skill. adam was her brother, and if she had to choose one person in the entire world to play with for the rest of her life, it would be adam. it would be adam and the hawks.
when the hawks were called over to coach reilly just before our fourth game, leah never expected to lose her hawk identity. she was so taken aback that she didn't really understand what was going on.
coach called adam and leah over with a short "banksies!", immediately pulling their attention to the small group including their coach, some form of rule enforcer, and gordon bombay. leah was immediately confused - why was the district five coach here? why was the coach of the newly named ducks at their game?
"this has to be a joke, right?" coach reilly asked the man in the suit and tie, holding a collection of papers in his hands. gordon bombay stood smugly, and though he was charlie's coach, leah wanted to tell him to wipe that smug look off his face.
"i'm afraid there's no joke." he replied, just as leah and adam's dad came down to the bench.
their dad looked between the five with confusion and slight agitation - as one would when their two children are disrupted from their passion. "is there a problem, coach reilly?" he asked, with the slightest tinge of worry in his tone that leah knew only she could recognise.
"no, no, just a mistake, mr banks." coach reilly dismissed the issue, turning back to the suited man as he spoke up again.
"are you the father of these two children? 450 north hennepin ave, is that your address?"
"yes." their father replied quickly, urging the man to get to the point.
"well i'm afraid there's no mistake," the suited man shook his head, "these kids are playing for the wrong team."
leah's head whipped toward the man as a confused look painted her face. she had no idea where that came from, nor was she expecting to hear that.
adam frowned, "what?" he asked incredulously, clearly just as shocked as leah.
"according to league rules, leah and adam banks should be playing for district five." the man crossed his arms together. now it made sense why gordon bombay was there.
their dad huffed, letting the information brew in his mind. leah could tell he wasn't impressed. "my kids are hawks, not ducks." he stated.
"is this your doing, gordon?" coach reilly accused, pointing a finger at the ducks coach. leah was too shocked to say anything, to feel anything, to comprehend anything.
"i'll expect to see them at our next game," bombay replied, strategically avoiding coach reilly's question, "we'll have uniforms waiting for you." he nodded toward adam and leah.
"no way!" adam interjected, grabbing his sister's arm as he defended their identity as hawks.
their father leaned down again, very obviously displeased with the idea of his children switching to the most infamous team in the 1992 peewee championship. "my kids would rather not play than play for your team." he rose his eyebrows.
"that's not true," leah finally spoke up, "we want to play. as hawks."
"fine, if that's the way you want it," gordon bombay shrugged with his smug grin, "but remember, if adam and leah play for the hawks, you'll have to forfeit every game for the rest of the season. and boy, i'd hate to see that."
with that conclusive statement, gordon bombay left. leah could see coach reilly glaring at him, before he snapped back into reality and stormed after bombay. forfeit or play for the ducks? leah just wanted to stay a hawk - stay the only place she knew.
"look, i'm sorry this had to happen," the suited man pointed at his map, showing their address clearly in the vicinity of district five, "if you see here on the map, you're located in district five."
leah's mind clicked. "our older brother was a hawk, shouldn't he have been in district five, then?"
"the borders have been redrafted over the last few years, youre now considered ineligible to play for the hawks." he sternly frowned,
"what about this game?" she eagerly asked, "can we still play this game as hawks?" the man only nodded, walking away with his folder. their dad sighed as he leaned on the boards of the bench.
"what a joke." he exclaimed under his breath, leaving adam and leah on the ice in silence.
