Page 31 of My Pucked Up Enemy

No punchline. No sarcasm. Just the truth. Parker gives his knee a quick pat. Respect.

Parker reads his next. “Trying to be strong for everyone, even when I’m not.”

James blurts, “Dude, you’re always strong.”

Parker shrugs. “Doesn’t mean I don’t feel it.”

Connor clears his throat and holds up his card. “I get in my head about timing. Like, if I don’t make the perfect pass at the perfect second, it all goes to hell.”

James snorts. “Sounds like your love life.”

Connor rolls his eyes. “At least I have one.”

I nod. “Connor, that’s a weight no one can sustain alone.”

Dillon speaks up next. “Scared to speak up in meetings. Like I haven’t earned it yet.”

James: “Bro, you literally blocked two shots with your face last week. You’ve earned it.”

"Thanks, man." Dillon smiles and exhales loudly.

Mikey, quieter than most, lifts his card with two fingers. “Wrote that I don’t belong. Like maybe the call-up was a mistake.”

A small wave of heads shake.

James mutters, “Call-up my ass. You got grit.”

Connor adds with a smirk, “Yeah, and you hustle harder than half the guys who’ve been here for years. Except James. He just hustles women on Instagram.”

"Good one, Jessup," Parker smirks.

Finally, all eyes shift to Alex.

He doesn’t hand me the card. He just says it aloud. Voice even. No frills.

“Losing the edge. Not knowing if it’s a slump… or something else.”

There’s a stretch of quiet.

Connor leans forward, glancing toward Alex. "It's not your slump, dude, it's the team's slump. You’ve still got it, man. We all see it."

Parker nods. "Every damn practice, every game you perform. Doesn’t go unnoticed."

James shrugs, then softens. "If you ever actually lose the edge, we’ll be the first to drag your ass back. No way we’re letting you off that easy."

James places a dramatic hand over his chest. "Hey Dr. Nina, is this the time where we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya?"

Ethan snorts. "Only if James gets to be the soprano."

Dillon chimes in. "Can we skip the song and just roast James instead? That always lifts morale."

James grins. "Jealousy is an ugly look, boys. Not everyone can juggle inner peace and top-shelf sarcasm like me." The room cracks up, and even Alex lets out a subtle exhale that might almost pass as a laugh.

"At least when I lose my edge, I don’t trip over the blue line and faceplant during a pre-game skate like James did... in front of the entire youth clinic," he says, deadpan. The room explodes. James hurls a protein bar at him with a muttered, "Those kids needed a lesson in humility!"

“And speaking of needing a lesson in humility, I’m thinking of getting your ego fitted for a helmet. Full face shield. It’s a safety issue at this point,” Alex says, deadpan, with a grin that says checkmate.

“Low blow, but fair,” James replies, grinning.

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