Page 56 of Second Chance Faceoff

Each one cleaner. Tighter. No flick. No tell.

Just me.

Trying to be better.

Even if I didn’t know what better looked like yet.

“Hey, Colton!”

I turned at the sound of the head coach’s voice, sharp and clear across the ice. He was standing in the tunnel just past the benches.

“When you’re done, swing by my office.”

No explanation. Just seven clipped words.

Finn looked over at me, brow raised. “Wonder what that’s about.”

“I have no idea,” I said, even though my shoulders had already tensed.

I skated back past center ice, jaw tight, breath pulling in short through my nose. Fix the shot first. Spiral later.

I bent my knees deeper, resettled into the drill.

Stick to the drill. Keep your hands steady. Skate Fast.

“Again,” I told Finn, voice steady.

We worked for another fifteen minutes. Focused. Clean. Sharp.

I stepped off the ice and pulled at the Velcro on my gloves; that tight coil inside me started winding again.

Each step down the hall toward the coach’s office felt heavier than the last.

Was the hall always this long?

Whatever this was, it was about my future.

A future someone else might be deciding for me.

My hand clenched around the damp tape on my stick. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what came next.

The coach didn’t look up right away when I knocked on his open door—just gestured for me to come in while he finished typing something on his screen. I stood there, half expecting a reprimand, a transfer notice, or some quiet version of disappointment.

Instead, he leaned back in his chair and said, "I’ve been hearing good things, Colton."

I blinked. "Yeah?"

"You’ve been showing up early, staying late, putting in the work. It’s not just me noticing. Your teammates are talking. Coop mentioned it. Even the strength coach said you’ve been pushing harder than anyone else lately."

He paused, then added, "And I hear you've been working with the rookie. That’s leadership material. And I see Finn has been trying to train that tell out of you?" he smirked.

I didn’t know what to say. My jaw had been tight since the walk over, but it started to ease a little.

The coach leaned forward slightly, elbows on the desk. "I actually called your buddy Ryan the other day. Wanted to give him some credit for whatever progress you’ve been making."

That caught me off guard. Ryan hadn’t mentioned anything.

"He didn’t take it," the coach said, with a dry smile. "Said it wasn’t him. Said it was you. And Riley."

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