Page 104 of Bad Teammate
I cleared my throat. “Look, Mr. Bowfield, I know you’ve got a job to do. I know time is of the essence right now, but I wanted to talk to you about my fight with Niko and see if we might be able to buy a little time before you commit to anything.”
“We believe in this roster,” Dane said. “It’s worth keeping everyone together if we can.”
“First things first, tell me about the fight,” Mr. Bowfield said. “What’s going on between you two?”
Coach beat me to the punch before I could say a word. “Reavo fucked Niko’s sister.”
Mr. Bowfield’s eyes grew large. “Is that true, Reavo?”
“Well,” I began, deflating in my seat, “that’s definitely the condensed version of the story.”
“Hm.” Mr. Bowfield bobbed his head. “That’ll do it. Had a few teammates back in my day sleep with somebody’s sister. One of the few things that can really tear a locker room apart. Never ends well for anybody.”
The air felt heavy and hopeless. He was right, of course. It just sucked to hear him say it. I knew right then and there that I was a goner for sure.
Hath spoke up on my behalf. “But Reavo says it was more than just sex, Mr. Bowfield.”
“So you like this girl, Reavo?” the general manager asked me.
“I do,” I said, unable to stop the smile from spreading across my face. “I like her a lot.”
“Hell—I can see it in your eyes.” Mr. Bowfield smiled, too. “Young love, eh. Man, those were the days.”
“I’m thirty-three,” I said, chuckling. “Not all that young anymore. But yeah, I’m just glad to finally find it.”
“I know exactly how old you are, Reavo. Wait until you get to be my age, then you’ll understand how young thirty-three really is,” he said, cracking a grin. “Anyway, enough bullshitting. Okay, so you think you fell in love with the kid’s sister, and he’s obviously pissed about it. What exactly are you proposing here?”
“I just want some time—let me talk to Niko first. Let me explain how I feel about his sister and see if it helps any. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I at least want to try to fix things with Niko—he might be part of my life forever, you know?”
Mr. Bowfield looked at the three of us, considered it, then let out a sigh.
“Unless ‘fixing things’ means you’re going to fix Niko’s drinking problem, too, I don’t see how things can possibly be fixed.”
My head cocked to the side. “Wait, what does that mean?”
“You three are team leaders,” Mr. Bowfield said, scanning our faces. “I trust what I say won’t leave this room?”
Dane, Hath, and I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Good,” he said. “It’s not you I’m going to trade, Reavo. It’s Niko.”
The three of us gasped.“What?”
“It’s true.” He nodded. “Prior to the draft this summer, there was a heated debate among the coaching and scouting staff about who to take at first overall.”
“What? Why?” Dane and Hath scoffed.
“That’s crazy,” I said. “Niko’swaybetter than the guy who went number two. Or, hell, any of the other kids from his draft year.”
“Potential-wise, yes, Niko is by far the best player from his draft class,” Mr. Bowfield agreed—yet he then raised a single finger. “Butpotentialdoesn’t always pan out. We’ve had serious concerns about drafting Niko since the very beginning. I’d heard from our scouts in Russia that Niko’s father died of cirrhosis. When I first met him during prospect interviews at the draft combine, I went to shake his hand and got a whiff of alcohol on his breath. I told him what I smelled, stared him in the eye, and asked him if he’d had anything to drink. Through his translator, Niko swore he’d never had a drop in his life and never would, having watched his father die a slow and horrible death. He blamed the alcohol scent on the hand sanitizer he’d just used.”
“Every damn day, he comes to the rink hungover,” Coach Q added. “Just a few days ago, the kid fucking reeked of Vicks. On a game day, for chrissakes. He’s got a whole bag of alcoholic tricks to keep his problem under wraps.”
I spoke up, owning my role in this mess. “No, the Vicks incident was one-hundred percent my fault, Coach. Niko was hungover and I put the shit on him so you wouldn’t smell it.”
“Oh,really?” A vengeful spark caught fire in Coach’s eye.IfI somehow convinced Mr. Bowfield to keep me on this team, I knew Coach would be getting me back for that one.
“Anyway.” Mr. Bowfield continued. “The bit about watching his dad die was a good answer, but I wasn’t entirelyconvinced. I sure as hellwantedto be, I’ll tell you that much—because hey, look at his potential. It’s undeniable. He has the skill to be one of the best the game’s ever seen.” He shook his head gravely. “Unfortunately, it’s obvious now that he was lying to my face. Knowing what we know about Niko today, I don’t think he’s ever going to come close to reaching his potential.”
