Page 13 of Puck You
“And we’ll have everyone from the team share the post.This could work,” Caroline said.
“It could help to hang posters around the school.My girlfriend does graphic design, and I’m sure she’d be up to creating some,” Lydia added.
I looked back and forth between the two of them as a seed of excitement planted itself within me.Things were actually coming together.“Are we really doing this?”
Caroline crossed her arms over her chest in a stance of defiance.“They can’t punish us for sharing the truth.Protesting the patriarchy is well within our rights as students and athletes.”
Hockey meant the world to me.It had taught me the powerof commitment and the strength of patience, exposed me to new hardships, and helped shape the person I was now.Without hockey, I wouldn’t have the confidence to fight for myself and the other girls on this team.So really, there was no question of whether I wanted to go through with this.The only thing I needed to ask myself was: How far was I willing to go?
>> <<
“Did you take away Gabby’s phone?”
A loud car horn sounded from the other end of the line; my dad was most likely on his way home from work.I’d told him time and time again not to answer the phone behind the wheel, but the man was stubborn and rarely listened to anyone.
“No, she has her phone.She’s been doing okay at school too.”
As relieved as I was to hear that she wasn’t getting into trouble, his words were confirmation that Gabby had been deliberately ignoring my texts.
“That’s good,” I said.“Maybe mention that I’d like to hear from her?She’s been slow to respond to my messages.”That was a nice way of putting it, seeing as she hadn’t responded to me in over a week.
“She has a lot on her plate with dance and school, so don’t distract her too much,” he told me.
Was my sister alive and breathing?That was all I needed to hear; it wasn’t like I was asking for a ten-page summary on how her week had gone “I’m not distracting her.I’d like to know she’s okay.”
“She is, I promise,” he assured me.
As usual, Dad kept things short and to the point.He was bad at making small talk in person, and even worse over the phone.To avoid the inevitable awkward pause, I said goodbye and ended the call.My music kicked back on in an instant, blaring through my headphones like a banshee’s scream.Pain sliced through my ears, bringing me to a sudden stop as I rushed to turn down the volume.A steely force crashed into me from behind.By some miracle, I managed to avoid kissing the cement as I was sent stumbling forward.There was an apology at the tip of my tongue as I whirled around, but the notion shriveled up and died when I saw the person half responsible for our collision.
Of course, I thought, craning my neck back to take in the full image of him.Sebastian looked as though he just walked off the set of a sports photoshoot.He was dressed from head to toe in brand name activewear that outlined his lean muscles like it was hand tailored to his body.His thick head of hair was perfectly windswept, stray pieces of the chocolate brown locks falling over his forehead.Too bad the guy underneath all that brooding beauty is a sour little asshole.My eyes narrowed on the hockey player towering over me and I took a hasty step back.
“Everyone on campus might part like the red sea when you walk by, but you don’t own the sidewalk.Other students use it too.It’s not polite to run people over,” I said.
If only I had a smoothie on hand; that would really give people something to stare at, though it seemed that we'd already gained an audience.Several people had made a point of stopping mid-conversation to catch a glimpse of the famousSebastian Evans—the quad was crawling with his adoring fans.Good thing I was dressed to impress in my nicest pair of sweatpants.
“And be denied the opportunity to witness your distressat crossing paths with the school’s most talented athlete?Not a chance,” he said, his words lacking their usual malice and an unexpected tilt at the corner of his mouth.
In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d say Sebastian was teasing me.Maybe even flirting?As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I dismissed it with a shake of my head.Sebastian being anything other than rude was deeply unsettling.
“You know what, never mind.Keep walking with your head down.Do it in that direction, say, for about ten minutes.”I pointed toward the path to our left where the pavement split, one branch of the sidewalk disappearing into the forest.East Point Lookout was a half mile up the trail, a spot I’d discovered within my first week at school.It was a great location for romantic picnics, owing to the beautiful view of the lake, but it also happened to be perched on a thirty-foot cliff.
“You really dislike me enough to want me dead?”he asked in a falsely wounded tone, clutching at his heart for dramatic effect.
Warning bells blared in my head.Sebastian wasdefinitelyflirting with me.
“The only thing I wish is for you to leave me alone.And if you happened to fall off a cliff, I wouldn’t be heartbroken over it.”
“I’m not that bad, I swear.What can I do to make it up to you?”he asked with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes.“Come on, there has to be something.”
“If you can help me convince the administration to let us use the extra rink at DuLane, everything will be forgotten.”My words caused an immediate shift in the dynamic between us, leaving absolutely no room for Sebastian’s earlier playfulness.
“Why?You have your own facility.”
How quickly that humorous tone disappeared...
“Because ours is falling apart.It should be condemned.”
“Compared to DuLane, every facility looks bad.That doesn’t give you the right to encroach on our space.”
