Page 33 of Puck Shots
“No worries. Umm, here,” he says, passing me the duck.
“Keep it. I’ll probably make another one in an hour or so.”
“It’s clever. I thought I saw one of these in the kitchen the other day. Was that yours, too?”
“Yeah, it’s a sort of way to channel my nervous energy into something so that my brain can stop spiraling.” My face goes warm. Why did I tell him that? Way to scare off the only guy other than Cosmo who has shown any interest in being my friend.
“I get that. I doodle character ideas in a little black notebook when I’m stressing about something or bored or whatever.”
“Can I see them?”
Now his face grows a few shades pinker, and he rubs the back of his neck with one hand.
“I haven’t really shown anyone before.”
“That’s cool, you don’t have to. I’m not like some expert character art critic, or anything, so no pressure. You don’t have to. I was just thinking they are probably really cool.”
“They’re not. But I’ll think about it.”
“Really, no pressure.”
“Okay, well. Umm, I guess I’ll see you later, Eli. Good luck with your project.”
“Thanks, yeah, see you later.”
Okay. So there is at least one other guy in this house who I could be friends with. Maybe I could fit in here after all.
I pause the program and input the new data from my idea, then wait as the 3D model loads. It fails first go through, so I tweak the data until finally, the model connects with the puck and sends it straight into the 3D net.
“Yes!”
I quickly jot down the data that succeeded, save the outcome and then go back to watching the video of Cosmo on the ice.
It’s incredible seeing the way his body moves to push him faster up the rink. When you really analyze it, compare it to the movement of the rest of the guys on the team, it’s no wonder he’s quicker. Everything about the way he moves increases his speed, the angle of his skates pushing off the ice, the degree of bend in his knees, and the way that his arms move in perfect unison with his legs, all propel him forward.
“Creepy much,” Toby says, coming around the counter and opening the fridge door. I try to ignore him, but since that first day, he’s practically gone out of his way to give me a tough time. I thought standing up for him would win me some points, but he couldn’t care less. Thankfully, it did score me some with a few of the other pledges, meaning they don’t all look at me like I have two heads anymore, but just like in high school, the bully will find his tribe of sheep and keep on coming until he loses interest all on his own, so no use doing anything but try to ignore his antics.
“What are you like Flash’s little groupie now or something?” he asks, and a few of his sheep wander in behind him.
“Who’s what now?” Alex, an active brother, asks as he enters from the opposite doorway, and Toby chuckles.
“Eli here is a total groupie for Flash; he’s been recording his training matches and everything.
Alex steps around the counter and leans over my shoulder.
“That true, pledge?” he asks, and I shrug. Would there even be a point in denying it?
“I’ve been to a few training sessions, and I did record him and a few of the other guys.”
“See, he’s a total creeper,” Toby says, pointing his finger at me like they aren’t already all looking at me with that same “what the fuck is this guy’s deal” look on their faces. I close the laptop screen and go to stand, but Toby reaches over and grabs it. “Don’t go trying to delete the evidence now. The whole house should see what’s on here. They should know what kind of person is trying to pledge into KOK.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Cosmo suddenly says from the same doorway Alex came through, and all the guys turn to face him. Toby has a huge smirk on his face, like he’s somehow won something.
“Hand it over, pledge,” Cosmo says, and Toby fully marches toward him like an obedient soldier. Does this guy have an off button?
Cosmo opens the laptop and turns it to face me.
“Code, please?”
