Page 91 of Wrong Pucking Jersey

They’re off.

I watch Jayce at the beginning, but my attention is drawn to Ace because, holy pucking hell.

He’s faster than Maddox.

I have to not be the only one gawking in surprise while my attention is all on Ace as he races across the rink in a blur. His puck is in tow, moving with his strive like it’s attached to the end of his stick and not at risk of being lost on the ice.

“What the? Why is Ace on the ice?” I recognize Marcus’ voice, our backup goalie for the Vipers. I remember him the easiest because he enjoys grinding Maddox’s gears by saying hi and bye, and giving me compliments throughout the day, every day he sees me.

“O’Riley, Owens, Augustus! Come see this shit.”

Despite the temptation to see why my boys are here and not executing their fake game on the other rink, I’m lost in the magnetizing thrill of chaos happening before our very eyes as Ace not only hits the other side of the rink, he goes into crisscross drills.

Backward. He’s not even struggling.

While Ace is returning, Jayce is only now passing him to reach the other end of the rink.

“Holy shit, get Coach Cyrus to come and see this,” I hear another Viper player call out while those who are watching are obviously speechless as we’re all captivated by Ace’s execution.

Ace normally plays defensemen, and thus far, I’ve never seen him execute the level of agility and grace on the ice. If Coach Cyrus gets here on time, I feel like he’d be tempted to make him a forward instead.

I can barely see those blond strands that stick to Ace’s face, but I do see the massive grin that makes him look so excited. He always looks like he’s having a good time on the ice when they’ve done drills and mock games, but this… He’s awakened a side no one has witnessed and knows it. Knows the level of unique power he carries being diverse like this.

The moment he reaches the starting line, a burst of cheers comes from the opposite side of where we’re standing.

At least half the Vipers are standing fully geared up at the entrance of the rink, and Coach Cyrus is present, looking impressed. I can see the look in his eyes that this man is thinking about how he can shuffle Ace around to be useful for the team with the skills he just performed.

He can’t stay a defenseman for the entire season.

Not with that level of talent.

We’d have to determine it during some games, but if Ace and Maddox were forwards, the opposite team would be destroyed before halftime.

Jayce doesn’t bother finishing the drill.

Despite the obvious distraction of Ace Harvey serving him good, I did catch him doing some of the diagonal drills, and I was still right.

His left leg is lagging.

“Winchester. Over here,” Coach Johnson announces.

He’s trying not to show it, but I know Dad well enough to see he’s actually pissed. It could be because some of the Vipers got to witness his rising star team member get crushed by their defensemen, but I felt that wasn’t really it.

Dad could take a loss like a champ if a team was out of their league.

The real problem is, he probably knows Pincer’s potential by now and is pissed they’re not hitting it at all.

I move from my spot and get on the ice, skating to stand next to Dad with my arms still crossed. I have to put up a front for my own sour mood, especially when dealing with a player like Jayce Winchester, who hates admitting he’s wrong.

Hates having to admit he fucked up and has been humiliated, thanks to his ex pointing out his obvious injury.

I get that this hockey thing is a big deal, and their first games are coming up, but playing while injured is not a risk worth taking. It can get worse, and who wants the ‘embarrassment’ of dealing with a serious injury in front of fans that wasn’t provoked in the sheer moment?

Players would find out the injury was from before the game and insult the medical team for not taking care of their players.

This may be our rival team, but I’m not going to be ignorant and set them up for failure and disgrace.

Doctor Francisco surprisingly stands to my right while my dad is to my left.

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