The announcer brought the crowd to their feet with his enthusiasm as the Zamboni came out onto the ice to refurbish it.
“Oh, man. That was good.” Alexa exhaled before falling back in her seat.
I nodded. Most of the game was lost on me since I was watching Gabe and Serina. She continued to try and get close to him, but he deftly kept his distance from her. He got up with the crowd, said something to her, which made her shoulders slump in disappointment and I internally yelled with excitement. My composure of uninterested was tested while he moved out into the screaming crowds of fans moving towards the exits to get something from the concession stand.
“I’m going to go get something. You want anything?” Kaylene asked me.
“Are the triplets coming back?” I enquired, keeping a side long glance at Gabe moving towards me.
“I don’t think so. They are probably up in the box with Mr. Donahue.” She told me.
“Oh. No, I’m good.”
“Okay. Alexa?”
Alexa got up. “Yep. Need my red vines. They keep me energized.”
I moved out of their way as they pushed past me. Fans were moving around when I caught sight of my Dad waving at me from across the arena. I smiled and enthusiastically waved back at him and Sydney.
He sat back down next to Sydney and began talking to her while gesturing toward the ice. She laughed and appeared interested and my heart felt really good for him.
“Seat taken?” A voice inquired.
I stared into Gabe’s golden eyes and with the firm intension of tell him yes, my mouth betrayed me and uttered, “No,” instead.
“Hey Gabe.” Tyrone and some others greeted him.
Gabe said hello and talked to some of the other students, which irked me a little, but he quickly returned his attention back to me.
“How are you?” He asked.
“Not as good as you, it would appear.” Waving absently towards Serina.
He raised his eyebrow in confusion. “What?”
“Did you have fun down there?” I’m not sure why I was being such a bitch but it seemed to just jump out of me.
“Oh, you mean down there.” He pointed at Serina, who was looking back very unhappy.
My triumphant smirk, made her turn away pouting.
“Yes. Serina is very funny. She was just being friendly. It wasn’t anything. Why?” He asked.
“I don’t know? I…” My sentence trailed off.
I’m not sure what I was thinking. Nothing had been talked about us being together. As far as I knew, Gold’s put their lives on the line for anyone. Doesn’t mean I’m special or anything. This made me sad.
“JJ…” He started but I stopped him.
“Don’t say anything. I know.” I had to concentrate to stop the tears welling up in my eyes. Kaylene and Alexa returned.
“Hey Gabe.” Kaylene hi fived him. “I’ll sit on the other side. I just texted Gene and they aren’t coming back. So stay.”
“Red Vine?” Alexa offered one to me.
Like a striking cobra, I snatched it out of her hand and took a bite, so I wouldn’t have to say anything.
“You’re welcome.” She muttered.
“Sorry, thanks.” I said in between munches.
The start of the second period unfolded very differently. Our team scored a quick goal, which brought a tremendous roar from the home crowd. This appeared to excite Set, for he started taking more control of the puck. In a brilliant move around a defenseman, Set broke free and skated at Brooke. Brooke skated out to cut the angle down. Set shot the puck at the goal clearing the tiniest of opening between Brooke’s pads and tink’d it off the side bar and out on the ice. Set passed Brooke and blew a kiss at her and chased after the puck. The crowd went ballistic.
Gabe sighed beside me.
“What?”
He shook his head.
Five more times through the period Set tink’d it off the crossbar at impossible angles or through her pads only to smile or blow a kiss at her each time. And each time he did this, Brooke’s body language grew more agitated. Then it dawned on me.
“He’s playing with her.” I said.
Gabe nodded. “He’s patronizing her. This game would be over if he were playing for real, but he wants to humiliate her. She knows he’s purposely hitting the crossbar and there isn’t anything she can do to stop it.”
“Why is he doing that?” Starting to get angry at my friend’s treatment.
“Because she had the audacity, in Set’s eyes, to believe she is as good as a True Breed and he’s showing her how wrong she is.” Gabe answered.
The second period came to an end. Brooke rushed out of the goal and skated toward the Valor bench but Set had already gone inside. Mr. and Mrs. Wasabi spoke to each other as my Dad and Sydney got up and walked toward the concession stand.
“I’m going to have a heart attack.” Kaylene had taken off her helmet midway through the period because it kept falling as she jumped around at the missed goal opportunities.
Alexa had been so nervous that she had unknowingly finished off her Red Vines in record time and now sat feeling a little sick.
“Are you going to be okay?” Rubbing her back.
“Yes.” She breathed deeply looking a little pale.
Tyrone laughed. “I’ll get you some water.”
She waved a weak thank you as she put her head on Kaylene’s shoulder.
“Don’t be sick on me.” Kaylene warned her. “I’ll never get that red dye out of the leather.
“I’m not going to be sick.” She grabbed her stomach. “Not yet anyway.”
Gabe watched the Zamboni on the ice.
“You think he’s going to humiliate her more?” I asked.
“I guarantee he will. This isn’t the first egg that Set and I have helped protect together. I’ve learned over the years that he is as snobbish as they come.” He mused.
“I know he has been around for a long time, but is he typical of the True Breeds? Are they all like him?”
Gabe smiled and my heart melted. “No. But he is one of the older dragons. He came of age when they used to hunt those like Brooke and I down and kill us.”
My heart leaped. “They hunted you?”
He nodded. “Yes. Rumors say that the ancient dragons used to create us just to hunt us for sport. But I haven’t been able to confirm that, besides, the Gray Mage would never have let that happen. I believe more that they just saw us as inferiors of their kind. Dragons are very conceited.”
“So I’ve noticed.” I couldn’t imagine what kind of life that must have been. “What do you think he will do to her? Don’t you think she has a chance to stop him?”
Gabe shrugged. “Whatever he is going to do will look like an exceptional feet of talent and will be incomprehensible to your eye. As for Brooke, she’s young, but far more talented than most her age. Must be her Blue blood.” As he stared at the ice a mischievous glint came into his eyes. “Though, I’d give her an outside chance if it’s a straight up contest of her going one on one with him.”
“Like a break away?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Soon the teams took to the ice and the arena filled. An underlying buzz of excitement brewed in the arena as everyone watched each team battle back and forth. Throughout the twenty minutes of play time, Set hit the side and cross bars five more times, each one a little closer to going in than the last. It was an incredible display of accuracy that neither team could match. When anyone other than Set shot the puck on goal, Brooke made the save as easy as if she were playing with children.
When the time reached three minutes of play and the score was still one to zero in favor of the Valkyries, Set’s line came out on the ice. Coach Winckler countered with his first line, but even they couldn’t match Set’s skill. The puck flew down into Valor’s side and was chased in by a Valkyrie forward, who shot it around the boards. Time ticked down to two minutes and twenty-four seconds. A Valor defenseman scrambled for
the puck, won it and shot it out towards the middle. The Valor forward came in to pick it up, but in a blur of speed, Set snatch the puck and weaved in and out of the Valkyrie forwards. He crossed the blue line and easily eluded the Valkyrie defensemen too. Set barreled in on Brooke and closed the gap with amazing speed. It was clear none of the skaters were going to catch him and it was the one on one opportunity that Gabe had said would take place. The crowd was silent as Brooke moved out from her goal to stop him. And just like Gabe had predicted, the ultimate insult occurred so fast that no one could believe it had happened until the goal light flashed on.
The Valor crowd erupted like a sleeping volcano.
From behind me someone in disbelief whispered. “Did that just happen? To Brooke?”
I blinked my eyes to see if they were even open.
“How could anyone stop the puck and control it that fast?” Alexa breathed.
Gabe just shook his head. When the replay came up on the overhead display, even in slow motion it looked fast.
The closest defensemen was just crossing the blue line as Set moved across it. He skated in from the blue line, shifting the puck back and forth on his stick. Set pivoted to his right, flipped the puck up on his stick so it laid flat on the blade. He then stopped on a dime beside Brooke as she tried to hit his stick with her catcher’s glove, which looked incredibly slow in comparison to the movement of Set’s stick. Then he lifted the puck past Brooke’s face, so she could get a good look at it, turned his stick side ways and the puck slid onto the back of Brooke’s mask. It rolled down the back of her mask and then her back and into the goal like a boulder rolling down the side of a mountain. Immediately after, Brooke dropped her stick and round housed Set in the chest that sent him careening into the back wall and her to the ice. Set dropped his stick and rushed forward but the linesman had come in with the referee and stopped them. Brooke received a misconduct penalty for four minutes.
I think they would have tossed her, but Coach Winckler talked to the referee and probably explained she was just upset and slipped on the ice. I’m not sure the referee bought the whole story, but it only cost the team a power play, which lasted the last two minutes of regulation play and two minutes into the overtime. Brooke stopped all the shots on goal except the ones Set continued to tink off the posts.
“He’s waiting for the shootout, isn’t he?” At some point, I grabbed Gabe’s arm and was holding onto it for dear life.
He didn’t seem to mind. “Yes.”
My stomach turned with uncertainty and the crowd around me was equally anxious.
Once the first overtime period came to an end, five skaters came out from each side. The announcer came on and explained that each team will have five shots on goal and the team with the most at the end will win. If the score remained tied, then the next shoot out will be a golden goal.
“He’s going to miss isn’t he?” I sat nervously watching Brooke.
Gabe nodded. “He will. He wants it to go to the golden goal round. That’s where he’ll want to humiliate her again.”
Valor won the toss and made our team go first. This allowed Valor to have the last shot if the score was tied. Set was last in line and was for sure to take the last shot on goal. Each goalie defended their goals without letting in a goal. Then, as Set skated forward, he did the same thing as before, but whether Brooke got something on it or Set intentionally missed, the puck flipped up, landed flat on the crossbar. Brooke moved back pushing the puck over the net.
Either way, the crowd moaned or cheered respectively, but each side was on the edge of their respective seats. With the first shoot out over, they lined up again. The arena was silent as Valor now had to go first.
Brooke stopped four goals and the Valor goalie stopped four. As Set skated to the middle of the ice and waited for the referee to give him the go ahead, Brooke retreated into the goal like a bear moving into a cave.
“Can she do that?” Someone asked.
“No.” Gabe said. “She has to be out of the goal before he crosses the blue line.”
Set started towards the blue line. Brooke didn’t move.
“What happens if she stays in there?” Another asked.
“They get the point.” Gabe explained.
Brooke sat there and just as Set was about to cross the blue line, she emerged with a ferocious roar of pure guttural rage that echoed loudly through the arena and put goose bumps all over my body. She skated well out in front of the crease with Set moving towards her with incredible speed. He faked to the right, but Brooke countered and moved to her right, baiting him to shoot at the exposed net. Cries of anguish erupted from our section. Set moved to his left, flipped the puck up, Brooke jabbed through his legs at his stick. Set closed his legs, spun and her stick flew out of her hand. Set continued his rotation, Brooke used the extra energy to spin around the opposite way. The puck left Set’s stick, Brooke brought her blocker pad down catching the puck on the seam and pinning it against the ice with her face down.
The crowd was dead silent. Neither Brooke nor Set moved. A moment passed. When the goal light didn’t come on, the Valkyrie crowd shouted in euphoric hysteria and started to jump around. I ended up in Gabe’s arms, just where I wanted to be, and enjoyed the celebration.
Brooke got up from the ice. Set faced her. They exchanged words without punches being thrown and then he skated off. Brooke picked up the puck, looked at it, and held it up like the severed head of a fallen foe. The Valkyrie fans shouted and the chants of Brooke’s name began to reverberate around the arena.
Needless to say our guy scored the winning goal. Then the team won the state championship the next week. I had asked Brooke what Set had said to her, but her only response was a wry smile.
Orientation
May was upon us.
The euphoria of the State Hockey championship lay behind us, the back to school dance as well. I didn’t end up going to the dance with Gabe, and Brooke didn’t get to go with Christian. Both Brooke and Gabe were called back to Japan during that weekend, but each promised their dates to go to prom in the spring. When I asked Brooke about her trip, she just said it was dragon business and nothing more was said. Therefore, my beautiful red dress hung in the closet for a few more months until it could be brought out and displayed like the ancient artifacts of old. With Prom in two weeks, Graduation in four and Orientation at the end of this week, needless to say, my overactive imagination and teenage desires were in overload. My body was fighting my mind. Doing homework in the sleep lounge was a feat not accomplished by many. Between drooping eyes, and forced concentration, I sat in the sleep lounge finishing up a rather difficult assignment for Dr. Zang’s Latin class, while listening to several loud snores coming from across the room. Dean was snoring the loudest, while Heather was close behind. I didn’t envy their respective spouses when they got married because no one would be getting any sleep.
“Sequi ones cor sequi ones fatis.” I mumbled
“Thinking of anyone in particular?” Dr. Zang plopped next to me on the big pillow couch. She rocked up and down. “This is a comfy couch.”
“Not really.” I lied knowing that Gabe rarely left my imagination. We hadn’t seen each other much lately and when I asked Brooke about it, she just mentioned they were watching the egg.
Dr. Zang looked over at Dean. “Hate to be married to that one.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Never get any sleep.”
“For sure.” She looked at my work and nodded approvingly. “Nicely done. Need any help?”
“No. I think I’m getting it.” Finishing up the sentence.
“Not the conjunctive, use the feminine plural form. Then you will see the difference.”
I nodded.
“Mr. Resler wants to see you.” Dr. Zang said after a few moments of appreciative prodding and probing of the pillow chair. She sighed as she reluctantly got up. “I’m going to have to come back here and try this out.”
“You’ve never slept on the Teddy Bear?�
� That’s what the students called the pillow couch.
“Only rumors.” She smiled.
“Dr. Daugherty is in here all the time.” Giving her a smile. “More than the students.”
She smiled back. “What do you expect from a Literature major. They are lazy.”
“I’m going to tell him you said that.” I teasingly said.
She waved. “Go ahead. I tell him that all the time at the staff meetings.”
My laugh was short but full and continue to finish my homework. After I was done, I gathered my scattered books, shoved them into my backpack and left the snoring duo behind. My thought wondered through the day’s event, and couldn’t understand what Mr. Resler would want with me before my class, especially since I’d be coming to the office for class later that day.
“Hi, Mrs. Douglas.”
“Hi, JJ. Go on in.” She told me.
“Do you know what he wants? Am I in trouble?” I couldn’t think of why he would want to see me.
“Have to wait and see.” Her smile did nothing to alleviate my tightening stomach. The door was partially open, but I knocked anyway.
“Come on in JJ.” He announced in his strong voice.
He was behind his desk writing on a parchment of paper. He motioned for me to sit in front of his desk as he continued writing. Patiently waiting for him to finish, my gaze kept going to the fish clock on the wall, knowing that class was going to begin in ten minutes.
Dragon Amour (Dragon-Half Breed Book 1) Page 21