by David Skuy
“Scott seems to be doing all right,” Charlie said, “and Zachary’s trying to keep up.”
“That’s cool,” Jonathon said. “You been out there yet?”
He shrugged and shook his head. “Just got here. I’m gonna take it easy tonight. This music is tough for me to take right now.”
“So how’s the melon?” Jonathon said, tapping the top of his head.
“It’s good. Doc said I should be able to come back for the last couple of games before the playoffs.”
“I think it’s a miracle you can play again at all. Jake should go to jail for that cross-check.” Jonathon pointed to the other side of the gym. “Your buddy is in the house, by the way,”
“I saw him,” Charlie replied grimly.
“Can’t believe he got off with only a two-game suspension,” Jonathon said.
“Should be out of the league,” Pudge added.
“We’ll play them again,” Nick said darkly.
The talk about Jake embarrassed Charlie. He’d been totally schooled, and everyone knew it.
“Forget Jake,” he said. “He’s not worth it. We’ll get ours back by winning the championship.” He didn’t really believe that. It just seemed the right thing to say.
Jonathon elbowed Charlie. “I see Julia,” he said. “Want to go over with me and say hi?”
Charlie was all too conscious of the blood rushing to his cheeks. All the guys would be watching, and they’d bug him about it forever.
“You go ahead,” he said. “I’ll come over later.”
Jonathon looked surprised. “Cool, dude. I’ll tell her.” He got up. “You should ask her to dance,” he said before he left.
Charlie watched Jonathon sneak up and pull her ponytail. She whirled around, and when she saw it was Jonathon, promptly punched him in the arm. Jonathon pretended to box for a second, and then they began to talk. Charlie felt silly. He wished he could talk to girls without making it into such a big deal.
The conversation quickly turned to hockey — as usual. Matt, Pudge and Dylan discussed the Rebels’ playoff chances. Since the Wildcats game, things had gone off the rails. Without Charlie’s offence, goals became scarce, and they were down to nine players. They’d lost five in a row, and with just three games left they’d blown their chance at third. Fortunately, their earlier hot streak ensured fourth place, and a first-round game against the Hornets.
He sat quietly off to the side. No one paid him much notice. After the concussion, his teammates had come to see him at home, but their visits only made him feel worse. He could sense they only came to be nice. He’d lost their respect. How could they respect him after he totally choked against Jake? He’d made the entire team look bad. It didn’t help that he’d been completely bossy at the start of the season, trying to be coach and captain. He’d yelled at the guys and acted liked he owned the team. Even sitting around like this was embarrassing for him, and he began to wish he hadn’t let his mom talk him into coming.
As he was thinking about when he could leave without attracting too much attention, two dancers caught his eye. At first he couldn’t believe it. His heart started pounding, and he felt slightly queasy. It confirmed everything he’d been thinking. Julia was dancing with Jake! So Jonathon had been messing with him after all. Charlie would ask her to dance and she would laugh in his face. Julia wanted to dance with the coolest guy in school — and the guy who’d pummeled Charlie Joyce. Deep down, he’d always known Julia liked Jake.
He wasn’t going to watch them dance. He got up and started walking towards the doors. Even the thought of leaving made him feel better. In ten minutes he’d be home. As he reached the stairs he heard his named called.
“Charlie, what’s up?” Pudge was hurrying over. “You were sitting there by yourself and then took off all of a sudden. Is everything okay?”
“I’m going home, I think. I might have pushed things a bit. I’ve got a headache and my neck’s killing me. I’m tired and … I’m just gonna go.”
“I’ll call my dad and he can give us a lift. You shouldn’t walk home, not with the storm. I’ve got my cell. I’ll give him a call.”
“I’m fine. I’ll walk. The music is too loud, that’s all. Fresh air will be good.”
“Fresh air? It’s snowing like crazy.”
“I got here okay.”
“Wait two minutes and my dad …”
“I’m not your baby brother. I walk home from school every day. I’m not going to die.”
Pudge’s shoulder’s stiffened. He shrugged, and crossed his arms.
“Whatever.”
Pudge’s feelings were obviously hurt. Was it wrong to want to go home? It’s not like anyone would miss him.
“I’ll see you … later.”
Pudge barely nodded.
“See you later,” he repeated.
Pudge shrugged again.
He couldn’t stand Pudge being angry with him. Maybe he took Pudge for granted sometimes.
Charlie cleared his throat. “Sorry, dude. I was … that was … it’s the headache. This concussion’s messed me up. I’m tired and I say … stupid stuff. Anyway, you’re right. I’m being dumb.” He leaned closer and said quietly, “I didn’t want to look like a loser, so I wore my running shoes. My feet are swimming in water.” Pudge laughed and Charlie felt better. “Call your dad. That’s a good idea. That is, if you don’t mind leaving so early.”
Pudge waved his cell phone. “I’ve watched other people dance long enough. I’ll call from the hallway where it’s quieter.”
Pudge left. Charlie looked out over the dance floor. Scott was still dancing with Alexandra. He didn’t see Zachary or Jonathon — or Jake. He felt something jab him hard in the back. He was willing to bet it was Jake messing with him. He spun around.
“Where are you going?” Julia asked. She folded her arms. “I haven’t seen you on the dance floor yet.”
Well, he’d certainly seen her.
Charlie looked away. “I’m not the biggest dancer around,” he mumbled.
Julia giggled.
He shook his head. “I mean, I’m not so into dancing. I was hanging with the boys … the Rebels … teammates … from my hockey team.”
Julia put her hand on Charlie’s arm. “How are you feeling?” she asked. “I was worried when you missed all that school.”
Her concern came as a surprise to him. “The doctor said I can maybe come back to school next week,” he answered. “But probably no hockey or anything like that for at least one more week.” He tapped his head. “Concussion.”
Charlie felt himself blush. That sounded lame.
“I couldn’t believe what happened.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Jake went way too far. I don’t understand him. He used to be a really nice guy — lately all he cares about is showing off and trying to be Mr. Cool.”
Was she talking about Jake — a really nice guy? Without thinking, he shot back, “Why don’t you ask him about it when you dance together again?”
Her shoulders sagged and she brushed her hair aside. “That was nothing. A bunch of us were dancing and he …” She raised her eyebrows. “We’ve been to the same school since, like, grade one … and I thought it would be a bit rude to say no because he asked in a nice way and … It was only for one dance.”
His mouth had gone dry. He swallowed, but it didn’t seem to help.
He shrugged. “It’s your life. None of my business.”
He wished he could have taken that back because her eyes narrowed and her cheeks grew flushed. Now he’d insulted her. First Pudge, now Julia. He put his hands on the railing and leaned back. He needed to tell her how he felt. Then he could leave with Pudge and it would be over.
“To be honest, maybe I was bummed out a bit when I saw you dancing with Jake.” He crossed his arms. “I know I’m being pathetic. You probably don’t know, but Jake and I — we kind of have this … I guess you’d call it a rivalry.” He sighed deeply. “He’s hated me since the first d
ay at school. Maybe he doesn’t like the way I look — who knows?” He swallowed again, but nothing seemed to help. His throat was like a desert. “Maybe also I’m a little embarrassed by what happened.”
“What do you mean? Why would you be embarrassed?”
“You saw it — the fight.” He lowered his eyes to the floor. “I really let the guys down. I was almost glad I got the concussion, so I didn’t have to come to school the next day. I can just imagine what Jake, Liam and all the guys said about me.”
“They talk a lot, for sure.” She looked up at him. “Besides, I don’t think fighting is all that impressive … and I don’t think you’re being pathetic either.”
Charlie was dying for a glass of water. His palms were wet too. What was going on? On top of everything, he was getting sick now? He’d been stupid to walk in the snow.
She scrunched her mouth to one side. “So are you having fun at the dance, Charlie?”
The question caught him off guard. He hadn’t enjoyed it at all, but he wasn’t sure he should say that to Julia.
“It’s okay, I guess. Like I said, I’m not much one for dances.”
She looked disappointed. “Your friend Scott certainly likes to dance. Poor Alex can’t get off the floor.”
“I think that’s part of his plan,” he said.
She arched her eyebrows. “He’s a nice guy. I think Alex likes him.”
“I think he likes her too.”
“Hmm — ya think?”
He laughed. “Scott’s not the shy type.”
“At least you know what he’s thinking,” she said.
Was that a dig at me? he wondered. Julia looked up at him, but didn’t say anything more. She was obviously waiting for him to talk. Why was it so easy to talk to his friends and so hard to talk to Julia?
The silence was becoming awkward. He had to say something. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Jake. He had a drink in his hand, and was staring right at him. That decided it. Stop acting like such a wimp, Joyce! he said to himself.
“So you were saying it’s rude for a girl not to dance,” he said, feeling his face grow hot.
“What do you mean?”
This was torture. Just say it!
“Well, didn’t you say that?” he said weakly.
“I said I thought it would be rude to say no to Jake considering he asked nicely and I’ve known him since primary school …”
She smiled. He gathered his courage.
“So … um … you wanna …?”
The door opened and Pudge’s head popped in.
“There you are,” he said. “My dad’s gonna be here in a minute. He told us to wait by the front doors.” He looked over at Julia. “Oh, hi, Julia. Didn’t see you. How’s it going?”
“It’s good, Pudge.”
“Let’s go, Charlie,” Pudge said.
Julia looked over at Charlie.
What a spot to be in. He was dying to hang out with Julia, but he couldn’t tell Pudge he didn’t want to leave now.
“Sorry, Julia. I have to go. Pudge’s dad is giving us a lift home.”
“But the dance has just gotten started,” she said.
“I know, but my head’s starting to hurt … The music is getting to me, I guess.”
Julia pouted. “Okay. If you’re not feeling well, you should … I suppose it makes sense that you go. You don’t want to make it worse.”
“See ya,” he said.
“See ya,” she replied. “And you too, Pudge.”
He watched her skip down the stairs, and then he followed Pudge to the front of the school. How was that for bad timing? Maybe it was for the best. She was probably only pretending to be nice, anyway. She’d dance with Jake again — he knew it.
“So what were you talking to Julia about?” Pudge asked.
“Nothing — school stuff, the essay for Hilton.”
Pudge looked out the window towards the street. “There he is,” he said. “Come on.”
“Are there other dances this year — school dances, I mean?” Charlie asked, as they ran to the truck.
“I don’t think so,” Pudge said. “The grade twelves have a prom dance at the end of the year.”
Charlie clambered in. He was grateful for the warmth. The storm was really picking up. He sat back, tired and listless. What a mess things were. No hockey; he was the laughingstock of the school, and an embarrassment to his teammates; and he’d blown his only chance to dance with Julia.
“So, how was the dance, boys?” Pudge’s father asked.
“Good,” Charlie said politely.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
24
SNOW BALL
Charlie packed the snow between his mitts and fired it at the trunk of a large tree. Yet another storm had swept across Terrence Falls, dumping a foot of snow. Kids were going crazy playing in the huge snowdrifts. He tossed a few more snowballs at the tree to keep warm, looking over at the school every few throws and wishing the bell would ring. Lunch period was taking forever. In the distance he could hear some guys shouting. Pudge had told him about a snow soccer game. He’d taken a look, and left immediately when he saw Jake was there.
That’s how it had been this last couple of weeks since he’d come back to school. He couldn’t bring himself to face Jake — or anyone for that matter. He’d become the biggest joke in school. Everyone looked at him differently. They all knew about the fight, how Jake had humiliated him. As for Julia, she hadn’t said a word to him since the dance.
Hockey had always been the one thing in his life he could count on, but not lately. The fun had gone out of the game. The Rebels lost the last three games of the regular season, and he’d played terribly in the last two, barely getting a shot on net. After the final game, Charlie had asked Hilton to take the captaincy away from him. What good was a captain who let his teammates down? Hilton had refused. He said the team had voted him captain, and they would win or lose with him as captain.
As expected, the Snow Birds and the Wildcats finished one-two respectively and had earned first-round byes in the playoffs. The Rebels’ first playoff game was tonight against the Hornets, and the winner would play the mighty Snow Birds. Mike Dunn had been bragging the past few days that the Hornets were going to destroy them. Scott and some of the others had traded some trash talk. He’d kept out of it.
Charlie was thinking about the playoffs when he felt something smack into his back. He turned. Pudge held a snowball and was winding up for another throw. Charlie dodged it, scooped up a snowball, and rifled it into Pudge’s stomach. Pudge laughed and jogged over.
“Where have you been?” Pudge asked. “I thought you were going to play soccer. It was pretty funny. Scott tripped over the ball and slid face first into a snowdrift — although being Scott, it was probably on purpose.” Pudge brushed some snow off his sleeve. “Is this snow crazy or what?”
“I was going to come over, but remembered I had some homework … science and math. I went to the library.” He felt bad lying to Pudge, but he could hardly tell him he was afraid to play soccer against Jake.
Pudge frowned. “You’ve been at the library three times this week, and you went last week too.”
“My mom read me the riot act about school work. I’ve been trying to raise my marks.”
He looked at the school again, as if he could will the bell to ring.
Pudge folded his arms. “A little snow soccer isn’t going to kill you.”
“Maybe tomorrow.”
“You say that all the time — and you always have an excuse. What about Saturday? We all came to school for football — Scott, Nick, Me, Zachary, Matt — and you didn’t show. We only had five guys, which made it kind of tough to make two teams.”
“I told you I had to finish that geography presentation.”
“We all did. But you said you’d be there.”
That was true, but at the last minute he’d changed his mind. How could he explain it? Nothing was
the same after the fight, not with school, not with the team — not even with Pudge.
“You’ve even missed two practices in a row,” Pudge continued.
“I’ve been busy at school, and at my mom’s café.”
Pudge took a deep breath. “Charlie, some of the guys have been talking. They kind of voted me … like the spokesman.” He paused before continuing. “What’s going on with you? It’s like you don’t want to do anything anymore … like hang out … or even play hockey.”
“That’s whacked, dude.”
“Then explain why you’ve disappeared,” Pudge said heatedly. “Where’s the guy who’s all over the ice, going end to end and scoring. You’re going through the motions, and everyone’s wondering why. Last game you barely touched the puck. You were second in scoring in the league and since you’ve come back I don’t think you’ve had a point.”
“In case you didn’t notice, I had a concussion. It’s not so easy to just come back and score a ton of goals. I’m the first to admit I’m in a scoring slump. That’s obvious. It’s not like I don’t want to score.” He scooped up some snow and squished it into a ball.
“It’s not just that,” Pudge said. “You’re not playing … like before.” He looked off towards the road. “Straight out, there’s no effort, Charlie. You’re soft on the puck. No one used to be able to take the puck off you — now everyone does. When you get some open ice, you pass. It’s like … you lost all your confidence or something.”
“I’m trying!” Charlie shouted. He slapped his thigh with his fist.“I knew guys were dissing me. I knew it. You all think I don’t hear. You think I’m so stupid that I don’t get it.” He felt completely betrayed. Everyone had turned on him. “I practically got killed playing for you guys. I put the stupid Rebels together and … and … now you want me off the team!” He wanted to run home then and there and never come back.
“I never said that,” Pudge said. “Guys want to know what’s wrong. It’s like you’re mad at us, and we didn’t do anything. No one understands what happened. You barely talk anymore. You don’t even want to be friends with us …”
“Tell the Rebels I’ll quit, which is what everyone wants.”