Page 4 of Zero Pucks Given
There was a massive roar as the entire bar reacted to something that happened in the hockey game. Sharon and I craned our heads toward the screen in time to see the replay. Number 11, Grayson Steele, wasn’t doing anything particularly interesting—he was standing next to his team’s goal, looking bored. But then an opposing player tried to skate by him, and Grayson struck like a rattlesnake, raising his stick and cross-checking the opponent into the wall. He crumpled to the ice while Grayson stole the puck and passed it to a teammate.
“And that’s why he’s called the Steele Wall!” the announcer said with pride.
“I’d let him smashmeup against a wall,” Sharon muttered.
There was something strange about the way she was smiling at her phone, and it had nothing to do with the big hit Grayson just made. “You’re hiding something.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not signingmeup, are you?” I demanded. “Because I swear to God if you are…”
“Of course not!” she replied. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Good,” I warned. “Because if youdid, I would dump beer all overyour head. That’s not an idle threat. I’m serious. I even have a free beer for dumping.” I tapped the third glass on the table.
She tried to hide a small smile, but I knew her well enough to notice. She wasdefinitelyhiding something. But then she put down her phone and said, “Did I tell you about what Kyle got me for my birthday? We’ve only been dating a month, but he bought me thecutestpair of earrings!”
As we discussed her new boyfriend, I forgot all about the contest and who she had signed up.
3
Josie
Present Day
When I heard my name called over the loudspeakers in the arena, my heart skipped a beat. Not caring about the beer I had dropped, I whipped my head toward the huge TV screen that hung above the rink.
My name was listed, along with a picture of my face.
This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be.
“For fuck’s sake…” the customer near me cursed. “Are you going to clean that up?”
“I…” I looked at him, then down at the beer. It was slowly running down the steps toward the bottom of the section.
“Wait a minute,” he said, glancing at the screen. “Isn’t that you?” He pointed at my name tag. “You’re Josie! Thatisyou!”
He turned to his friend and said something, then both of them were staring at me. And my freakingfacewas up on the jumbotron, looking out at the arena. It was too much for me, so I hefted the beer backpack and fled up the stairs.
“Hey! Are you going to clean this up or what?” was the last thing I heard the customer demand.
My heartbeat was racing by the time I got to the top of the section. It felt like everyone in the arena was staring at me, although I knew it was my imagination. Somehow, I was even sweating in the freezing arena.
This couldn’t be happening.
I hurried through the tunnel underneath the arena and returned to the concession stand. Sharon was grinning like an idiot, which was all the confirmation I needed.
“You signed me up!” I yelled at her.
“Yes! And you won! Can you believe it?”
She threw her arms around me in a tight hug.
“I’m going to kill you,” I said. “That’s not a figure of speech. I’m literally going to jam a pretzel down your throat until you choke.”
She cackled with laughter. “Stop being dramatic. Don’t you realize howamazingthis is?”
“JOSIE!” my boss yelled. “Janitorial just called. You dropped a beer in section 118 and just left it there?”
