Page 19 of Heart Check
“She has a website?” Ryan says, eyebrows raised. He gives a long whistle. “Damn. Nerd alert!”
He’s grinning, so it seems like a good-natured joke, but Noah’s face darkens.
“That girl needs to face some consequences.” He swings his stick to underscore the point.
I nod and grunt my agreement instead of saying anything more meaningful. That conversation Noah saw between Harper and Principal Castilloisfishy, but I promised I wouldn’t do anything else to mess with her. I don’t particularly relish telling my captain about last year’s academic probation, but luckily, I don’t have time to explain the terms of our stalemate. Dan’s blowing his whistle, getting us on the line for drills, and at last I can let everything else fade away behind the burn in my muscles and tightness in my lungs.
Drills are mostly the same as always—shooting on our goalies, conditioning, practicing a few plays. The relentless physical strain almost releases the anxiety knotted in my stomach. Maybe we’ll be okay this season. Maybe things won’t be so different without Red after all.
But when Dan starts putting us in lines for scrimmage, that illusion is immediately shattered.
“Okay,” he says, adjusting his glasses as he scans down his clipboard. “After watching your first couple practices, I want to mix things up a little. There are a few guys on JV who have more potential than they’ve gotten to show. So: Patrick and Alex, I’m moving you up to varsity.” A brief, shocked pause follows his announcement, then a ripple of cheers and lots of celebratory back pounding.
I flash Alex a grin, hold out my fist for him to bump. Heshakes his head in disbelief, beaming from ear to ear. “I gotta text Max,” he murmurs. “Holy shit.”
“Make sure your celebration is dinner and not another bookstore date.” I nudge him good-naturedly. I’m happy for him and Patrick Bui, a senior who never really got a shot at varsity. Getting them trained up might take some time, but the more the merrier, right?
But then Dan continues: “So, first line today will be Noah, Alex, and Jordan—”
“Excuse me?” Noah blurts out.
Dan looks up, eyebrows raised, and Noah shakes his head. “Sorry, Dan, but that’s not our strongest line.”
“Coach Dan.” Dan’s voice is mild as always, but it’s firm, too. Noah’s lips tighten, but he doesn’t say anything. “And today we’re trying it.”
I frown, the cold of the ice biting into my knees. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some feelings of my own about this lineup. Usually I’m on first line with Noah, and that’s for a reason. Last season we had more than fifty goals between the two of us. What does Dan think he’s doing, jeopardizing that? And does he have any idea what this means forme, how much this year matters?
I’m close to saying something, backing Noah up. But then I catch Alex’s eye, and the guy’s practically glowing. He can’t keep his smile locked down.
Noah doesn’t care. “If we’re going to win, we need to score,” he says slowly and deliberately, like he’s talking to a child. “And if we need to score, I need my line.” He jerks a thumb my way. “Like Dawson. Where are you putting him?”
“We’re going to try something different this season,” CoachDan says, voice still somehow level. I notice he ignored Noah’s question. “If we’re going to win, we need to give everyone a chance to play their best. That means mixing up some lines to see where the best chemistry is before we solidify them for the first game. You never know who has potential that we haven’t seen because we’ve been following the same strategy for years.”
Noah shakes his head in disbelief. “The same strategy? You mean the one that Coach Red developed? Are you questioning his judgment?”
Coach Dan raises one eyebrow. “Are you not?”
My gaze darts back and forth between the two of them. The whole team looks like they’re watching a tennis match. None of us are sure where our loyalty lies between captain and coach.
Red never explained his decisions like this. I’m not sure if I respect it or think it’s a dumb call to give Noah a chance to argue with him.
The question Dan raised gets under my skin more than I anticipated. I’ve never questioned Red’s coaching before. Maybe it’s the run-in with Harper, or maybe it’s nerves about playing without Red, but suddenly my legs are full of nervous energy.
Our first game’s almost here. We can’t afford to change our strategy now. We need to focus on winning.Skate like I know you can and you’ve as good as secured yourself a spot for next year,Red said. How am I supposed to do that if Dan doesn’t even have me on the first line?
The team’s all fallen silent, only our breathing audible. Are they thinking the same thing?
Noah skates to the face-off circle without another word, knuckles white on his stick. I take a deep breath, trying not to let my irritation show. I just have to hope Dan will see how much this strategy sucks after one practice and things can go back to normal.
Dan nods, adjusting his glasses once more. “All right. On the other side of the ice, let’s have…”
I stand automatically. It’ll be weird not skating with Noah, but maybe Dan has a point and it’ll be good for us to mix it up. Whatever stands a chance of making me better this year.
I don’t quite believe it, but as long as we’re stuck with Dan’s coaching, we may as well try to make the best of it.
“Patrick, Aaron, and Louis for forwards,” he says.
My face isn’t the only one that falls—next to me, Brady lets out a surprised huff. “He’s really gonna do me like that? He better not embarrass me in the Washington game, that’s all I’m saying. I’m not playing in college. I only have so many games left.”
