Page 31 of Puck You
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Grace
I couldn’t believe the smell had gotten worse.With the end of October looming, I had been hopeful the drop in temperature would kill off the lingering scent of mold that clung to every inch of our training facility.But in just twenty-four hours, a newer, fouler odor had taken up residence.If I wasn’t mistaken, something was rotting inside McKinley Rink.It had to be.Nothing else could have produced such a grotesque stench.
“Did someone die in here?”Liv said, holding a hand over her nose to block out the rancid smell.The goalie looked like she was about to retch.
Pearson, who was dealing with a nasty cold, looked equallydisgusted.“I’ve been nose blind for days and even I can tell something is off.”
“It’s definitely worse than usual,” I agreed.
Ah, yes.Worse than usual.Because we were already accustomed to playing in a rink thatonlystank of fungus on a good day.
“If there’s a dead body somewhere in here, I’m out,” said Big D.
McKinley Rink would never kick the haunted rumors if a dead body was discovered on the premises.On the other hand, we’d have an excuse to practice somewhere else if they did find human remains.The impending investigation would no doubt require closing the facility to the public.
“Do you think we should look around?”Almost the entire team was gathered at the entrance, so I couldn’t tell who’d made the suggestion, but no one seemed eager to move any further into the building.
“I don’t want to be the one to find the body,” Lydia muttered.
“It’s not a dead body,” Caroline said matter-of-factly.“It’s probably some kind of critter.There are a ton of traps down in the basement.”
“Is that you volunteering to check?”asked Pearson.
“What is going on, ladi—” Coach’s voice cut off, no doubt as she registered the terrible smell.We all turned to watch as the look of confusion on her face morphed into one of revulsion.
“Please tell us we don’t have to skate in this.I think I’ll throw up if I’m forced to be in here any longer,” said Lydia.
Coach Riley shook her head aggressively.“No.Right now, I want everyone to take a lap and see if they can find whatever is causing this smell.I’m going to call the emergency maintenancenumber.”
Several girls let out groans of protest.“But what if we find a body?What if the killer is in here somewhere?”
“Killer?”Clara exclaimed, eyes widening.
Coach waved them off.“Don’t be dramatic.It’s probably a dead rat.”
“Told you guys,” Caroline muttered.
“Just look around, and we’ll get someone over from the school maintenance team.”
Despite several rumblings, everyone followed Coach Riley’s orders, but our search ended in vain.After nearly twenty minutes of choking down the disgusting fumes, I retreated to the fresh air, unable to endure another moment of torture.The scent of what could only be described as death clung to my hair and clothes.Caroline was the last to leave, aside from Coach.I had no doubt she wanted to prove to everyone that it was indeed a dead animal and not a human body.
“They’re sending someone over to check on the smell,” Coach confirmed a few moments later, walking out with a tissue pressed to her mouth and nose.
A voice rang out from the back of the group.“Does this mean practice is cancelled?”
Coach shook her head and gave everyone a stern look.“We’ll wait here until someone comes to fix the smell.We play Minnesota on Friday, which means we need as much ice time as we can get.”
I pressed my lips together, holding back a quip about utilizing the extra rink at DuLane.Surely that wouldn’t be too much to ask from the men’s team.I dropped my bag and settled on the ground, tucking my knees under my chin to conserve heat.It wasn’t terribly cold, but if we sat out here much longer, I was going to get chilly.Caroline already had a textbook propped open on her lap, and Lydia had pulled out her sketchpad.Fifteen minutes later, maintenance arrived, and practically everyone let out a sigh of relief.The two men dressed in identical uniforms spoke with Coach before disappearing into the building.
“Okay, but what if they do find a body?”I heard someone whisper.“Are we going to be suspects?Maybe we’ll get to be on the news!”
The idle chatter continued, but I was too distracted by a barrage of texts to eavesdrop.
Sambam
Totally walked in on a big fight between your sis and dad.
