The rest of the period moved in a blur, both teams playing more aggressively than normal. When the overhead buzzer signaled the brief intermission between game periods, all of Team Canada became fussy in their locker room.
“We need to score.” Plaker shook her head from where she sat next to Charlie.
“I know. Those bastards weren’t letting me get an edge in,” Charlie said, thinking not only of the impressive saves by the goalie, but also the bodychecks from the last twenty minutes. They rubbed their right shoulder as they thought about it.
“Clearly, aggression isn’t going to work,” Coach said, drawing a hush from the rest of the players. “We need to bait and switch them, make them think we’re tired so they let their guard down and then come back even harder. Campbell, will you be able to stop the puck at the net?”
Regina nodded. “Trust me, that will be a breeze.”
“Good, let’s do that.”
The team cheered, and Charlie guzzled down the energy drink they were nursing. They were tempted to check their phone and see if Olive was watching, but they knew that would be pointless; she must’ve been watching. As much as Charlie had been avoiding Olive, it was not without good reason. Once they won this game, Charlie would tell her how she felt.
Deep feelings, insecurities, relationship traumas and all.
“You mind if I take down your bestie?” Plaker asked Charlie, snapping them out of their musing.
“Mind? I insist you do. They could stand to be taken down a peg or two.” Charlie laughed, already imagining Blake’s indignation at losing.
“Perfect.” Plaker cracked her knuckles with the words, a determined glint in her eyes. It was almost scary.
“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Charlie said, and shook their head.
“You think you’re on my good side?” Heather raised her eyebrow.
“Wow, and here I thought we were finally becoming acquaintances.”
“In your dreams,” Plaker said.
“And in your nightmares,” Charlie quipped back.
The players near them all laughed.
“Wow, Charlie, I had no idea you were this funny,” Tam said.
Heather cut in before Charlie could think of a response. “Team bonding does fall to the wayside when you spend the entire training season in bed.”
“Guilty,” Charlie finally said, hoping it came out as cocky as they wanted it to. Why deny what was an obvious truth?
Charlie was starting to finally accept that perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing to have something to look forward to outside of the game. While losing today would certainly be horrible, it would not mean the end of the world. Having other things to strive for actually made it easier. They would give it their all, and if their all wasn’t enough, they would try again.
Eventually, the team made it back out onto the ice, all of the players determined to take the gold medals home. Charlie was first out on the ice and got into position to square off against Blake. Blake had a cocky grin on their face, and Charlie blew a kiss at them.
“Prepare to lose,” Blake mouthed at them, their mouth exaggerating the words so Charlie could read their lips behind their mask.
“You wish,” Charlie mouthed back.
When the puck dropped and the captain let the other team surge towards their goal, it took all of Charlie’s self-restraint to play defensive instead of offensive. Though she cleared their puck a few times, she was not as aggressive as she normally would be.It was odd trying to pretend that she was not capable of driving play, and she was relieved as Campbell stopped shot after shot.
As she line-changed to sit on the bench, she watched the plays continue. Coach Brady looked back at Charlie and gave them a clear nod. Charlie tapped the players near them, and they all smiled in agreement. It was go time.
Now on the ice, Charlie moved in time to their beating heart. It was this rush that Charlie loved about the game, the feel of the ice beneath their feet, the quick maneuvering around each player, the drive to the goal. When Tam passed them the puck, Charlie had the perfect lane to the goal. They faked left, but shot to the right and the puck slid smoothly into the net.
The stadium erupted in cheers, and Charlie did their obnoxious cheer. They didn’t stick their tongue out at Blake, so that in and of itself was a major win too.
At the end of the period, though Team USA managed to score, all hope was not lost. They were evenly tied two goals each going into the third round, and if there was a need for overtime, Charlie was sure that they would win it.
Back in the locker room, the jovial mood of the first intermission was over as everyone sat in silence. There were whispers and chirping, of course, but the mood was one of intense concentration.
