I pour myself a bit of whiskey before falling back onto my sofa, the air around me loud with the sound of silence.
Simon & Garfunkel had it right.
Hello darkness, my old friend…
sixteen
Cameron
Itakeaswigfrommy water bottle as I watch the game in front of me. We’re ending today’s practice with a scrimmage, and my line isn’t on the ice.
Marissa and Nils seem to want to test out different line combinations, so I expect that we won’t see the line on the ice right now together again.
The line of Zhuri, Clara, and Michael.
They’ve had a few shifts already. Zhuri and Clara are working well together since they were both first line for the Dragons, but Michael is doing everything he can to control the puck and keep it away from his teammates.
It isn’t working. Theo and Sid are playing defense on the opposing side and knock it away from him easily.
“Michael!” I hear Zhuri shout in frustration after. “When your teammates are open, pass the damn puck!”
“Cameron,” Marissa says, walking over to me.
“Hey, Coach Leverson.”
“Do you know what’s going on with Michael?”
I sigh. “He’s not handling the transition well so far.”
“By that, you’re saying he’s not happy about playing with women?”
I uncomfortably rub the back of my neck. “I was trying not to say it.”
“Then I need him to grow a pair,” Marissa chides. “He’s refusing to be a good teammate, and it’s making him play like shit.”
A laugh escapes me, and I can’t stop it. “I’ll try to talk to him after practice. He’ll come around, but he’s taking too long to do it.”
“Appreciate that, Kovacic.”
Michael slips away with the puck again, moving down ice toward Lev. It’s not long before Theo is right on him.
“Michael!” Zhuri yells, hitting her stick off the ice.
I watch him sigh before sending the puck to Zhuri, who hits a wrist shot right between Lev’s legs.
“Nice shot, Hart!” I yell before looking at Marissa again. “Maybe he’s starting to accept it.”
“Maybe. I don’t like the way he plays with them, though. I can’t see these three working as a line.”
“They don’t mesh well. Based on what I’ve seen, I can see him doing well with Aili and Amalia.”
She hums in acknowledgment. “You might be right. I’ll try that line tomorrow.”
Marissa blows her whistle now, signaling the end of practice. We all skate off the ice and break for the locker rooms.
I grab Michael before either of us can enter.
“Got a minute, Perry?”
