The crowd noise fades into that familiar disappointed murmur as people start filing toward the exits. I spot Katie and Willow’s worried faces in the crowd. ‘See you at home,’ Katie mouths. I’ll need a gallon of hot chocolate to recover from this.
I skate slowly toward the bench, frustration buzzing under my skin.
I didn’t join this team to help them lose.
I joined because I thought I could help. Because I believed I could make a difference.
Now I’m not so sure.
As we gather near the boards, Zane skates past me.
I deliberately look away.
That hit.
That stupid moment where he stepped in like I couldn’t handle it myself.
I know he meant well, but that’s not what I need. I don’t need protection or pity. I just need to find a way to survive out there.
I grip my stick tighter as I glide off the ice.
The Eagles exposed exactly how teams are going to play me from now on.
And if I don’t figure out a new strategy soon, this whole plan is going to collapse.
ZANE
We’re gathered near the bench after the final buzzer sounds.
The usual end-of-game mess - sticks resting against the boards, helmets coming off, guys half-talking over each other while the crowd thins out behind the glass.
Another loss.
“Shame Lee Shaw doesn’t play like Markus Shaw,” someone mutters.
A couple of guys snort.
“Yeah,” another voice adds. “Shame he doesn’t have his build either.”
A few quiet laughs ripple through the group.
I don’t join in.
I’m still replaying the game in my head - the passes that worked, the checks that didn’t, the moment he snapped at me on the ice like I’d insulted him instead of trying to help.
Then I notice Shaw skating toward us.
That alone is unusual.
All week he’s kept his distance - straight to the ice, straight off again, barely speaking unless someone talks to him first. The guy exists in his own quiet orbit most of the time.
But now he’s coming straight for our group. I wonder if he heard the comments.
He glides right up to us and stops. His helmet is still on.
I brace slightly, half-expecting him to say something to me again about what I did.
Instead, he looks past me - at Chen.
