There’s a wave of “ohhh” through the group, curious but listening.
“We’re going to be doing all kinds of fun things in here,” she continues, gesturing to the tables. “Part of team bonding is to have you all work together in some way, right? Emma asked me to work with each and every one of you to design the trophy for your Team MVP. So every Saturday we’ll come together to make some kind of jewelry, and for at least thirty minutes at the end of these sessions we’ll have a design meeting.”
Eyes sparkling, the team begins staking claims on spaces at the table, sliding into chairs and getting comfortable. One girl, with ponytails wrapped in team colors of dark blue and gold, a la the Dominion, raises her hand. “What’s that like?”
Her seatmate turns and looks at her like she has eight heads. “You’ll see soon, won’t you?”
Ponytails pushes on, ignoring her friend…or would it be her enemy? “So we are making something today?”
The girl next to her sighs and rolls her eyes. These were the two who were arguing on the ice; I could have bet money we’d end up here.
“Clara. Duh. You’ve got stuff in front of you.”
I can see Clara isn’t happy by the way she pinches her lips together, and I’m pretty sure if she could shoot daggers at her seatmate, she would. “Stop it, Hannah. No one asked you.”
I swear I can see the storm coming before it lands, so I step in before it goes any further. That’s what coaches do, right? I am the adult here. Or at least one of them.
“Hey.” My voice cuts in sharper than I mean it to, the same tone I’d use if two guys were about to drop gloves. Both of them snap their heads in my direction to look at me.
So does the rest of the table. Great.
I nod once, like that settles it. “We’re not doing that.”
No reaction. Only silence as Clara blinks at me and Hannah leans back in her chair, smirking, like she’s just been handedfront row seats to a Broadway show. I think Hannah scares me a little, if I’m being honest.
“We save it for the ice,” I add, because that’s what I’d say to the guys if this was happening with the team. That’s what works.
But here? It does not work.
Hannah’s mouth twitches, like she’s casting a spell on me. Clara looks like she’s deciding whether to be embarrassed for me or annoyed.
“Or,” I keep going, because apparently, I’ve committed now, “you’ve got an issue, you handle it after. Like outside, right? Not in the middle of”—I gesture vaguely at the table—“arts and crafts.”
The room stays quiet, but not the kind I’m used to. It’s the kind of quiet where I can feel myself getting it wrong in real time. Did I hear myself just suggest to a room full of up-and-coming hockey players to go outside and settle things in the parking lot? And also manage to call Vivian’s workshop arts and crafts?
I clear my throat, ready to down, when a hand lands lightly on my arm. I glance down at where Vivian’s fingers rest against my sleeve, then back up at her. She’s already shaking her head, just a little, an easy “I’ve got this” in the tilt of it.
She steps past me like it’s nothing, like she didn’t just intercept whatever that was supposed to be, and moves to the end of the table.
“Okay,” she says, easy, warm, like she’s picking up a conversation instead of redirecting one. “We’re going to start with the basics today. Everyone’s got what they need in front of them, yeah?”
I stay where I am for a second, suddenly very aware I just tried to run a jewelry workshop like a penalty kill and got benched.
She stands at the end of the table where Frick and Frack are still sitting in charged, early hormonal silence.
“You’re right, Clara, we are making something today. I thought we’d start with something fun.” She smiles, warm, steady, her eyes drifting to find mine. “You’ve got all the ingredients in front of you for a friendship bracelet.”
Hannah’s hand shoots up immediately. “Uh, I’m sorry, but it’s materials, right? Because ingredients…wouldn’t that be a recipe?”
There’s a beat, and Vivian laughs, light and quick as she turns her attention to the girls. “Well, it’s a recipe for a bracelet, right?”
A few giggles break out, even Hannah manages to laugh at that, and the tension dissolves.
Someone’s hand shoots into the air. “So we get to keep our friendship bracelets?”
“You can, but we’re going to make them first then decide what to do with them, okay?”
Another hand goes up. “So, friendship bracelets, but we’re also gonna help design the trophy for our team?”
