Page 81 of Home of the Brave

I was shaking my head when a loud groan came from the other side of the rink.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Taz, the captain of the Stripes, stared up at the scene.

He disappeared before I could speak, heading back down the tunnel.

Cambrie filmed from one end to the other before making her way back to me. “What is this?”

“An epic prank.” I was really blown away. This had to take so much time and coordination with staff willing to help pull this off.

“Is this normal?” She was focused on the screen of her camera. “I thought keep away with Hartman’s skates was bad.”

“This is exceptional work, but there are prank wars that last years, even after players get traded or retired.”

“So a player did this?” She lifted her phone, taking more pictures.

“I can’t prove it, but yes.”

“It looks like all of the men’s uniforms, so was it one of the women?”

“You’d think that,” I stared up. “But I bet it was a guy.”

“Getting both teams?”

I smirked. “Less obvious that way.”

“But they don’t get the credit.”

“Not yet,” I grinned. “I bet there will be many more.”

“Wait,” Cambrie turned to me, “do you think this is the same person that stole the skates?”

“As the welcome sign,” I added, then remembered she wasn’t there for that one. “It was a sign welcoming the East team, but the glitter bomb exploded on the West players.”

“So someone has been pranking the men.”

“Yup.”

“And they told you to come find it first,” she sounded skeptical.

“I guess.”

“Do you think it was the person who did it, or someone who saw?”

Oh, that was a good question. “I don’t know.”

She lifted her chin to see it again. “We need to post this immediately.”

I was already reaching for my phone. I needed Chris to approve it quickly so the social teams could get it up before anyone else broke the story.

He answered on the fifth ring. “Hello, Victoria.”

“Hi, Chris.” I couldn’t hide my excitement. “Cambrie and I just walked into an exclusive. A first look.”

“At the baseball game?”

Frustration bubbled inside me. “No, I’m at the hockey tournament?”

“Right, right. So what did you find?”