Page 212 of On His Team

Stanley immediately shakes his head. “No, sir.”

The room laughs.

Michigan scores first, but Benson ties it late in the first. Stanley gets the next one in the second, then another five minutes later from inside the dots because apparently Aspen has spent the last two months successfully retraining his entire offensive brain.

3-1.

Michigan gets one back before intermission and another early in the third.

3-3.

The building tenses after that. Every hit gets a reaction. Every clear gets cheered. Every puck that comes within ten feet of Percy feels dangerous. Percy makes two saves through traffic with under five minutes left that keep us alive.

Then Marsh gets the winner.

There’s nothing pretty about it. The puck goes behind the net, gets kicked loose along the wall, bounces into the slot, and Marsh puts it through before their goalie can reset.

4-3.

We spend the last four minutes defending it. I get two assists. When the horn goes, the reaction is bigger than most Friday wins because tomorrow has been sitting behind the whole weekend.

Senior Night.

I’ve known the date all season. It still doesn’t feel real until I get back to Hawthorne and find my parents in the kitchen.

My mom turns around the second the front door opens. “Rowan!”

I stop in the entryway and smile. “You were supposed to come tomorrow.”

“We changed it.”

My dad gets up from the table and hugs me first. My mom gives him maybe three seconds before she steps in too and holds on longer than she normally does.

When she finally pulls back, she puts both hands on my face. “You look tired.”

“Good to see you too.”

“You do.”

“I played a hockey game.”

“You must be exhausted.”

Stanley comes through behind me carrying his bag.

“Mrs. Laurens, did you see Rowan’s elite offensive performance?”

My mom lights up immediately. “I did.”

“I created that.”

“You did not.”

He points at himself. “Locker-room culture.”

My dad laughs.

That’s when I notice Gianna sitting at the island beside Lucy. She’s watching all of this with a smile on her face. The second my mom follows my line of sight, I know what is about to happen. Her eyes go from Gianna to me. Then back to Gianna.