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UBER SLUT: Am I the sacrifice?
UBER SLUT: I can’t be. I am very busy and important
NATE HAWKINS: You went to Skinner.
UBER SLUT: That doesn’t sound like something I would do.
NATE HAWKINS: You went to Skinner and you snitched on Aaron
NATE HAWKINS: All because you wanted to defend my honor.
UBER SLUT: You don’t have any honor *eye roll emoji*
UBER SLUT: What you did to me last night is famously not honorable at all.
NATE HAWKINS: You liked it.
UBER SLUT: Of course I did. I don’t have any honor either.
NATE HAWKINS: Aaron transferred to UCLA
UBER SLUT: Shut up!! Really?
NATE HAWKINS: Yup. Skinner just told me.
UBER SLUT: I’d have preferred somewhere in Alaska, but not Maple Hills will do.
Knowing I’m not going to be here next year has been a hard pill to swallow, but knowing she isn’t going to have to face him at the rink or bump into him at parties makes me feel a whole lot better.
The next stop on the list is over to the sports building to see Coach. He’s eating what looks like an everything bagel when I stroll in. His eyes immediately narrow, and I can see him shouting at me in his head. He eventually swallows and sort of half grunts at me. “I don’t even get peace to eat my breakfast alone anymore. Between you lot and my daughters, I am graying prematurely.”
I look at his completely shaved head, nodding along in agreement. “You wanted to see me?”
He wipes his hands on a napkin and pushes his half-eaten bagel to one side. “We need to discuss your replacement as captain. It’s time to start looking to hand the title over, like Lewinski did with you. Have you thought about it?”
I’ve been thinking about who will replace me since I got benched last year. Not being on the ice gave me time to look at the team, watch them the way Faulkner and Robbie do, and I saw a lot. “You’re going to laugh…”
“I don’t laugh but go on.”
“I think Henry would make a great captain,” I say honestly. “He’s calm; once I’m gone, he’s going to be the best player on the team; he’ll always be honest; and he’s not going to fuck around. He’s going to be a junior, which means the team gets two years of the same captain.”
He thinks on it for a minute, humming to himself quietly. “Okay. Let me speak to Robbie, see what his opinion is.”
“We’ve already talked about it, and he agrees Turner is the best choice.”
Robbie will be staying at UCMH to do his master’s, so he’ll be continuing to coach the team. Since the assistant coach is normally a paid faculty position, we’re all hoping when he’s done with school, the job will be handed to him.
A couple of weeks ago, over a shit load of beers, we sat and battled out who should succeed me. Henry has grown in confidence so much in the time he’s lived with us, so I think he could handle the pressure that comes with being a leader. Aside from that, nobody can argue against him being the best player.
“Let me think on it,” Faulkner says, reaching for his bagel, signifying it’s my time to get out and leave him alone. “I’ll see you at practice later.”
Since I’m already on campus, I take a trip to the library, grab a few books I need to study for my finals, and head home.
The house is full when I get back, far too many hockey players taking up space on all my furniture. “Do you guys not have your own houses to go to? Instead of being here eating all my food and stinking out my living room?”
I get a handful of middle fingers, the odd grunt, and finally a response from Kris. “Your girl promised us pad thai.”
JJ and Anastasia did the Vietnamese cooking class a few weeks ago, and since then, this place has been like a restaurant. They’re determined to try as many different dishes and cuisines as they can. They cook side by side, secretly competing with each other to see who makes the best main or starter, or who makes the best side dishes. Then we sit down to eat, and they sit there smugly, enjoying all of the compliments the guys throw in their direction.
