AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My eyes go wide as I click on article after article detailing Jaromir’s drunken escapade. That’s how he broke his arm? Unbelievable. I feel the world blur around me. The permission slip sits signed and dated in Ryan’s backpack.
Maybe it’s not too late to rip it up. But then I remember my promise to Ryan, the joy in his eyes… I can’t take that from him now. He’d never forgive me. I bite my lip and reluctantly hope for the best.
7
JAROMIR
“You’re late,” Verog announces as I walk into the rink.
He’s on skates by the side of the rink. I walk over towards him and start putting my own gear on.
“Yeah, I kinda figured from all the kids already being on the ice,” I snap back. “Thanks though.”
He rolls his eyes. “Not exactly a great look for a volunteer.”
“I’m here, aren’t I? And I’ve got some great drills.” I walk over to the edge of the rink and call out so all the kids can hear me. “Who’s ready to try out a new drill?”
There’s a lot of cheering and excitement. A few kids start skating over towards us.
“After you finish your warm-ups!” Verog calls.
Disappointed now, the kids turn around back towards the group.
“They’re pretty good on the ice,” I tell Verog. “Good speed, good turns.”
“We’ve been working on that a lot,” Verog says, not able to hide a little bit of pride. “Some of them had never done any skating before.”
Verog has definitely given them a good basis. Most of them look comfortable skating and maneuvering on the ice. Even the few that are still nervous are able to do okay. They just stiffen up a bit or slow down when they don’t have to.
The big worry I have is that none of them are paying very much attention to their teammates. They move like individuals, not like a group. Every once and a while as they skate around, waving big at me despite Verog’s orders, they bump into each other because of it, or one of them has to suddenly stop for another. That’s the first thing we’re really going to have to work on with them.
“Out of curiosity, do you have any blindfolds?” I ask.
Coach Hill stares at me. “You’re joking, right?”
“I’ll take that as a no.”
The kids finish their drills and skate over towards us. I finish getting geared up and finally am able to step out onto the rink.
“Alright!” I announce. “We’ll start with a basic drill. I want everyone to count off. One or two. One, two. One, two. One, two.”
I count off the whole team. So far, they’re all paying attention and listening. That’s good, but I can tell it’s because I’m famous and also new. I have to be careful because they could turn against me quickly.
“Excellent. Ones, you go to this side of the rink. Twos, you’re on this side. Ones, your goal is to get to the Two’s side and keep the Twos from getting to your side. Twos, I’ll give you one guess what your goal is. When I say go!”
“Okay, wait just a second,” Verog says in his best coach voice as the kids skate off toward their respective sides.“I let you come in to help, and your first suggestion is a brawl?”
I shrug. I didn’t tell them to fight. “Well, they are hockey players. A brawl is pretty good practice.”
“For what? Surviving prison?”
I ignore the jab and try to explain. “Just came up with it on the way here.”
“Why am I not surprised?” he says.
“You’re right. Maybe it is a little dangerous.” I think for a second, then I call out loud enough for the team to hear me. “Oh, one more detail! Your goal is to block your opponent with your body, not necessarily push them down.”
“That’s not better!” he almost yells, but it’s too late. The two teams of kids are skating toward each other at full force. And then they start to crash into each other, mostly around the half-line.
