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I look at Melody. “The two of you are friends?”
“We’re good friends,” Melody answers. Her voice is strangely unenthusiastic. As if she doesn’t really like the fact that I’m talking to someone she knows. “We work together on the biology units every year.”
“Well, what’s your opinion? Am I doing okay by the kids, or am I a danger to the campus?”
“It looks to me like you’re doing a great job,” says Lucy. “And you clearly care about the kids, which is even more important.”
Looks like I’ve got another friend of Melody’s on my side. It’s not something I’m doing on purpose or anything, but it just seems like all of Melody’s friends like me. And that’s got to be worth something, right?
The only problem is Melody. She doesn’t look happy that I’m hitting it off with her teacher friend at all. There’s definitely something I’m missing. How am I supposed to make this woman happy?
My attention gets pulled back to the game. The other team manages to stop a pretty solid attack by our center and left forwards and is skating back up the rink. That’s okay, I tell myself. Our defense is all in position, and they’re doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing. Still, time is running short. We’ve probably only got two or three more chances to make an attack, and we’d better make them count.
That’s when I get an idea.“Time out!” I call. “Luke! Ryan! Jamal! I need to talk with you for a second!”
The three of them, my center, right, and left forwards, all skate over. Verog looks at me a little puzzled. I do my best not to face Melody. I don’t want her to think I’m doing this for her.
I’m not, or at least, not totally. I think this will be good for the team. The fact that it’s got a good chance of making her nephew the star is just a nice benefit.
“You’ve been playing well out there,” I tell them. “But you’ve been doing all your goal shots pretty much the same way. Whichever one of you gets close to the goal tries to shovel it in. Let’s try a passing play this time. Luke, take it in.”
I turnto the other two. “Jamal and Ryan, break free of your defenders. Get it to Jamal. Jamal, look like you’re going to shoot it, but then pass it to Ryan. And Ryan, don’t stop the puck before shooting. Just hit it straight in. Got it?”They all nod. “Alright! Timeout ended.”
I sit back down. Verog looks at me suspiciously. “You think it will work?”
“I think it’s about as good a chance as we’ve got.”
I look over at Melody. She immediately looks away from me, back towards the ice. Alright, nothing yet. Let’s see what happens if it works though. Surely that will please her?
The defense manages to get the puck. A pass to Luke, and he’s shooting up the rink. Jamal and Ryan both start skating like their life depends on it. I start to lean forward in my seat.
Luke passes to Jamal. Jamal gets chased around the back of the goal. This is it. This is the moment. He’s going for the goal. He looks totally focused, and for a moment, I wonder if he isn’t going to ignore what I said and try for the goal himself. It would certainly tempt me in his place, even with the goalie right in the way like that.
But then, he passes, and Ryan whacks it, straight and true. The goalie barely has enough time to turn his head before the shot is in.
I’m up on my feet before I even know it. “That’s what I’m talking about! That’s hockey! Yes! Ice, ice, baby!”I sit back down.
“You might want to be a little careful about that,” Verog says. “We don’t want the ref to cite us for being unsportsmanlike.”
“I know, but that’s the best part of being a sportsman! Winning!”
Ryan skates proudly by us, even though his position is on the other end of the rink. I can’t blame him. I’d do the same thing if I had just scored a last-period goal.
I glance over at Melody. She’s clapping for Ryan, but once he goes past, she gives me a quick, suspicious look.
That’s when I realize what’s going on. She feels like I’m trying to force her to like me. And even if she does, she can’t let herself feel it if she thinks I’m pushing her to. That’s why she gets weird about me making friends with her friends.
What she needs is space. I need to be around, but not actively pursuing her, at least for a little. Well, that’s doable. Frustrating, but doable. Everything has to be difficult with this woman.
The rest of the game goes back and forth. There are a few moments when I’m afraid they’re about to tie the score and a few when I think we might be about to get another goal. But at the end, the clock sounds without the score changing anymore.
In other words, we win.The kids all congratulate each other and then gather up. Everyone’s looking at me, obviously expecting some kind of big speech.
“You all did great out there,” I say. “I’ve definitely got pointers and things you can work on, but you should all feel proud. You weren’t just playing well out there. You were playing like a team. And you all earned this together.”
There’s cheering, and the best part is, it’s all completely true. They really were playing together, and if they keep this up, I think they’re going to have a great season.
“There’s one more thing,” I add.
