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We’re just shooting the shit about classes we’re taking. I learn that Casey and Phoebe are taking the same Biology class I am, with the same professor, but they have an earlier section.
I joke that I’ll be sure to hit them up after the first quiz to find out what questions are on it.
I don’t think I need to say who laughed at that one and who didn’t.
“Must be nice to finally live with your best friend,” I say to Casey.
“Definitely,” she answers, beaming. I always was sort of envious of the friendship between these two. I had lots of friends in high school, but it was more like I just had a big social circle. I didn’t have any of those super-close personal friends who were more like family, which Casey and Phoebe are. I had to wait until I met my Hot Shots teammates for that.
Even though most of the guys I was close to graduated last year, my best friend on the team, Liam, is still a senior like me.
Casey adds, “It’s definitely a bright side of, you know, what happened.”
My brow lowers and my lips tug downward.
No, I don’t know. What happened?
Is she alluding to whatever the reason for Phoebe transferring here from Maine is? Whatever it could be, the way her voice sort of tilted downward at the end of that sentence doesn’t make it sound good.
I open my mouth to ask more, but before I can get the words out, a large thermos appears in front of me.
“Here you go, Hunter,” Phoebe says.
There’s a vibe radiating from Phoebe that makes me feel like she doesn’t want me to ask any follow up questions.
Normally, Phoebe not wanting me to do something would hardly be enough to dissuade me. But, for some reason, this time, I feel like I’d better drop it. This doesn’t feel like the time or place.
“Thanks,” I say, grabbing the thermos. “I’ll find you on campus sometime later this week and return the thermos.”
“Don’t bother,” she replies, waving her hand dismissively. “I can spare a thermos.”
“Nonsense,” I say with a smile. “I’ll find you on campus this week. Count on it.”
5
HUNTER
Coach’s whistle blasts shrilly through the cold air.
“Again!” he shouts, his frustration level clearly turned up at least five notches since he last shouted that same word minutes ago.
“Shit,” I grumble. We just can’t get the timing right on this play.
Last year, the Hot Shots hockey team won the college championship. It was an incredible experience, but there was a heavy dose of bittersweetness to it. Because it was also the last game that four of our star players would ever play for Ridley hockey.
Grant Hamilton, Tristan River, Cole Brancroft, and Ryder Hendricks all graduated as seniors last May, leaving a giant hole in our first line.
They were four of the veteran talent who formed a nucleus that made the Hot Shots one of the best teams in college hockey for years. With them gone, we’re entering a rebuilding period.
And everyone knows that rebuilding periods, especially the first year of them, don’t always go smoothly.
Coach went out and found some great replacements, convincing an incredibly talented winger, Shane Wilson, to join us from Oregon. Shane’s a cool guy, super easy going and always up for a good time.
Another major new addition to the team is our new right defenseman, Lars Burdin. He’s the exact opposite. Broody and grumpy as hell. I don’t think he’d know a good time if one slapped him on the ass.
But on the ice, he’s a demon in the best way. Incredible skill and intensity. He and our left defenseman, Walsh Miller, who was already on the team last year, will make a formidable defensive combo.
Or, at least, they should. Because when it comes to hockey, the talent of individual players isn’t everything. Sometimes, it’s basically nothing. What really counts is the way they work together. Their chemistry.
