flipped. charlie conway

37

to say team usa were arrogant was an understatement. as soon as the adam inisisted that everyone wear their matching usa tracksuits, leah opposed to her brother's innocent idea. out of all the pieces of uniform, adam was happy to match in the tracksuit?  of course, leah happily obliged to her brother's request, biting back all her bitter comments of disagreement.

leah hated nothing more than walking into the los angeles memorial coliseum in the team's matching tracksuits, attracting way more attention than necessary. fortunately, the extravagant stadium full of hockey fanatics soon enough took centre stage in leah's mind. being around so many people, all lovers of hockey, made leah feel united with every person in the room. the stadium was even bigger than she imagined.

before leah knew it, she and adam were warming up on the ice to play their first game against trinidad. if nerves translated to sound, leah would be releasing an endless scream of fear.

the puck slid between each player, so fast that leah would lose it if she looked away. the team rattled with excited chatter, disguising their nervousness. leah couldn't help but wonder what would happen if it all went downhill from the first second of the game, and knew her brother was fretting the exact same thought.

soon enough, the striped referees blew their whistles to usher teams trinidad and usa to their benches.

"alright, team usa! we ready to play?" coach bombay joyfully called.

"yeah!" the team cheered powerfully.

"that's what i like to hear! leah, you're center. adam, left wing. luis, you're on the right!" coach bombay began instructing the team's first places. leah didn't feel ready, not one bit. if anything, she felt as though she had left her mind on the aeroplane.

the referees blew their whistle once again, signalling the teams to take their positions.

"usa, just like we've practised! let's do this! 1, 2, 3!" coach bombay called,

"team usa!" the team chanted, letting out excited whistles. leah let out a controlled breath to focus herself, finding her brother to give him his helmet taps of good luck.

the boy grinned excitedly at the gesture, pulling his helmet down. "right like we do, lee." adam nod, patting his sister's helmet roughly before skating off.

"hey, leah banks!" a melodic voice called, a voice that leah could recognise from a mile away. hearing her name fall from his soft spoken mouth was endlessly blissful. charlie conway grit his teeth at the girl's dazed state. "don't mess us up on game one." the boy slyly glared, ushering her to the centre as he took his place on the bench. coach bombay rolled his eyes.

"team captain doesn't mean be rude to your teammates, charlie." he crossed his arms, watching the banks girl skate up to the centred trinidad player and referee possessing the puck. charlie scoffed himself. leah banks would screw up at some point, just like she always did.

after glancing at her brother, giving him the silent message of 'be ready', leah banks gave a curt nod to the trinidad player and referee, both of whom offered a friendly smile that she couldn't help but return.

the fog in leah's mind cleared, clearer than the sky on a summer's day, as soon as she saw the referee bring the puck to the ice. her eyes narrowed as a slow breath huffed from her nose. the puck was smooth, clearly never played with before, and leah hadn't desired to hit a puck more. it almost tormented her with how pristine it was, with its shiny black coat glistening under the bright rink lights. leah felt her tunnel vision focus on the puck as she attempted to control her breath in anticipation.

"on my whistle!" the referee called, dropping the puck and simultaneously blowing the whistle.

leah sprung into action, shooting the puck toward adam mere milliseconds after its drop. her skates cut across the ice's surface like butter as she raced down the rink with her brother and luis. the booming cheers of trinidad and usa supporters rattled her eardrums and sent powerful waves of thrill to rattle her bones.