Forever and Always | Adam Banks

The Breakfast of Champions

"Ta da!" Mr. Tibbles had just unveiled a giant box of Wheaties that had their picture on it. A box of cereal with their team on it? Ellie couldn't believe it. The rest of the team was in amazement too. No one would've guessed they would be on the front of a cereal box. They were just a bunch of kids who played hockey, and now they were getting all the perks of playing for Team USA.

"Hey y'all that's us!" Poor Dwayne seemed to be a bit slow this morning, causing the rest of the team to laugh at him. As if the giant picture on the cereal box didn't give it away.

"Today, it's a wheaties box. Tomorrow, it's video games, action figures, lunch boxes. The sky is the limit." Ellie thought of what she might look like as an action figure, and it was something that would be cool. However, she couldn't picture owning her own action figure. She would absolutely buy an Adam action figure, though. It would be cute to have a mini Adam when the real Adam wasn't around. "Now, just to make sure that everybody knows who are try on one of these. Brought to you by those wonderful people at Hendrix for all your hockey needs." 

Woah. Their USA jerseys were awesome. Ellie couldn't take her eyes off them. The team, besides Charlie who was talking to Coach Bombay, ran up to the box desperately trying to find their jersey. 

"Aw, that's cute," Julie says to Adam and Ellie when she realized that their numbers were 98 and 99. "Did you guys plan that?"

"Actually, no," Adam laughs. Adam recalls the day the two of them had joined the Ducks and the green jerseys were hanging up, waiting for them. He was hoping he got to keep his number 9 from the Hawks, but Jesse already had that number, so he got 99. Seeing Ellie with her 98 jersey put a smile on his face. They were always going to be close, and he wouldn't want Ellie to have any other number. "It just so happened that Bombay gave us these numbers when we joined the Ducks."

Later that afternoon, the team was getting their first lesson from Miss MacKay. A few of the team let it be known that they weren't too keen on the idea of having to attend tutoring lessons over the summer. To which they earned a slap on the back of their head and a shut up from Ellie. They were going to have to attend these lessons whether they liked it or not.

"Ancient Greece was the beginning of Western Civilization. See, in Greece, they didn't have professional sports or Wheaties boxes, so the athletes competed for another reason. Anybody?" 

Adam and Ellie were sat on a log with Ken, taking in everything Miss MacKay was saying. It was nice that the first lesson actually had something to do with what they were interested in. The two weren't big on PDA, especially around their teammates because they would be made fun of. However, that didn't stop Adam from sneakily sliding his fingers through Ellie's, holding her hand in a way the rest of the team wouldn't see. 

"Falafels?" Goldberg's answer got a few chuckles as well as a fair share of eye rolls. Was this boy ever thinking of something other than food? Half of things that came out of his mouth were food related. 

"Charlie?" The only person in the group who had his hand raised, wanting to answer the question. At least Charlie's answer wasn't going to be totally bogus like Goldberg's. 

"Pride." 

"That's right. The various city-states waved their flags and wore their home colors proudly." A smile became prominent on a few of the kids' faces. Despite it being the 20th century, it was cool that they were doing the same thing that Ancient Greece did. 

"Did America always dominate?" Like Goldberg's answer, Fulton's question got laughs from the team as well. It seems not everyone knows America didn't exist back then. Ellie could've sworn that was common knowledge, but apparently not. She was learning more about her teammates every day. 

Of course, Fulton was backed up by his partner in crime, Dean. "That's a good question." 

"No. America wasn't around back then. Don't forget that compared to other countries America is still young, still forming it's own identity. America is a teenager just like you." The comparison Miss MacKay gave them seemed to help a lot of the kids understand what she was talking about. The world was a big place, not every country was going to get discovered at the same time. 

"Like us?" Jesse asks, a little confused by the comparison.

"You bet. A little awkward at times, but always right there on the verge of greatness." A lot of the team was still going through puberty, so they understood the awkwardness thing. Hearing that they were always on the verge of greatness gave them a little pep in their step. Despite being young, they had the chance to do something amazing. 

After the lesson, Bombay had the team skating behind him as he sang in military chant while sitting in a golf cart. It was a bit weird, but the team was having fun. The lesson from Miss MacKay gave them the motivation to work hard in their training today. Training and practicing was the only way they were going to win the gold, and that's what everyone on the team wanted. 

Once practice was over, Bombay had the team go home to finish their packing since they would be leaving for Los Angeles tomorrow. Ellie stared minlessly into her half-full suitcase. She had already packed the required Team USA gear, but didn't know which of her normal clothes she should bring. The pure silence in her room was interrupted by knocks coming from her window. Ellie got up from her spot and let Adam in, who had finished packing his bag days ago. The boy was an overachiever.

"You're still not packed?" Adam asks, staring at her half empty suitcase. Ellie had always been a procrastinator, but Bombay sent them home hours ago. He figured she would've been done by now. 

"I don't know what to pack." Indecisiveness and procrastination were two of Ellie's strong suits, which led her to the situation she was in now. At this point, she might as well just wear her Team USA gear everywhere not have to worry about anything else.

Adam stood in front of her closet, hoping to help by picking out clothes she wore often. He let's out a chuckle as he realized half of her closet were clothes that used to belong to him. Some he had given to her because they didn't fit anymore, but some she had straight up stolen. "I was wondering where all my clothes went." 

"Oops." Ellie smiles sweetly up at her boyfriend, knowing she got busted. She couldn't help but to take a few of Adam's t-shirts; they were just so comfortable. Plus, she liked to sleep in them because they smelled like him. 

Ellie stayed silent as the two packed clothes she could wear when they weren't doing stuff with the team. She was excited to go to Los Angeles, but she was also nervous. Things between her and Adam were going so well and she wasn't sure what was going to happen while they were in LA. What if he meets someone else? What if they get so caught up in being in LA and hockey that it goes to their head? All these what if's were running through her mind, thinking of the worst possible outcomes.

"You okay?" Adam took note of her quietness, which never happened when it was just the two of them. The two had always managed to find something to talk about, even if it was the most random topic of conversation. Clearly something was bothering her. 

"Just promise me that nothing is going to change between us when we go to Los Angeles?" Adam wasn't sure where this was coming from, but he was going to do his best to reassure his girlfriend. He couldn't imagine something happening that would change their relationship, but apparently Ellie could. "I'm just worried that things aren't giong to be the same when we get there. What if we get caught up in that world and never do anything, just the two of us?"

This competition was taking them to entirely new world. They were going to a city they had never been to before. They were going to be competing against the best teams in the world and were going to be surrounded by new people. Now, Adam was starting to understand where her doubt was coming from. "Hey, nothing is going to happen to us," Adam tells her while grabbing her hands in his. "It's you and me. That's how it's always been and that's not going to change. How about whenever we have an off day, we do something? We can explore the city, go on dates like we do here." 

"I would love that." The internal sigh of relief that Ellie got from Adam's idea was exactly what she needed. Her worries washed away and she was ready to go to Los Angeles. It was her and Adam, always. She didn't need anything else.