Forever and Always | Adam Banks

Horse Turds

The following day, Ellie and Adam decided to eat lunch together outside, away from the craziness that happens in the cafeteria. Also wanting to discuss what was going to happen now that Adam moved up to Varsity. It was going to be weird not seeing each other at practice or playing together. 

"So, have you managed to process the fact that you're going to be playing on Varsity?" Ellie asks, a small chuckle in her voice. They wanted to discuss it last night when they got home from practice, but Adam's mom made him come inside right away for dinner. 

"It's a great opportunity and I don't want to pass it up. This is what I have been working for. It just sucks that we don't get to play together anymore," Adam shrugs, then takes a bite out of his turkey and cheese sandwich. The reason he got Ellie to join the Ducks with him was so they could play together, and it's been the best thing for the two of them. Four years later, it's all starting to change. It just sucks that Ellie didn't make Varsity, too. She was just as good as he was. 

"It would be foolish of you to pass this up, Adam. I know how hard you've been working for something like this and you know I'm always going to support you." Ellie knew there were going to be some struggles with Adam going to Varsity, but she was always going to support him. Making Varsity as a freshman was a huge deal, and she knew a lot of their friends weren't going to be happy with the transition. 

"I'm lucky to have you." Adam smiles down at his girlfriend, taking in everything she was. Pure perfection. His life was about to get a lot more difficult since the Varsity has made their position on the JV team abundantly clear. He didn't want to lose his friends, but he also didn't want to pass up the chance to play Varsity. This could help his chances of being able to play in the NHL. 

"I know," Ellie laughs, taking a bite out of Adam's sandwich. She still had some of her own lunch left, but Adam's mom always made the best sandwiches. "You wanna come over for dinner tonight? My mom is making your favorite. We can get some homework done, too." 

"If by favorite you mean her cheesy chicken alfredo pasta bake, then you have yourself a deal." Ellie's mom was an amazing cook, and Adam loved everything she made. But her pasta bake was hard to beat. He could eat that every day if he could. "You really need to tell your mom to give my mom her recipe. I don't eat that as much as I should."

The bell rang, signaling lunch was now ever. "I'll mention it to her. Now, let's get to science." Ellie grabs Adam's hand, pulling him off the bench they were sitting on. It was nice being able to get away from the chaos for a day and enjoying lunch by themselves. It seemed unlikely that the pair was going to be able to do it again. 

"Where were you at lunch?" Connie asks as they skate around the rink for warm-ups. 

"I was eating with Adam. Why?"

"You missed a lot of stuff. First of all, Goldberg fed Julie a bunch of dessert, which is why she looks like she's about to throw up. And second, Charlie gave the Varsity team horse turds." Ellie really wasn't surprised about the Goldberg thing, seeing as he seemed pretty upset that he was now the backup to Julie. As for Charlie, she knew that prank was just going to make Varsity hate them even more. The last thing she wanted was a feud between the two teams now that Adam was on Varsity. 

"What do you mean Charlie gave them horse turds?" She was confused as to why he would do that. 

"Well they took Kenny's lunch again and Charlie decided to get back at them by disguising horse turd as a brownie," Connie explains. Ellie understood where Charlie was coming from, but horse turd might be taking it a step too far. 

All Ellie could do was nod in response. She was too busy worrying about what the Varsity team was going to do as retaliation. Plus, all she could hear was Julie yacking over the boards. 

After warm-ups, Coach Orion had them start with a scrimmage, wanting them to work on their defense and see if anyone could prove themselves worthy of being team captain. "You know, I don't see a captain out here!" Part of Ellie wanted to prove to Coach that she could be the captain, but she knew how much this position meant to Charlie. She wouldn't get the same support from the team that Charlie would. 

With a defensive mistake by Charlie, Coach Orion has them stop play. Ellie let out a sigh, knowing how frustrated Charlie was getting with their coach. "Where's the one place you never want to clear the puck?" Everyone knew the answer, but Coach Orion was specifically asking Charlie. 

"It looked open." Charlie was trying to defend his play, but that wasn't what Coach Orion wanted. He didn't care about excuses, he just wanted the team to learn from their mistakes. 

"Just answer the question, Conway."

"Listen, I'm not a defenseman, I'm a scorer!" And there it was. The breakdown Ellie had been anticipating. She knew Charlie was going to snap sooner or later, but she had thought he would've lasted at least one more practice. His outburt got him seated in the penalty box, which he deserved. 

"Take a knee!" Coach Orion instructs the team. "What's the one thing all great teams have in common?"

"Great coaching!" Ellie glared at Averman, letting him know how lucky he was that she wasn't sitting next to him. She would've slapped his head so hard it would come off. He just needed to learn how to shut up. 

"Don't try to suck up to me, Averman," Orion responds, clearly getting annoyed with his unnecessary comments. "Defense. See, unlike scoring, defense never quits. But to play defense, you need one thing above all else. Confidence. Listen, if you learn nothing else when you're here, you learn this. Alright? 'Cause it's not just about hockey. It's easy to be confident when you have control of the puck. It's very, very difficult to keep that confidence when you gotta take whatever strange bounces life throws your way. Don't be careless, but don't be too careful either. You cannot be afraid to lose. That's how you gain the confidence to attack the game when the puck isn't yours. That's how you attack life even when you think you don't have any control. And that's how you play real defense."

"You wanted to see me, Coach?" Ellie asks, stepping into his office. He had told her he wanted to see her after practice when she was done changing. She had no idea what about, but she was just hoping that she wasn't in trouble.

"Yeah. How would you like to be captain? You're a great player, Sparks. You listen to what I have to say, and it seems a lot of your teammates listen to you." Ellie was shocked. She certainly wasn't expecting to be captain. It was a great opportunity, but she knew this is also something that would come between her and Charlie. He was already struggling with Orion as their new coach and she didn't want to be the one to take away his C.

"Can I think about it?" Ellie asks. She was completely divided on her decision. Ultimately, she was going to have decide if she cared more about doing what was best for her or sparing Charlie's feelings. 

"Just let me know before our game on Friday. If you want, we can do a sort of trial run. See how Friday goes under your leadership." Orion offers. 

"I will. Thanks Coach." This gave Ellie a lot to think about. The only person she really wanted to talk to about it was Adam. He would know exactly what to say.