Wildest Dreams OCxAdam Banks

5. Hawks to Ducks

One week later...

Flora and Adam were getting ready for their next game. It was against the Ducks. They both had a hard time getting used to the fact that the Ducks were an actual team now and not a joke. Adam was shocked to find out that they had beaten the Huskies only a few days prior.

Adam was sitting on Flora's bedroom floor while she tied her hair in two french braids. He watched in awe as she somehow did the complicated hairstyle without even looking in a mirror. Mary Jackson was driving the boy and girl to their game today. Philip Banks would be arriving late and Linda Banks had to take Adam's older brother, Matthew, to his own hockey game.

"Kids let's go!" Mary called from downstairs. Adam and Flora grabbed their hockey bags and ran downstairs. They took their water bottles from the counter and got into Mary Jackson's SUV. On the way to the rink, Smells Like Teen Spirit came on the radio. Flora quietly hummed the chorus until they reached the parking lot.

Adam and Flora took their bags out of the trunk and headed into the arena. There was an odd amount of people walking around the rink. Most of their games just had parents and the occasional sibling spectating. Today there was a whole crowd. They continued walking toward the locker room until Adam felt the need to break the silence.

"I think you should wear your hair in braids more often." He told the brunette girl. Flora turned her head to face him.

"Oh yeah? Why do you say that?"

"When you take them out your hair gets all curly. I don't know, I just think it looks pretty." Adam smiled at her. Flora's heart skipped a beat. This was definitely not helping her get over her crush on Adam.

"I'll take it into consideration." Was all Flora could muster out.

"Flora! Adam! Coach needs us out on the ice." They were both pulled out of their thoughts by Larson's voice. The duo grabbed their helmets and followed the rest of their team for warmups. Adam wanted to say something back to Flora, like good luck or go get 'em'. He decided it was better to say nothing than to trip over his words. He just needed to focus on the game and he could think about Flora later.

After some quick warmups, the Hawks went over to their bench. They all watched as the Ducks skated out onto the ice in their brand new equipment and jerseys. The whole team was shocked at their transformation. They went from using pool noodles as pads to having real jerseys with numbers and last names.

Flora and Adam were pulled out of their stares by yelling coming from behind them. They both turned around to see Coach Reilly and the Duck's coach hashing it out. Reilly looked around the stands and waved for Adam's dad and Flora's mom to come down to the bench. Both tweens were confused. What did the argument between the two coaches have to do with their parents? Flora and Adam left their seats on the bench to go over to Coach Reilly and their parents.

"Are you kids all right?" Mary asked them, slightly panicked.

"We're fine." Flora faced her coach. "What's going on?

"The coach for the Ducks seems to have an issue with you two playing for this team."

Adam and Flora turned to each other, eyes wide.

"What kind of issue do we have here?" Philip asked, trying to intimidate the other coach.

"It seems as though Adam Banks and Flora Jackson are playing for the wrong team. The district lines were recently redrawn and these two are now part of the Ducks district. They can start at practice tomorrow. I'll have jerseys for them." The man said it so casually like it was no big deal.

"My son would rather not play than play for your team." Adam's dad stated. Both kids looked up at him like he was crazier than the Duck's coach.

"Well, it's your decision. I hope to see you two tomorrow." Flora and Adam were in complete shock. They couldn't just leave the Hawks. It was their whole lives. They both looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say or do. Adam spoke first.

"Coach, there has to be something you can do."

"I'm afraid not, son. This is out of my jurisdiction. If I had known that the district lines were redrawn, you both would have been playing for the other team since the beginning of the season. Banks, Jackson, we'll miss you out on the ice." Coach Reilly went back to the bench to get the team ready for their game. Flora was still looking at the ground.

"Do you guys want to stay and watch the game?" Mary asked them. Flora began shaking her head, still not looking up.

"No, let's just go." She said quietly. Flora walked away from the ice, toward the locker room. Adam watched as the girl's braids swayed back and forth. He followed her back to the locker room to get his stuff and make sure Flora was ok.

When Adam arrived at the locker room he found Flora sitting on one of the benches with her head in her hands. She was shaking and Adam could hear her sniffles. He waited for a second to see if she would look up after hearing the door open. She didn't.

Adam sat down next to the distressed girl and put an arm around her. She immediately leaned into him, like it was a reflex. Flora had her head buried in Adam's chest and her arms around his waist. He had never seen Flora cry like this before. Adam saw Flora cry after her ankle was slashed by a hockey stick last season, but it was nothing like this.

"It's gonna be ok." Adam whispered in her ear, "I got you."