Riley awoke abruptly to a loud thudding that turned out to be someone hammering on the hotel door telling her to get up. Sleepily glancing at James' bed, she saw it was empty. Even James' bags were gone. Stretching, Riley rolled over, hoping to sleep longer when she heard "Riley O'Neill do NOT fall back to sleep! Get up right now and open the door."
"Ughhhh" Riley groaned. Coach V didn't sound very happy so Riley dragged herself out of bed to open the door.
"I've had Kenny knock on this door three times to wake you up already" Coach V said sternly. "Everyone else is finishing breakfast and we're about to leave. Come get food now and then you can pack up quickly before we get on the bus."
"Coach, I'm still in my pajamas. I have to change first." Riley explained.
"Oh no you don't" Coach V replied, pulling Riley through the door as she simultaneously took the hotel room key from the counter. "Let's go" and led Riley to breakfast.
The whole team seemed to watch Riley as she walked in, clearly just out of bed and rumpled. Kenny hurried over to Riley "I texted you and called and tried to get your room key from James but she wouldn't give it to me".
Riley shot James an annoyed look "Figures", she muttered and shook her head. "My phone apparently didn't go off so now I'm half dead in front of an entire team that only recently stopped hating me."
"It's fine, Riles. We'll get some food and then go back to your room to pack and eat. Coach V wants us on the bus in ten minutes."
"Fuuucckkkk meeee" Riley said as she looked up at the ceiling as if hoping it would fall down and crush her.
"No thank you" Kenny quipped brightly as she began making Riley a plate, ignoring the dramatic eye roll Riley gave in response.
Riley continued the morning in a zombie state, groggy and tired. She couldn't be sure but she thought she had woken from a nightmare last night and that James had comforted her. She must have imagined the James part though because James had continued ignoring her on the bus, during warm ups, and after the game. Riley, for her part, was annoyed with James for not waking her up this morning and preventing Kenny from helping. And when the team lost again, despite two goals from Riley, everyone's mood was sour. Coach made Riley and James wait again to shower and clean up which meant they were last in the locker room again while everyone else got on the bus.
Moments before Riley was set to carry the extra sticks that she had resting upright against a wall, out to the bus, James appeared to intentionally knock them over with her foot as she passed by.
Firing up instantly, Riley scathed "What the fuck is your problem?"
James walked over to stand in front of Riley and brought her face mere inches from Riley's "You." James retorted looking Riley dead in the eyes as she stood shadowing Riley with her solid frame. Not one to back down, Riley didn't move away from James and instead glared up at her.
Riley wasn't sure what James' next move would be but Riley's fists were clenched, ready to fight. Yet James didn't make a move. And as the seconds passed Riley felt the tension shift. Not away from tension but to a different type. Suddenly Riley became aware of how close they were. She could feel the heat from James' body. Then Riley saw James' eyes flick down to Riley's lips. Riley's eyes went from fury to searching as she tried to read James' expression. Before Riley could look too closely and find an answer however, James pulled back, bent to grab the last bag and left.
Dazed, Riley looked around in confusion. "What the hell was that?" she asked out loud to the empty locker room. Remembering everyone was waiting for her, she scrambled to pick up the scattered sticks and headed to the bus. Riley's mind was both racing and blank. She felt she was in a maze that she couldn't see. She couldn't find the way out because the walls weren't visible but she still felt the awareness of the puzzle and the urgency to figure it out. Yet the mental block was insurmountable because she didn't know what to figure out. With this conundrum filling Riley's mind she took her usual window seat next to Kenny.
"Everything ok?" Kenny asked, seeing the expression on Riley's face.
"Huh? What? Yeah yeah. All good." Riley waved off Kenny's concerns as she looked out the window, deep in contemplation.
YOU ARE READING
Unknown Beginning
General FictionRiley has just started over at a new college and is trying to navigate relationships with her new best friend, Kenny, while integrating to a new disgruntled hockey team. One particular captain seems to hate Riley and she doesn't know why but she's g...
