Puck You

The Popular Table

Grace Gillman

As I sat in class waiting for the bell to ring, I tried to massage out my tired muscles. I was so sore that it was a struggle to pull my skinny jeans on this morning. Last night, after tryouts, I was tired, but today my muscles screamed in pain every time I moved an inch. Sebastian was the main reason for this, but then again, the whole team had been aggressive. My team back in Minnesota always played hard, but these guys didn't mess around on the ice—they were nasty.

"You have some explaining to do missy." Kent stood before me with a smirk on his face. Yesterday I had been happy when I noticed he was geared up to play. Not only was he an amazing goalie but hopefully a soon-to-be amazing friend. It would be nice to see a friendly face in the rink.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I told him with a small smile. 

Truthfully, I was not in a smiling mood. My body wanted nothing more than a hot bubble bath and my comfy bed, but Kent earned himself a grin.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you played hockey!" he said, slapping me on the back. I winced in pain as he sat down beside me and dropped his backpack onto the floor.

"Would you tell everyone if you were trying out for the cheerleading team?" I countered.

"I wouldn't try out for the cheerleading team," he said thoughtfully.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I thought it was pretty funny seeing all your faces at the end of tryouts."

Before Kent could respond, the teacher walked into class followed by another guy from the hockey team. He caught my gaze and smirked at me as I tried to remember his name. He had brown hair, a straight nose, and his muscles looked like they would tear his shirt apart at any moment.

He sat down a few desks in front of me but turned around to see if I was still looking. A satisfied expression crossed his face but I didn't look away. I could practically smell the arrogance coming off of him in waves. This guy was way too into himself for his own good.

His cockiness helped jog my memory. Matt, I finally remembered.

When our teacher began class Matt turned to face the front, but not before winking at me.

Halfway through lecture the teacher instructed us to partner off and work on some stupid worksheet. I had a feeling Matt would turn around and try to catch my gaze, so the second the teacher shut her trap I spun to face Kent.

"Hey partner. You're going to fill me in about everything hockey, alright?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders as he looked over the sheet. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything I don't know yet. The only thing I do know is that Sebastian is obviously the captain, Matt is his right-hand man and you're the starting goalie."

"Okay," Kent said and dove in at once. He started by explaining how the team played as a whole and then he detailed who played what position.

Sebastian was their starting center—one of the best in the entire state. He had been the captain since his sophomore year, and his dad was the one who built the school rink. Not only was Sebastian the team's star player, but he was popular off the ice as well.

Next was Matt and Coney. Matt played the right wing and Coney was their left defenseman. Both of them were popular at school, especially with the ladies. Most importantly, Matt had been Sebastian's best friend since before anyone could remember.

Jake and Drake were the twins. Jake played left wing and Drake played right defenseman. Jake was the outgoing brother, while Drake was the brooding, silent type. Finally, there was Chris, the backup goalie. These guys, as Kent explained, were the ones I had to worry about when it came to competition.