Pride and Pucks and Prejudice - 20. Chapter 20

Noah

The first person I saw when I walked into the dressing room was Ben. He looked up from taping his stick. Smiled at me. Too much.

"Morning."

"Morning."

He kept smiling.

"...What?"

"Nothing."

"You sure?"

"Mhm."

He nodded once, still wearing the same infuriatingly pleasant expression, then wandered off towards the coffee machine. I watched him go. People had become very strange recently.

I wasn't entirely sure why.

---

If anything, Jackson and I were behaving more professionally than usual. There was no reason to invite speculation. So we did what sensible adults would do. We gave each other plenty of space. We didn't linger. Didn't stand beside one another. Didn't chat between drills. We spoke when hockey required it.

Otherwise... Normal.

Entirely normal.

The fact that we'd somehow managed to end up on opposite sides of the room before practice was almost certainly a coincidence.

---

Coach Hayes split us into line rushes.

Jackson skated past without looking at me.

"Morning."

"Morning."

That was the entire conversation.

Perfectly reasonable.

We definitely didn't spend the next five minutes making an obvious effort not to look at one another.

---

Ben watched us for a while. Then drifted over to Eddie. I wasn't trying to listen. They weren't exactly whispering.

"Well," Ben said.

Eddie nodded. "Mhm."

Ben folded his arms. "Something's going on."

"Obviously."

"I'm choosing growth."

Eddie looked at him. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not interfering."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Both of them looked at me.

"Nothing," they said together. Far too quickly.

I stared at them for a second. Then pushed off towards the next drill.

The pressure of the season is getting to everyone.

---

Coach blew the whistle. Three-on-two rush.

Jackson picked up the puck in the neutral zone. I took the outside lane. One defender stepped towards him. Without either of us saying a word, I cut inside. He delayed half a heartbeat. The puck arrived exactly where I expected it. One touch. Back to him. He was already there. Another touch.

Goal.

The entire sequence happened so quickly I didn't really think about it until we circled back to center.

Coach nodded once. "Again."

We did. Different rush. Different defenders. Exactly the same result. I found open ice. Jackson found me.

I gave it back before he'd finished moving. The puck was in the net before either defender had turned around.

Ben let out a long, theatrical sigh. "Idiots."

I looked over. "What?"

He rubbed both hands over his face. "Nothing."

"You're doing that thing again."

"What thing?"

"The thing where you ask questions I can't answer."

"I've answered every question you've asked."

"Not usefully."

"No."

I shook my head and skated back towards the line. Ben watched me go with the same expression my primary school teacher used to wear whenever I insisted the alphabet went L... J... K... M... O... N.

Patient. Deeply concerned. Entirely convinced I'd eventually work it out.

I had absolutely no idea what his problem was.

------

The whistle blew for a water break. Bottles appeared from every direction. I coasted towards the bench, grabbed mine and leaned against the boards while Coach Hayes rearranged magnets on the whiteboard.

Assistant Coach Daniels wandered over beside him. Neither seemed particularly aware I was standing less than ten feet away.

Daniels glanced across the ice. His gaze lingered on Jackson. Then shifted to me. Then back again.

"Huh."

Hayes kept writing.

Daniels nodded almost to himself. "Something happen?"

Hayes didn't even look up. "Yep."

"You gonna ask?"

"No."

Daniels took a drink from his bottle. Waited.

Hayes finally capped his marker. "If they're smart, they'll sort it out."

"And if they aren't?"

Hayes looked across the rink. Ben was enthusiastically explaining something to Eddie with enough hand gestures to direct aircraft.

A shadow of genuine concern crossed Hayes's face. "Then Ben will."

Daniels laughed. Hayes didn't.

"God help us if Ben gets involved."

Daniels laughed harder. I frowned into my water bottle. That sounded... oddly specific.

The prospect of Ben "getting involved" appeared to concern him. I decided I didn't particularly want to know why.

Coach blew the whistle. "Let's go."

I tossed the empty bottle back into the rack and skated out for the next drill.

Ben caught my eye as I passed.

He smiled and gave me an encouraging nod.

I immediately looked somewhere else.

Jackson laughed at something Eddie said.

I looked away again.

---

Practice ended with the usual chorus of sticks against the boards and skates carving lazy arcs towards the tunnel. Jackson peeled off first. I automatically pushed away from the boards. Then stopped.

Right.

Probably better not. There was absolutely no reason to follow him into the dressing room. I wanted to. That was precisely why I didn't.

People might... I frowned.

People might what?

Nothing. Still. I waited another thirty seconds before heading in.

Entirely normal.

---

By the time I reached the dressing room, Jackson had already showered, changed and was stuffing the last of his things into his bag.

"You heading out?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

He gave me a quick nod and disappeared through the door. I watched it swing shut behind him. Then realized I was still looking at it.

I busied myself with untying a skate.

---

The room settled into its usual post-practice routine. Lockers slammed. Someone argued with a stubborn strip of stick tape. Rick wandered through collecting laundry bags.

Ben looked around the room. "So..."

Aleksander glanced up. "We pretending we don't know?"

Rick frowned. "Know what?"

Every head turned towards him. Rick looked from face to face.

"...Oh." He sighed. "Right."

Ben nodded solemnly. "We don't interfere."

Coach Hayes walked past the doorway carrying a clipboard.

Without breaking stride he said, "Definitely not."

Ben blinked. "...Coach heard that."

"I hear everything."

Hayes disappeared down the corridor. The room fell quiet for a moment.

Ben looked at Eddie. "Five bucks says they try to hide it."

Eddie snorted. "They're already hiding it."

"They're terrible at it."

Aleksander zipped up his bag. "Painfully."

Ben smiled. "This is going to be fun."

I looked around the room. "...What's going on?"

Four heads turned towards me. There was the briefest pause.

Then, in remarkable unison— "Nothing."

Far too quickly. Far too innocently.

I narrowed my eyes. "You're all being weird."

"Nope," Ben said.

"Not weird at all," Eddie agreed.

Aleksander nodded with entirely unconvincing seriousness.

"Perfectly normal."

Rick picked up the last laundry bag.

"I have absolutely no idea what's happening."

Ben pointed at him.

"Best acting in the room."

I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed for the door, shaking my head.

Maybe they'd planned something for Ben.

That seemed the most likely explanation.

I wished him luck.

Honestly.

Weirdos.