Practice Makes Perfect

"Hey," I whispered to Zac as he entered the classroom for Math a few steps ahead of me.

"Hi," he whispered back. "Did you get your studying done?"

Catching a warning glance at us from Metzler, I simply nodded and threw him a small smile. We were speaking in whispers because the entire room was deathly quiet.

Sounds like a herd of elephants trampling through here, I thought as Zac and I tried unsuccessfully to sit quietly in our seats. I nodded my thanks to Metzler after he'd handed an exam to me and pointed at the blackboard.

No talking. No chewing gum. No use of notes or programmable calculators. Absolutely no asking questions to other students. Ask me instead. Good luck. I read our teacher's harsh words in my head. Gee, you think he doesn't trust us or something?

"I just absolutely couldn't believe it!!!" A loud, feminine voice echoed through the hallway and into our classroom. "I mean, it was right in my face, Courtney. I just about puked."

"I don't blame you." The entire class even heard Courtney's sympathetic murmur. I shot a look directly at Zac and rolled my eyes before turning my attention back to my exam.

At least his girlfriend knows how to make an entrance.

"I was, like, Hello.. of course not!" This time when Samantha chirped loudly, she got twenty-two pairs of eyes casting evil glances in her direction. She stopped abruptly in the doorway, waved to Courtney and gave us a big smile, right before cracking a bubble with her chewing gum. Given the silence, it almost felt like a sonic boom in my ears.

"Shh!!" Metzler shushed as he handed her a copy of the exam, then pointed to the board. She ignored the gum statement and bounced to her usual seat, blowing Zac a kiss on her way there. It was relatively self-satisfying to watch Zac's cheeks grow pink with embarrassment at her token of affection.

Test, stupid. I reminded myself, snapping my attention back to my own matters. After scanning it over for a few seconds, my face broke into a huge smile.

If I was allowed to eat it, piece of cake.

"I think I'm going to die." Skating to a stop, I panted my complaint to Meredith. Grateful for the break, I immediately removed my helmet and wiped the sweat off my forehead with the edge of my sleeve.

"Welcome to the season." She grinned at me before taking a long drink of water. "I'm just glad I'm not in your position."

"I love being in front of the goal!" I beamed at her. "The thrill of being the last wall of defense, the last man standing, the only thread of us not loosing. Gives me a real ego boost. Plus I don't have to skate as much as you guys, contrary to today's practice."

"Just keep that in mind." Meredith laughed and patted my shoulder with her fist before joining the other forwards on the ice. Today, Coach had decided to separate us into groups. My group, however, consisted only of me and Heather. For some reason, our practice had been just time and distance trials. How on earth it was helping us be better goalies, I had no idea.

"Williams, Schmidt!" Speaking of him, Coach called to us. Glancing over at Heather, I sighed at the end of my break and joined the two of them on the ice.

"Even though Lindsey's starting, I need you both to work on this." For some reason, it was more interesting to watch Coach's wiry gray eyebrows bounce up and down nervously as he spoke instead of listen to the words he was speaking.

"This is what you're going to do." I shook my head and tried to focus. That seemed harder than usual to do today.

"Start in ready position, crouching down like this." It was quite amusing to watch him demonstrate, especially with his trusty clipboard wedged between his upper thighs. "Then, practice rolling. Without sticks, too."

"You want us to roll around on the ice?" I wanted to double-check on that. It sounds like something I'd enjoy when I was three, but now?

"Exactly." Coach nodded and stood up. "Then get up as quickly as possible. Heather's done this before; she'll show you."

"Umm.. sure." I returned his nod, slipped my helmet back on and glanced at Heather for help.

"Like he said, start in ready position." She replied, crouching next to me.

"All right. I'm ready." As I relaxed my knees, I couldn't help but feel a little strange, for we were just crouching in the middle of the ice, not in front of the goal box or anything.

"Now dive like you're going to save a puck." One second she was on my left, explaining things to me. The next, she was sprawled flat on the ice, her body curved into a strange and quite uncomfortable-looking position.

How did she move that fast?

"Umm.." I said again and dived like Superman onto the ice, sliding a few feet forward on my stomach with my arms stretched forward.

"Not like that!" Heather giggled to herself.

"I hope not." I returned her giggle. Strangely enough, she didn't have any problems being second in line for our position. Maybe it's just the competitive streak in me, but if I were her, I'd definently be disappointed. On the other hand, this girl had an endless supply of cheerfulness. That's why I liked her - not a bitter bone in her body, unlike some people I have the displeasure of knowing.

"Here. Let me help a little." She stood up and grabbed a handful of nearby pucks. "I'll throw them across the ice and you bury them with your body. Pretend you have to cover five feet of horizontal space while you're at it."

"Sounds like a plan." I stood up myself and brushed off the ice chunks that clung to my stomach. Crouching down again, I eyed the puck she tossed off my left side and pounced on it like a cat. Unfortunately, given my worn knee pads, my right knee smacked hard against the ice, sending a prickling pain up my leg. At least I'd managed to cover the puck, though.

"Ouch." I rubbed my sore knee right before catching sight of Heather sending another puck a few feet away from me. Scrambling to my feet, I settled for picking the edge of my blades on the ice and flung myself at the puck on my right. Unfortunately again, I smacked the same knee on the ice, this time on the other side of it.

Damn.

"This would be fun if it didn't hurt so much." I complained to Heather as I stood up. She didn't give me much of a chance to recoup, pitching two pucks toward me a few seconds later. Lunging forward, I scooped them up in my arms, catching the bitter scent of the ice in my nose as I slid a few inches forward.

"Wow, you're much better at this then me." I glanced up at Heather when she spoke down on me. "I always bruise my knees."

"Trust me, I'm feeling that." I rolled onto my butt and rubbed my sore knee. I couldn't help but wish I'd had new equipment, or at least be able to borrow Heather's, but the league was very specific in players having their own gear, including registering all of it prior to the games.

"I'm sure you'll do great when the boys get here." Heather's laughter broke my thoughts.

"Boys?"

Why don't I like the sound of that?

"Hey slacker," Zac skated quickly toward me and thumped my right knee pad with his stick.

"Oww!!" I howled in pain as he added to my bruises.

"Geez, sorry." He replied sarcastically. "Glad to see you too."

"Sorry, Zac." I gave him an apologetic smile behind my mask. "I've been diving on my knee for the last twenty minutes. To put it mildly, it's kind of sore. What are you doing here?"

"Your Coach asked us forwards to help you guys practice." He pointed to six other guys who were warming up around the ice. I couldn't help but notice how much larger they were than the girls, their towering frames hunched over sticks.

"Forwards!?" I squealed happily at Zac's words.

"Yeah." He replied coolly.

"You made it Zac!!" I patted him on the back. "Congrats."

"Thanks." He grinned and thumped his gloved hand down on my head, knocking my helmet sideways slightly.

"Ahh.." I adjusted the helmet back into place. "Not that I don't appreciate your gear, but your head's like twice as big as mine."

"Sorry." Again with the sarcasm, implying Zac didn't mean it. Sincerity isn't exactly his middle name.

"What are you guys helping us with?"

"Actually, we're-" He started to say when Coach blew his whistle, sending a shrill shriek echoing over the arena.

"Williams, quit flirting and get your ass over here." He called to me from his new place in front of a goal box.

"As if." I grumbling, winking at Zac as I joined Coach.

"Since you've had a chance to practice diving, now we're kicking it up a gear." He pointed to the goal box. "Start here. I'll have the boys take shots at you and I want you to block them the best you can."

"Ok!" I replied.

Anything not to be making snow angels in the ice again.

"Oh, and start from a position down on the ice." He called over his shoulder before waving the guys over here.

"Peachy." I grumbled softly so he wouldn't hear me while kneeling down on my knees.

"All the way down, Williams." Complying, I felt like an idiot lying flat on my stomach on the ice, especially in front of the line of players that now faced me.

Funny, they look even bigger from down here. I swallowed slightly.

"Now, guys take your shots. Williams, I want you to keep them from scoring."

"From down here?" It sounded unbelievable to me. All I could see were from their knees down.

"From down there."

Oh Lord. I swallowed tightly as I saw dozens of pucks bounce around the ice at Coach's feet as he emptied them from a basket. My eyes followed every move of the first guy as he extended his stick and grabbed one of them. Of course, it had to be Zac.

Since it was pretty much all I could see, my eyes caught the slight bend in his right ankle and then a sharp roll of his left as he started off. Knowing full well I was useless lying flat as a pancake in front of the net, I struggled to my knees, gasping slightly at the pain in my right one. Since I didn't have enough time to get to my feet, I clenched my knees together and spread my feet wide apart in a feeble attempt to block more of the open net space.

Predictable Zac, I realized as all things other than him and the puck were blurred from my view. The cheers from his teammates fell upon my deaf ears as I ignored them. Narrowing my eyes, I watched as he pumped pressure into his calves, heading wide left and then swinging right. Given my uncomfortable kneeling stance, it felt like hours until he approached the net. My heart pounding nervously in my chest, I gasped as Zac's feet closed to a stop off my right side and his stick left the puck, raised it a few inches, and snapped it forward in a wrister shot. Instinctively, I flinched. Having seen me down low, I knew there was no way Zac would shoot it low; instead he'd probably try to flip it over my shoulder, probably my right since he was on that side. Well, I guessed wrong.

I blinked as I caught sight of a black blur whipping at my left ear. Because there wasn't enough time for me to raise my left arm to block, I did the first thing that came to mind: leaned to the left, my head turned sideways. My heart now pounding like a tympani, I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for the impact.

Thunk! I felt the blast right above my right ear, my neck straining as it knocked my head even further sideways. Suddenly, I felt a loss of balance and my body pitched forward. As I sucked in my breathe, I groaned as my ribs smacked against the ice and I landed near the left goal post. With a dizzy sensation in my forehead, I opened my eyes and searched frantically behind me for the puck in the net. Fortunately, I couldn't find it anywhere and I turned my head to the open ice. Still no luck.

"Oh God, I killed her." I vaguely heard Zac say as he dropped his stick and skated toward me. I grinned and shook my head.

"You aren't that lucky, Zac Hanson." Despite the embarrassing event, I managed to crack a smile up at him.

"Are you all right?" He asked, helping me to my feet.

"Yeah, I guess so." I shook my head to clear it. Noticing my helmet had practically been turned sideways as a result of his shot, I removed it and rubbed my forehead.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to hit you in the hea-" "Williams!!" Zac started when Coach bellowed in interruption. My grin immediately dissolved I glanced guiltily over at him.

"Umm.. yeah Coach?" I replied meekly.

"Over here Williams." He gestured for me to skate forward. After casting a quick glance at Zac, I slowly dragged my stick behind me, helmet in hand to receive a predictable lecture.

Great and in front of all these guys too, I glanced at each guy's face briefly as I passed them. They all peered curiously back at me. Being too much to take, I dropped my eyes until I saw the view of Coach's black leather shoes a few inches from my skates. Raising my eyes, I caught sight of his looking steely back at me, giving me shivers.

"Williams," Coach shook his head and lowered his clipboard to his side.

"I'm sorry if that was wrong, Coach." I blurted out. "I didn't know what else to do. I-"

"You're going to take us to the finals."

"-I'm sorry I'll work harder on high shots... I what?" In my flurry of words, I hadn't heard his. My confusion doubled as his face broke into a large smile, the corners of his eyes enveloped with creases.

"What the hell kind of block was that?"

"I don't know." I admitted sheepishly. "I knew I wasn't going to get my hand up in time so I used my head."

"Lord, Williams." He shook his head. "You had a perfect butterfly position block to force Zac to shoot high and then blocked the puck with your head?"

"A butterfly position?" I echoed his words.

"We hadn't gotten around to that yet. Spreading your legs apart but keeping your knees together. Obviously you'll need to practice it because your form was ragged and sloppy. But blocking with your head?"

"It... seemed like the right thing to do at the time." My explanation came out broken as I stammered.

"It might not have been the right thing to do, but it worked."

"It did?"

"Well, you reflected the puck up over the glass with that block. Not much of a chance for a rebound."

"Is that where it went?" I grinned slightly, knowing that was a good thing.

"Just don't do that too often. I don't want our potential MVP getting a concussion. And for God's sake Williams, get a new helmet. After a few more dents like that, yours will be useless."

"Potential MVP.. me?" I squeaked at the words. As he nodded slightly, my mouth dropped open.

"Don't let it get to your head." He replied in a warning tone. "You have a lot of competition here, not to mention more experienced players. Now, try the drill again but this time try to catch the puck in your gloved hand instead."

"Yes sir!" I finally found my voice and strapped on my helmet, positively beaming. As I took my place in front of the goal, I couldn't help but feel good all over, bruised knees and ribs aside.

"Oh, it is gorgeous." I spoke to Anne in hushed tones as Coach pulled a brand-new jersey out of a cardboard box. Given what he was doing, I doubted any of us minded him being in the girls' locker room after practice. I hadn't even gotten over to my locker when he'd burst in, enormous box in his hands. Thank God I hadn't been changing. I think more than enough people have seen me naked to last a lifetime.

"Told you." She smiled as she took her deep purple and white jersey from Coach as he handed it to her. Examining it, I was impressed by the white and black profile of a horse's head across the chest. 'Colts' was scrawled underneath it in purple embroidery beneath it, matching the horseshoe patterns on the sleeves.

In the upper left corner, Anne's held a white 'C' outlined in black, indicating she was the woman in charge. Unfortunately, Anne's playing days were numbered, as her doctor had strongly advised. She'd only be with us for the first week and a half of the season, and then retire to coach from the bench while her line was combined into the others. Meredith was the right forward on that line. It gets more complicated after that, so I'll shut up on the subject.

"Williams." Coach tossed one over to me. I couldn't help but notice it was enormous.

Good.

"Hmm," I thought, running my fingers over the logo on the front.

"Turn them over!" Anne chirped happily. As I did so, I gasped at the black letters 'Williams' written boldly across the shoulders. Something about seeing my name brought tears to my eyes and I fought to hold them in.

Here's a true Kodak moment. I looked up around the circle of us and caught a few smiling faces. Everyone seemed just as impressed as me.

"These are great Anne." Heather called out. I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, they're really nice." A round of thank-yous followed my sentence.

"No problem." Anne replied proudly. "It's all part of the job description."

"Reminder everyone: no practice tomorrow. Get lots of sleep and drink plenty of fluids for Thursday's game." Coach announced before exciting the locker room.

"Can you believe it?" I squealed excitedly to Anne. "Our first game in two days!"

"Yeah," she smiled faintly at me and stood up. I frowned at her lack of enthusiasm.

"Aren't you excited?" I asked her as the group scattered. She turned around and faced me.

"I guess." She forced another smile to me.

"Oh, ok." I replied, at a loss of what to say next. "Didn't sound like it, that's all."

"I just wish I could play more.. for my last year on the team."

"This is your last year!?" I asked incredulously. She nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be nineteen in July, which is too old for the league."

"That sucks."

"Well, I've been here for four years already."

"Wow." I'd only been here for five weeks and it'd seemed like forever. I couldn't imagine four years. "Will you play for another team?"

"Are you kidding?" She stared at me. "I can't once I have my baby. No free time."

"Oh..." I dropped my voice at the harshness I heard from hers. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm not happy about my situation." She sighed and leaned against a row of lockers, rubbing her stomach absently.

"Have you ever felt like all the control in your life suddenly isn't yours anymore?" She asked me thoughtfully.

"You'd be surprised." This time is was my voice that sounded harsh without intention.

"Don't forget about the party at my house tonight, Lindsey." Anne reminded me on her way out.

"Oh, that's right." I replied. "I almost forgot."

"I left maps to my house on the chair that props open the parking lot door."

"Good deal." I waved to her and sat down on the bench in front of my locker. After I spun the dial and lifted the heavy lock, I opened the door slowly and blinked at the full set of new equipment that hung inside.

Is this the wrong locker? I first asked myself, staring at how the white helmet glistened despite the dull lighting. Running my fingers lightly over the padding, I recognized them as the ones I'd tried on with amazement. My eyes also caught sight of a piece of paper resting on the top shelf and I eyed it suspiciously.

Lindsey,

Good luck in the season.

A friend.

That was it. Three simple lines, and they infuriated me to no end.

"I'm going to kill him." With a frustrated sigh, I crumpled up the note in my fist and angrily threw it onto the ground. It'd been too much to think that things could go back to the way they were; now they'd be forever ruined.