Stick With the Hockey Rival

TWO

“What’s up with the banana emoji? Is that like the new eggplant?” Fox’s face pinches in thought. “Wait, this might work for adding a layer of organization to my contacts—Eggplant, grade A head. Banana, solid B, still nothing to balk at,” Dominic Fox, my closest friend—currently questioning this status—and Saints’ teammate, says from where he sits beside me in our team’s navy-and-yellow-themed locker room.

I shake my head, running my hands through my sweat-soaked hair. My skin is sticky, and every muscle aches after our brutal loss against Vancouver. My eyes lose focus on our logo projected onto the floor, a bold “S” with angel wings. If only those wings brought us the miracle we need this season.

We’ve lost more than we’ve won. No matter how hard we fight, we always seem to end up on the losing side. A feeling I know all too well. Tonight’s loss is just a drop in the bucket compared to the weight I’m carrying, knowing what Hannah is going through—and that I can’t be there for her.