Chapter 16 Cameron
sixteen
Cameron
Itake a swig from my water bottle as I watch the game in front of me. We’re ending today’s practice with a scrimmage, and my line isn’t on the ice.
Marissa and Nils seem to want to test out different line combinations, so I expect that we won’t see the line on the ice right now together again.
The line of Zhuri, Clara, and Michael.
They’ve had a few shifts already. Zhuri and Clara are working well together since they were both first line for the Dragons, but Michael is doing everything he can to control the puck and keep it away from his teammates.
It isn’t working. Theo and Sid are playing defense on the opposing side and knock it away from him easily.
“Michael!” I hear Zhuri shout in frustration after. “When your teammates are open, pass the damn puck!”
“Cameron,” Marissa says, walking over to me.
“Hey, Coach Leverson.”
“Do you know what’s going on with Michael?”
I sigh. “He’s not handling the transition well so far.”
“By that, you’re saying he’s not happy about playing with women?”
I uncomfortably rub the back of my neck. “I was trying not to say it.”
“Then I need him to grow a pair,” Marissa chides. “He’s refusing to be a good teammate, and it’s making him play like shit.”
A laugh escapes me, and I can’t stop it. “I’ll try to talk to him after practice. He’ll come around, but he’s taking too long to do it.”
“Appreciate that, Kovacic.”
Michael slips away with the puck again, moving down ice toward Lev. It’s not long before Theo is right on him.
“Michael!” Zhuri yells, hitting her stick off the ice.
I watch him sigh before sending the puck to Zhuri, who hits a wrist shot right between Lev’s legs.
“Nice shot, Hart!” I yell before looking at Marissa again. “Maybe he’s starting to accept it.”
“Maybe. I don’t like the way he plays with them, though. I can’t see these three working as a line.”
“They don’t mesh well. Based on what I’ve seen, I can see him doing well with Aili and Amalia.”
She hums in acknowledgment. “You might be right. I’ll try that line tomorrow.”
Marissa blows her whistle now, signaling the end of practice. We all skate off the ice and break for the locker rooms.
I grab Michael before either of us can enter.
“Got a minute, Perry?”
“What’s up, Cap?”
“Co-captain. I’m your co-captain, just like Zhuri is.”
I can see him fight the urge to roll his eyes. “Right.”
“You need to start showing more respect for your teammates. You played selfishly today.”
He huffs. “I wouldn’t say I was playing selfishly.”
I level him with a look. “How many times did Zhuri ask you to pass the puck before you finally did?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugs.
“The fact that it’s more than one means it’s too many, Michael.
” I lean back against the wall and cross my arms. “Look, I get that you aren’t happy about this new team, but you gotta get over it.
It’s not changing. Zhuri, Clara, and all the other women are our teammates now.
You’re expected to treat them the same way you do the guys. ”
Michael takes a deep breath before letting it out. “Okay. I’ll work on that.”
I clap a hand to his shoulder. “That’s what I was hoping to hear. Now get in there and shower. You smell like ass.”
We both enter the locker room now, strip out of our gear, and head for the showers, washing away all the sweat and odor from today’s practice.
I slip into a white T-shirt and black athletic shorts and pull on a black baseball cap after I’m cleaned up. Sidney walks up to me as I’m flipping it backward.
“What was up with Michael?” he asks.
“Coach Leverson isn’t happy with how he’s treating the women. I told her I’d talk to him.”
He raises his eyebrow. “You think it actually worked?”
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” I admit. “He did pass to Zhuri at the end of practice, and he seemed receptive to what I was saying. I think we might start seeing him be a better teammate now.”
I sling my bag over my shoulder, and Sid and I walk out of the locker room together.
The lightness I’m feeling after what I’d consider a successful conversation with Michael dissipates instantly when my phone vibrates with a call from my father.
Sidney sighs and tries to give me a reassuring smile. “I’ll let you answer that, but don’t let him get to you, Cam.”
I nod, even though we both know that’s an impossible ask.
Sid walks away as I swallow hard before bringing the phone up to my ear.
“Hey, Tata…”