Chapter 45 Ari
Ari
“Why are you awake so early?” she asked as Sienna zipped up her fleece.
“It’s game day,” Yasmeen said as she laced up her shoes.
“But the game isn’t until four p.m.,” Ari said, sleepy and confused.
“You wake up early every morning, walk alone, and get ready for all our matches by yourself. So today, we’re joining you,” said Yasmeen as she shrugged on her coat.
Ari paused, smiled, and got dressed before the four of them left their room and walked out into the corridor.
When she opened the door, the entire team was waiting in the hallway.
All twenty-two of her teammates were wearing thermals and winter coats as they clutched hot flasks of tea and got ready to go outside.
“Let’s go, Captain,” said Izzy, handing Ari a flask with her favorite golden matcha as they all walked down the stairs of GB House.
The sun hadn’t risen yet, but the first glimmers of early-morning light would appear on the horizon in an hour.
Ari had gotten so used to going outside alone that she’d equated the first hours of the day with silence.
All she’d heard was the sound of the snow beneath her feet and the facilities management staff gritting the pathways to melt ice.
But as she and her girls walked through the snow that morning, the Village sounded more alive than ever before.
The path was filled with laughter, conversation, and the sound of her team’s excited feet stepping out onto an untouched layer of snow.
They spent the walk sipping from their flasks, talking about the game ahead of them, and catching up on everything they’d missed in each other’s lives since arriving in the Village, including the truth behind Ari’s new relationship.
“I’m really happy for you,” Yasmeen said. “And Drew seems like a nice guy, but…”
“Dating Thandie Dlamini’s brother? Not my best decision,” Ari said, rubbing her temple.
“You know what this means, right?” Sierra said, flashing her a wicked smile.
“That Thandie is going to try and destroy us just to get back at me? Yes,” said Ari.
That morning marked the day of the ice hockey quarterfinals.
Against the odds, they’d made it further than any other GB women’s ice hockey team by making it to the quarterfinals.
And their prize for making it this far was playing a group of women they’d never won a game against in their lives, Team USA.
“Well, I hope Drew’s worth it,” Sienna said with a warm smile. Ari just nodded. No matter what happened next, he was.
Coach McLaughlin always sequestered them on the day of a major game, so Ari decided to use her phone to get the behind-the-scenes photos essential to capturing the day of the quarterfinal.
She and her friends spent the morning getting ready and taking dozens of photos of each step in the process.
From grabbing breakfast and packing their kit bags to trudging through the snow as they made their way to the stadium.
Upon arriving at the training rink, Ari was in the middle of taking a picture of Yasmeen and Sienna dancing down the halls when she saw a familiar face waiting for them outside the corridor that led to the locker rooms.
“Thandie?” Ari said, looking over at the woman who stood in front of them.
She was dressed in the comfiest version of the Team USA uniform that morning.
Sleek, white tracksuit bottoms and a stylish blue sweatshirt with her name embroidered on the sleeves.
It was strange to see Thandie like this, fresh faced in the morning light.
She seemed younger than usual, her face soft and open.
“Can we talk … alone?” Thandie asked, looking over at Ari’s teammates.
They cast her curious glances but headed over to the locker room once Ari gave them a nod to go ahead.
Once they’d left, Ari and Thandie walked over to a bench in the hallway and sat down.
Ari’s mind instantly wandered back to dinner the other day, cringing at the memory.
They’d both acted out, but Ari could understand why Thandie hated her so much.
“I am really sorry about the accident,” Ari said. “Truly, I would have never done something like that on purpose. I was just—”
“I know,” Thandie said softly. “You don’t have to apologize.”
When they were kids on the teenage league, a few of their teammates had been friends.
So, they’d ended up at enough of the same sponsor talks, brand events, and post-competition afterparties to become friendly acquaintances.
But they hadn’t spoken one-on-one like this since the accident.
After a few moments of silence, Thandie finally sighed and spoke up.
“If I was on the men’s team, people would love me for being competitive, you know,” Thandie said. “The way I move on the rink? They would praise me for being strategic. The energy I put into being the best? They would say I’m focused, relentless, an athlete on their way to the hall of fame.”
“You are,” said Ari, because it was true. Thandie was undeniably one of the best in the game.
“Thank you. But that’s not the narrative that people focus on when I’m on the rink. Did you know that a commentator once said live, on air, that I’m ‘not a girl’s girl’?” Thandie sounded genuinely hurt. It was one of those throwaway insults that cut deep.
“I organize all my teammates’ birthday dinners, coach the under-fourteens’ team in the breaks between seasons, and would literally go to war for the people I love. But I’m allegedly not a girl’s girl because I have the audacity to be and believe that I’m the best at what I do?”
“It’s bullshit.” Ari nodded. She’d never really looked at things from Thandie’s point of view. But she knew full well that it wasn’t easy being a woman in professional sports.
“So, if you know it’s bullshit, why do you perpetuate it?” Thandie said, looking directly at her. There was no annoyance in her voice. Just curiosity, and a little bit of hurt. Ari paused for a moment.
“I don’t understand.”
“I heard you, you know. At the first major game I played when I came back from the injury that almost ruined my life? I walked into the canteen and heard you and your teammates describing me like I was this mean, vicious, unreasonable person just because I didn’t want to make small talk and hand out fake smiles. ”
Ari thought back to the competition Thandie was talking about. She did remember talking about Thandie with her teammates, but she had no idea that she’d overheard them. She would have never said anything if she’d known she was in the room.
“I didn’t know,” Ari said, but it was a weak excuse. Thandie shook her head.
“It’s one thing to hear that from commentators and rival teams, but from you?
We don’t have to be friends, but a little bit of grace and consideration would have been nice.
You know how quick they are to villainize women.
Especially Black women. Of all the people in the league, I hoped that you would stand up for me when I came back. ” Thandie shrugged, disappointed.
And suddenly everything clicked into place. Ari was hit with a wave of self-awareness.
“I guess I was just so caught up with my own worries and insecurities that I never stopped to question whether I was projecting them onto you,” Ari said, looking over at Thandie. “I’m so sorry.”
But words didn’t feel like enough, so she lifted her arms and pulled Thandie into a hug. At first Thandie froze, but then she hugged her back. It felt like the end of one chapter and the start of another. When they let go, both women laughed a little.
“Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you because we hugged it out.” Thandie smiled.
“I would expect nothing less than you at your best.” Ari nodded, but she couldn’t just leave it there. So, she told her the truth. “You know we all look up to you, right?”
“Flattery doesn’t work on me,” Thandie said, waving her off and picking up her bag.
“But it’s not. It’s the truth. Your comeback was the best thing to happen to the sport, seeing you pick yourself up, come back better than before, and be so determined. It inspired us, especially me.”
“Really?” Thandie’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah, it did. I used to think, If Thandie can come back like that, there’s no excuse for us not to do everything we can to do the same. The sport is better because you’re in it, and it shouldn’t have taken all of this for me to tell you that.”
“Okay, that’s enough sincerity for one day,” Thandie said, standing up.
“See you on the rink?” Ari said.
Thandie flashed her a wicked smile.
“May the best team win.”