Chapter One

Square it off.

Move the blade back, just a little.

And then—

Wham!

Goal!

I smiled through my mouth guard as sweet satisfaction trickled in. My teammates whooped and formed a half-moon around me. Metal scraped against ice as they slid in to thump me on the back.

"Nice shot, Stevens," my coach called. "Now come in for a water break before you kill yourself."

"But, Coach, I don't need a break!" I protested, only it came out, "Vut, Coash, I on't eed a wake," since my mouth guard was still in.

"Don't argue with me, Stevens," Coach growled. "Just get your ass over here or you'll be running laps over in the gym."

"Just go, Lisa," Silas laughed. "I'm not carrying you home."

"Shut up," I snapped, but I obeyed the coach and skated in.

Back at the box, Coach Harvers fixed me with a stern look as I pulled off my gloves and helmet and removed my mouth guard. Avery—another player—got up to replace me, and I knew Coach was keeping me out for a while. What had I done? As I lifted my water bottle, he started in on me.

"Stevens, I don't wanna see that stick up when you're so close to the goal."

"Is that why you pulled me out?" I panted, standing even though my body screamed to sit.

"No," the coach said. "I pulled you because you're skating yourself into the ice again. You need to slow down a bit. You're wearing yourself out too much."

"I'm fine, Coach—"

"No, you're not, Stevens. When you pass out in the match Tuesday because you're exhausted, I won't have my best wing anymore. So stop overdoing it. Have a seat."

Scowling, I chugged down some water and leaned back against the hard box wall. I knew I was overdoing it, but I wasn't going to admit it. I could play just as well as anyone else, and since I was the only girl on the team, it was especially important for me never to look weak. I had to do my best, and I had to always work to do better than the boys, or I would be written off as a 'girl'.

Ice hockey was pretty popular among the boys here at Little High; however, that was the predominant gender, which unfortunately made me the only player of the female species. Which was fine with me, to tell the truth. I got no special treatment, and I got yelled at just as much as the next player.

Scanning the court, I could see play had long since resumed. Today's practice had been hard-core so far. Everyone was trying hard to show skill so that he/she could start Tuesday in our match against East, which had one hell of a team. Heh. But we could win. I knew we had so much more determination than other teams did, probably because we had so much more to prove. This year was going to be different from past years, in which this team had not done so well. Then, last year, I had joined the team, and there were so many new players and a new coach. Since then, play had picked up and improved, and this year could be even better if we all put forth some effort.

But, me—well, I played my hardest no matter what. For me, it wasn't to prove anything to anyone but me, and I was honoring my own philosophy—always do your best. Some of my teammates felt the same, but some didn't. The kids who cared the least were the boys whose dads were expecting a scholarship. Vicarious living was not the way to achieve this, though, as these dads only turned their boys against them.

Maybe that was why I loved to play so much—no one was forcing me, pushing me. I did this because I wanted to.

I dwelled on these thoughts as practice dragged on. Coach didn't put me back in, and I didn't ask to play. I suddenly felt so tired, and my eyes were drifting shut so that I eventually began to see twelve players instead of six. I couldn't sleep, or I would get in trouble.

"Tired?" a jovial voice teased, and I sat up and glared at Jinx, who was sitting next to me.

"No," I said stubbornly.

"Whoa, calm down, I was just kidding," Jinx said, holding up his gloved hands in surrender.

I slumped a bit.

"Okay, maybe I am a little tired," I admitted. "But don't tell anyone."

Jinx laughed, and his dark brown eyes seeped mirth into the air from beneath his helmet. We had been good friends since I joined the previous year. Jinx was a senior this year, and I would miss him when he was gone.

"So," he said. "Are you ready for Tuesday?"

I nodded.

"I think we can win," I said. "We just have to try. I just hope Coach lets me play."

Miller—the player on the other side of Jinx—leaned forward and raised his black eyebrow, which even I saw through his helmet.

"Li, you know you're starting," he said.

"I—well—" I stammered, blushing. "Maybe not."

"You're starting."

"I always get in trouble, stupid," I said. "I can't even breathe without getting yelled at."

"Miller! You're in!" Coach suddenly called, and Miller stood and grabbed his gloves and stick and mouth guard. Before he skated by me, he leaned down and said, "That's because you're good."

He left me speechless at the bench.

XXX

Practice ended after forever, and Coach called everyone into a circle. Wearily, I pushed up from the bench and skated over along with the other boys who had been sitting with me. Coach waited until we all were gathered around before giving us the traditional post-practice pep talk.

"Good work, guys," he said. "Keep playing this way and we'll crush East. And, dammit, keep your sticks on the ground when you're inside the goal zone."

He looked right at me, and I felt hot red fill up my cheeks and ears.

"Other than that, great," Coach continued. "See you tomorrow for practice, ten a.m."

He dismissed us, and we all went to get changed. I, of course, had to change in the girl's bathroom, which was kind of small, but I wasn't exactly allowed to change in the boy's locker room. Not that I hadn't before. I had snuck in several times because I was tired of changing in a bathroom. I had seen some pretty nice things, too…

When I was done and in only a beater, warm-ups, and my Adidas flip flops, I hoisted my duffel bag strap up onto my shoulder and headed outside. I was the only one out so far, and I set my bag down and took a big swig of my ice-cold water. I pulled my straightened hair back into a fresh ponytail and impatiently waited for Silas to get out here since he was the one driving.

A cool breeze blew, and I tasted winter in it. The skies were unclouded as of yet, but that wouldn't last long. By November, there was always plenty of snow here.

Shaking my head to clear it, I heard the school doors open, and Silas stepped out. Spotting me, he hurried over and asked, "Ready to go?"

I nodded and picked up my duffel. I suddenly felt the weight of Silas' arm around my shoulders, and I looked up at him questioningly. His blue green eyes that were almost the same shade as mine were narrowed in humor.

"I think you should put some clothes on," he advised. "You're distracting the cross-country team."

He indicated with his eyes across the parking lot, and I glanced up to see boys running on the sidewalk. I smiled and waved at the ones who were staring, and a few stumbled.

Silas shook his head in disbelief as I laughed.

"Do you like torturing them?" he asked as we walked.

"Torturing?" I said innocently. "Who said I was torturing anyone?"

"Like I said, you should put more clothes on," he reiterated.

"Why?" I asked. "Because no one wants to see this body?"

"No," Silas said. "The problem is, everyone wants to see it."

"Hmm," I speculated. "Cool."

"Cool?" Silas said incredulously.

I laughed happily and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Let's go home," I said.

Author's Note: This is jsut a random story idea I've had for a while. I know it definitely already needs a lot of work, but I wanted to get this chapter up so I wouldn't lose it.