Love For A Game

Chapter 3

Everybody begins talking at once.

"Did you accept it?"

"Are you staying or going?"

"Are you leaving us? Oh my god, he's leaving us!"

"Guys!" I yell. "It's all right. I'm not leaving. I said that I'd play next season, but not now."

Everyone sighs in relief. "I wouldn't leave in the middle of the season. We have a championship title to win. And I won't leave until that happens."

Everyone cheers. "We still havin' a party tonight?" Charlie says.

"Yeah," I say. "Anyone up for pizza?"

***

We sure know how to throw a party. The team goes to Pizza Hut, our favourite place for team parties. Coach Bennington is paying for it. He knows the owner, Gary Lindell, so he gets deals every time we go.

We sit at a long table (really, it's four tables put together), with at least three or four large pizzas, breadsticks, pasta, and Caesar salad spread out all over. I sit at one end, with Josh, Nathan, Luke, Charlie, and Noel.

"Hey Jordan," Luke quips. "How'd the Habs do against Minny last night?"

Luke is a big fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs (I wonder if he and my father would get along?), so he always makes fun of me for liking the Montreal Canadiens. Last night the Canadiens played the Minnesota North Stars, and lost badly, 7 to 1.

"Better than the Leafs, I'd say," I reply. "Who do they've got anyway, other than Vaive?"

"They've got lots of great players," Luke says. "They got Dan Daoust, John Anderson, Mike Palmateer..."

"Mike Palmateer?!" I shout. "Oh my lord, Luke! He's a sieve! Hardy Astrom for Colorado is better than he is!"

"Hey, don't go bangin' on Hardy Astrom," Noel pipes up. "He's the best Swedish goalie in the NHL."

"Noel, he's the only Swedish goalie in the NHL!"

"As I said, he's the best."

"Hey Noel," Nathan says. "How about that goal you let in against Fred Larkin?"

"My god!" Josh says. "That was what, fifty feet?"

"My grandmother could have stopped that one, and she's as blind as a bat!" Charlie shouts.

"It's better than the defensive play you tried to make against Zach Garrison, Josh," Noel replies. "He just went right around you, eh?"

"Or that time Nathan tried to join the rush," I say. "You got a hip check from who was it again?"

"Eric Waters," Nathan replies.

"Oh man, Eric Waters," I say. "He's what, four or five inches shorter than you?"

"You see?" Noel says. "This is why defensemen can't play offense!"

"How about Jordan's end-to-ender against Aliston?" Luke says. "He got a breakaway, and beat everything but the post."

"Yeah yeah, real funny," I say. "How about when Chars tried to hit Alec O'Donnell?"

"You went head over heels into their bench, eh?" Josh laughs. "You really made friends with the opposition that day, did ya? I think one if them took a shot at you."

"Yeah," Charlie says. "I couldn't see out of my left eye for two weeks."

"Should've worn an eye patch, Chars," Noel says. "You might've looked a little better."

"You kiddin', Noel?" Nathan says. "He's too far gone. Chars can't look any better. There's no fixing him."

"At least he has a girlfriend, Nate," I say. "You couldn't get one if you payed them."

"Do you have one?" Nathan replies. "Last time I checked, our esteemed captain here was a massive loner."

"I don't have time for that," I say. "Hockey's more important to me at the moment."

"You better have one for the annual Ryerson High Christmas Ball," Luke says.

"That's in a month from now," I say. "I'll have someone by then."

"Who you thinking of?" Nathan asks.

"I don't know," I reply. "Maybe Lily Vaughan or Terra Nash. They're cool enough."

"Bro," Luke says. " Lily is all mine. You can't have her."

"Oh, someone got a crush on Lily Vaughan?" Noel jokes.

"W-what?" Luke splutters. "No, I don't!"

I put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Luke, if you have a crush on Lily Vaughan, it's okay. We're game, okay?"

"All right, fine," Luke mumbles. "I do have a crush on Lily Vaughan."

"There it is!" Charlie shouts. "He admits it!"

Coach Bennington comes over to us. "Hey guys, you ready to go? It's getting late."

"Yeah, why not?" I say. We all grab our coats, and head outside, while Coach pays the bill.

***

Later that night, as I lay in bed, I wonder, do I put too much into hockey? I'm almost sixteen. Should I look for a relationship? Everyone else is.

Life is more important than a game, a voice says in my head.

But hockey is my calling, I respond.

But what if it doesn't turn out that way? The voice says.

Then I realize, I should look for someone. I'll start tomorrow. I need to look for a relationship.

______

The song on the side is "With a Little Help from my Friends", by the Beatles.