Once again, Rocket’s back was glued to the seat inside the bus station. There was no air conditioning in here, and it felt like he was in an oven. There was a breeze outside, but he didn’t have the energy to move. He’d barely summoned the strength to get himself here.
The boulder was right back on his shoulders, twice as big as ever. Each time he thought about what had happened, he got more depressed.
One stupid moment, one dumb push and he was gone. What now? Where would he play? Should he just give up?
What about Maddy?
What about his mom?
What about when his mom found out he couldn’t even get a NCAA scholarship now?
His back was on fire. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Maddy should be arriving now. It was going to be so embarrassing. She may as well turn around and go home.
A bus pulled in, the brakes screeching as it came to a stop. Rocket got up and trudged over. How to even start? Hi, Maddy. I pushed a guy and now my hockey career is over. Let’s go back to our crappy apartment.
The bus door opened and the passengers streamed out. He peered up into the windows to find her. He thought he saw a familiar face. Too short to be Maddy. He leaned against a metal pole and closed his eyes. He had a headache, a dull, throbbing pain. He never got headaches.
“Wake up, Mr. Tour Guide. We’re here.”
He opened his eyes.
“Megan?”
“You were expecting …?”
“Maddy?”
“Two for the price of one,” Megan said, as Maddy came up beside her. “And the rest of the gang is coming later, plus André, in about an hour. They couldn’t get on this bus. No seats.”
The ache in his head got worse. “I wish you’d told me you were all coming,” Rocket said. “Besides, where are you going to stay?”
“My uncle and aunt live close by, in a big house. Lots of room,” Megan said.
Maddy was eying him closely. “What’s wrong, Bryan?”
He stared back at her. She could always tell.
Megan’s smile disappeared. “Did something happen?”
He had to turn away. It hit him ten times harder than before. Kicked off the team for fighting — so embarrassing he wanted to scream.
He felt even worse for Maddy. This meant it was over. He’d let her down. His rep was toast. No OHL team would touch him. Now they’d never get out of that neighbourhood — or away from the Brigade.
“Let’s go. I have some friends waiting at a restaurant. It’s a couple of guys I know from the tryout and Devin, who I’m staying with. It’s a cool place, and they’re good guys.”
Maddy crossed her arms. “Out with it, Rockwood. What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
She didn’t move.
“Can we start walking?” he said. “This place smells like bus fumes.”
“I could do without the fumes,” Megan said.
They left the station and headed to Jimmy’s.
“Bryan?” Maddy said.
“Okay. I did something. Maybe on the stupid side. The really, really stupid side.” He rubbed his hands together. “It’s a long story. The short version is there’s this guy on the team …”
“You mean Cash?” Maddy asked.
He’d texted her about him. “Yeah. He and his friends tried …” They’d freak if he told them about the hazing. He decided to skip to today. “Anyway … I’m off the team, for fighting, not even for hockey. I got into it with Cash in the dressing room this morning. He was bugging me, as usual, and this time I burned him back, so he hit me. Then I pushed him, and he fell over a hockey bag and hit his shoulder. He wasn’t really hurt, at least that’s what the trainer told me, but Gold went ballistic and kicked me off the team. He’s the owner and the general manager, so there was nothing anyone else could do. The coach tried, but …”
He balled his fists and bit down on his lip. The rage flowed through him. He was such an idiot.
“What about that Cash guy?” Megan said. “What happened to him?”
“Nothing. He’s the golden boy, the first-round superstar. He does whatever he wants. Gold is in love with him. Like a total idiot, I go after him. How stupid can I be? I completely blew it. I was so close! I was getting ice time on the third line with two veterans. I could’ve made it. This could have been our chance, Maddy.”
Maddy looked like she was about to say something, but Megan spoke first. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. This is really bad, way worse than when I got cut from the Huskies. Now I have a reputation for being a troublemaker. Another strike against me.”
“I’m sorry, Bryan,” Megan said. “I know how much this meant to you. For it to end like this …”
“C’mon,” Maddy said. “This is where the Rocket gets his revenge and goes on to smoke the Axmen.”
“This isn’t a Disney movie,” Rocket said. “I won’t find another OHL team this season.”
“Then next year,” Maddy said.
“I need to think about it. This is so messed.” He let himself laugh. He needed to. “Hey, I don’t want to spend the rest of the day being depressed. Let’s forget about it for now. I’ll worry tomorrow.” He shook his arms and body. “Done. Flushed. It’s over. Move on. The Axmen are dead to me. No point thinking about it.”
The girls remained oddly silent.
“It’s probably time for me to focus on school and … I don’t know … a normal life. Do you know the odds of making the NHL? It’s like 3,000 to 1. Even if you make an OHL team, the odds are huge. Am I that good, a fifteenth-rounder with a bad rep?”
They didn’t answer.
“Is it too late to call the guys and tell them not to come?” he asked.
“Yup,” Megan said. “They’re already on the bus.”
He threw his hands in the air. “Perfect. Just unreal.”
They turned the corner onto the main street. “There’s Jimmy’s. I’m having the three biggest banquet burgers of my life. Hopefully I’ll explode and this will be all over.”
“That sounds messy,” Maddy said. “Could you at least blow up when we’re not around?”
“I second that. It’d take forever to get the Bryan bits out of my hair,” Megan said.
Rocket hadn’t noticed before, but Megan’s hair was different, thicker somehow, curlier. It looked nice.
“Okay, I promise not to explode anywhere near you. I’ll go off by myself in a corner. I’ll be the boy crying.”
“You’re always the boy crying,” Maddy said.
“Stop trying to cheer me up.”
Megan was texting. “I’ll let the guys know to meet us here.”
“I think I see Kyle and Nathan on the patio.” Rocket opened the gate and walked over to the corner. “Hey, guys. Don’t tell me you ate already.”
“Only breakfast and a post-breakfast snack,” Kyle said.
“And a pre-lunch nibble,” Nathan added.
“Kyle, Nathan, this is Maddy. She’s like my sister. And this is Megan … a friend.”
Kyle and Nathan gave him a look.
“Hi, sister-like Maddy. Hi, friend-Megan,” Kyle said.
“Maybe I didn’t nail the intro,” Rocket said.
“I live with Rocket and his mom,” Maddy said. “So we kind of think of ourselves as related, but we’re not.”
“That must be a relief for you,” Kyle said.
Everyone burst out laughing, Rocket most of all. Nathan was the first to stop.
“Kyle filled me in, Rocket,” he said. “That was so wrong. I wish Kyle wasn’t playing for them. It’ll be the worst dressing room ever.”
“Have a seat, ladies,” Kyle said. “Welcome to Jimmy’s. If you don’t have the fries, you’ll hate yourself forever. We can have wings, but we’ll have to order the baby chicken fingers with sweet sauce for Rocket.”
“I’m not good with spicy,” Rocket said to Megan.
“Has Rocket told you about the fight?” Nathan asked the girls.
“Some fight,” Rocket said. “I gave him a push.”
“It wasn’t the softest push I’ve ever seen.” Kyle grinned.
“He told us a bit,” Megan said.
“Can we not talk about it?” Rocket pleaded. “At least not until I stuff home a banquet burger?”
“Good call, young man,” Kyle said. “You need some bacon grease in your system.”
“I don’t know what I need,” Rocket said. Whatever he’d found funny about today suddenly vanished. “This is bad. I keep trying to be positive, to believe that I can get past this, but it’s like what you said, Nathan. It’s probably time to accept the facts. Hockey doesn’t want me.”
“I don’t know if I agree,” Nathan said. “You’re the real deal. I’m not you. I can deal with that. It wasn’t meant to be for me, but I don’t think that’s true for you.”
“No way you’re quitting,” Kyle said. “That would be even worse than Cash getting away with another fake injury.”
“Did he do this before?” Maddy asked.
Kyle clapped Nathan on the back. “This is victim number one. Cash ran into Nathan and acted like he’d been attacked by a pack of wild gorillas.” Kyle put both hands out on the table. “Stop. Don’t make a sound. I want to enjoy that image for a while. Hmm, wild gorillas attacking Cash …” A dreamy look crossed his face.
“Are you guys going to eat something … else?” Caroline was standing there, holding a pad of paper and a pen.
“We need a banquet burger for my slightly depressed friend, who isn’t going to give up playing hockey,” Kyle said. “What do the rest of you want?”
“Can I see a menu?” Megan asked.
Kyle and Nathan began laughing.
“You can’t use a menu at Jimmy’s. You got to feel it,” Kyle said. “What hits you: burgers, wings, pizza, turkey club, ribs?”
“What about the fries?” Maddy asked.
“Fries are automatic. They come no matter what,” Nathan said.
“How are the suicide wings?” Megan said.
“Am I the only wuss here?” Rocket asked, and then he put a hand across Maddy’s mouth. “Don’t answer that, please.”
“We’ll go with two pounds of suicide, and maybe a few hot wings as an appetizer,” Nathan said. “And two baskets of fries, along with a plate of deep-fried cheese strings.”
“I’ll have the large salad with a baked chicken breast and some whole wheat bread,” Kyle said.
They all turned to him.
“Sorry. I have a game tonight.”
They all started laughing again. Even Rocket.