Making the Cut by David Skuy Read Free Book Online

Zane’s left shoulder and flew after it with short choppy strides. His move surprised Zane and they both arrived at the puck at the same time. Zane then surprised him by easing up slightly, allowing Charlie to touch it first.
    Then he wished he hadn’t. Zane drove Charlie into the boards so hard he lost his wind for a second. Both of them bounced off. Charlie looked down, all the while fighting for breath. The puck remained against the boards. Before Zane could recover his balance, Charlie knifed the puck on his backhand and swooped between him and the post. The goalie threw out his paddle for a poke check, a smart move that would have worked if Charlie hadn’t transferred the puck to his forehand a second before. He took two steps across the front of the net and swept the puck into the far side — just before Zane’s stick whacked him on the right forearm.
    The whistle blew and Binns let out a loud, “Hurrah!”
    “Finally, a goal on this drill. Love it. That was hard — that was hockey. You all see that focus by Charlie? He took the hit, kept his cool, and made a play on the net. Zane, don’t give up after the hit. These guys don’t fall down too easy.”
    The next pair lined up. Charlie was smarting from the slash, and still winded from the hit; but Binns’s praise took the sting out of it. If that’s what it took to score a goal at this camp — then that’s what he’d do.
    And maybe Zane wouldn’t underestimate him, either.

7

CIRCUS ACT
    BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP!
    Charlie turned the alarm off, relieved that it had worked, and tossed the covers to the side. He’d spent ten minutes checking and rechecking the alarm last night. As he got dressed he felt unfamiliar pains in his legs and shoulders, and then it dawned on him that he was actually sore from the fitness testing and the practice.
    “I feel like an old man,” he said to Corey, twisting his back and flinging his arms windmill style to loosen up.
    Corey didn’t answer.
    “Wake up, Corey. Breakfast is in thirty minutes.”
    Charlie shook his head. His roommate was amazing that way — already gone. Did he ever sleep? Charlie finished dressing quickly. He wanted to knock on Scott and Nick’s door this time.
    Bang. Bang. Bang
. Nick and Scott walked in.
    “Did you guys sleep outside my door?” Charlie said. “Let me wake you up for once.”
    “Joyce, your pathetic attempt to wake up earlycannot defeat my awesome ability to rise at an ungodly hour,” Scott said.
    “I woke you up this morning,” Nick declared.
    “What I meant was Charlie’s pathetic attempt to wake up early cannot defeat my awesome ability to be woken up by Nick …”
    “It’s too early for me to listen to this,” Nick said. “I need breakfast first.”
    “Is it too early to listen to this?” Scott said. He began to imitate a chicken.
    “Where’s the roommate?” Nick asked Charlie as they left for the cafeteria.
    “Dunno. He’s like The Shadow. The guy disappears on me all the time.”
    “Maybe he has super powers,” Scott said excitedly, “that allow him to turn into a white mist and slip under the door …” He trailed off. “It’s too early for that too, isn’t it.”
    “We’ll tell you when to talk again,” Nick said.
    Scott paid no attention. “Joyce, I’m not sure about your roomie. He kinda scares me.”
    Scott got along with almost everyone, so his comment took Charlie by surprise. “He’s okay,” Charlie said slowly. “Like I said before. He’s a little intense, is all. Give him a chance.”
    Nick didn’t look convinced. “If he can play, then all’s forgiven. If he hangs out with Jake, forget it.”
    Charlie knew Nick was joking, but it bothered him that his friends had taken a dislike to Corey so quickly.
    “There’s my roomie,” Scott said suddenly, and he ranahead. “Hey, Sloggermeister. Wait up.” He clapped Slogger on the back. “Yo, Slogger. You can’t go to breakfast without us. You won’t understand the delicate