Off the Crossbar by David Skuy Read Free Book Online

have an exciting afternoon ahead of us.”
    Charlie laughed. “I’ll see you at the tryout.”
    Zachary turned a corner and went down a hall. He seemed like a good guy, Charlie thought. He hoped they’d be on the same team again for the scrimmage. Just then the bell sounded signalling the start of classes. He took off for his locker to get his books. His teacher has already warned him about being late.

5

THE FINAL STRAW
    The dressing room door was open. Charlie heard the guys laughing and shouting at each other. He usually relished the locker room banter. That was part of the fun of playing. Not here, though. To him this was hostile territory. No friends here. He was an outsider.
    Charlie walked in feeling self-conscious. Jake, Matt and Liam sat together at the far end. Mike was near the door. He chose Mike, and threw his bag next to him.
    “There’s room on the other side,” Mike said with a sneer.
    “Sorry,” Charlie muttered, quickly unzipping his bag.
    Mike growled quietly and shook his head, but he pushed over to give Charlie some space. Charlie tried to appear nonchalant, but inside he fought to stay relaxed and look cool. He would have given almost anything to be somewhere other than in this dressing room. Nothing to do about it now, he told himself, pulling his skates out.
    As he bent over to dig out his hockey pants, a ball of plastic hockey tape hit Charlie squarely on the top of hishead. At the far end of the room, Jake, Matt and Liam buried their heads in their bags. Each of them was trying hard not to laugh, and not doing a very good job of it. Most of the other boys laughed out loud. Scott, Zachary and Pudge were the only ones who didn’t join in. Scott scowled at the three perpetrators, and Zachary slammed his foot into his skates. Pudge looked down at the floor.
    Charlie saw the ball of tape on the floor. He reached down and picked it up, tossing it in the air a few times before dropping it into his bag. He didn’t say a word, just continued to get ready for practice. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jake reach over and give Matt a high-five. Charlie guessed that Matt had thrown it.
    Out on the ice Charlie raced around the rink at top speed, whipping past the other players. He cut crisply behind one net, digging his edges in, pushing off with each step to maintain his speed. He didn’t really know why he was doing it. The coaches weren’t even on the ice, and everyone else was content to dawdle along or take shots on the goalies. He just felt the need to go full out.
    The ball of tape was the final straw. He’d had enough. Since his arrival in Terrence Falls he’d felt as if he’d been under constant surveillance, worried about his every move and every word, afraid he’d do or say the wrong thing. The tape ball showed how well that strategy was working. Guys were now throwing things at his head — and openly laughing at him. Maybe it was a weird way to look at things, but Charlie almost felt grateful to Matt. He’d shown him that his problems weren’t going to disappear on their own. He had to stand up for himself — and hehad to do it now.
    Hilton’s whistle blew, and the boys stopped and hustled over to the bench. He greeted them warmly and said, “Okay, fellas. We’re into it now. As I said, I can only dress fifteen skaters and two goalies for the tournament, and I think all of you are good enough to play. Unfortunately, there are still twenty-eight of you, so that means one goalie and twelve skaters will have to be cut.
    “All I can say is give it your best, and good luck. I’m going to let Coach Tremblay run you through your paces, so I can sit here and watch.”
    “Let’s go,” Tremblay barked. “Everyone line up at the far end, and I’ll try to remember a few skating drills.”
    Charlie learned quickly that Tremblay had a good memory. Twenty minutes later, after a dizzying array of drills that left him gasping for air, Tremblay blew his whistle. “I think we