Making the Cut (10 page)

He crawled as quietly as he could to the edge of the bush. Richard and the other kid still weren’t paying too much attention to the flag. He got up, knotted the flag into a tight ball in case he needed to pass it, took a firm hold, and burst out from behind the cover.

“What the …? The flag! He’s got it.”

“Red alert! Red alert! He’s got the flag!”

“Get him!”

Charlie didn’t look back. His only chance was to keep on going. He broke out of the forest and onto the field, sprinting up the sidelines, Richard and the other defender pounding after him. For a second he thought he was home free, until attackers from the Red team appeared in front of him and started to charge, Nick
among them. To make matters worse, Jake and Markus were also stampeding after him from the opposite side.

Charlie was surrounded. He searched frantically for an escape.

“Charlie, I’m with ya!”

Slogger was tearing up field to his right. Charlie cut towards him.

“Take him down, boys.”

Charlie waved Slogger off. “Go wide!” he yelled.

Slogger nodded.

Charlie ran right at Nick and his Red teammates. At the last second, he slowed and whipped the flag across his body to Slogger, and then threw his body forward, crashing into the would-be tacklers. Nick and two others were knocked clear off their feet, and the others had to jump to the side to get out of the way. As if he needed it, two guys ended up falling on him.

Had it worked? He would die if all this agony had been for nothing.

Thud
.

Someone ran right into his ribs, and he gasped for breath.

“That’s for being a loser, Apple Juice.”

Charlie scrambled out from under the pile. Zane laughed at him.

Charlie took two steps forward and drove his forearm into Zane’s chin, sending the bulky defenceman crashing to the ground. Before he could turn back around, however, someone else bodychecked him and he fell heavily on his hip, pain shooting up his entire side.

“How did that feel?” he heard.

Charlie looked up. Of course Jake would hit him from behind.

The next second, however, Jake joined him on the ground.

“Why don’t you tell me how that felt?” Nick said. He reached down and pulled Charlie to his feet.

Jake and Zane stood up together. Zane’s face was beet red. He was in a total rage. “You’re done, Apple Juice. You’re totally dead.”

“I don’t think so.”

Slogger came up beside Nick and Charlie.

“Just try. We’ll hammer all three of you,” Zane snorted.

Simon shoved Jake aside and took his place next to Charlie. Gabriel joined next, and then Scott came tearing over.

“Bring it,” Slogger said quietly.

Tweet. Tweet. Tweet
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“Gentlemen! Have you lost your minds? Fighting over capture the flag?” Jen was glaring at them with her hands on her hips.

Charlie kept his gaze firmly fixed on Zane.

“Get back to your respective teams, right now.” She pointed at Charlie. “A word in private please, Mr. Joyce.” Charlie stayed put, while the others rejoined their teams. “I’m really, really, really disappointed in you,” Jen said quietly. “I think you’re a good kid, and I’ve tried to be patient, but you have to admit you seem to be involved in …” She paused and brushed her hair from her eyes. “I
mean, whenever I turn around you’re in a … situation. I saw you attack Zane, and while I think Jake was out of line, and I’m going to talk to him about that right now, I don’t understand your behaviour. Do you have anything to say?” As usual, she had no idea what had happened, or simply didn’t care. Anyway, he didn’t feel much like explaining.

“I’m tired of this bogus camp,” he said fiercely. “I know you’re not interested in the truth. All you’re interested in is giving me a hard time.”

Jen looked shocked. She gave her head a shake. “We’ll discuss this later,” she said finally. “Line up with your team.”

As soon as Jen set off towards the Red team — presumably to speak to Jake — Nick and Scott came tearing over.

Charlie reached his fist out to Nick. “Thanks for bodychecking Jake out of the way.”

Nick shrugged. “I should be thanking you for giving me the chance.”

“You got to bodycheck Jake, and I missed it?” Scott slapped his forehead with his hand. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out, especially the part where Jake splats to the ground and starts crying like a baby.”

“What did Jen say?” Nick asked.

Charlie shrugged. “She was on me about knocking Zane down.”

“How could anyone be against that?” Scott said, throwing his hands in the air.

Nick suddenly grew serious. “Hey, Charlie. What
happened to you? You’re covered in dirt, and there’s blood on your shirt, and —”

“Gentlemen, please go to your banners,” Trevor ordered.

Nick and Scott gave Charlie a concerned look as he left for the Blue end.

Slogger met him halfway.

“Did you get across?” Charlie asked him. “What happened?”

Slogger opened his mouth to respond, then stopped and took a closer look at him. “Um … are you okay? You look all messed up. There’s dirt all over your face, and your clothes are all torn. Hey, is that blood?”

Charlie could only imagine what he looked like. “I’ll tell you about it later,” he said. Zane, Richard and the others would expect him to tattle.

As he joined his Blue teammates, he saw Simon hold the Red flag over his head.

“Outstanding!” Charlie shouted, and he went over and gave Simon a high-five.

“It was a classic tic-tac-toe — a three-way passing play,” Slogger explained. “You tossed it to me, I lateralled to Gabriel, and he flipped it Simon for the win.”

“Wish I could’ve seen it,” Charlie said ruefully, rubbing his sore hip.

“Where did you find the flag?” Slogger asked him. “We were looking all over the place.”

“I heard you got captured,” Gabriel said. “Who freed you?”

“I spotted the flag in a bush near the ridge,” he
explained. “Got in behind and high-stepped it up the field. Never would’ve made it without Slogger coming to my rescue.”

The rest of the Blue team crowded around them.

Pete stepped to the front. “Awesome display. I only saw the last part when Joyce took out five guys.”

“I don’t think there were five,” Charlie said modestly.

Pete turned to him. “You certainly paid the price. Can’t believe you stayed in the game. How’d you ever get back to the field?”

“I saw the flag in a bush,” Charlie said, hoping Pete wasn’t talking about Zane.

Only that’s exactly what he was talking about. “No, I mean after you got tossed. It’s good to see you in one piece. That must have been painful.”

“Slogger got the toss,” Gabriel broke in. “Charlie threw the flag to Slogger, and then I got it and then —”

“Not the toss of the flag,” Pete said. “I mean after Zane and his boys tossed Charlie down the escarpment. Some guys on the Red team told me. Wait till the coaches hear. They’ll kick them outta camp for sure.”

A murmur rose among the players and all eyes turned to Charlie. He swallowed hard. It was tempting to let things run their course and see Zane get what he deserved. But …

“I’m gonna forget about it. I’ll get mine back on the ice.”

They were silent. A slow grin crossed Pete’s face.

“So you got the flag by …?”

“Climbing back up right behind the bush where
they’d hidden the flag,” Charlie finished.

There was a long pause in which no one said a word. Then, all at once, everyone started cheering Charlie and high-fiving and hugging each other. Slogger gave Charlie’s back a pounding, which made him wince.

“Hold it down over there. Can everyone come to centre field, please?” Trevor held the cup over his head. When they got there he said, “We’ll start another game soon. But first, how about we present the hardware to the Blue team.”

He felt a bunch of hands push him from behind, and Charlie went forward to take the cup. He thought he saw Jen’s face harden when he took it. This time he didn’t care what she thought. He’d earned it. Charlie took the cup from Trevor’s hands and held it aloft.

Jen’s expression suddenly changed. “Charlie, what happened to your clothes?” she asked in a concerned tone. “And you’re bleeding on your —”

“As if you care,” he snapped.

Charlie continued to hold the cup over his head as he ran back to his teammates. He heard someone from the other team call out, “Got your sippy cup, Apple Juice?”

But there was no way he was going to let them ruin this for him.

He clamped an arm around Slogger’s neck and called out, “Victory lap, boys. Let’s go!” and despite the throbbing in his hip, his burning hands, and the other scrapes and bruises on his body, he led the Blue team around the field.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“It’s open.”

Nick and Scott came into his room. Charlie lay in bed.

“Don’t you trust me to get up?” Charlie said, peeking out from under the sheets.

“Trust Charlie Joyce to be on time for anything?” Scott said incredulously.

Charlie threw the covers off. He was fully dressed. “Got ya.” He slid tentatively out of bed, still sore from his fall down the escarpment and Zane’s kick in the ribs, his hands still stinging from where the thistles had dug in. He could use a day off and, to be honest, he wouldn’t be that upset if he was suspended for yelling at Jen.

Corey came out of the shower.

“How was the run?” Charlie asked him.

“Awesome. I tell ya, Charlie, I definitely had a bug at the start of camp.” He stopped short. “Hey, boys. What’s shaking?” He turned back to Charlie. “My dad was right. I had
no energy. Now I’m feeling strong again, and can play my game and dominate. I met with Coach Clark.” He pulled on a sweatshirt and sweatpants. “Coach said he’d give me another look for Team 1 on account of my illness. So I really gotta bring it. Dad says I gotta treat every practice like Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.”

Corey’s phone rang and he reached over and answered.

“Yeah, Dad. Capture the flag was good. I didn’t, no. But practice yesterday afternoon was awesome, and Coach Clark …” He went back into the bathroom.

“I’ve planned things perfectly this morning,” Scott said to Charlie and Nick. “We go downstairs, stuff our faces with breakfast, wait till Jen tells us to hurry up and get ready for practice, then keep stuffing, then Trevor tells us to go, but we keep eating until we’re about to be sick, only that doesn’t stop us, until we finally explode.”

“I’m surprised you’re not running this camp,” Nick said.

“No kidding,” Scott replied.

Corey came back out. “You boys ready for the skills competition?” he asked. He plugged his phone into his charger. They looked back at him quizzically. Corey laughed. “Forgot you boys ain’t veterans like me.”

Charlie suppressed a groan. Corey reminded him that he’d been invited last year about four times a day.

“There are three events: shooting, stickhandling and skating. First, each team has its own competition to choose the top three guys in each event. Then the twelve reps for each event meet in the finals. They use a real
radar gun for the shooting. No big deal for me since I go to a shooting class every week. I cranked one over 80 miles an hour last time I went, so I’m solid — won it last year, and I’ve gotten way stronger. The best part is the speed race, four guys at a time, two laps. It’s a total riot — tons of contact round the corners, believe me.” He slapped Charlie’s back. “It’ll be a battle royal between us speedsters.”

“Well, good luck,” Charlie said.

Corey snorted. “No such thing as luck. My dad says the guys who work the hardest are the luckiest.” Corey pulled on his shoes. “Did you guys hear about Duncan? He got sent down to Team 3. He lost his binder. Second time too. Some people just don’t want it, I guess.” He stood up. “I’ll see you guys at the rink.”

He crossed the room and was gone.

“The guy’s like a human tornado,” Scott said, in a bewildered tone.

“He’s something else,” Charlie said. He put on a sweatshirt. “Weird about Duncan. He’s a Team 2 centre, I think. Losing his binder sounds like something I’d do.”

“Weirder things have happened,” Scott said.

“Like the rope at the obstacle course,” Nick said. “That’s still an unsolved mystery.”

“Not for long,” Scott declared. “I know how we can track down the guy who messed with the rope.”

“How?” Nick asked excitedly.

“We just have to find the person who carries invisibility spray. Then we have our culprit.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “When will I learn?”

Scott flicked his eyebrows up and down a few times. “It’s gonna take a few more years, Nick. It’s not your fault. You’re just not really very smart.”

Slogger popped his head around the door. “Time to rock and roll, boys.”

Charlie followed his friends down the hall to the cafeteria. Obviously he had his doubts about an invisibility spray; besides, he was still sure that Nathan did it, even though lately he didn’t seem to be hanging out with Jake much. Too bad about Duncan. It put him on edge, though. If Duncan got switched for doing that, Charlie Joyce was certainly skating on thin ice, especially after his dustup with Zane.

Charlie and Slogger were among the last to walk into the dressing room, so most of the guys were already getting dressed. Cries of “Hey, Slogger,” and “Hi, Charlie,” greeted them. Slogger was well-liked, and Charlie had a feeling that’s why they included him. It felt good all the same. He and Slogger took their usual spots next to each other in the corner. He unzipped his bag and pulled out his hockey pants.

“Yo, Charlie,” Gabriel said. “I forgot. Jen wants to speak to you.”

The butterflies in his stomach fired up pretty quickly. Not that he should be surprised, just that he’d somehow managed to put it out of his mind. He could kiss the skills competition goodbye, that was for sure. The room quieted as he left. They knew it too. He spotted Jen by the snack bar.

“Hi, Jen,” he said nervously.

She raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Mr. Joyce. What can I do for you?”

That caught him off guard. She’d asked to speak to him. Anyway, best get the apology over with, and then take his punishment. He cleared his throat, stalling for time as he struggled to come up with the right words.

“I’m … um … I wanted to, like … apologize for … you know … what I said to you on the field yesterday. I … um … maybe I — no, I mean, I did … get angry. But not at you — at the other guys.” He cast his eyes down. “I thought they had … I thought they had …”

“What did you think?” Jen said gently.

Her tone startled him. It seemed almost friendly. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the whole story, however. “I didn’t mean it,” he blurted. “I’m sorry.”

Jen clasped the clipboard to her chest. “I appreciate that, Charlie. I really do. I understand this camp can be stressful, and I don’t think it’s been easy on you in particular.” She took a deep breath. “There have been some rumours that capture the flag got a bit rough. Do you know anything about that?”

He shook his head firmly. He solved his own problems; he wasn’t about to squeal on Zane to get back at him.

Jen unfolded her arms. “Because you looked rather nicked up after the first game?”

Charlie shook his head again.

“Okay. No problem. Do you need anything else?”

Charlie could hardly believe that she was going to let him
off the hook. He felt the knot in his stomach disappear. “No, that was it. When Gabriel told me you wanted to speak to me I knew what it was about.”

A playful smile crossed her face.

“I never said I wanted to speak to you.”

He stared at her.

She smiled again, both eyebrows arched, and lowered her clipboard to her side. “Perhaps your friend Gabriel got confused.”

Charlie felt like an idiot. “Yeah. Maybe. I’ll go ask. Thanks, Jen.”

He spun on his heels and practically sprinted back to the dressing room. When he walked inside everyone began laughing. He stood, bewildered, in the centre of the room. Did they hear him apologize?

“How was your talk with Jen?” Simon managed, as he gasped for air.

Charlie hung his head. He’d totally fallen for the prank. Gabriel was laughing so hard he was lying on the bench, and soon Charlie was laughing harder than anyone, and he gave Gabriel a high-five. He noticed Jake, Zane and Markus in the other corner didn’t join in.

“That was harsh,” Charlie said. “I sounded like the lamest dude in the world. She thought I’d lost my brain.” He sat back down. “Were you in on that?” he said to Slogger.

“Not really — other than the fact that it was his idea,” Gabriel said.

“You know this means war,” Charlie said.

Trevor came in. “Hustle up, boys. Ice is ready and this should be a lot of fun. We’ll warm up a bit, and then start the skills.”

Charlie pulled on his equipment as fast as he could. Because of his talk with Jen he was last out — as usual, it felt like. He grabbed his stick, and was about to leave when the door opened and Richard came in. He had his helmet off, and he looked really nervous. A second later, two other players came in — Nathan, and a kid he knew by name only, James. They all sort of shuffled their feet, and mostly looked at the floor. The butterflies in Charlie’s stomach went into overdrive. He couldn’t believe they’d try anything in the dressing room, with coaches around …”

“Hi,” Richard said.

“Hi,” Charlie replied warily. None of them said anything. “You guys looking for something?” Charlie asked.

“Looking for …?” Richard said, as if the question surprised him. “No. I’m not looking … I mean … we aren’t … Actually, we kinda wanted to talk to you.”

Charlie’s mind raced. He didn’t know if these three guys were friends. James and Nathan were on Team 2, so maybe they were buds. Richard was on Team 1, though. Besides, he’d given Richard a wide berth since he blew him off at the obstacle course, not to mention the capture-the-flag game.

“Talk about … what?” Charlie said, still feeling uneasy.

The three boys looked at each other and then back at
Charlie. James flexed his stick. Nathan bounced his on the rubber flooring.

“We all feel bad about what happened at the capture-the-flag game,” Richard said.

“We were jerks,” James said.

“And we never thought Zane was gonna do … what he did,” Nathan said.

“Zane said we were gonna just fool around and scare you,” Richard said.

It dawned on Charlie that these were the three guys who dragged him to the ridge and swung him by the arms and legs with Zane. But they had let him go, and Zane had been the one to actually throw him over.

“I couldn’t believe what Zane did. I mean — that was a whole lotta wrong.” Richard lowered his gaze. “I just wanted to … like … apologize for that. We shouldn’t have gone along with Zane, and stuff like that ain’t what I’m about. It was … well … I wanted to apologize; and also to say thanks for not telling Jen or the coaches … and stuff.”

“Me too,” Nathan said.

“And me,” James echoed.

They all looked up at him at the same time. Talk about awkward — four guys staring at each other.

“It’s cool,” Charlie said finally. “It was Zane, not you guys. I know you were just fooling around.” He grinned. “Besides, if he hadn’t tossed me over I never would’ve had the chance to climb up the hill and capture your flag.”

The tension in the room seemed to instantly
disappear. Suddenly, they were four guys at a hockey camp, joking around.

“I loved how you decked Zane on the field,” James said.

“He deserved worse than that,” Nathan said.

“It was a nice sight seeing him eat some dirt. A lot of guys are giving you major props for doing it. That psycho thinks he owns the camp,” Richard said.

A question popped into Charlie’s head, and out it came. “Did any of you guys hear anything about the rope at the obstacle course? Not sure if you remember but my rope had been thrown over the wall and Jake and I … I think maybe Nathan had gone before, or something, and I was wondering …”

The other two boys looked at Nathan.

“I don’t remember the rope not being there, if that’s what you mean,” Nathan said. “I was definitely behind J.C.; he might’ve been over the wall when I was climbing over it. I just don’t remember much else.”

“I haven’t heard anything about it,” Richard said.

“Me neither,” James concurred.

The door opened and Trevor came in. He sighed and held his arms up.

“Any of you guys interested in playing hockey?”

“We were just going over our strategy for the skills competition,” Charlie said.

“Why don’t you do that on the ice,” Trevor said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Richard replied.

“Good luck, guys,” Charlie said to Nathan and James as they headed to Team 2’s rink.

They both ran back a few steps and held out their gloves. Charlie gave each glove a punch and they took off again. He walked slowly up the corridor to the ice, thinking about their apology. It was unexpected, and it was big of them. Maybe they sort of owed it to him because he’d kept it quiet, but he knew how hard it was for guys to say sorry sometimes — and Zane had been the only one who did anything really wrong. Nathan’s answer to his question was unsettling, however. He’d been so sure Nathan had tossed his rope over the wall, and now he was pretty sure Nathan was telling the truth. He seemed like a good guy. The rope was the one mystery he thought he’d figured out. Now he was back at square one.

Absorbed in these thoughts, he was startled when a loud voice called out, “C-man, heads up!”

Slogger fired a puck to him. Charlie laughed at himself for being so preoccupied and took a few steps to gain control, stickhandled a bit and then slid it back to Slogger. He skated in on goal, and from ten feet out faked a backhand and dropped it between his legs. Charlie followed up and one-timed it into the top left corner.