Rebel Power Play (7 page)

School wouldn’t start for another hour, but Charlie was slowly heading over. He hadn’t been able to sleep last night, and finally decided to eat and get out of the house. He’d managed to give his equipment to Coach Shaw without his mother finding out. That was silly; but somehow he couldn’t stomach the idea of telling her just yet.

At least for once he was glad to get to school early. It would give him time to think about what he was going to tell the boys. They were going to be major-league angry with him. He’d totally blown it. First he convinced them to leave their teams, and then he managed to get himself kicked off the Hawks.

He turned the corner and couldn’t believe what he saw. His friends were already there. Why’d they come so early? It didn’t make sense.

Pudge spotted him as he crossed the street, and waved. Charlie waved back. May as well come out and tell them, he decided.

Pudge handed him a sheet of paper before he could say a word.

“Take a look at this,” he said.

“How’d you find out?” he said.

“Coach Shaw came to the restaurant last night, after he picked up the equipment from your house, and told my dad,” Pudge said.

“I don’t think Dunn will back down,” Charlie said.

“He’d better,” Zachary said.

“The whole thing’s insane,” Charlie said. “It’s like a bad television show, except I’m actually in the show.”

“And we’re going to see this through,” Pudge said.

“The way I see it, Charlie comes back, and he lets Matt on the team too, or he’s seen the last of me — end of story,” Scott said.

“I don’t want you all to miss a season,” Charlie said. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have gone to his store. Besides, you shouldn’t suffer for my mistake.” He slapped his thighs hard with his hands. “I’m sorry for all this. I
messed things up.”

“It’s not your fault the guy’s a jerk,” Scott said.

“Maybe if I spoke to him again …”

“We talked it over,” Nick said. “We’re in this with you, and we made our own decision to play with the Hawks. You don’t have to apologize to me. That petition’s going in, even if it only has my name on it.”

“That goes double for me,” Scott said.

Charlie felt honoured to have such loyal friends. “So what’s the plan?” he asked.

“After school, we go to Dunn’s store to hand over the petition,” Pudge said. “Even the twins are coming to meet us.”

“Do you think I should come?” Charlie said.

“We should probably do it ourselves,” Pudge said.

“Makes sense,” Charlie said. “I’ll be at my mom’s café.”

“We’ll come by after,” Pudge said.

“And maybe have some pie … or a sandwich,” Scott said.

“You guys having a practice and not telling me?” It was Jonathon. Julia was with him.

“How’s it going?” Charlie said, adding, “Hi, Julia.”

“The Hawks have had some interesting personnel changes,” Scott said.

“Like?” Jonathon said.

“Like Dunn’s kicked Charlie off the team for asking if Matt could join,” Scott explained. “Can you believe it? We all signed a petition — Charlie’s back or we walk.” He called out to Pudge. “What about Jonathon? He could sign.”

Charlie and Pudge traded an uncomfortable look.

“It’s not fair to put him on the spot like that,” Charlie said. “I think we have enough names.”

“On the spot, nothing,” Jonathon said. “Hand it over.”

He took the petition and signed with a flourish. “If you guys leave, Mike’ll never get off the ice.”

They all laughed and began imagining what Dunn would say when they gave him the petition. Charlie and Pudge went off to the side.

“This is not the way to start a season,” Charlie said.

“It’s intense, but I don’t see any other way.”

“If anyone can pull this off, it’s you. All I know is the guy hates me for some reason.”

“Time will tell.”

“This is all my fault. I’m such an idiot. I should’ve … I don’t know … waited or something …”

“This isn’t your fault,” Pudge said. “Like Scott said, Dunn’s the problem.”

Charlie didn’t respond. What could he say? This was going to be the longest day of his life.

* * *

All day Charlie kept imagining how Dunn would respond — and he was having trouble imagining him saying yes! Finally, after what seemed forever, the bell rang, signalling the end of school. It brought no relief, unfortunately, and he decided to go straight to the café and wait. It was fairly quiet when he arrived. A few people were having coffee and dessert.

“Hi, Mom,” he said. “It seems slow today. What gives?”

She shrugged. “That’s the café business. Busy when you don’t expect it, and dead when you’re ready for a
horde. I probably don’t need your help. You can go home and get ready for the game. Grandma’s there with Danielle.”

It was probably time to tell her. He steeled his nerve.

“About the game … I sort of had a bit of a run-in with Coach Dunn. I was asking if Matt Danko could come play on the team.”

“I hear you mention my Matt,” a man said appearing from behind a counter. “You must be the Charlie my Matt tells me so much about.”

Even without being told, Charlie would have known instantly that he was Matt’s father. Matt was just a smaller version. Both were stocky and broad-shouldered.

They shook hands, and Mr. Danko’s enormous hand practically swallowed Charlie’s. Now he knew where Matt got his strength.

“Hi, Mr. Danko. I forgot you were doing some work here. I like the new shelves. They look awesome.”

“I use three different woods for shelf and panel and mix stain myself. Not too dark is key.”

“Stanislaw has been wonderful,” his mom said. “And he’s already got five more jobs, but I’m not letting him go just yet.”

“I stay until I finish,” he said. He turned to Charlie. “Matt says you got him job at restaurant. Thank you.”

“It was mostly another friend of ours — Pudge.”

“I thank him too, then. Back to work now.”

He ducked down behind the counter. Soon Charlie heard a light sanding noise.

“You were about to say something about your coach?” his mom said.

“Right. So I asked him if Matt could try out. I went
to his store after school … to his office. All I did was ask about Matt and he totally lost it. Kicked me off the team. All I said was Matt would be a great addition. He accused me of trying to be the coach. The guy just hates me — and I’ve never done anything to him.”

Before his mom replied he heard a familiar voice.

“Charlie, nice to see you again. Sorry about yesterday.” Coach Shaw shook hands with Charlie and his mom. He seemed so genuinely glad to see him that Charlie had to greet him cheerfully.

“Nice to see you too. It wasn’t your fault. Besides, you tried to warn me.”

Shaw shook his head and whistled softly. “I don’t understand that man. He has so much, and yet … Anyway, I got off work early today because of the game. I’ll have the usual, Donna.”

Charlie looked over at his mom. She winked at him and went off to the kitchen.

“I guess you’ve been here before,” he said.

His former coach smiled. “I come here most nights for dinner — here or Bruno’s Bistro. Like I said, I usually finish work later, except for hockey nights. I passed by yesterday after I picked up the equipment. Told your mother what happened. I can’t tell you how bad I feel.”

So his mom had known all along. “Excuse me for a second, Coach Shaw.”

“Certainly, Charlie,” he said, “and that’s enough of the Coach Shaw. I prefer Edward.”

Charlie laughed. “Okay, Edward. I just have to speak to my mom.”

She was pouring a bowl of soup when he came into the kitchen.

“Sorry about not telling you last night,” he said. “I guess I was in a state of shock. I hadn’t even told the other guys on the team.”

“Don’t worry, honey. You had a lot on your mind. Edward was so upset. I almost felt worse for him than you. He’s such a nice man, lives all alone since his wife died three years ago, and that … Sportsmart guy … treats him so badly. Edward comes in almost every night for a soup and sandwich.” She cut two thick slices of bread. “Have you given any thought to playing for another team?”

“Not yet. I have to look around. Team rosters are kinda set. I’ll probably have to play in a lower division, if at all …”

“We can talk about it later. If it makes you feel any better, Edward speaks very highly of you and your friends.”

Charlie heard some loud voices. They were back! His nerves kicked in — he almost didn’t want to know. He left the kitchen.

“Officer, arrest that man,” Scott said, pointing at him.

He was laughing and all smiles. Charlie noticed that Pudge, Nick and Zachary were more serious. “What’s the word?” he said.

“Go directly to jail, do not collect $200, and under no circumstances even think of playing for the Hawks again,” Scott said.

Charlie’s heart sank. “I figured he wouldn’t back down. That settles it. I’ll stay off the team — Dunn wins. You guys have to play. I’ll feel ten times better if you do.”

Pudge shook his head. “You don’t understand. He
kicked us off the team too. Took one look at the petition, crumpled it up, tossed it in the garbage, and told us to get out of his sight.”

“Don’t forget we have until four o’clock tomorrow to return his equipment or he’ll call the cops,” Zachary said.

“How many years in prison for being in possession of used shin pads?” Scott said.

“Minimum ten years,” Nick said.

“I’ll be like fifty years old when I finish high school,” Scott said.

“You’re being optimistic,” Nick said.

“I’ll have lots of time to study in my cell, though,” Scott said.

Normally Charlie liked their kidding. Now it seemed forced.

“Can this get any worse?” he said to Pudge.

“Maybe that’s the only good thing,” he said. “Things can only get better.”

Charlie pointed out Edward, and they all said hello. He seemed very embarrassed by the situation.

“You boys sit down,” Charlie’s mom said. “I’ll fix you a snack. You look like you could use some nourishment.”

“I could eat,” Scott said.

“I know that,” she laughed.

They tried to keep the conversation light-hearted and fun. Scott and Nick teased each other as mercilessly as ever. Charlie knew better. They were upset. No team — no hockey. He hoped Pudge was right. Things had to get better. He would give anything to make it up to his friends. But how?

Charlie sprinted up the stairs, pushed the doors open, and continued ahead at breakneck speed towards his homeroom. The class door was still open — he wasn’t late yet! He charged into the room and ran right into his teacher. Charlie got the worst of it, bouncing off and staggering a few feet backwards. He reddened as he heard the other kids in the class laugh.

“I appreciate your desire to be punctual,” Hilton said. “Perhaps if you arrived a little earlier you could walk into the room.”

The entire class was laughing now.

“Sorry, Mr. Hilton,” he said. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“An accurate assessment, Charlie,” he said. “Do you think you can make it to your seat without throwing another bodycheck?”

His classmates giggled.

“I’ll try.”

He sat down at his desk and opened his notebook. The character sketch was due Friday. Most of that was done. A composition was due next week. He was in a bit of trouble on that front. He’d have to finish the rough
copy over the weekend. At least hockey wouldn’t get in the way.

“I want to speak briefly about the stories you’re writing,” Hilton said.

A crumpled piece of paper landed on top of Charlie’s notebook. Pudge cleared his throat and nodded at it. Charlie opened it.

They’d played the Wildcats — Jake’s team. He shook his head. Another note followed.

Pudge scribbled a third note and tossed it over.

Charlie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Dunn killing the Hawks — the perfect ending to a total disaster. He didn’t have time to think about it, however. Hilton was in a questioning mood. He was going around the room asking every student about the story they were writing. Charlie’s was about a mountain climbing expedition to Mount Everest. Five men reach the summit when a massive storm rolls in. The story was mostly about how they got down. Charlie’s anxiety rose
as Hilton came closer to him. The other kids would think the story was weird.

“Well, Charlie, what have you got?” Hilton said.

Charlie described the story, and read the opening paragraph.

“Sounds like a great idea,” Hilton said, after he was done. “Pay attention to how you build the tension. Everything should be relaxed and fun until the storm hits, after which you need to pick up the pace. I’m looking forward to reading it. Good creativity.”

A wave of relief rolled over Charlie. Praise from his teacher was hard to come by. He also noticed the class hadn’t laughed or made fun of his idea. Maybe it wasn’t such a dumb one after all.

Once he’d made the rounds, Hilton surprised them with a grammar quiz. He placed a sheet of paper, face down, on everyone’s desk.

“You’ve got fifteen minutes. There are eight questions, so don’t take too long on any one question. The test begins now.”

Grammar was not Charlie’s strongest subject, and he hated pop quizzes. He turned the test over nervously. Hilton had been drilling them on grammar for the past two weeks. At the end of the last class, Hilton had told them to review their grammar book. Charlie hadn’t taken the advice seriously, and spent the night watching television to take his mind off the Hawks and his friends.

Charlie answered the questions as quickly as he could, but he was still shocked to hear Hilton announce the test was over. How could fifteen minutes pass so quickly? Seemed like two.

“That’ll do it,” he said. “Pens down and drop your
tests on my desk on the way out.”

Charlie hadn’t finished the last question. Way to go, Joyce, he thought bitterly. Blew another test by being lazy. He was so irritated that he didn’t notice Julia standing in front of his desk. Startled, he looked up at her.

“Hey, Julia. How’d you do on the test?”

She had probably done very well. Julia was a straight-A student.

She wrinkled her nose and shrugged.

“I think I did all right. Last question was kind of tricky. Don’t know if I got that one.” This was not exactly what Charlie wanted to hear. He’d barely had time to read it. “So Jonathon didn’t tell me how things turned out with Dunn … with the petition.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Charlie said.

“Try me.”

“Dunn kicked everyone who signed the petition off the team.”

Julia’s eyes widened. “But that’s, like, the whole team. Who’s left to play?”

“You know Mike Dunn?” he said. “He managed to find some new players, and they got destroyed by the Wildcats last night. Mike’s dad pulled his sponsorship. The team’s dead.”

“So who are you guys going to play for?”

Charlie’s shoulders sagged. “That’s the worst part. It was mostly my bright idea for the guys to switch to the Hawks, and it’s probably way too late to get spots on another team — at any level. And it’s all my fault.”

“Can Mike’s dad just kill the team like that?” Julia said.

“Why not?” Charlie said. “It’s his team.”

“I know he can stop sponsoring the team. But can he just take the team out of the league once the season starts? Isn’t everything already paid for?”

Her words hit him like a bodycheck into the boards. It was insane, totally ridiculous, but he felt himself get excited just thinking about it.

“Dunn must have paid the league fee for the team,” Charlie said. “I wonder if he can get a refund.”

“I bet he can’t,” Julia said. “Not once the season’s started.”

“You might be right,” he said. “Otherwise, teams could pull out halfway through and the league would be stuck with the cost of the ice time for the games.”

Pudge came over. “How’d you do on the test?”

“Last question was tough,” Julia said.

“I barely had time to finish it,” Pudge said.

Charlie groaned inwardly. He pushed the test out of his mind. He had more important things to do. He needed to find out if Dunn had already paid for the Hawks — which might mean they could enter a team in its place!

“Excuse me, people,” Hilton interrupted. “Please hand in your tests. I also believe you all have another class to get to.”

Charlie dropped the test on his desk and headed off to science. His mind was whirling with plans. He’d have to act quickly. Find out if Dunn had paid all the fees, and then if the league would accept a new team. Every second he got more and more excited by the idea. The Hawks might be dead. But maybe the dream team was still alive.