Overtime (11 page)

Gus picked up the phone and dialled. After a quick conversation he hung up and shook his head. “Sorry, kids. All the rinks in town are booked.”

Charlie made himself sound cheerful. He didn’t want Gus to feel bad. “No problem. It was just an idea. We can do something else.”

“Good luck,” Gus said, “and if I can help you some other way let me know.” The phone rang. “I’ve gotta take this,” he said and waved. They waved back and left. Outside the office Pudge pulled out his list of rinks.

“At least we won’t waste any more time running around to those rinks. According to my list we have one last chance — Humberside,” Pudge said.

“Which is where?” Julia said.

“About an hour away. I think it’s near that Kennedy West High School you’re going to. Let me call my dad and see if he can give us a lift. Otherwise, it’s the bus.”

“Maybe this skate-a-thon idea isn’t going to work,” Charlie grumbled.

“Any other suggestions?” Pudge said.

“We could win the lottery?” Charlie said.

No one laughed.

Pudge punched the numbers on his cell phone.

* * *

Pudge’s dad was busy, and after two tortuous hours — the result of going the wrong way at first — the three weary friends finally trudged up the walkway and into Humberside Arena.

“Does anyone think this is even worth it?” Charlie asked for about the tenth time.

Pudge shrugged.

“How are we gonna get anyone out here?” Charlie fretted.

“We could rent a bus,” Julia said.

“Let’s get the ice first. Then we’ll worry about that,” Pudge said.

Charlie didn’t see an office. “I’ll ask that guy in the pro shop,” he said. Charlie pushed the door open. “Excuse me?”

The guy was sharpening a pair of skates and didn’t answer.

“Excuse me,” Charlie said, a bit louder.

Again, nothing. The machine shut off, just as Charlie yelled, “Excuse me!”

“I’m not deaf, dude,” the guy said. “What d’ya want?”

“Um … Is the rink manager around?”

“Look in the office.” He grabbed another skate, inspected the blade with one eye and turned the sharpener back on.

“Where’s the office?” Charlie asked.

There was no answer, and Charlie was not going to yell again.

“He’s in the office,” he told his friends. “It must be around here somewhere.”

Five annoying minutes later, Charlie and Pudge ended up back in front of the pro shop.

“Is this office protected by an invisibility spray?” Charlie said.

Pudge rubbed his chin.

“Yo, boys.”

Julia waved them over. She pointed up a flight of stairs.

“Are we smart enough to organize a skate-a-thon?” Charlie said, as they neared a door with a large OFFICE sign.

Charlie knocked and a loud voice invited them in.

“Hi, sir,” Charlie began tentatively. “My friends and I … I’m Charlie and this is Pudge and Julia. We’re from Terrence Falls, and we’re running a fundraiser for our school. We need to rent ice, for a day, or maybe a bit less, for a skate-a-thon.”

With furrowed brow, the manager asked, “You’re from Terrence Falls? Isn’t that a bit far from here? Why not use a rink in town. There’s the Ice Palace or Flemington …”

“We couldn’t get ice there,” Julia said. “There were scheduling difficulties.”

“They’re all booked up, right? And you thought you’d come to little Humberside and get the ice, is that right?”

“We were hoping for something in the next week or so,” Charlie said.

The man took a deep breath and typed something into his computer. “Okay. What do we have? A weekend is out, of course, because of the house leagues. Monday has short-track, and then Tuesdays are rented by a school group for three weeks. Wednesday and Thursday …” He turned back to them. “I can give you next Friday from eight till three; then we got the figure skating club. Will that work?”

That was a school day. Would Holmes ever agree to
let them take a day off? Charlie was tongue-tied.

“That would be great,” Julia said.

“I’ll need a deposit of two hundred and fifty dollars,” the manager continued. “Since you’re renting such a large time slot, I can let you have it for a hundred an hour, so with tax it’s …” He punched the numbers on a calculator. “A total of seven hundred ninety-one bucks. Your school can call me with a credit card, or send a cheque.”

“It’s a school fundraiser,” Charlie said. “Is that the only price?”

“Can’t do better. Already gave you a ten percent discount.” He held his hand out. “You want it?”

Charlie looked over at Julia and Pudge.

The committee had never said they could spend close to eight hundred dollars.

Julia shook his hand. “Thanks. We’ll take it.”

“Send me the deposit in two days,” the manager said, and he turned back to his computer.

Charlie looked in dismay at the brackets for the ball hockey tournament. Thirty-two teams, and they had drawn Jake’s in the first round? Sometimes he had to wonder if the dark clouds that seemed to haunt Terrence Falls lately were meant for him. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jake had recruited Trisha and Emily.

A crowd had lined the pad to watch. Jake was bouncing a ball on the blade of his stick. After several bounces he flicked it over to Trisha. She kept the ball up and knocked it to Emily, who one-timed it to Liam. He tried to knee it a few times and the ball squibbed to the side.

“Doofus,” Jake scoffed. “We were gonna set a record.”

Liam retrieved the ball quickly. “We needed some razzle-dazzle. Trust me.”

“We needed you to keep the ball in the air,” Thomas said.

Jake and Thomas laughed; and then all three boys stopped as Charlie stepped onto the pad.

“Hey Joyce. I hear you’re fighting girls now?” Jake said.

“And getting hammered,” Thomas said.

“Guys, come on,” Emily said, but they kept up the dissing. Charlie ignored them completely and went over to his friends.

“That was a big surprise,” he said to Pudge.

“They’ve been mouthing off for ten minutes,” Pudge said with a scowl.

Zachary pointed to the goalie pads. “Suit up, shut-out king,” he said.

Charlie dropped to his knees and began strapping on the pads. He loved to play goal in ball hockey.

“We promise not to shoot that hard, Joyce. I know you cry easy,” Jake said. “Maybe you should quit now and go home to mommy.”

Charlie felt a chill sweep down his spine.

“He was blubbering on the ice after Emily dropped him,” Liam said.

“Like you were there,” Charlie snapped.

“Didn’t have to be there. Emily filled us in.”

“I did not,” Emily said.

Trisha whispered in Emily’s ear, and Emily shook her head.

“Didn’t he bawl his eyes out this summer at that hockey camp too?” Thomas asked Jake.

Jake rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me. It was beyond embarrassing. He was like, ‘I don’t wanna get in trouble. I don’t wanna go home. Boo-hoo,’” he said, in a high-pitched voice.

Charlie kept his eyes on his equipment. He tightened a strap on his left leg.

“Pudge looks like he’s gonna start bawling too,” Thomas said. Pudge was leaning on the butt-end of his
stick with both hands. “We better get him a doughnut, quick.”

“Could you guys give it a rest for even five minutes? It’s tiring.” Julia said, her eyes blazing.

Jake smirked. “Charlie’s girlfriend is angry. I’m scared.”

“At least you got someone with a bit of toughness to defend you, Joyce,” Liam said. “Wise move.”

Charlie knew Julia was trying to help, but the more she said the worse it would get …

“You guys are such a cliché,” Julia said. “You’re jealous of Charlie because he’s a better player than you’ll ever be, and everyone knows it. And he’s a better person, and you know that too.”

They burst out laughing.

“You’re right. We’re so sorry. I want to apologize on behalf of my associates. Where can I go to join the Charlie Joyce Fan Club?” Jake said.

Liam pretended to be shocked. “I can’t believe you’re not already a member. You get a picture, and a pin, and one of those pink Rebels hockey sweaters.”

Dalton came running from the school onto the pad.

“Sorry, guys. The committee had an emergency meeting that I couldn’t get out of.”

Charlie turned his focus back to the goalie equipment. He’d never wanted to win a ball hockey game more.

“Dalton, good ol’ buddy,” Jake said. “I feel the need to score. Drop the puck and get out of the way.”

“Games will start with a regulation faceoff,” Dalton said. “If everyone is ready, we can begin. I’d just like to take a moment to explain the rules.”

The two teams gathered at their respective ends.

“The first to get two goals wins,” he said. “If the ball hits a player or their stick and bounces out of bounds, the other team gets possession. I will call penalties for tripping and hooking.” Dalton laughed and added, “And of course, no bodychecking or rough stuff.”

Everyone else stayed silent.

“Can I have the two centres, and Emily, may I have the ball?” Dalton requested cheerfully.

Emily passed a ball to Trisha, who stickhandled a few times, and rolled it to Dalton. Her eyes met Charlie’s. She seemed troubled.

Charlie’s team huddled around their net. Scott and Nick jumped up from the hill where they were watching with Alex and Rebecca and joined them.

“Obviously, the easiest thing would have been for me to be on your team so I could control the ball the entire game and score at will,” Scott said, “but unfortunately,” and he patted Nick on the back, “Nick here is too scared to play without me. He’s also scared of turning his bedroom light off at night — but maybe that was supposed to be a secret.”

“I’m way better since I got my teddy,” Nick said.

“Bottom line is you have to beat these guys,” Scott said. “It’s unbelievably beyond important. I hate them — and not in a good way. Victory. Triumph. Please. Win.”

“No pressure, of course,” Nick said. “But we do really, really, really need you to win.”

“Thanks for the pep talk,” Charlie said.

“It’s what we do,” Scott said, and they trotted back to the hill.

“Go, Jules!” Alexandra and Rebecca called out.

Julia looked totally intense. So much for a friendly game, he thought. It felt like the playoffs.

Zachary and Jake leaned in for the faceoff. Dalton blew his whistle, held the ball over their sticks, and let it drop. Zachary was a winger, and Jake a natural centre, so Charlie was not surprised when the ball darted back to Liam on the right side. Zachary stuck with Jake; and Julia pushed forward to pressure. Pudge and Michelle were both hanging back, which made sense since the pad was not very big.

Liam grinned and took a step forward. When Julia got close, he pulled the ball to his forehand, and then tried to slip it between her feet. But he didn’t count on her being so quick. She dragged her left foot behind her to deflect the ball to her right, then she spun and snagged it close to the “boards.” Michelle moved up, and Julia passed it back. Zachary cut into the middle and Michelle put it on his stick. He continued diagonally through their zone and cut towards their net.

Liam was out of position, and Emily came racing across. Zachary hesitated, and then snapped a shot. Charlie could barely believe it when Emily dropped to block the shot. It hit her in the shoulder. From her knees, she shovelled the ball back to her goalie, and he passed it to Jake, who had set up to her left. Those balls hurt, and Charlie had to admire Emily — she had guts, that was for sure.

Jake took the ball up the side, with Zachary watching him warily. Trisha came to centre, and Charlie readied for her to get the pass and cut up the middle. Jake kept it himself, however, and ran past her. Pudge stepped up, and Jake reared back and let it fly. Charlie caught it easily.
He was grateful for Jake’s selfish play. He hadn’t had a chance to warm up, and it was good to get the feel for the ball.

He threw the ball to Michelle, who had run back. She rifled it to Julia on the right side. Zachary ran across again and she passed it, then ran diagonally towards him. He angled his stick and the ball went back to her. Emily and Liam had over-committed to Zachary, giving Julia a clear shot at the net. She raised her stick for a slapper.

Pudge had joined the attack and gotten behind both defenders, who were preoccupied, apparently, with Zachary. Julia shot, but it turned out to be a pass to Pudge. He redirected the puck over the outstretched left pad of the goalie.

Goal!

Charlie banged his stick on the ground and pumped his glove in the air at his bud. That was huge. How sweet would it be to smoke Jake 2–zip?

They lined up again. This time Julia took the draw. She tied up Jake’s stick and tried to kick the ball back. Jake pushed her, forcing Julia to stagger back a few steps. She tripped and fell.

Jake calmly passed the puck to Liam.

“No contact, ref,” Alexandra yelled. Then she added, “Real tough, Wilkenson.”

Jake blew a kiss her way and laughed. Charlie saw Julia spring to her feet.

She charged and hit Jake with her shoulder right in the chest. He was caught totally by surprise — they all were — and he went down hard.

Julia glared at him. “Now you and Charlie have something in common,” she said.

Jake looked up at her. “You’ve lost it, girl.” He shook his head and slowly got to her knees. “Is she for real?” he said to Dalton.

Liam and Emily came running. Zachary was there first, though, and that made Liam stop. Pudge stood next to Julia, and Charlie took off his mask and rushed over.

Dalton blew his whistle. He looked bewildered. “Julia. That would be a penalty in real hockey; in fact, I think it’s a game misconduct.”

Thomas took a step towards Julia. “That was lame, Chow. You hit him because you know he won’t hit you back.”

“What about you?” Julia said.

Thomas rolled his eyes. “I’ll say this. You’re tougher than your boyfriend.”

His two friends laughed.

Dalton rubbed his forehead with his hand. “Julia, I’m sorry, but I have to give you a penalty … and probably … I’m sorry, but you really can’t play this game. That was an intentional hit.”