Authors: Carly White
High Stick
Chapter 1
“If Claus would ever stay out of the penalty box long enough to play, we might actually win one of these games.”
Jeff looked over at the blonde man sitting down in the plexi-glass box. He should have been comfortable there. It was his third time in ten minutes and if he kept pushing he would be out of the game for good. It was the last thing the Thundering Cats needed, but to Claus it didn’t matter. He caught his eyes when he looked over and Claus just kind of smiled back.
“I don’t think that he is here to play,” Jeff heard himself saying. His friend was more worried about getting some of his aggression out and could have cared less that there were recruiters in the stands. He was already set to go to a major NHL team. All the fighting just got him more publicity for when he left college. It was clear to everyone that Claus Mathers just couldn’t be bothered.
He cemented the idea in everyone’s head when he got out and immediately punched one of the opposing parties. Jeff sighed to himself and watched the best player get kicked off the ice. It was what he wanted and though they had been friends for years, Jeff had no idea what was going through Claus’ mind anymore. All he knew was that Claus was on a mission to screw it all up. Even though there were talks with a team, no one wanted a trouble maker and that was exactly what his friend had become. Jeff just didn’t know why, what had happened.
When he tried to catch up with him in the locker rooms, Claus was already dressed and about to leave when the rest of the team started to file in. He got a few dirty looks from his teammates, but not enough for him to say anything to them. Claus just didn’t care and though he had a couple months to his last semester, he just couldn’t be bothered to care anymore.
“What happened, Claus?”
“Just didn’t want to play. Coach told me I had to, so that is what he got.”
Claus just walked past and met with a petite blonde that was waiting for him. He turned back to Jeff. “I told him that I had plans, but he didn’t want to listen. I did what I had to do.”
Jeff didn’t say a word. There was nothing to say and no one to say it to. He had watched his friend destroy everything going on it his life and though he wished he could stop it, he knew that it wasn’t going to be fixed overnight. Claus needed a reason to do better, but Jeff didn’t know what reason it was that he needed. All he knew was that if the team did not get Claus in the game, they would not being going that far that year. It wouldn’t just be done to spite the coach, but all of the players would lose.
***
“You looked good out there Claus.”
The blonde next to him had his hands all over him. Her hands were in his lap and rubbing on his thigh. It didn’t turn him on as he figured it was supposed to. Instead Denise was just aggravating him, constantly touching him and gushing about how great he was. Claus wanted more than anything to pull over and let her out. If he couldn’t find a good use for her soon, he would do just that.
“Thanks Denise. We aren’t going to be there for another ten minutes or so. Why don’t you do something to keep your mouth occupied?”
She didn’t need more than a hint. The fact was she was looking forward to it, doing anything to feel him. Denise liked being needed and for Claus she would do anything. He leaned back to give her room, his jaw tightening as her hungry mouth did more than irritate him for once. He tried to focus on his driving, suddenly thankful that they were not as far as he had told her.
They were going to a party. It was the only time he felt like doing anything was when his blood was filled with something to make him feel better. Anything to make him forget about her.
He pulled up to the house party and put the car in park. His eyes finally closed as his hands pushed her down further. Claus just needed a moment of her devil’s tongue before he tightened and released into her mouth. She was always good to have around, her lips and tongue weapons of some type. “Alright Denise. You got it all. We are here.”
She sat up and moved to kiss him. Claus kissed her on her cheek instead, pushing her away slightly as he got out. He ignored the look of hurt on her face and the whimper in her throat. He didn’t have time to make her feel better and he didn’t care enough to do so. When they got in the sprawling old Victorian, he sent her away towards her friends with the promise that he would see her later. Claus would undoubtedly have use of her later.
Claus watched her look back once with a touch of pain in her eyes. She was too needy for him and though he had only just started messing with her, he was already bored. Denise was vapid and though he liked to have his ego stroked once and a while, it felt faked and thus didn’t mean much to him. She said what he wanted to hear and that did him no good. Claus had enough people doing that, never knowing who and what could be trusted because of it.
He saw Jeff by the refreshment table and grabbed a beer after he said hello. Jeff was pissed at his friend for throwing the game, but unlike the rest of them on the team, he would say something about it. That is why Claus liked him so much. Everyone needed checks and balances in the form of friends. There was something to be said about such honesty and it was invaluable to the man that lived such a dishonest existence.
“So that was a great game there Claus. Single handedly pissed off for the rest of us.”
Maybe Claus wasn’t ready for that much honesty. If he hadn’t just been sucked dry from the blonde, he may have been less than excited to talk to him. But Denise was good at what she did and he had no anger left in him. She had hoovered it out and he just smiled back at him.
“This can’t still be about Ashley, Claus. She was months ago.”
His jaw tightened and his brown eyes turned black. “Don’t say her name Jeff.”
Taking a drink of his beer, he walked away from Jeff and his friend was left staring at him. Claus had a tendency to not let go of things. Even if those things were driving him crazy and letting go would have been the best thing. Some things Claus just couldn’t let go of and Jeff wished that his friend could. It was going to ruin him if he let it.
Chapter 2
Claus didn’t get back to his house that he shared with Jeff until early the next morning. He had class in a couple of hours that he planned to ditch, but then he remembered that he had a test and a low grade in that class, so he had to get up and go. His eyes burned and all the light in the room seemed to be brighter than possible. He was miserable and wishing that he didn’t have to medicate himself so much to sleep.
When he finally got up enough to get out of bed, he realized he was not alone and he grimaced down at the naked blonde. He nudged her. “You need to be gone when I get back Denise.”
She nodded and tried to pull him back down to bed, but he dodged her and went towards the bathroom. Claus needed some time away from her incessant chattering and since he was drained, he had no more use of her at that time. When he got back out she wasn’t gone, but she was back to sleep and he didn’t have to deal with her, so it was well enough. As he left out to go to class, he told himself again that there was no reason for her to be around. He wasn’t sure why he kept her. Maybe it was because he knew there would never be nothing there. Denise was safe.
The sky was still changing from dark to light as he made his way to Business Law. It was one of his required classes and though he hated it, he had to pass. There was no way that he was going to spend another semester making up classes, so it was now or never. His coach had offered to get him a tutor, but he would just as well figure it out himself.
“Thanks for actually making it to class Claus. I see that you realized you were going to fail if you didn’t take this test.”
He didn’t know it was that bad, but it didn’t change that he had to do well in the test. He just nodded to her, his face apologetic while he took his seat. “Now, back to the announcements. This test will make up twenty percent of your grade, so do your best. It’s open book, so there is no reason that all of you can’t ace it. All you have to do is put in a little effort. That is what law is. You won’t remember everything, so finding your answer will always be the most important part. Finding the answer in a sea of information.”
Claus slumped in his seat. He didn’t like the teacher or the class, but at least there was an open book. He turned the test around and started going through the book. He didn’t know any of the answers, but was able to find them. While Claus could have cared less about his business degree, he had promised his mother that he would make sure to get some kind of degree, as a safe guard if hockey didn’t pan out for some reason. She was all about back-ups, so he would keep his word to her and graduate. Not even Business Law was going to stand in his way.
When the class was over, his teacher pulled him back and wanted to talk to him about his grades. “I was talking to Couch Carl and he said that you are not getting a pass anymore. You must have pissed him off good Claus, because if you don’t do makeup work, you will no longer be able to play the last few games.”
“Good, it is not like I really want to play for him anymore anyways.”
“If you don’t play, how are you going to play when you get out of here?”
“It’s already decided.”
She nodded, Mrs. Wilkinson knew more about his prospects then he did after the long conversation she had with the coach. He wanted her to fail him, but she would be persuaded. “You will lose them if you don’t play and I don’t know what you did to Carl, but he wants me to fail you now.”
Claus smiled. “It wasn’t what I did, but his daughter.”
“I haven’t seen her around campus.’
“She went to another college after what happened.”
She didn’t press him and he didn’t offer anything else. “Well whatever is going on Claus, you have to ask yourself if it is worth it to ruin everything you have worked so hard for. Turn in the old assignments for some credit and prove him wrong. That is the best advice I can give you.”
“Thanks Mrs. Wilkinson, I will get to work on my makeup work.”
“Please do. I would hate to give him what he wanted.”
“Me too.”
***
Claus left out of the class wondering what she had been talking about. What had the coach done and said to her? He felt like it was time to pay him a visit and see for himself what the man had to say.
He walked across campus to the small office of the hockey coach. He had always railed about how much smaller his office was then the football coach and with good reason, it was a lot smaller. Cross College was like most colleges in the country, more worried about their football stars, than the hockey ones. Claus had never been so bothered. There were always enough women for him and his teammates. While football was funded, hockey was violent and dangerous, thus always good for getting the chicks.
It had been all it was for in the beginning. He had never been good at football, but he had loved to skate and when he found out about his high school’s team, he had been a natural. When he got a full ride scholarship to Cross College to play, Claus was elated. For the first time in his life, he was able to see a future and it was centered around hockey.
“Coach?”
“Claus, what are you doing here? It’s before noon?”
Claus slumped down into the seat. “Well since the conversation I just had with my teacher, it would seem that you don’t want me on your team anymore.”
“Can you blame me? You punched out two guys last night for no reason. I get that spirit gets high in a game, but what were your reasons beyond wanting to get kicked out?”
He shrugged. “I just didn’t want to play. I told you that. If your daughter won’t stop calling me, how am I supposed to focus?”
“She called you?”
“Repeatedly and I have already changed my number once. Why don’t you handle that and I can handle what is going on in my life.”
Coach Carl looked down. It was not unknown to him what was going on. His daughter had to come to him with news that had broken his heart, but it was her decision and he had to stand with her. But it didn’t take away what he knew the boy was feeling. They had dated for almost a year and Claus was heartbroken. His way of dealing with it was to get in fights and turn aggressive. It did no good for anyone, but Carl couldn’t deny the reasoning behind it. It was Ashley that had changed him and though there was nothing he could do, it was hard to give up on someone that he had looked to as a son-in-law.
“You have to let this go Claus or you aren’t going to make it to the professionals. There were recruits in the stands last night and they saw your performance. Do you really think anyone is going to take you on if they see you as merely a liability?”
Claus shrugged like he didn’t care, but he did. Carl knew he did and though it was clear what side he was supposed to be on, there was no way for him to deny the pity he felt for the young boy. If he had been in the same situation, Carl didn’t suppose he would do any better with it.
“I’m serious Claus. Get your grades up and come to play on Thursday. We need you to be present so we can make a real go of the championship. Everyone wants a ring, but we need our enforcer.”
“I will try coach.”
“Sorry I said something to Mrs. Wilkinson, but I knew that she would get the message to you. She always was a softy.”
“How is she?”
Carl stopped and sighed as he sat down again. “Do you really want to know?”
Claus shook his head. “She is good Claus. Ashley is moving on and you need to do that same. I know it is hard now, but one day, it will just be another part of your past. Soon you will be a big time star Claus and you deserve it. I love my daughter, but she is not worth losing the dream because of her and her decisions.”
It was the closest he had or ever would come to admitting her guilt in what she did, but it was enough Claus stood up and though he was feeling emotional, he didn’t show it. He had learned to hold it all in, channel it to something else.
“Thanks for the talk coach. I will be ready to play Thursday.”
“And less time in the penalty box?”
“I will only fight if I am provoked.”
“I guess I will take what I can get.”
Claus left feeling slightly better, but there was still a lot of work to be done. He had not been making the best decisions and even though he was mad at the coach, he knew that what he said was true. Acting out wasn’t going to change anything or make it any better. He had to get it together and make it work.