Billet

“Everything she do is like me (ay) from her head to her feet like me (ay)
she trynna talk like me
trynna walk like me trynna get all the boys in the club like me
everything she be is like me (ay)
trynna imitate me (ay) she trynna move like me
trynna act like me trynna
get on the floor and shake her ass like me”

I had a habit of letting my phone ring until the last line of the chorus before picking it up. What I could I say? “Like Me” was a fun song and it always offered a chance for an impromptu dance party.

Cory had picked out the ringtone for himself last year and I had never bothered to change it. It could always make me smile.

As soon as I answered the call and my phone clicked into the conversation, I was greeted by a familiar voice, “Waited until the chorus was over again? Typical.”
I laughed, “You know it.”
“Sorry I haven’t had a chance to call lately,” he began, “It’s been crazy with getting settled in Belleview.”

Cory wasn’t from around this area, living several hours north. So although he was just traded in the off-season, I had only seen him twice over the course of the summer. We kept in contact, although it was difficult with our schedules heating up.

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it. Things have been crazy over here too. What’s it been like?”
“Really good actually,” I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I had been worried about him. “My billet family is great and the teammate I’m paired up with seems like a great guy, I think you’d really like him actually, and the team’s expecting me to take on a big leadership role.” His new team, the Royals, was currently in their rebuilding years and had a fair amount of younger players, so although Cory was still reasonably young in the league, it was great that they would be relying on him.
“I’m so happy for you!” I beamed, knowing he would be able to read it through the phone.
“Thanks Tier, I really appreciate it.” And I knew he had a similar expression on his face. There was short pause before Cory spoke again, “I really miss your mom’s cookies though.”
I laughed, “Jeremy said the same thing the other day.”
“How’s he been doing? And how’d you run into him? The rink?” He asked as an afterthought, realizing we didn’t attend the same school.
“We just chatted briefly, but he seems pretty good.” I bit my tongue, knowing that Cory wouldn’t be happy with what I was about to say. “Uh, I ran into him at the team’s pre-season party.”
“You went to that?!” I could tell his brows were furrowed and he’d be rubbing his neck like he’d always do when he was uncomfortable. If there was two people I could read like there was no tomorrow, it would be him and Amanda.
“Yeah,” I paused, “I went with my billet brother.” The last thing I wanted was Cory to not like Easton before he even met him. “Don’t worry: nothing bad happened, I’m alright, etcetera, etcetera.”
He wasn’t convinced. “Just be careful around those guys, please. I know what some of them can be like.”
I let out a sigh. “I know Cor. Hell Chad was trying to hit on me,” he let out a groan, “But don’t worry, Easton got me out of that one.” I was hoping that would win over some points from my friend.
“Anyways, sorry to cut this short, but I have to get going for practice. I’ll talk to you soon, Tier.”
“Go kill it out there,” we laughed, “Talk to you later.” I hit the end button, finishing the call.

It was reasonably early in the morning and all I had in store for the day was homework.

I spent most of the day curled up on my desk chair, working on filling in and memorizing science diagrams but luckily in the mid-afternoon, Easton appeared in my doorway.

“Hey, I just got in from practice. Want to work on some English together?”
I nodded, needing a break from the heavy memorization.

A few moments later, Easton rejoined me, pulling his own desk chair in as well. My desk was large, so we both had room to lay our books out.

We decided to try and decode a few scenes of Hamlet, before answering the coinciding questions.

“‘Number one: where does the play take place?’”
“Easy, Denmark.” I replied, and both of us wrote the answer down in our notes. “‘Number two: describe the relationship between Hamlet and his father in (at minimum) a paragraph.’ Is she serious right now?” I groaned.

Our teacher had given us much more work than we had expected and we spent the rest of the afternoon working on Hamlet.

Eventually, we were given a break when my mom called up the stairs that dinner was ready.

The four of us sat at our dinner table, digging in to the food in front of us. In addition to her stellar cookies, she made great food in general. Tonight, she had made a lasagne with a salad and garlic bread.

“So what are you two up to for tonight?” My dad asked, between forkfuls of food.
We both shrugged. “I was thinking a movie night maybe? Easton’s never seen Mean Girls so I have to shove it down his throat,” I laughed.
“I’m up for that.” He laughed as well.
“Well we were thinking we could have a little bonfire this evening. Since you two aren’t going out, you could watch your movies after you fill up on smores.”
“Count me in!” I exclaimed.

After dinner, we gave ourselves a little time to grow hungry again (and let the sun set, but that part is not important). In the meantime, Easton and I finished up our English homework and then decided to boycott homework for the rest of the night and just have fun.

“I’m going to Facetime Amanda if you wanna join in.” I mentioned, closing my English book before pulling out my phone.
“How do you two not get sick of each other?”
“How am I not sick of you yet?” I shot back, jokingly. “But I really don’t know. We’ve been best friends for forever, so talking all the time is just so...normal.”

I hit Amanda’s name and waited for a few moments before she picked up.

“Tieeeeer, what’cha up to babe?” She asked excitedly, before noticing who I was with. “Easton, hot damn. Never mind, Tier, you’re not a babe, this boy over here is.”

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is my best friend.

“Thanks, Amanda, you’re looking pretty good yourself.” Easton winked. He found Amanda entertaining.
“So what’cha up to tonight?” I asked her.
“Meh,” she shrugged, “Some date with this guy I met at Starbucks this morning.”
I burst out laughing, “So, you’re flirting with my brother as you’re getting ready for a date?!”
“He seemed a little too hipster for me, but may as well give him a try. And hopefully I get a free dinner out of it too.” Classic Amanda. “What about you guys?”
“She’s making me watch Mean Girls.” Easton whined.
“But it’s a good movie!” She said.
“And he’s never seen it!”
“That’s practically a crime!” I nodded in agreement.

After a few more minutes of chatting, we let Amanda go to finish getting ready for her date. We noticed the smell of smoke and went downstairs to see if the fire was ready.

Lucky for us it was, so we ran around the kitchen, grabbing all the things we would need for smores before joining my parents in the backyard.

We spent the evening around the fire, chatting about this past week and the upcoming weeks in turn. Easton had a week of pre-season games remaining before the season began. Meanwhile, I started training camp with my team this week. My parents were busy with work and both Easton and myself had to start worrying about school applications. Never mind all the things associated with Easton hoping to get drafted and me, recruited.

After way too many smores and stupid stories being told, my parents decided to head up stairs to bed while Easton and I went downstairs to occupy the basement.

After we walked down the stairs, we headed to right, where the TV area was. Sitting against the far wall was the oversized “U-Shaped” couch. Closest to us with the large TV attached to the wall. Scattered through the room was hockey memorabilia.

The other parts of the basement were just as enjoyable. We had a pool and air hockey table on the opposite side of the floor, and a small gym off to the side. It was the coziest place and ideal for anything from parties to movie nights like this.

Easton plopped himself on the middle section of the couch while I set up the movie. Once the menu popped up and I hit “Play” I laid out on one of the sides of the “U.”

“Get ready for the best hour and a half of your life.”

“The limit does not exist!” I shouted out in sync with Cady.
“I swear to God, Tier, if you quote this movie one more time.” Easton threatened.
“I’m only quoting the good parts,” I whined, but he glared in turn, “I can’t help that there’s lots of good ones!” He tossed a pillow at me.

After the movie was over, we both lounged on the coach watching the credits lazily.

“That was somewhat cringe-worthy, but still an entertaining movie.”
“Easton, don’t question Mean Girls. It’s the closest thing to perfection we have in this world!” He rolled his eyes, “Stop it!”

Once the credits were through, we both just starred at the blank screen.

“What’d’ya wanna do?” I mumbled.
“I dunno, what’d’ya wanna do?”
“I dunno, what’d’ya wanna do?”
“I have an idea! 20 questions?!” He exclaimed.
I grinned, “I’m down for that!”

We outlined the rules. We would alternate asking questions and you cannot skip a question you’re asked.

We decided he would start, “Favourite colour?”
“Green,” I replied quickly, “Favourite season?”
“Winter. Worst hockey memory?”
I cringed, “Two seasons ago, my team was playing in the league championships. It was 2-2 in game 7 and there was only 5 minutes or so left in regulation. I had a breakaway but just as I was approaching the goalie, the other team’s ‘D’ caught up and tripped me. I fell the wrong way and slammed into the boards, breaking my ankle in a few different places. The fucking bitch didn’t even get a penalty and as I was on my way to the hospital, I found out we lost it. They scored with 2 seconds left in regulation.”
His eyes widened, “Shit, that really sucks.”
I nodded, “Anyways, first kiss?”
“8th grade. I just finished a game and was coming off the ice and before I got to the dressing room, this girl, practically a stalker at the time, called my name and when I looked over she was right beside me and kissed me. I ran away as fast as I could on skates. It was the worst.” We laughed. “If you had to play a sport besides hockey what would it be?”
“Tough one, but probably lacrosse. It’s pretty similar in a lot of aspects.” I paused, thinking of another question, “What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told your parents?”
He chuckled, “Mom, dad, I’m just going over to stay at my buddy’s house.”
I raised my eyebrows, “And where were you?”
“I think it’s my turn to ask a question,” He winked, “First boyfriend?”
“I’ve never had a serious one, so I have to throw it on back to grade 6,” I laughed. “I had a crush on this guy in my class and he liked me too, so he awkwardly asked me out one day after the final bell rang. We’d walk around holding hands at recess and it was literally the most awkward time of my life.”
“But isn’t that middle school’ish age bad for everyone?” He pointed out.
“Fair enough.”

We kept the game going for quite a while until we both grew tired and fell asleep sprawled out on the couch.

Monday came around quickly, and lucky for me the school day went by fast as well. Before I knew it, I was heading to the rink.

My phone rang as I approached the half-way mark of the drive. I hit answer and turned on speaker phone.

“Hello?”
“Hey cap-i-tan!” I beamed for two reasons. I loved the familiar sound of one of my teammate’s voices and my new title couldn’t have sounded sweeter.
“Hey Lex!” Alexa was my center and one of my closet friends on my team. We’d been playing together since our Novice days.
“Bry said we were doing on-ice today right?” She said referring to our coach and his email with instructions.
“Yep. Probably just some speed and agility stuff today.”
“Thank God it’s not dry-land,” she laughed, “I’m so out of shape it’s ridiculous. At least I may be able to squeeze by with the agility stuff.”
“Better go on some runs this week then,” I laughed, “Don’t want any schmelts on my team.”

We joked for a few more minutes until I pulled into a spot at the rink. “Anyways, I just pulled in, so I’ll see you in a few.”

I walked around to the back of my car and pulled my hockey bag and sticks out of my trunk. I made my way into the building and wove my way through the halls, making my way towards the dressing room. As I approached, I saw a familiar face standing along the corridor.

“There’s my girl!” He smiled.
I walked over and shook his hand, “Hey coach!”

Bryan Dietmer had been my coach for the past two seasons. He was a good guy who knew our limits and pushed us, both as individuals and as a team, but he knew when to stop. He was a great motivator and someone I respected greatly.

“I was wondering if you could go in and speak to the girls before they come onto the ice. Just welcome them, introduce yourself to the new kids and give them the game plan for the day.”
“Oh for sure!”

He went on to explain the full plan for the first day of practice.

As I walked into the dressing room, I was greeted by a few cheers from some of my old teammeates.

“Nice to see y’all too!” I joked.

I went over to my stall and dropped all of my belongings down, before calling attention over to myself.

“Hey girls! So first of all, welcome to the Thunder! I’m Tierney Williams, captain for this season, for those of you who don’t know me. I’m pumped to be working with you girls and ho- no, I know, that we’re going to go far this year!” I was greeted by another set of cheers. “Anyways, I’m sure more introductions will take place later, but for now, this is Alexa,” I pointed to her from across the locker room, “Both her and Lucy,” I nodded over to her and she waved, “will be sporting the ‘A’s’ for the club.” More cheers ensued. “But, what we’re all here for is the grit. And it’s sounding like today will be tough. Coach wanted me to let you know the game plan for this afternoon...” I went on to explain the variety of drills we would partake in. There were a few groans but most of the team was pumped up for the season.

After getting myself ready, I joined the team on the ice. I skated a few laps to warm-up, making sure to chat with as many rookies as I could. We didn’t have many, but I wanted to make sure they felt as comfortable as possible.

Soon after, coach called us over doing a short introduction of himself before sending us off to start drills.

I skated over to the far goal post and lined up to start suicides. As I took off, my breath got caught in my throat, my eyes burnt and my skin tingled.

I loved this feeling more than anything in the world.

Even though it was the first time we were together, I had a good feeling about this squad. I could tell we’d be making a mark not only in the league, but in each other’s lives as well.

Let the games begin.