Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 124494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 498(@250wpm)___ 415(@300wpm)
“Yes, sir.”
He crosses his arms. “Why wasn’t that run by me first?”
“I checked with Boxer—”
He cuts me off. “I’ve already talked to Boxer about this. You’re an assistant coach, Boxer is the goalie coach, I am the head coach. If you want to put guys on the ice for extra practice on a game day, you run it by me first. Boxer might agree that the guys need the time, but the final say is ultimately mine. Don’t go around me again, do you understand?”
If I could sink into the floor I would. “Of course, sir. I’m sorry. I just…I thought…I’m so sorry. My intention wasn’t to go over your head on this. I honestly just wanted to give Grace a little more time to work on stick handling.”
“I know you’re working hard to prove yourself, but this isn’t the way to do it. I’m always the last person to sign off on things like this. These guys get on the ice in a few hours. They need to be rested, and they need time to get into the right mental headspace.”
“It won’t happen again, sir,” I promise.
“It better not. I expect you to learn from your mistakes.” He taps his pen agitatedly on his desk. “Go review game strategy. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
“Yes, sir.” I leave his office, feeling a lot like I might vomit.
I stop at Boxer’s office and knock on his door. He looks up from the papers on his desk and his expression turns to empathy. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. “Come in and close the door.”
I do as he asks. “I’m so sorry. I did not mean to get you in trouble.”
He raises a hand. “This is on me. I assumed you’d already cleared it with Vander Zee when you suggested the extra ice time.”
“I got ahead of myself,” I admit. It was a stupid error. One I wish I could take back.
He rubs his chin. “We all fuck up, Forrester. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I know Vander Zee’s approval is important to you like it is to all of us, but the world isn’t going to end over one mistake. Learn from it and move on, okay? Chin up. You got this.”
I nod. “Thank you. I’m still sorry. I won’t make the same mistake again.”
“I know you won’t. Go get your head on straight and be ready for game time.”
I leave his office and head down the hall to my own.
Despite Boxer’s kind words, being chewed out by my boss and mentor puts me in a bad headspace. I should have double checked and not made assumptions. That paired with the conversation with Donnie has me on edge. And it feels like a punishment when I get to watch the game from the box instead of behind the bench. By the third period, we’re down two goals and Ryker is in net. They start out strong and close the lead by one goal, but it all goes sideways and Ryker misreads a shot on net, giving Philly back the two goal lead.
Vander Zee puts Roman back in net, but the damage is done, and the Terror can’t recover. We lose the game, and I feel responsible. I overtaxed our goalies and best defensive players and lost us the game. Vander Zee is in a particularly somber mood during the post-game team talk. I keep my mouth shut.
“Lesson learned, I guess,” Thomas mutters, wearing the same black cloud as Vander Zee.
“It’ll be all right,” Boxer assures me.
“I’m still sorry.” He might feel some kind of responsibility for this, but I’m the reason we lost this game.
Roman tries to make eye contact. He doesn’t look particularly happy about the loss either, but his brow is furrowed in concern. I don’t want to draw more attention to myself, so I stay focused on my clipboard while Vander Zee talks about being game ready and in the right physical and mental state for the game.
Hemi and the girls invite me to the Watering Hole, but I’m barely holding it together, so I decline the offer. I need to get home so I can have a little emotional breakdown. And Dred is with the girls, she came over to help Fee with an essay. I’ve told her she doesn’t need to stay until I get home, but she often does anyway.
I drive home on auto pilot and manage to get the car parked before I lose it. My phone keeps buzzing with new messages.
The Babe chat is full of sympathy messages over the game and virtual hugs that the next one will be better.
Dred sent a picture of a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and a wrapped gift followed by the message:
Dred
Your secret admirer has great taste in flowers.
No card but pretty sure I can guess who they’re from.