Dean Portman walked out of his English class feeling discouraged. He'd failed yet another test, and he only had one more chance to pull his grade up before the final.

Determined to find something positive in the day, he put the test in his locker and went to hockey practice. Coach Orion was waiting for him in the locker room.

"Hey, coach howya doin'?" "Not too good, Portman. I found out a few hours ago that you're failing English. To be eligible for the Ducks, you have to maintain at least a C average in every class. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to suspend you from the team until your grade goes up." "But, coach…" "No buts.

I hate to do this, but your schoolwork comes first.

 I spoke with your teacher and she has a student in mind who's willing to tutor you.

Her name's Haley and she's waiting for you in the library." Defeated, Portman changed and went to the library.

He started flirting with some cheerleaders when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Uh, excuse me, Dean Portman?" Dean turned around to see a tall, slender girl in glasses looking at him. "Yeah, that's me." "I'm Haley Davidson." "Nice to meet you." They shook hands and Portman followed Haley to a table. "Mrs.

Notestine told me you're flunking English Lit. I got an A in the class last semester and she asked me to help you. What is it exactly that throws you so much about it?"

"I don't know.. I can never understand what they're trying to say, and half the time it's so only reason I'm taking it, is because I need it to graduate, so if you can help me get a passing grade, that's great." "Oook.

Your next exam is over Romantic and Carpe Diem poetry and selected works of Shakespeare. We only have three weeks to get you familiar with all the material, so we're going to spend a week on each. Now, I boring I don't even want to try. Anyway, the really hate studying here, so how about we alternate my house with your house for your sessions?"

"That's fine. When do you want to start?" "We can start right now if you want. I have to go to my locker and get my things, but I'll meet you in the courtyard in 10 minutes." "Ok, see ya." They were in Haley's living room going over some romantic poetry.

 "Dean, most of the…" "Portman." "What?" "Call me Portman. Only my mom calls me Dean." "Ok. Portman, the poetry you find so boring was a way for people to express their feelings.

It's a way to let someone know how you feel about them with just a few words." "Like Casey Kasem and those long distance dedications." Portman smirked. Haley glared at him.

"Sorry Haley, but I don't see why I need to care about some dead guy tryin ta mac on some chick." 'Oh boy.' she thought. 'This is gonna be harder than I thought.' So started their Monday, Wednesday and Friday routine. The following week, Haley was in the library waiting for Portman.

She glanced at her watch for the fifth time. She'd been waiting for twenty minutes and there was still no sign of him. 'I have to be at rehearsal soon, if he doesn't show up we're not going to be able to…'

 Just then, Portman walked in with a beautiful girl on his arm. She was very giggly and it was painfully obvious that she wasn't very…complicated. 

He kissed her on the cheek and walked up to Haley. "Sorry, Hale I got a little..detained." "Forget it, let's just go."

In his living room, Portman sensed her hostility and tried to apologize. "Hale I'm sorry, I just…" "Save it." She said sharply. "I don't care. If you want to just throw the hockey season away, that's fine with me, but you can't just keep me waiting like that! I'm doing you a favor, you jerk, how dare you just blow me off to pick up some airhead?!!"

"Hey, what's wrong with Jasmine?" "Trust me, you could do a whole lot better than little miss Barbie-doll."

"Like who, you?" Haley glared at Portman, gathered her things and left. Haley was pounding away at the piano in the music room, pouring her frustrations into the black and white keys. 'Why do I care if he flunks English? Why should I care if he has a bubble-headed girlfriend?

Because…I like him.' As she played the final two bars, she started to feel a lot calmer and sighed contentedly as she played the last chord. The sound of someone clapping came from the doorway and Haley turned to see Portman standing there. "Wow, you're really good!" "Thanks."

"Look, I'm really sorry about before. You were right; I had no business making you wait like that.

You're a really great tutor and I'd hate to lose you. You know, today I realized for the first time that "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" isn't about sex." Haley laughed until she saw the sincerity in his eyes. "Can we start over today?" "Haley looked at her watch and frowned. "No. I'm sorry, but I have rehearsal, then work and then I have to do homework." "What show are you in?"

"It's for the talent show coming up. My group is doing a song from the musical "Chicago". Tell you what. If you want, we can have a special session tomorrow afternoon. Can you meet me in the library?"

 Portman beamed. "Yeah, I'll see you then." The next day, Portman walked into the library right on time, but Haley was no where to be found. The librarian came up to him. "Dean, Haley wants you to meet her at the ice rink." "Thanks, Mrs. Robinson."

 Puzzled, Portman walked to the rink, to find Haley skating with the Ducks. "What's goin' on?" "Well, I've decided that you've been off the ice long enough. You have a big game coming up and you haven't been on the ice in two weeks. You're going to practice while I quiz you." Portman looked at her like she was crazy, but then said "Whatever you say, sunshine." The next week, Portman and the rest of the Ducks were in the Recital Hall to watch Haley

perform.

They were the last act and just about to go on. The lights went down in the hall as the curtain went up. The MC went onstage and said, "And now, the six merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail present their rendition

of the 'Cell Block Tango!'"

The stage lights came up on six girls, all wearing skimpy black leather outfits.

Portman gasped in shock when he spotted Haley. She was wearing a leather mini-skirt, black mid-rif top, fishnet stockings and high heels. Fulton noticed the look on his friend's face and said, "That's a switch from the shirt and jeans she was wearing at practice." "Yeah," said Luis. "She can tutor me anytime.

 I do need extra help in anatomy." "Watch it Mendoza."

Portman frowned, not liking the tone in his voice. He was so stunned at her appearance (and how his hormones were reacting) he could barely pay attention to the song.

Everything was a blur for him as the song ended and they were declared the winners. It was two days from the game and one from Portman's big exam. He and Haley had just finished their last session. "Portman, you're gonna ace that test. You practically know it better than me." "Thanks."

Haley got up to leave when he stopped her. "Hold on a sec, I'll be right back." Portman left the den and returned holding a rectangular package and a purple rose. "Portman…" "Don't argue with me, I wanted to do something nice for you." He handed the package to Haley and watched as her brown eyes grow large when she saw what was beneath the wrapping paper.

Haley couldn't believe her eyes when she saw a beautiful leather bound edition of Wuthering Heights with gold-leaf pages. "Oh my God." "Mrs. Notestine said it was your favorite." "Yes, I…thank you." She put her arms around Portman and hugged him.

"You're welcome." As they started to pull away, Portman looked deeply into Haley's eyes and realized he didn't want to let her go. Ever. The next day, Haley was pacing with the Ducks outside Mrs. Notestine's room waiting for Portman.

Slowly, the students started to file out of the room, each looking drained.

Portman was the only one left; Haley could see him scribbling and erasing furiously.

"Dean, I'm afraid I have to call time. Please bring me your test." As Portman walked to her desk, Mrs. Notestine continued, "I'll grade it first tonight and call you and Coach Orion about your game eligibility." "Well, what did she say? How'd you do?" Fulton asked. "I don't know, she's not grading them til tonight, but she said I'd be the first. She's gonna call and let me know." "Don't worry," said Haley. "I know you did great.

Why don't you guys go down to the rink and blow off some steam? You should get some more practice in before tomorrow." The Ducks thought it was a great idea, and dragged Portman away.

'Coming to the rink was a great idea.' Portman thought. It felt good to be back on the ice, bashing skulls with Fulton as usual. Though he was having a great time, Portman found it hard to concentrate on the plays they were running. Something was missing. 'But what?' he thought. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

 'I miss her.' Haley was in her living room, doing homework. Her parents had gone out for the evening, so she decided to make a night of it. There was a big pot of spaghetti warming on the stove and a copy of her favorite movie The Princess Bride in the VCR. Just half an hour more of calculus and she'd be in slacker heaven.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her doorbell.

"Portman, come in, what are you doing here?" "I just wanted you to be the first to know that I passed the test! Mrs. Notestine was so surprised she dropped it off at my house." He held it up for Haley to see. "A --minus! That's great Portman!" She threw her arms around him. "I knew you could do it!" "Thanks Hale."

Portman looked at Haley. She was just wearing a baby-doll shirt and baggy flannel pants; her hair was up in a bun, but some wisps of hair framed her face. To Portman at that moment, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. "I get it." He said quietly. "What?" "Remember our first session when you told me that poetry is a way to let someone know how you feel with just a few words?" "Yeah." "I finally understand what you meant.

 When you care about someone, you could go on forever about how much you love their laugh, how special they are to you…or how beautiful you look in a shirt and flannel pants.

Sometimes you need to borrow someone else's words because nothing you could say would ever be good enough to express what's in your heart."

Haley just looked at him, unable to speak.

Portman took a deep breath, held her hands and continued. "She walks in beauty like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies, and all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes." Haley was still silent; he was inwardly willing her to say something, anything to fill the void.

She still didn't say anything as she put one arm around Portman's neck and pulled him to her. Their kiss was delicate at first, very slow and tender. Then Portman pulled Haley closer to him and it took on urgency as it deepened. When they finally parted, Haley's cheeks were slightly rosey. She kept her arms around his neck as they smiled at each other. Portman held her close, knowing he would never have to let her go.

The next day, Haley and Portman walked into the Ducks locker room holding hands. He was a little nervous because he hadn't really been practicing with the others as he should. "Don't worry about it, you'll be fine. Look for me in the stands, I'll be cheering you on." Portman put his hands on her hips and drew her close for a kiss when a towel suddenly covered his face.

"Come on, there are people getting sick here." Said Averman. "Alright, alright, I get the hint." Haley said smiling. "Good luck guys," she said tugging on Portman's shirt. They kissed quickly and Portman looked on as Haley walked away. Coach Orion walked in from his office. "Ok guys, huddle up, we've got a game to win. Nice to have you back, Portman." "Thanks Coach." After their pep talk, the Ducks took to the ice, the auditorium thundering with cheers.

A few weeks later, Portman and Haley were together at her house, making out on the couch. Portman pressed her body against hers and let his hands wander up her shirt. Haley pushed his hands away. "Not yet, ok?" "Sure, I’m sorry." His cheeks were flushed, Haley thought he looked absolutely precious.

"Thanks for being so sweet about this…" "No sweat. You’re worth waiting for." He kissed her forehead. "Actually, I just remembered I have to meet Fulton and go over a play for next week’s game." He started to put on his letter jacket, but stopped. "Haley, I know it’s corny, but I want to give you this. Will you wear it?"

"It's not corny at all, I’d love to wear it. That’s the real reason I’m dating you, you know. It’s all about the jacket." "My girl, the smart ass."

Portman kissed her and started walking to the door. He turned, wearing a strange expression. "Haley?" "Yeah?" "I …I uh…nothing." They kissed quickly and Haley watched as he walked to his car. "I love you too, Dean." She whispered. Portman was kicking himself as he drove. "Why can’t I just say it!? I love you, I love you, it’s not that hard."

His thoughts were interrupted by a car spinning out of control, heading straight for him. Haley was cleaning up when the phone rang. "Hello? Hi Scout, what’s…oh my God, I’ll be right there." Scout was an EMT with the local hospital. Her latest rescue was a teenage male who was hit head on by a drunk driver. The driver was killed instantly, but Portman was all right for the time being. Scout recognized him and called Haley.

In the hospital lobby, Scout could see Haley running up to her. "How is he? Where is he? Is it bad?" "He’s stable, but in ICU for observation. He’s not supposed to have visitors, but I can sneak you in."

Portman was a mass of tubes and bandages. When Haley walked into the room she gasped at the sight of him.

 She silently sat down on a chair and held his hand. About an hour later, a nurse walked in. She was startled by Haley and asked her to leave when she saw the jacket Haley was wearing. "Are you his girlfriend?" "Yeah. How is he?"

 The nurse took some readings and his blood pressure. "If he stays like this, he’ll be in a regular room in the morning. How did you two meet? I’m sorry, I’m just curious. You don’t seem like the type to hang out with him." "He was failing English, so to keep his eligibility to play hockey, I tutored him. Somewhere between Shakespeare and Tennyson, we just clicked."

 "That’s sweet, you must mean an awful lot to him for him to give you that jacket." "Yeah." "Do you love him?" Haley nodded. "Then everything will be just fine." Haley smiled at the woman. "Thanks. I’m Haley, by the way." "Nice to meet you, Haley, I’m Debra."

 They shook hands and Debra promised that as long as she was quiet, Haley could stay as long as she wanted. Haley stayed at Portman’s side all night.

Debra came in every few hours to look at his vitals and she and Haley talked a little. When Haley opened her eyes the next morning, Portman was smiling back at her. "Dean! Are you ok, how are you feeling? Why didn’t you wake me up?!" "Easy, easy. I’m fine, but my head hurts like crazy. And I like watching you sleep, you looked so cute." He gave her a look that was so adorable she couldn’t stay mad at him.

She sat next to him on his bed and kissed him gently. "Have you been here all night?" "Yes." Just then, Debra walked in. "And this is Debra, she’s been watching you all night too." Portman smiled.

"Hi Mom." Haley’s mouth dropped open. "Hey sweetie." Debra kissed his cheek. "So, what do you think of my girl?" "Oh, she’s very special; hold onto her, Dean. Haley, we’re going to move Dean to room 315 this morning. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?

 I’ll keep my eye on him here." "Ok. I’ll come by later with some magazines or something." "Thanks babe." They kissed and she turned to leave. As Haley walked away, Debra nudged her son’s arm. Tell her." She whispered.

"What?" "You gave her your letter jacket, I know what that means." Haley was almost out the door.

"Haley wait." She turned and looked at him sweetly. "Mom, can you leave us alone please?" "Sure, I'll be right outside." "Haley, I've been trying to tell you something for a long time, but I just don't know how." Haley walked over to his bed and squeezed his hand. Portman took a deep breath and looked into her eyes.

"Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds or bends with the remover to remove: Oh, no! It is an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken. Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom. It this be error and upon me proved, I never writ nor no man ever loved." Just then, Debra came in with two orderlies.

"Haley, I’m sorry but it’s time to move Dean." "It’s alright, I was just leaving." Haley kissed his hand and stood up. She could feel Portman’s eyes on her as she walked to the door. Right before she opened the door, the Ducks stormed in and rushed to Portman’s bed. Through the large group of kids around his bed, Haley managed to hold Portman’s gaze long enough to mouth the words ‘I love you too’

Exiting the skate shop, Julie realized just how late it actually was. The entrance to the shop was covered and pretty well lighted, so Julie spotted the tumbling rain right away. However, there was nothing that she could do about it. If she could dash back to the dorm, she might be able to make it home only fifteen minutes late. Bombay would not be happy with her.

 1

Chapter One: Sioux St. Marie

"Pass it here, Brendan! Come on! Over here!" number 61 yelled up against the roar of the small crowd of people that had gathered for the hockey game at The Sioux St. Marie Institute for Recreational Sports Private Highschool. A pass was completed over to 61 and the player skated past the blue line.

Swinging around the back of the other team's net, number 61 sent a pass to a team member, and it was completed beautifully. The other player was then trapped by two of the other team's defense men, and did a reverse 360. Just as the 360 was almost completed, number 61 skated back around and took the puck, skating back in and making a quick shot.

"SCORE!" shouted the announcer over the PA system. A roar came over the crowd, and 61 was met by teammates on the ice (except, of course, for the goalie) in a group hug. "Score by number 61, Alex Dempsey. Assisted by number 12, Brendan Davidson."

From the stands, a shorter than average man wrote down some stats on a clip board. That was a great play, he thought. He put the pen back behind his ear, adjusting his shiny light brown hair. Standing up he made his way down the isle, and down out of the bleachers. At that same minute, he heard the game buzzer sound that the game was over.

Quickly, he headed back to where the locker rooms were. He didn't want to miss meeting the coach of the team, and the player that he was interested in trading. It wasn't really a trade, however. The private school was going out of business in two weeks- in the middle of the school year- because it was completely broke.

As he opened the door, the scout heard a creek and then the energetic cheering of the JV highschool team. His smiling face changed a bit due to the smell of sweat, but then he adjusted. Because he had coached for a couple years, the man was used to the smells himself. Walking into sight of the players, he couldn't help but notice that they all stopped and stared at him.

"Where's your coach?" the soft tone in his voice was commanding enough to have one of the half dressed boys pointed over to an office that was connected to the locker room.

"What's up, sir?" a boy who bore the number of twelve walked up to the scout, a virtual sweat ball from the game. Number twelve was the boy who had made the game winning assist. Smiling slightly and holding out his hand, the scout introduced himself.

"I'm Gordon Bombay. You're..." he looked at his sheet briefly, "Brendan Davidson?" Bombay paused and waited for the boy to confirm, which he did with an enthusiastic nod. "I'm looking for your coach, Coach Ellis."

"Right. Here, I'll get him for you. Follow me!" Brendan grinned at Bombay, who was busy looking down on his drafting sheet. Silently, Bombay wondered if Brendan was a tad intimidated of him because he was a scout. In a few seconds, Bombay was led over to the office where Coach Ellis was busy talking on the phone. Talking? Yelling was more like it.

Knocking on the door, Bombay made Ellis turn around and give the "just a second" sign. With one last yell, the phone was slammed down on the receiver. Grimacing, Bombay held up his hands.

"I can come back later, if you want..."

"N-no. Just a little argument with the wife. What can I do for you sir?" Ellis smiled, transforming from the bitter fellow that Bombay had just seen to a jolly, Santa Claus-like man. Santa Claus, in fact, was who Coach Ellis closely resembled in build. A jovial smile and twinkle in his eye seemed to light up the room, and Bombay couldn't believe that this was the same man who had been arguing into the phone just a few seconds before.

"I'm Gordon Bombay, hockey scout. I'm interested in one of your players. His name is

Alex Dempsey. Number 61. There's a team that I think would be interested in the young man- What's so funny?" Bombay stopped, due to a stifling laughter that erupted from Coach Ellis' mouth. Grinning, Ellis gestured for Bombay to follow him. They strode out of the office, out of the locker room, and out into the hallway. There, they were bombarded by parents and relatives of the team.

"Ah! Miss Dempsey!" nodded Coach Ellis to towering highschool girl that was dressed in a hockey uniform, and seemed hot from a long workout. "Alexis. This man wants to talk to you!" Bombay's jaw must have dropped to his knees, he was in such shock. Dempsey was a girl!

"Yes sir?" Alexis asked, curious to why the short man would want to talk to her. Looking down, Alexis waited for Bombay, raising her eyebrows as she looked at the shock on his face. "Sir?" she asked again.

"Y-you're Alex Dempsey?!" Bombay asked, his voice cracking the way it did when he was thoroughly surprised. When he was met with a nod that said "uh.... yeah", Bombay gulped but then continued. "Nice to meet you. I'm Gordon Bombay-"

"You coached the Mighty Ducks!?" Alexis interrupted, eyes suddenly open wide.

"Yes. I'm looking for an addition to my player's team in a private school in Minnesota, called Eden Hall Academy. I was wondering if you would like to discuss joining the team with your parents. We'd be giving a full scholarship, of course, and since your school is going to be shutting down soon, I figured that you'd need some where to play hockey. Most High Schools these days don't have a hockey team," Bombay said, and it was Alexis' turn to be shocked. Blinking, Alexis' mouth hung open for a second.

"Y-yeah... But my parents don't live around here, Mr. Bombay. They live in the Lower Peninsula. If it's a full ride, I'd bet they'd be happy. You know, they've been looking to get me into another school," Alexis stopped thinking to herself, Another school far away. Then, she continued out loud, "Can you let me get showered up, and I'll meet you back out here? I'm supposed to wait out here until all the boys get done, and it looks like they're about done now. So, if you'll excuse me..."

Alexis brushed past Bombay, who looked over at Ellis for the first time.

"You could have warned me, you know! That wasn't exactly what I was expecting!" Bombay stated, which caused Ellis to bubble over with laughter.

"Well, I wanted to make sure that Alexis would get a fair judgement on her abilities rather than her gender. Three traders already have backed off when I told them that Dempsey was a girl. I firmly believe that it should not depend on whether you're a boy or a girl, but rather how well you play and how much you love the sport. Alexis is one of the best players I've had in years. She deserves to do well in life," Ellis became serious, his tone of voice almost harsh, but still soft.

"Well, her gender wouldn't have swayed me either way. There are three girls on the Eden Hall team already, so she should be in good company. And she is an outstanding athlete. Is she a smart girl?" Bombay questioned, scrambling for his paper on the clip board for her.

"Why yes, Mr. Bombay. I require all my players to maintain an A/B average. She's one of the smartest strategical players on my team. The last goal, she made play up herself. She's every bit worthy of the captain's "C" I gave her, but she won't argue giving it up as long as she can play hockey." Ellis said, and added, "She is also one of the best liked players on the team. Well, not that I wonder about a group of teenaged boys' intentions. But she doesn't buckle under to any of them. See all those boys? My players, waiting for her. They do every game. I believe that they take her out for a burger after every win."

"Really? She does seem to be popular. She seems like a nice young lady." Bombay stopped as he saw Alexis return from out of the locker room. It had only been five minutes, but the girl had managed a total change up over her sweaty red hockey uniform. Now, she was clad in a pair of striped Adidas snap pants and a green nylon pullover. Her hair was pulled into two braids on either side of her face. Apparently, there was no makeup on her face, but Bombay didn't really take notice.

As Alexis strode up to Ellis and Bombay, the group of guys followed behind her.

"Want to join me and the guys for some burgers? There's a place up the street that makes a mean milkshake. You too coach! And you guys can talk with me about the scholarship." Alexis offered, and Bombay looked questioningly at Ellis, who nodded. Without another word, Alexis joined up with all of the guys and started up a conversation about the Stanley Cup Finals. Patting Bombay on the back, Coach Ellis followed the boys and Alexis outside, and out for a burger.

2

Ring! Ring! Coach Ted Orion of the Eden Hall Mighty Ducks rushed into his office, and picked up the phone, irritated that it had bothered him during a team meeting.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Ted! It's Gordon Bombay. I've got it all worked out, and I think I have what you're looking for in a new player. Has good ice experience, is a great skater, scores, and plays two way hockey. All I need is for you to is sign over the scholarship. I mailed it to the board, who signed it off, grudgingly, of course."

"Sounds great. Yeah. Who is it?" Ted said, but really wanted to get back to Bombay later so that he could continue to lecture his team. He didn't care if Bombay sent over a monkey, as long as it could play for his losing team.

"Alex Dempsey. Recently, Alex played for the Sioux St. Marie Marauders, and last year was on the Jr. Olympic Hockey team-" Bombay was about to say more, when Orion interrupted him, saying that he had to go.

"I'll get back to you. But I need to talk to the team right now, alright? Okay. Goodbye!" Orion slapped down the phone in the receiver. Stomping out of his office and back into the main locker room, Orion started back in on the lecture that he had started.

"I can't believe you losers! 2-6! You make me sick! Where was your concentration? I'll tell you where! You left it in your dorms and houses! You have ten minutes to get out of here, or else you're staying all night doing laps. Understand me?!" Orion questioned, making his anger venomously clear.

"Coach, we tried our best," a handsome young Asian boy stated so softly that he was barely heard. But he was. Snapping around, Orion narrowed his eyes, but said nothing as he turned back and marched, aggravated, into his office and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

"I think you'll like Coach Orion. He's a nice man," Bombay told Alexis as the two walked in the front doors of the large Hockey Arena that belonged to the Eden Hall Academy. It had been a week since she had last talked to the scout, and she was very nervous about being in Minnesota.

"I just hope he likes me. I want to play hockey," Alexis said, looking down at Bombay with worry clearly written on her face. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a rainbow mini tank top and a heavy yellow Ralph Lauren Coat to cover up for the chilly Minnesota winter. Bombay assured Alexis that everything would be fine, but deep in the pit of her stomach, Alexis had a bad feeling.

Leading her into a hall marked 'Locker Rooms', Bombay opened the door to the JV locker room and Alexis followed him inside, almost meekly. When she was met with the faces of the players, her face hardened a little. They were of all races, all shapes and sizes, which was not like her old hockey team, but Alexis didn't feel like she was welcome.

Seeing his friend's approach, Coach Orion came out of his office, but stopped in his tracks. The look on his face was not one of happiness or joy. Quite the opposite, but Bombay did his best to ignore it.

"Ted, this is the new player. Alexis Dempsey."

"Bombay, may I have a word with you in my office?" Ted said, shooting an angry glance over to Alexis and then leading Bombay to his work space that connected with the locker room. Alexis watched them until they disappeared inside, and then turned to look back at the other players.

"H-hi. I'm Alexis Dempsey. Your new teammate," Alexis said, trying to shake off the look that Orion had given her. It was deeply apparent that he didn't want Alexis to be on the team. Smiling, a tall, good looking boy approached her. He had already changed into his hockey gear, and his hockey sweater had a small "C" sewed onto it.

"I'm Charlie Conway. Nice to meet you Alexis!" he shook her hand as she set her hockey bag on the ground. A couple other of her new team mates ambled over, too. There was a short, brown haired girl who introduced herself friendly as Connie Moreau. Next to Connie was another girl, who was clad in goalie pads. She said her name was Julie Gaffney, and that she was glad that Alexis had come to join them. Shyly, an Asian boy shook hands with Alexis.

"I'm Ken Wu," he said softly, as Alexis smiled lightly at him, "There's an empty locker by mine, if you want it." Grin becoming bigger, Alexis nodded and picked up her stuff as Ken led the way to the vacant locker. Next to her on the other side, Alexis saw a tall, muscular boy giving her the once over.

"Dean Portman. Nice to meet you, babe." If the greeting was intended to be polite, Alexis didn't take it as such. Instead of doing anything rash, Alexis took a deep breath and ignored the lumbering Portman, who was only an inch or two taller than her.

Wanting to get ready, Alexis took off her coat, revealing her mini tank top. On her left arm, Portman noticed a medium sized blue ink design.

"Woah. Is that, like Chinese?" he asked, causing Ken to look over at Alexis from where he was putting on his jersey. "Ken! Look at her arm, man!" Sighing deeply, Alexis rolled her eyes but turned to show Ken her tattoo.

"Deadly?" Ken asked, rasing an eyebrow. "Her tattoo says deadly, Portman." Then, he smiled, "I'd watch out if I were you." From the corner of her eyes, Alexis smiled at Ken and shook her head softly. It was then that Alexis noticed another girl looking at her, emotionless.

"Hi," Alexis smiled.

"Hi. I'm Annalise Costello," a half smile was turned from the pretty girl's stone face. She was somewhat short, but not as short as Connie, with a very athletic build and deep brown eyes.

Around her head was a white karate head band with a red circle and some Japanese writing on it, and her brownish-red hair was pulled into a pony tail for practice. "Good to have a new player on our team. Nice tattoo."

Alexis nodded. Of all the things that the team was taking notice of, Alexis was a bit displeased that it was her tattoo. Explaining to Annalise that she had to get ready quickly, Alexis started to unpack some of her stuff and to get dressed. When she finished, Alexis sported her old team jersey, marked with the sign of the Sioux St.

Marie Marauders. Looking over to the office, Alexis quietly walked over and listened by the door. From the sound of it, the conversation was not going well.

"Look! I don't care who the hell she is! I don't need another girl on this team! And what was worse, you said that she was a he!" Orion spat venomously at Bombay, who Alexis heard snort in response.

"I never said she was a guy! I called her Alex, but that's one of her nicknames! And believe me, it doesn't matter whether she's a girl or not, Dempsey is one of the best hockey players I've seen in a long time. She'll do your team good!" Bombay scoffed, and Alexis was glad for the good words he put towards her name.

It was about that time that Orion noticed Alexis standing and watching them through the windows in his office. Stopping, Orion whispered something not nice under his breath and gestured for her to go away. Turning around to leave, she saw Ken behind her.

"Man, coach Orion's a jerk, huh? You should see him after a game!" Ken exclaimed, and another boy, a boy who was just a bit shorter than Alexis' 6'1" height, kind of snorted a little bit. From the back of his jersey, Alexis saw the boy's last name was Banks. Turning around, Banks introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Adam." Then, he turned to Ken, "I wish that Bombay was still coaching instead of this drill Sargent!" The little picture that Bombay had painted in Alexis' head about him being a "Nice Guy" had been totally phony.

"So he's like this all the time?" questioned Alexis, referring to the screaming that could be heard from the office. Both Ken and Adam nodded at the same time, and Alexis' hopes were lowered even more. There was no way that Orion wanted to let another girl on the team. And if he didn't see her fit, Alexis knew that Orion could easily have her scholarship revoked.

"I can't believe he's going off about having another girl on the team!" piped up another boy, with blond colored hair, who's number was 00 and who introduced himself quickly to Alexis as Guy (pronounced Gee) Germaine. Really, Alexis was surprised about how friendly the people were being. On the way over, Mr. Bombay had explained that she was taking the place of a boy on the team named Lester Averman, who had broken his leg. For that reason, Alexis had imagined that the kids would have been a bit wary of her. But then, she thought, her other prediction of the day had been wrong.

"You were the captain of your old team?" Alexis' thought was broken as the words spilled out. It had been Charlie who had said it, of course. He had joined the band of hockey players on their way out onto the ice. To Alexis, the arena was impressive, but nothing spectacular. Banners upon banners of State Championships proclaimed that Eden Hall had a reputation of winning big.

If Alexis recalled, though, Bombay said that the Junior Varsity team hadn't been doing as well as they were expected to. Alexis had the notion that it had something to do with the coaching staff.

Like everyone else, Alexis started warming up by doing laps. Instead of skating with a group of people like some of the others, Alexis shot off by herself. Because she was alone, Alexis had time to look around a little bit. To her, this arena seemed smaller, but she knew that it couldn't have that much of a size difference.

Deciding to hustle up (she had slowed down when she looked around) Alexis skated past Connie and Julie, who were talking in front of her.

There were a few more laps, and then Alexis noticed Orion and Bombay skating onto the ice; Orion was clearly agitated. Seeing that Alexis was looking over at them, Bombay beckoned for her to come over. Not daring to be idle, Alexis skated over quickly.

"Welcome to the team, Miss Dempsey."

Chapter Three: Chinese Food Merriment

Thump. Alexis set her large duffle bag on the floor of the large-sized dorm room, and tried to soak all of the details of the room in at once. The first thing that hit Alexis was how eerily neat and tidy it was. Everything was in place, and out of harm's way. There was a certain bareness to the room, and Alexis wondered if it was just because she hadn't moved in her own things yet.

"Hi." When she heard the voice, Alexis jumped back into existence. From the bottom of the bunk bed at the side of the room, Annalise looked over the top of a book that she was reading. Lightly smiling, Alexis waved hello back, and then looked back around, searching for a place to stick her things. "The closet on the right is yours." Annalise said, as if reading Alexis' mind.

Nodding gratefully, Alexis walked over to the small closet and then at her bag. There was no probable way that all of her stuff would fit inside the closet, but Alexis had a knack for making things fit together in tight places. Gulping again, Alexis decided to save the unpacking for later.

"When's dinner?" Alexis asked, glancing over at Annalise. There was a pause as Annalise finished reading the page, and then she looked up.

"It was at five. You missed it," Annalise informed her. "There's a McDonalds down the street, if you eat that kind of stuff." Sighing, Alexis nodded. Fast food was definitely not high on her list of favorite foods, but Alexis was so hungry that she was ready to eat anything.

"You wanna come with me?" Alexis asked Annalise, who shook her head no, and smiled slightly, saying that she had eaten dorm food already. So, as Annalise stayed in her room, reading, Alexis headed out down the hall.

The Eden Hall dorms were actually very beautiful. They were brick buildings, covered in green ivy, and were built around the time of the turn of the century. On certain parts of the buildings, ferocious marble gargoyles stuck out and added to the old look. As Alexis walked softly down the marble staircase to the sidewalk, she heard someone yelling.

"Alexis!! Alexis!!" Turning around, Alexis saw Ken, who was waving his arms and running after her. When he caught up, he breathed: "Hey! You going out for some dinner? I didn't eat caf food today, so I need some dinner, too." Watching Ken run his hand though his glossy, bouncy black hair, Alexis had to smile.

"Yeah, I'm headed out. Annalise told me that there was a McDonalds down the street, though that is not what I wanted for dinner. Any other good places around? I have a craving for Chinese food tonight, but I suppose that there's no place around here..." Alexis trailed off, seeing the look of approval on Ken's face.

"Actually, believe it or not, there is a pretty good Chinese place around. But it's kinda far to walk. Do you have your blades with you?"

About a half an hour later, both Ken and Alexis had skated on their roller blades to the take-out Chinese food joint. It took about ten minutes for their order to come up, but when it did, the two exited the carry-out restaurant and skated part way back to the dorm. There was a cool park that was a great place to eat.

Setting herself down on a bench, Alexis took her order of General Tso Chicken out of the bag of food and then took out a pair of wooden chopsticks, also. Any kind of Asian food, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, Alexis automatically loved.

Next to her, the first generation American boy fished out his Lo Mein and looked at it with satisfaction.

"Not as good as my mom's," Ken said, nodding to the food, "but for carry-out, it's pretty good!" Glancing over to Alexis, he saw her busily eating away at her spicy chicken in break-neck pace. When she noticed him looking at her, Alexis stopped, right in mid-bite.

"Um... sorry," she said, putting the piece of the chicken that was in her chopsticks back onto her paper food carton. "I'm being a bit swinish. But I haven't eaten since seven this morning. I'm starved!"

Coughing slightly, Ken grinned, "It's okay. You eat with those well. I've never seen an American inhale her food so fast with chopsticks before." Embarrassed, Alexis laughed nervously and looked away. "Don't worry, Lex, it's fine! You don't mind if I call you Lex, do you?" Alexis shook her head no.

"Being around jocks so much, I guess I've just adapted to their eating habits. Hey! I just thought of something. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you the guy that won a gold for America in the Junior Olympics a year or so ago?" Alexis went back to eating, but slower this time.

"Silver," Ken said, swallowing his food, "Yeah. I love skating. I've been thinking about going back to San Francisco to start up again at the end of the school year."

Making a small face, Alexis looked at him with furrowed brows. "But you're a good player! I mean, I saw you in practice! You couldn't just ditch your team, anyway! You owe all of us at least through high school, man!"

"Orion hates me."

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Alexis told him, "He hates everyone. He hates me. I think he hates coaching. Why does he coach, anyway? He played for the Northstars, didn't he? Well, they're the Stars now, but. . . when they were in Minnesota, he played for them." Ken ate for a moment, thinking Alexis' question over.

"Kelli," he started, and Alexis looked over at him again, "His daughter, Kelli. She was in a bad car accident when she was little. Orion was driving. He thought that he owed it to Kelli to stay where all of her friends were. He could have kept playing professional. I guess I'd be cranky too, if someone so close to me was like that. A vegetable, I mean."

Alexis bit her lip a bit, as if sorry that she complained about her new coach. An uneasy silence came over the two of them, as both of them was unsure of what the other was thinking. At about the same time, they finished up their food.

"I think it's time to head back.. I mean, I want to rest up for my first day of school tomorrow, don't I?" Alexis broke the silence as she stood up, her blades still on from earlier. Nodding slightly, Ken threw his empty carton away and stood up, stretching and yawning.

So, without further talk, the two raced each other back to the dorm. Ken won, but Alexis wasn't far behind him. Her excuse was that she was more tired than him, and needed rest. Laughing, Ken took off to his dorm on the second floor, while Alexis went the other way to hers, which was on the first floor.

It was six fifteen in the morning when Alexis was awakened by Annalise's alarm clock. Groaning slightly, Alexis sat up, looking down from her place on the top bunk of the bed. Then, yawning, she flopped back down into bed.

"Get up Alexis! We have to get ready for school!" Annalise called up to her. For just getting out of bed, Annalise looked surprisingly awake, and Alexis grumpily dismayed over having a roommate who could wake up so quickly.

"We have an hour and a half to get ready for school!" Alexis complained as she hopped off of the top bunk, not caring about the ladder that she was supposed to use. Usually, Alexis got up about ten minutes before school started and got to class in time.

"Julie and Connie have been up for an hour already, Lex," Annalise pulled out a pair of faded jeans and an old shirt from the small closet that she had. "They'll be over in a half an hour, and then we're going to eat breakfast and get your schedule with you. You can't start school without that, now can you?"

Going over to her own closet (which was now full, since she had unpacked the night before), Alexis let the words sink in, and when they finally did, she nodded sleepily. Then, she searched her closet for a sporty looking outfit. Alexis finally dragged out another pair of Adidas snap pants, of which she had five pair, and a purple soccer jersey that said "Sammontona" on it.

"Italian?" Annalise questioned, looking at the jersey's logo, which was a small ice-cream cone with it's tongue sticking out saying "Gelati all' Italiana." Moving her head up and down, Alexis changed into the outfit, looking like a jock. Next, Alexis put her hair into two braids and put her black "Sioux St. Marie Marauders" cap on. To make it final, Alexis put on a pair of Adidas cut off socks and a pair of Nike sandals.

After she made her bed and gathered up all of her brand-spanking-new school supplies, Alexis was ready to go, only waiting for Julie and Connie to come. Annalise was just finishing up cleaning. Like Alexis, Annalise dressed quite boyishly, in her faded jeans and "She-Devils" shirt. Silently, Alexis wondered what was up with Annalise's shirt, but figured that she would ask her about it.

"Hey, was that your old team, Lisse?" Alexis questioned, using Annalise's nickname. Nodding, Annalise told Alexis how she used to live in Kansas, and that she was the captain of her old team, which was all girls. Then, Annalise told of how she knew Connie and Charlie before she moved to Kansas.

"I would have been on the Ducks the year that they won states in Peewee, if I hadn't moved away," added Annalise. "Connie used to be my best friend." She smiled, as she finished making her bed.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and a second later, Julie opened it, stepping inside. Connie was right behind her. They were both dressed nicely, Julie in khakis, and Connie in a skirt. Connie's face was made up, and Julie's was also, although not as much. Immediately, Alexis felt a bit uncomfortable. She didn't wear makeup (she hated the stuff), and she was dressed like a boy. Then, she brushed the thought away. She had always been her own person, so she could dress how she liked.

"Hey guys!" Julie smiled, "Lex, you ready for your first day?" When Alexis nodded, Julie's grin got even bigger. "Ken, Adam, and Charlie are meeting us downstairs for breakfast. You guys ready?" At the mention of Ken's name, Alexis almost smiled. But she didn't, because she didn't want Julie and Connie to put two and two together and think that Alexis had a crush on Ken.

After all, she didn't. They were just friends.

So, getting into a conversation about what classes Alexis had signed up for, the four girls headed downstairs. It didn't take long for them to get through the breakfast line, because they beat the morning rush. In the cafeteria, they saw the group of boys from their hockey team, which was actually more than just Ken, Adam, and Charlie. Among the other boys were Portman, Fulton, Guy, and Luis.

Grinning, Alexis sat down next to Ken, but was less than pleased to realize that Portman was sitting on the other side of her.

"Hey babe," Portman flashed her a smile, to which Alexis said nothing, pretending like she didn't hear him. Instead, she told all of the guys good morning, and they replied with their own greetings. They were, in some cases (Adam) happy, and in others (Fulton) unintelligible. It was obvious to Alexis that Fulton had been dragged out of bed by Portman and made to come to breakfast early.

"We're all coming with you to get your schedule. Here, there's only four classes a day, but they're for ninety minutes each. We hate it, but that's how it works," Charlie explained the schedule, which Alexis had heard of. It was called 'Block Scheduling.' "And then, if we have time, we'll show you where you have to go. If not," Charlie grinned, "Then you're on your own."

"Man, we lost that dumb game with Bulldogs! I cannot believe that they beat us!"complained Russ Tyler, who's so famous for his 'knucklepuck'.

"Neither can I, and it wasn't a dumb game! You guys were absolutely pathetic out there!" yelled Coach Orion. He had loosened up for a while, but his daughter's condition worsened and so his anger was taken out on the Ducks, although they understood, they didn't know why he suddenly got so mean after they lost to the Bulldogs. Winning meant everything to Orion.

"We did our best" said Ken Wu. Orion scoffed at him.

"Your best. Your best, huh?! You didn't work hard enough and you had no absolutely no confidence or any will, what happened to the Mighty Ducks? You know what you've become? Starts with a 'w'! Wussy Ducks" he answered sternly.

"We thought you were on our side" said Charlie. Julie looked at Orion and left with Connie, Guy, Russ, Adam, and Dwayne. They all went to skate.

"I don't know why he's so upset" Charlie said to Connie.

Coach Orion showed up and then he said "I have a new player for you. This player might do you some good. Are you familiar with Annalise "The Icebreaker" Costello?" the Ducks dropped their hockey sticks. Charlie simply gaped at her, Connie ran up to her and hugged her.

The Ducks had known her, she moved to Kansas, otherwise she would've been on the Ducks by now. And she visited them once. She particularly knew Connie and Charlie.

She was the team captain of her original team in Kansas, the She-devils. They bailed because they were losing and Annalise, or as everyone calls her, Lisse (pronounced 'lease') was the only good player on the team.

"Costello here can play goalie, scorer and defense. But for now I'll just see what she can do with you guys" Orion said. "Annalise is a chick. Yeah, babe!" exclaimed Portman. Lisse narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

"Call me Lisse" she said. Everybody was glad that she was on the team. She was sharing her dorm with Alexis Dempsey. Lex joined the team because Averman broke his leg and anyway, even without Averman they would've needed her, they were outnumbered by the Bulldogs. Lisse liked Alexis. She was nice and funny, too. She did not however like Fulton or Portman very much and they always called her "babe" or "chick".

Alexis was tall, really tall. Lisse was a normal height. Lisse was a fighter and in Kansas they called her "Warrior Princess" or "The Icebreaker" Lisse had a lot of shoulder muscles and a slim figure, she looked like she could easily be the captain of the wrestling team, any team, not just female. She had a very mysterious personality and was nothing like the girl. Neither was Alexis but she would let people know how she feels and not keep everything to herself like Lisse, she doesn't cry either and she wasn't a complete guy.

Lisse was, she wouldn't cry no matter what the consequences because it wasn't her nature and she never wore makeup and had no nice evening gowns or nightdresses, just ridiculous P.J's like the boys. Lisse was however sensitive, and she was always calm and tranquil until she loses her temper. She could fight anyone, and she wasn't scared of anything.

lf she were fighting Alexis (Lex)she'd beat her in arm wrestling, if she were fighting her, like a match, she might lose since Lex was physically larger in size than Lisse. Or there would be no winner or they'd have to kill each other. Lisse had one thing going for her though, she had will and determination and she was not a quitter.

"Ok, I've posted you're positions" Coach Orion said.

"What?! You changed it again?" exclaimed Charlie. He shook his head. Adam went up and scrutinized the list.

"Well, nothin's really changed, except Goldberg, you're playing defense. Julie the Cat, she's goalie" he said. "Whoa! Check this out, he's switching sides, Dwayne you're playing left side and Ken, you're playing right. You guys are switched," Connie said. Dwayne didn't like this, and neither did Ken.

Coach Orion had been evil for a long time. The Ducks thought that he might've liked them better after their victory against the Varsity Warriors. Ever since they lost to the Bulldogs, the captain of Varsity Warriors, Riley, had been on their case and saying that the Ducks were 'so pathetic out there', 'that they felt sorry for the losers', and 'that they let them win'.

Now they lost to the Bulldogs and Varsity was even more nasty. They played the worst tricks and their latest trick was gonna be awful, simply awful.

"Man, I hate Orion, he thinks we're just another one of his guinea pigs, at the game he's playing the good guy and then when we lose, he's Captain Blood," said Luis Mendoza.

"Totally," agreed Connie.

Julie watched and then Adam roller skated up to her, "Julie, uh, I'm glad you're goalie, I mean Goldberg's good, too, but uh, you're terrific" he said and winked at her.

She smiled and replied, "Thanks, Adam" He grinned and Lisse smiled at him in his direction.

"Hey, my skates are stuck! I can't turn!" exclaimed Lisse. Adam noticed her trying to stop and so he skated faster, although she was much ahead of him. Adam finally caught up to her, and pulled her over to his side and then Charlie helped her.

"Hey, babe" Lisse turned around. Portman.

"Portman, what's up?" she asked. He skated by her, and then all of a sudden a scream could be heard. It was Adam.

"Banks!!" yelled Charlie. Adam had fallen over in a ditch because he failed to help Goldberg who still had problems skating. Julie gasped. Everyone skated over to find Adam, his forehead was bleeding, and so was his leg. It didn't look like he was breathing.

Lisse looked down and took of her skates. She knew how to perform C.P.R, and revived him. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"Julie, call the hospital and get them here ASAP, he's seriously hurt" she said.

"This is bad" said Lex.

"I know" replied Lisse. And then a few minutes later" I just called the hospital and they have too much of a problem to worry about him" Julie said, looking concerned.

"Lisse, do you think you can help him?" asked Charlie. Lisse was often known as the "Medicine Woman". She was used to injuries because of the danger she experienced. Lisse had a lot of nicknames.

"Call someone at Eden Hall and let's get him outta here! Goldberg hand me that water bottle" she said. She took the water bottle and ripped off a piece of her shirt and used it as a rag to wipe the blood off Adam's forehead. "Hmm?" Adam's voice was too weak to be heard.

"He's coming to," She made him drink some water. Suddenly, a car drove up.

"You fellas need a hand?" It was Scooter from the Varsity team, he was the only nice person from their gang.

"Hop in, is he ok?" he asked. Julie, Lisse, and Charlie helped Adam in and then Lisse got in to make sure nothing else happens. "You go on with him Lisse, we'll skate back" said Charlie.

"Wait, I'll go too," said Julie, Connie wanted to go too. Julie sat in the front seat, and in the back Connie and Lisse seat with Adam. The rest of the gang watched as Scooter waved to them.

"Damn, Goldberg, why don't ya learn to skate?" said Russ Tyler.

"Sorry, guys" he said, feeling guilty.

"You ok, Lex?" asked Ken Wu, when he saw the expression on her face.

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm just worried about him," Ken put his hand on her shoulder. She just smiled softly. Lex liked Ken. He was so sweet and sincere and he was nice. Ken liked her too, he liked her personality. They looked at each other for a while. Then they all skated back to Eden Hall.

Varsity had good tricks planned, now. When Julie was sipping her coke, they had placed something in her drink.

Lisse had some medicine for herself in case she gets hurt and she gave them to Adam Banks who needed it. He would need another dosage soon. But team captain of Varsity Warriors, Riley and his friend, Cole, took his medicine and hid it somewhere. And for the rest of the Ducks, the boys, their doors were locked. Lisse was onto their tricks and so she and Lex broke open the doors using Connie's bobby pins. And the boys were furious.

Lisse headed back to her dorm where she took Adam. Lex was hanging out with Ken and Russ Tyler in their dorm.

"C-Costello?" Adam asked, who had been awake for a while. "Adam, how do you feel?" she asked. "My head hurts a little bit, but my leg hurts like hell. I can't sleep" Adam said, weakly.

Before she could say anything, Julie appeared. "Julie! Are you feeling any better?"

"Lisse, how's Adam?"

"He's still got those nasty bruises and he's in a lot of pain," she answered. Julie looked at him.

"Hey, Julie," he whispered. Lisse looked for his medicine, and then realized, that Riley and Cole had taken them.

"Those damn creeps!" exclaimed Lisse. Julie knew too. Then she went up to

Scooter and found him. "Scooter!"

"Julie?"

"Scooter, Adam's in a lot of pain and we weren't able to get him to a hospital, and he could be seriously injured and he might even die and Lisse had some medicine and we can't find it. What did Riley and Cole do to it?" Julie asked, with pleading eyes. Scooter hesitated looking at her solemnly. "Scooter, what did they do?" she asked, with tears in her eyes.

"Julie----they threw it away. I tried to stop them, but Riley and Cole kicked my ass," he replied. Julie started to cry. Scooter can't stand it when a girl starts crying especially Julie. He put his arms around her.

"Loser!" said Riley as he walked by.

Lisse saw what happened and went up to Riley. "What's the matter Riley? Jealous? I may have to kick your ass!" Lisse said, sarcastically.

"You want a piece of me, sweetie? Huh?" he said. And Lisse pushed him against a wall and flipped him over and pinned him down. She pulled his hair as he began screaming, she was wrestling him on the floor and she finally got up.

"Look at him, Riley, do you really want to go to jail? I mean you prevented us from getting any sort of help. Would you really kill someone? You let your jealousy take over, you lost your girlfriend and look what's happened. Probably no girl will even look at you. You know what?

 You're not worth a damn. That's why I won't you fight you anymore" Lisse said calmly as he struggled to get up.

"We'll destroy you Ducks!" he yelled.

Everyone had been watching and clapped and cheered for Lisse. Riley, embarrassed, left to his dorm. By now, Adam was in a lot of pain, he kept tossing and turning and his voice was hoarse. All the gang came to see Adam but by then he was too tired and Lisse found him some medicine for the pain. Scooter, meanwhile kissed Julie's cheek and left to his dorm. Julie came back wiping her eyes.

"You okay, Catlady?" Lisse asked. Julie nodded. Since the drug that Riley and gang dropped in her drink, she had been sick. It didn't agree with her system, and she spent a lot of time trying to help Lisse with Adam. But she had her head stuck in the bathroom, throwing up.

By now, everyone was worried about Julie, too. "She's never going to stop, do something Lisse, make her stop" Connie said. "Don't worry. Her body is getting rid of all the contaminants and let me tell you they knew what they were doing. She'll be ok," Lisse replied.

Then everyone went to bed. But Julie insisted on staying. Then Lex and Scooter showed up. "Is Julie ok? She puked all over my shoes," Scooter said. "She'll be fine, I'll tell her you stopped by" Scooter then left. Lex sat down next to Lisse.

"C-Cool, I'm surrounded by by-ladies."

"Shh, Adam, don't try talk anymore, you're in a whole lotta pain, I gave you some of my medicine I had, Riley threw the good ones away, but this should ease the pain. You need to get some sleep" Lisse replied.

"Costello, ca-can you read me a story?"Adam sounded weaker by the minute. "My mom, I miss her. She used to read to me. I haven't seen her in a long time. Please, Costello?" he pleaded, making those sad, googly eyes.

"Ok, Banksie," answered Lisse. Lisse read him a thrilling story but Banks kept asking her questions.

"Wait.....I thought the dead guy was the good guy pretending to be the bad guy who killed the other good guy who was the real dead guy, so now the dead guy's alive and he's the same guy who was the good guy impersonating the bad guy who is impersonating the good guy?" he asked.

"No-o-o-ooo......it's the other way around, Adam, I can't do this anymore. I can sit by you and give you some cream for you leg" Lisse offered. "Costello, question, do you like to sing?" he asked her. Rather puzzled by the question, she replied, "Yes, why?" "Ca-can-can ya sing...........for me? My mom used to, please? I won't talk. Please?" he pleaded. Lisse refused at first but he talked her into it.

"Ok, one song. You name it, Banks" she said.

"Because you Loved me."

"WHAT??"

"C'mon, Costello.......it's a special song, it's for.....someone I.........well, please, I mean do you know it?" Adam said, taking her hand. "I know it. Ok, I'll sing it" "Before you do.......Lisse, thanks for helping me. You do make me feel better" he said and squeezed her hand.

Then she began singing. Her voice, powerful and strong but at the same time gentle. Julie heard her and stared at her in awe, Lex did the same. When she was done singing, she noticed that Adam was sleeping. "Sleep tight, Banks," she whispered. Julie and Lex applauded her and told her that she had a beautiful voice.

Julie looked at Adam, relieved to see that he wasn't in pain and how soundly he slept. She reached and stroked his hair and touched his face and then she gently planted a kiss on his lips, so softly (how sweet). Then Julie decided to go back to her dorm. She stood in the doorway for a minute. Lisse touched Adam's cheek and then she whispered "Sweet dreams". Then she sat up on Lex's bed. Then Julie left.

That's the end of Chapter One!! Click here to go to chapter two!!

Email Kallia!

 CHAPTER 2

Flashbacks and Problems

Adam still had to recover and he wanted none other than his Costello to help him. No doctors, nil, nada. Connie, Julie,(who was still ill from that nasty drug) Charlie(who was given extra salty peanuts by Riley, he was also sick) and the gang made frequent visits to see how Banks was doing and he was doing considerably better.

Ken Wu had been hanging around Lex because she really did need him and he really liked her, she was very girlie, and she wasn't too tough. She was his type of girl. She was smart and he liked that about her and she liked his sweet nature and his sincerity and mainly his honesty. He was shy and so was she in a way.

Ken wanted to ask her to the movies but he was, like we said before, too shy. But everyone guessed that he must like her. Ken had been her confidante and even Connie said, "Sigh. I wish a guy were that nice to me, he's so sweet! Lex you must be enjoying this" Lex blushed and just shrugged.

Lisse had been hanging around Adam and Portman kept visiting and she knew why he was there, he'd enter and he'd say "Hey, babe, my head kinda hurts" and she'd reply "Oh, poor baby, where does it hurt?"

"Uh-right here"

Wham!!!

"Oooh! Now it hurts!"

"Leave now or you're gonna wish you had a migraine!"

"Damn, babe!"

Lisse and Lex had become very close friends now. "So, how did Bombay scout you out? He thought I was a guy and my coach was hysterical! Bombay looked so ridiculous!" Lex said.

"Oh well, he found me" she answered.

"Number 18! Costello the Icebreaker! She's really hot today! And I mean hot! The Captain of the She-devils, it seems like she's the only one really hangin' on, the She-devils are gonna need a miracle to win this one! Number 18 passes the puck to Kerry and Kerry- she oh!! Missed by a hair! Costello's breaking the ice today and not to mention the hockey stick!" the announcer said.

Then they had intermission. Coach James stood to the girls, "Ladies, look I know you're hangin' tough but do not! I repeat do not be afraid of the other team! So what if they're guys! You ladies can kick their asses! Be strong! Your captain's doing all the work, now if I don't see improvement, we're gonna have to forfeit, I know that Costello can win this game by herself but that's not on, I need you to do some work" he yelled.

Unfortunately, they lost against the Cheetahs. They were a fierce group of guys and they played hard. Lisse stood and looked at the girls, why on earth was she put on the girls' team? Not that she had a problem with being on a girl's team, it was the girls on her team.

She could've easily been on her guy friends' teams and won, these girls were too glamorous and interested in makeup and boys more than hockey.

They were always making her uncomfortable. She was doing all the work. She wished she could've started a team with her guy friends instead of being put in all girls league and these girls were playing hockey to impress boys and always trying to look good or sexy. She needed girls that had interest.

"Lisse, we're sorry, but we're always having trouble and you're doing all the work, we're quitting" Kerry said. And somehow Lisse was relieved. Then Coach James walked in with Coach Bombay! Thank goodness, she wasn't on this team any longer.

"Hey, Icebreaker! How ya doin'?" Bombay greeted her. She high-fived him and smiled. She'd met him because she visited the Ducks once and she knew Charlie, Connie and all the Minnesota folk, she used to live there but then moved to Kansas.

"What are you doing here, Coach Bombay?" she asked. "Well. . . I'm here to offer you a position with the Ducks. They need another player! I've already scouted out another person, Lex, who was also needed on the team and also covering for Averman since he broke his leg. We're gonna need you on the team, they've been losing to the Bulldogs and I know they could use a great player like you. So, whaddya say?" Bombay explained.

Lisse was honored to be chosen to play for the Ducks. She would definitely say yes. "You got it, Coach. By the way, some weird ass person came to my house and I believe his name was Don Tibbles from Hendrix Hockey or something. He mentioned this. So, I already knew you'd show up" she replied.

"That's how it all happened" Lisse finished. Suddenly Coach Bombay showed up at Eden Hall. He was there to substitute because Orion had gone to see his daughter, Kelli. Everyone was so relieved to see him.

"You know, Orion's being a dickhead. We understand about Kelli but he's never there for us and when we lost to those Bulldogs he became an ass," said Russ Tyler.

"Yeah, I'm wanna whup him up bad" Portman said. Coach Bombay looked at the expression on their faces. They were all angry with Orion all right. He wondered why Orion suddenly changed.

He had loosened up after they won against Varsity, and although Orion wanted to coach the Ducks so he could prove that he was as good as a coach as Bombay was, he would have preferred to have picked his own team.

But to be coaching for the Eden Hall Mighty Ducks was an honor. He wanted to show the people that he was just as good as Bombay since the people loved Bombay and were surprised that Orion was coaching the Ducks which is why he agreed to coach them.

He didn't show very much compassion at first. Then he was an itty bitty nicer, he decided to let them have their scholarships because he wanted to play the good guy. Anyway, it did seem kinda ridiculous withdrawing scholarships to the Mighty Ducks!

But Orion was a good father to Kelli. Kelli's mom left her with him and Orion didn't marry anyone. Kelli's mother, Dianne, and Ted Orion were an item for quite some time and then Kelli was born and they weren't married. They broke up, and she decided to take responsibility for Kelli.

Kelli lived with her mom for 5 years and then Dianne left, leaving a tragic note and then Orion took his daughter in. Dianne had left for her acting jobs in Broadway and couldn't raise Kelli working there full time. Although he missed her he kept his mind off her and focused on his career. When Kelli was 5, that was right after Dianne left, she was in a car accident, while he was driving. Kelli broke her legs as a result and couldn't walk at all. Orion'sleft hand was scarred and he had a concussion.

Kelli slowly healed and they always kept in touch with Dianne and made some visits. But lately Kelli was miserable and when she saw how other girls could walk and run and dance, she suddenly fought to be able to walk and get out of the wheelchair. It had been five years now and she was 9 and she was sick of being quarantined and she made an attempt to stand up, but fell, hurting her hand. Orion knew how she felt and he was frustrated for her and he took it all out on the Ducks.

"We want you back Coach, we had the good times and the bad, you didn't like us at first, but then you realized your mistakes and you apologized. Now that was decent, and Orion took away my C again, what have I ever done to him?" Charlie whined. Bombay decided to have a talk with Orion and make sure that things were okay.

Lisse looked at Charlie, strangely. They had been best friends since they were young and she had to move to Kansas. Now, she was worried about him, he didn't eat and he wouldn't sleep. As for Adam, she wanted to take him to a hospital but Riley made sure that wouldn't happen.

"Charlie, what's bothering you? Come on, man, you always tell me stuff. What's up with you lately?" she asked.

"Look, it's nothing, ok?" he replied, frustrated. Lisse looked confused and turned her face away.

At the practise Charlie suddenly passed out. Lisse knew that he was weak and that he wasn't strong enough to play partly because of Riley's other trick, Charlie's extra salted peanuts and he was so sick from it.

It was July 4th weekend and Varsity and the Ducks were punished and were forced to stay there. Julie the Cat was better now, but she was worried about Banks. "I know how hard it is for you guys at Eden Hall and I really miss you all and I always think about you," Bombay said.

"Gordon!" a female voice called. He recognized that voice. (Casey) Cassandra. Charlie's mom. Since she couldn't skate on ice, she slipped and nearly fell but he caught her.

"Gordon, I came here because I have something to tell you. I'm not sure if Charlie's all right. He's been behaving very strangely, and I'm getting scared, and he---Charlie!" she saw him laying there, motionlessly. Lisse had removed his helmet and was trying to wake him up.

"He just passed out like that. I don't know what's up with him" Lisse said. Soon Bombay let them go back to their dorms and when Lisse got to her dorm, she found Adam looking very solemn.

"Adam, what's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Jesse, Jesse Hall. I dont know why he quit, he had no reason to," he answered.

Lisse looked down. "You know Charlie for quite some time and well, I was wondering if you knew why he's starving himself and being a snap-turtle."

"He never told me anything, Costello. I know he broke up with Linda because he found out that she was lying to him and that she was a junior. But other than that, I don't know," he replied.

Adam was much better and was able to walk now but still his leg needed time to heal and then Lisse called the hospital and finally Riley couldn't stop them now, because Portman was going to kill him. Eden Hall's nurse made sure he got there.

Meanwhile she talked Lex. "Well, I don't get it. I know he's upset because of Linda and I know he blames himself for his mom's divorce, the guy was a jerk to Charlie and he abused Cassandra so I don't see why he blames himself. But he's never acted like this, I talked to Banks and he says that he wouldn't react like this, I'm just concerned."

Lex knew that Lisse was also angry because they had to forfeit a game because Charlie was sick (because of Riley) and Adam couldn't play. They couldn't play without a team captain.

Things were definitely out of control. What was going on?

This is some fun fanfiction that has been written of some Aaron Lohr fans. Don`t give me the credit for it.ou can find them all her: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/8529/index.html  If you got some good fanfiction, please E-mail me it, and I`ll try too get it out here:    puzzen_1221@hotmail.com