02 June 2015 – Jackson Street, Ayer, Massachusetts

The look on Marcia Knapp’s face could have frozen time. It was that cold.

The Knox family sat on the couch across from her. Two of their faces wore looks of hurt, shame, and embarrassment. One wore a look of smug satisfaction. The final Knox wore a look which told Pete she didn’t know how she felt about the whole situation.

Pete rose from his chair to shake Alex’s hand and hug his girlfriend. He made his decision on how he felt. He felt terrible for Mr. and Mrs. Knox, who were genuinely good people caught in a terrible predicament. He understood the anger his mother felt at both Ryan’s attack and the Knoxes’ inaction. He didn’t share it, however.

“Mom,” he said. “It’s over, let it go.”

“OVER? How the hell can you say it’s over?”

“Is he still around?” Pete replied. “My guess is he’ll never come back to New England, let alone Massachusetts, Mom.” Mrs. Knox sobbed at that. “Sorry, Mrs. Knox. Mom, how would you like it if I just left and told you not to contact me?”

In his letter Ryan let his parents know that he was leaving early for Wake Forest. His baseball coach and the athletic director there found him a job for the summer and a place to stay. He hinted to his parents they shouldn’t try to contact him until at least the fall, if not until Sabrina left for school.

“Do you understand what Alex did, Mom?” Pete continued. “You’ve watched baseball with me. You know what a ‘purpose pitch’ is. You also know fights can start when someone gets hit with a purpose pitch, even one as soft as Alex’s curveball! And Alex threw a purpose pitch not once but twice in a row! He softened Ryan up with the curve, and then he tried to take his head off with the fastball!

“You don’t throw at someone’s head, Mom. You do not! We had two or three games left until the end of the season and Alex chucked the whole thing for Sabrina and me. Alex could have played baseball in college if he wanted to. I doubt if the coach in Chicago will want him on the team if he does try out now. This kinda thing gets around. If Alex could get mad enough to throw at his own brother, throw at his head, who knows what else he’d do?

“I’ll heal up and be fine, Mom. Do you really want to cause more animosity between us and the Knoxes, more pain, by having me swear out a complaint against Ryan? Do you really want him dragged up here on an extradition warrant and put on trial? Maybe, if he was still going to be skulking around; but I’m out of here in fourteen months, and I have better things to spend my time doing. Karma will find Ryan Knox one day.”

Sabrina sat in the bleachers watching Alex graduate two weeks later.

“God, I’m broiling!” she griped. “This sundress isn’t keeping me cool, and I hope I’m wearing enough sunscreen!”

“You look beautiful, Princess.”

“Don’t try to butter me up, Dad.” She glanced to her right. “How’s Mom doing?”

Her grandmother tried to keep her only daughter from falling apart. Sabrina wasn’t sure Sobo rubbing her mom’s back was going to do the trick, though.

“As well as she can be, I suppose. It’s not easy for her. Or me …”

“No, I guess not.” Sabrina knew her parents wished Ryan was here. She hadn’t quite gotten there yet. She doubted she ever would. Still … She sighed. “He was a friend once, not just a brother. Someone I used to do stuff with.”

“I know, Princess.”

Mr. Lanier droned on and on.

“Is there some kind of formula they have to follow with these things?”

“Must be.” Jeff craned his neck skyward. “Like Devens sending those four Black Hawks on a fly-over to recognize graduates joining up. They do it every year. If the base didn’t send students here I doubt they would.”

“I’m glad the war finally ended two years ago.”

“With you likely heading to the Air Force, I am too. It won’t be long before our country finds another one to fight, though. We seem to be like that.”

“Jeff, are we going to the reception after the ceremony?” her grandfather asked.

“No, Dad. As big as the field house is, we’d be packed in like sardines in there. Hot and loud as hell isn’t my idea of fun. I had enough of that during my trips to the desert.”

“Mr. Lanier would have had this thing over in three minutes if he’d had his way,” Sabrina commented.

“No doubt. Anyway, it looks like it’s over. Let’s find your brother and get out of here.”

The Knox family drove to Shirley and their lunch reservation.

“Dad, you have to be insane,” Sabrina heard her father say during the meal.

“Thanks for the support, son,” came the wry answer.

Sabrina looked over at the two men. Grandma Knox just rolled her eyes. Her dad hooked a thumb at his father.

“Grandpa thinks he wants to be a politician.”

“A selectman! It’s not like I’m running for Congress!”

“Good thing, too! If that were the case, I’d be helping Mom get you committed!”

“It’s your mother’s fault, anyway! She told me to find something to do now that I sold the garage!”

“I told you to find something respectable to do, Joe,” Grandma said, correcting her husband. “Used car salesman, loan shark, something … but a selectman?” Grandma shook her head. “I can’t wait to complain about you, the way you’ve always complained about them!”

The men drifted out to the patio when the family returned to the house in Lancaster. The women gathered in the kitchen. Sabrina stayed on the fringes of the conversation but didn’t offer much in the way of opinions. She wandered away from the kitchen table after a few minutes. She stopped next to the open patio door but kept out of sight.

“We still haven’t heard from him, Dad,” Sabrina heard her father say.

“This has to be incredibly hard on you and Keiko, son,” Grandpa Joe replied.

“On us as well, Joe,” Sobo added. “We get to see the grandchildren nearly every day. Even though Alex and Ryan will start college in the fall and would have left then, to have one ripped from you so suddenly …”

“Good riddance,” Alex snarled. The ensuing pause in conversation seemed endless.

“Alex,” Grandpa Joe growled, “go ask your Grandma Marisa how she felt when your father left for the Army. She thought she’d never see your dad again. I almost lost a son. Sobo did lose one. Now your father’s in the same spot we both were. Worse, he’s in limbo between the two. Once you’ve felt that pain then you can try and give it short shrift. However, until then and especially in this case, shut your pie hole.”

“Dennis, we didn’t expect to see you today,” Jeff said shaking hands with the Shockers’ coach. “I figured you’d be up in New Brunswick visiting your family during July. I’m guessing Bruce asked you to tag along for a reason?”

“Yes. I’ll let him explain,” Dennis Savard replied while sitting in the offered chair.

“Thanks, Dennis. Sabrina, Mr. and Mrs. Knox, I’m here to let you know that Devens Regional has permission to restart our hockey program a year early. None of the seniors who played for Coach Lonergan will be allowed to participate unless they joined your walkout, Sabrina.”

“Okay … So, how does that involve me, Mr. Wilcox?”

“I’d like for you to come back to our program and be the captain next year.”

Sabrina’s jaw dropped. “Mr. Wilcox, no offense, but I’m already captain of the Fitchburg Shockers.” She turned to her coach and leaned forward on her elbows. “I mean, I am, right?”

“You absolutely are, Sabrina,” Coach Savard assured her. “If you choose to rejoin the Shockers next year you will still be our captain. Neither Coach Dawson nor I, nor your teammates feel that you failed to live up to your responsibilities this season.”

“Yet you’re here with Mr. Wilcox …”

“Sabrina, it’s well known that you want to attend the Air Force Academy. Mr. Wilcox and I feel, along with Devens’ new head coach, that nothing would showcase your ability to lead more than helping to bring the high school hockey team back from the dead. It might even help you stand out among the other applicants. And it would be another captaincy you can point to.”

Sabrina sat back on the couch to consider this proposal. Her act of defiance two years ago helped build something great in its aftermath. Now part of her rebelled at the thought of abandoning the friends who supported her. She owed the Shockers a debt, particularly their coach.

“So, you want me to do this, Coach?”

“Well, not really. I don’t want to lose the leadership you bring to our team. But your absence from the school’s program would be far more detrimental. I think this could benefit you in the long run, Sabrina.”

Now it was Coach Savard’s turn to lean forward in his seat. “I won’t kid you, Sabrina: going back won’t be easy. Our team in Fitchburg works well together on many levels, and in many different combinations on the ice. The team at Devens will be a huge gamble for you. My guess is your teammates there will be mostly unknown to you, that you won’t have played with them in most cases. You’ll have to help your new coach figure out how the pieces fit, and how to keep them motivated if you have a less than successful season.”

“Who is the new coach?”

“His name is Cory Bramhall,” Bruce Wilcox answered. “He’d be here too, but he’s still up on PEI packing up his family …”

“PEI?”

“Prince Edward Island. He’s been the hockey coach at a school up there for six years. He and his wife are originally from the Boston area, and they’re looking forward to coming home.”

Sabrina blew out a breath. “This is a lot to think about, Coach, Mr. Wilcox …”

“We know it is, Sabrina,” Bruce Wilcox admitted. “Take your time. Talk to your parents, friends, and teammates. If you could give us an idea of which way you’re leaning by next month?”

Sabrina nodded. Her father showed the two men out.

“A tough decision, Princess.”

“That it is, Dad. I’m gonna hit the gym to clear my head before I give this any serious thought.”

“That is a good idea, Sabrina,” her mother said, speaking for the first time. “Such a decision should not be entered into lightly.”

Sabrina nodded once more and walked upstairs.

“As if she doesn’t have enough on her plate …” Jeff whispered once their daughter was out of earshot.

“I am confident she will come to make the right choice, Jeffrey.”

“She usually does.”

Two weeks later Sabrina sat down with Lieutenant Colonel Mark Witherton, USAF (retired), USAFA Class of 1984. Rather she sat. He stood.

“I apologize for standing like this, Miss Knox. My back’s bothering me something fierce this week, and sitting aggravates it. As a result, I have to either stand or lie on the floor to get any work done. At my age, I’m liable to fall asleep on you if I do lie on the floor.”

“I understand, sir. Dad’s a paramedic. He knows plenty of former colleagues whose backs are in similar condition.”

“So, you want to go to USAFA? Why’s that?”

“My dream is to join the space program as a pilot, sir, not simply as an astronaut. I want to be a spacecraft commander one day. I feel a path through the Air Force Academy offers me the best chance to accomplish that.”

“There are other paths which could get you there without as much risk. Military service is not the safest of choices.”

“Both sides of my family have a military tradition, sir, though Dad’s side has the deeper one. I understand the risks.”

“How far back does that tradition run?”

“At least four generations on Dad’s side from what I’ve discovered. Dad, Grandad, Grandma’s biological and adoptive fathers, my sort-of great-grandfather, his father, and uncles. My sort-of grandmother also served.”

“‘Sort-of?’”

“Dad met a woman during his time in the service. They tried dating but it didn’t work out. They eventually came to think of each other as brother and sister. Those ‘sort-of’ relatives are hers, but are definitely family to me.”

“And on your mother’s side?”

“My Uncle Ken. Nobody else since the Meiji Restoration from what we know.”

“So, your mother’s side is Japanese?”

“Yes, sir. Her parents immigrated to Washington State in ’62. She and Uncle Ken grew up speaking Japanese and my parents have continued that with my brothers and me.”

“Is Japanese the only foreign language you speak?”

“No, sir. I speak Spanish as well, and I’d like to learn another language also – either German or Russian.”

“I see you’re a karate instructor and the captain of your hockey team?”

“Yes, sir, and I’ll be the captain of the high school team once school starts. They’re rebuilding the program after a three-year shutdown. As for karate, I’ve been attending the same dojo with my parents since age five. I teach mainly children’s classes, though I assist Sensei with an adult class now and then.”

“A black belt, then?”

“Yes, sir, second-dan. Mom’s sixth-dan, and Dad’s third.”

“The shutdown you mentioned earlier? That was your doing, wasn’t it?”

“It was,” Sabrina confirmed while sitting up straight and looking Colonel Witherton in the eye. “The coach at the time denied me a chance to play based solely on my gender. I can skate, sir! I would have helped that team, but he chose not to accept that help.”

“Pretty sure of yourself aren’t you, Miss Knox?”

“You’d rather have somebody wishy-washy leading our airmen, sir?”

“Don’t you mean ‘airmen and -women?’”

“I can play the PC game if you like, sir, but I figured this wasn’t the time for it.”

“Okay then,” Witherton said, leaning forward on his desk, “how’d you get those scars?”

“Combat,” she fired back without hesitation. “Got some on my shoulder, too. Wanna see?”

Her interviewer smiled and shook his head, cutting the tension in the room.

“I’ve read the stories, Sabrina. This letter from The Youth Citizenship Foundation pulls no punches, either. Your experiences over the past few years will set you apart from your fellow applicants. You acquitted yourself very well in difficult moral and physical situations, made tough choices when they had to be made.” Colonel Witherton pulled another paper from the stack in front of him.

“Your Congresswoman Daniels and I served together during the Persian Gulf. Our commanding officer from back then is now the Secretary of the Air Force. She and I both received letters from him ‘suggesting’ you would be a good addition to the USAFA Class of 2020.” He looked at her over his reading glasses. “If you know anything about the military, I’m hoping it’s that a suggestion from your commander isn’t really a suggestion.”

Mark Witherton walked around his desk and extended his hand. “I have no doubt you’ll receive that nomination, Sabrina. From there, it’s up to you.” Sabrina shook the offered hand. Witherton held it for a moment.

“A word of advice, Sabrina? Off the record?” Sabrina nodded. “Be careful if you do get to Colorado Springs. The culture there is still very much male-dominated if you take my meaning. Whatever you may be experiencing along those lines now will be magnified there. I admit that I was a party to that culture when women first arrived. It took a long time before I learned better. Don’t suffer in silence.”

Sabrina and her father stepped onto the ice sheet at Devens Regional. School wouldn’t start for another week, but she felt she needed to reacquaint herself with this building. Sabrina decided to take the harder path: she chose to return to the renewed Warriors hockey program.

“You know the rink’s the same size, right?”

“You’ve only mentioned that a dozen times, Dad. I need to start adjusting to a new home arena.”

“However I can help, you know that.”

“Mom seems a little better since Ryan called to wish you a happy birthday last week.”

“Knowing someone you care about is okay after not being one hundred percent sure for a while is a bit overwhelming. You remember when we first went to Maine and I ran into Annie again?”

“Kinda. I was a bit young then.”

“All right, stretched out enough? Let’s start with some slow laps.”

The pair worked through various skating drills long before they ever pulled a net into position. Sabrina wanted to recreate the state championship-winning goal she always heard about once finished with the drills.

‘God knows Dad and Uncle Chris talk about it enough!’ Sabrina thought.

Jeff pointed out where Sabrina should start from. “You ready?” he called across the ice. Sabrina raised her gloved hand from where she stood by the bench. Jeff slapped the ice and she charged for the net. It took many tries before they got the timing right.

“BURNER! BURNER!” she called as they tried to replicate the successful result. They did. Sabrina curled behind the net and tackled her father in mock-celebration.

“I had hoped to GOD I’d never hear that again!” a new voice called, drawing their attention.

Sabrina and Jeff picked themselves up off the ice and glided over to the man on the bench. He stepped through the open door when they drew close.

“Christ, you’re even wearing the same damn jerseys! They’ve been haunting my dreams for thirty years!” Both Knoxes wore replica Thompkins School Black Bears jerseys. “I hope you’re my new captain,” the ruddy-cheeked blond remarked, pointing at Sabrina. “This fella here looks a little long in the tooth.”

“Hi, Coach Bramhall, nice to meet you. I’m Sabrina Knox. This is my dad, Jeff Knox.”

“And the bastard who helped steal the state championship out from under my nose,” the man said with his hands on his hips, glaring at Jeff. “Still, I appreciate what you and your teammate said to me after the game.”

“Holy crap, that was you?”

“Yeah, small freakin’ world, ain’t it? Your teammate isn’t lurking nearby too, is he?”

Sabrina giggled.

“Ah, no …” Jeff said. “He lives out in Denver with his family, though he might be visiting his in-laws in Finland right now. That was Chris Micklicz who scored on you back then, by the way.”

“No shit? I’d say that makes me feel better, but that’d be a lie. Anyway,” Coach Bramhall said while looking around, “seems like a nice facility.”

“It sat mostly unused for the last three years. The school finished adding separate girls’ changing rooms over the summer, thanks to an anonymous donation …” Sabrina explained while her father had a mild coughing fit. “… and the rest of the facility’s been renovated, too. I’m sure Mr. Wilcox already went over this with you.”

“He did, but seeing it in person is much different than just hearing about it. The video room is certainly impressive. I doubt many college programs have equipment like that.”

“Probably because they haven’t kept pace with the changes in technology,” Jeff offered.

“Dad’s a bit of a geek,” Sabrina added. “He’s got our entire house wired, and we’ve got an ultra-high-speed connection to our ISP. I think he can control the whole house with his phone, too.”

“You’re not too big for a spanking, you know?”

“I can’t believe you’re leaving tomorrow, Alex,” Sabrina said. They sat side-by-side on his bed.

“Hard to believe it’s the end of August already, huh?” Alex rolled a baseball around in his hand. “You’re going to be okay while Mom and Dad go to Chicago with me?”

Sabrina snorted. “As long as I don’t get any unwanted guests, sure. Oh, come on Alex, don’t give me that look! No one’s getting anywhere near the house these days unless we invite them!”

“The best security system in the world won’t stop a determined person, or a group of them, Sabrina!”

“I think Hamish and the group he’s working for are giving those people more than enough problems to deal with. One little girl who keeps slipping through their fingers is probably low on the priority list for them.”

Sabrina hadn’t heard from her flight instructor and adopted uncle directly in some months. Every once in a while, though, an unsigned note showed up. The postmarks were from all over the map, but the handwriting was always the same, and the messages were the same, single word: ‘Closer.’ Hamish and his group were making progress.

“I hope you’re right. Still, you’re going to –”

“Sleep with my shotgun and knife next to my bed? You bet!”

“You could sleep at Pete’s house, I’m sure.”

“Or Tommy’s, or at Sofu and Sobo’s, Naomi’s, Ruby’s … Heck, Alex, I could drive out to Enfield and stay with Grandma and Grandpa! No, this is my home. I’m staying here.”

“Yeah …”

“Nervous about heading off on your own?”

“A little, I guess. I know college will be an adjustment, and the coursework should be challenging …”

“‘Challenging?’” Sabrina laughed. “If stuff like orbital mechanics is gonna be ‘challenging,’ I don’t want to know what you think would be hard!”

“Leaving you and Mom and Dad …”

Her eyes misted over. “It’s inevitable.”

“I know.” He looked over at her. “I love you, you know?”

“I know.” She put her head down on Alex’s shoulder. “Love you, too.”

The next morning Sabrina helped Alex and their parents pack the car. The two siblings shared another fierce hug before the car pulled away. She watched until it disappeared down the road. She trudged back inside and locked the door.

The silence surrounded her. She wandered from room to room. She knew she didn’t feel like working out after a glance into the gym. Turning back to the living room she knelt at her uncle’s shrine.

‘Is this how the house will feel to Mom and Dad when I leave next year? she wondered. *This place feels so empty! *

Peace settled over her for the first time that day as she found her center.

She slept curled up on Alex’s bed that night.

“So, I understand you met a former colleague of mine, Sabrina?” Congresswoman Daniels asked the next day. This appointment was the main reason Sabrina didn’t go to Chicago.

“Yes, ma’am, Colonel Witherton. He was my alumni interviewer.”

“And how is the old goat doing?”

“Not so well when I spoke with him, ma’am. His back was bothering him, so he stood through my entire interview.”

“Compression fractures in his lumbar spine after ejecting from his aircraft over Bosnia. Medical retirement and he needed a spinal fusion once his career ended. We were assigned to the same section of CENTCOM Forward HQ during the Gulf War. Our group planned the air missions. Decent enough guy, and that spine injury killed his career …” Daniels shook her head. “Anyway, I’m putting your name at the top of the list of my nomination choices.”

“Thank you very much, ma’am.”

“This isn’t the way we normally handle these notifications, but yours is the final interview before I turn in my slate. You’re one of the most impressive candidates I’ve had come through here in a couple of years. If the USAFA admissions committee selects you, you’ll get an appointment. Mark said he warned you what things might be like out there?”

“He did, ma’am.”

“The climate is much better now outside USAFA, but inside those hallowed halls, things might be difficult. You watch your six out there.”

Sabrina’s senior year started with more drama. Cassie Provencher found a new classmate to convert.

“Is she the one you were talking about?” Sabrina heard while talking to her friends. She turned to find a brassy blonde staring at her in contempt. Perfect makeup, perfect hair, perfect clothes …

‘Great, probably another perfect pain-in-the-ass, too … When am I going to catch a break?’

Sabrina rolled her eyes and turned her back to the new girl. Cassie and the new girl, Caroline Petrauskas, couldn’t let it go.

“How many people did you kill this summer, Knox?” Cassie, Caroline, and the pack of pretty people now stood behind her, smirking.

“None yet, Provencher. Are you volunteering? I’m starting to feel a little twitchy …”

A disdainful snort. “I guess you’re not much of a lady. Killing people, karate, ice hockey … What’s next?”

“The Air Force, and then NASA,” Sabrina replied in a bored voice. If this was day one, the rest of the year should be so enjoyable. Might as well have fun with it, she mused.

“Proves our point!” The hyenas whirled and strutted away.

Sabrina rolled her eyes again.

“Jesus Christ,” Ruby muttered.

“Anyone know how many days of school are left?” Sabrina muttered aloud.

Of course, the Fates weren’t content with only one kind of torment for Sabrina.

“Hi, I’m Chad …” Sabrina heard from her right later in the day. A glance told her all she needed to know.

‘Ugh’, she groaned to herself. ‘Why me?’ She continued putting her things in her locker.

Chad – Charles Edward Jelinek, Junior to be precise – looked like he was all that and he knew it. Sabrina checked off the salient points: a full head of dark hair, sparkling white teeth and blue eyes, lantern jaw, and high-end clothes. The overbearing arrogance rolled off him in waves.

‘Jesus, he and Caroline would be perfect together.’

“Nice to meet you, Chad. I’m Sabrina Knox.”

“Would you like to go out Friday night?”

“I’m not interested.”

“Huh?”

“Have a boyfriend, Chad. Not interested, sorry.”

“Well, how do you know you wouldn’t have more fun with me?” Chad asked, trying to regain the upper hand.

‘Is that smile supposed to make me weak in the knees and forget all about Pete?’

Sabrina sighed, closed her locker, and turned to face him. She saw his eyes widen upon noticing the scars on the left side of her face. Not much, but she caught it.

“That look right there tells me all I need to know, pal. Plus, I just told you I have a boyfriend yet you still asked me out. Both reveal plenty about your character.”

“Hey, Badass.” An arm snaked over Sabrina’s shoulder. A kiss on the cheek accompanied the hug.

“Hi, Pete,” she replied without turning. “This guy treated my wounds when I was injured,” she told Chad with a nod toward Pete. “He didn’t flinch then, and doesn’t flinch now. I know what I’ve got. I don’t need to wonder what I’d get.”

Chad wandered away, wide-eyed.

“Friend of yours?”

“Pete, your sense of humor is like my dad’s: terrible. NO, he is not a friend! My guess is he’s about to become the newest pain in my ass!” Pete grinned at her and patted said ass. “You’re pushing your luck, fella!”

“‘L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace!’ as your dad likes to say!”

Sign-up sheets for hockey went up right away to gauge interest. The first meeting took place two weeks later.

“Hey, there,” Sabrina offered to a pair of girls standing by themselves. One was a sophomore she knew, but the other was unfamiliar. “Molly Ryan, right?”

“Y-y-yeah …” Molly stammered.

“Sabrina Knox. Nice to meet you both.” Geez, this girl is nervous as hell!

“Thanks, I’m Sarah Planck,” Sarah replied, covering for her friend. “I just transferred in. Not as many girls here as we thought there’d be.” They were it.

“It’s only September,” Sabrina shrugged. “We still have almost three months before the first practice. More will sign up later, I’m sure. Have either of you played on mixed teams before?”

“Yeah,” Sarah confirmed. Molly nodded in agreement. “Me, while Dad was stationed at Lewis and Huachuca, Molly on teams around here. We were the only girls on those teams, too. It’s hard starting over every few years but becoming friends with Molly has helped.”

“Yeah. Dad was in the Army when I was younger, but my family stayed here while Dad did his thing with the Rangers. I’ve been lucky enough to stay in one place my whole life.”

“At least we don’t have to worry about Dad being deployed any time soon. He’s an instructor at the new Cyber School on Devens, a Sergeant First Class.”

“‘The Cyber School?’ What’s that?”

“It’s the training school for new Army Cyber Branch officers and enlisted soldiers. They created the branch last year by splitting off parts from Military Intelligence and the Signal Corps. It’s tasked with cyberspace operations. Dad jokes they’re true keyboard warriors.”

“Right, sorry. This last year’s been a little hectic for me … I remember that now. Dad said Devens pulled off a pretty big coup.”

“‘A little hectic …’” Molly snorted.

“Um, yeah, so Devens?” Sarah cut in. “Dad was stationed at Huachuca last year when that went down. What a total shock! Still, he didn’t mind having his MOS transferred to Cyber and getting sent here. He’s from upper Michigan and couldn’t handle the lack of snow in the desert.”

“We’re good for at least two or three Nor’easters each winter. He won’t miss the snow for long. What’s your mom do?”

“Mostly stays home and wrangles us kids. I’m the oldest, and there are three more in middle school. She works part-time at the Dunkin’ Donuts in the post commissary.”

“How about your family, Molly?”

“Mom and Dad are realtors. They work for the same real estate agency in Littleton. I’m an only child, no brothers or sisters.”

“The gods hate me …” Sabrina muttered.

“The gods are idiots,” Pete corrected. “And the whole thing is just a popularity contest, anyway.”

Sabrina, Pete, and their friends sat in their chairs, unimpressed. The Activities Committee chair led the cheering for Chad Jelinek and Caroline Petrauskas, the new Homecoming king and queen.

“Vomitous,” Molly commented and mimed sticking her fingers down her own throat.

Sabrina’s circle had grown since informal hockey practices started up, though not by much. The new members of the team liked their captain. They convinced some of their friends the stories about her were overblown.

Unfortunately, most other students continued to listen to people like Cassie Provencher, Caroline Petrauskas, and Chad Jelinek. The newcomers were embedded in the top cliques now, less than three months after their arrival.

“They are good looking, Molly.”

“Erica, that’s the only thing about them that’s good!”

“No argument there,” Faith Henderson added.

“Look, we knew our classmates would vote for somebody like them as king and queen. It’s not like it’s a surprise. Let’s just dance some more and have fun!”

“Right you are, Sabrina!” Erica pulled Tommy toward the dance floor.

Caroline, Chad, and their ‘court’ couldn’t leave well-enough alone. One of their followers shoved Erica out of the way when the girl tried to walk past on the dance floor.

“Let me go!” Aracelis de León protested.

“Not until you apologize, Aracelis,” Tommy snarled.

“For what?”

“You slammed into our friend!” Ruby growled, holding a fistful of Aracelis’ hair. The rest of the in-crowd started to gather nearby.

“She was in the way!”

“Puta, you’re about to be in the way of a lot of pain!”

“She’s not worth it, guys,” Erica said from the back of the crowd. “Let her go. I’ll deal with her later.” Ruby frowned but let the other girl go with a shove.

“Why’d you have us let her go, Erica?” Naomi asked. “She could have hurt you.”

“More trouble than it’s worth right now. I want to enjoy tonight. It’s senior year for most of us!” The DJ started a new song, one which had been released over the summer. “C’mon, let’s dance.” She tugged Tommy further out onto the dance floor.

“Huh, I guess we were wrong about other girls signing up.” Sarah Planck looked over the latest sign-up sheet for hockey: no new girls’ names on the list, just theirs.

“Kinda disappointing,” Sabrina replied.

“It’s probably your fearsome reputation …”

“Gee, thanks, Molly.”

“Undeserved, by the way.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Sarah.”

“You’re welcome. There are plenty of boys signed up, at least.”

“Yeah, some new names I haven’t played with, some brothers of former teammates.”

“Your friends Pete and Vic were more successful in recruiting than we were.”

“More positive references available, I guess. Anyway, we’ll see how things look at practice.”

Sabrina stepped into the girls’ changing room later that afternoon and stopped short. She hadn’t expected to see the new face with the others.

“Hey, how you doing?” a large blonde girl asked as she looked up from tying her skates.

“I’m okay, how are you?”

“Good, thanks. Fran Dubinsky.” The girl stood and extended her hand. Sabrina felt small next to the muscular, six-foot-tall newcomer.

“Sabrina Knox. What year are you?”

“Junior, defense. You’re our captain, right?”

“Yeah. Senior, left wing.”

“Did you play somewhere else last year or sit out without a team here at school?”

“I played in a U-Nineteen league for the last two years.”

“Nice. Team any good?”

“We did okay two years ago. League champs last year.”

“Cool. Any idea what we can expect here?”

“According to Coach, back to the basics until he sees what he’s got to work with.”

“You’ve already met the coach?”

“End of August before school started. Dad and I were getting some ice time in and he was here. Seems like a straight-shooter. Anyway, where were you last year?”

“Moose Creek, Alaska, outside of Fairbanks. Mom’s in the Air Force and at Hanscom now. We live in Littleton near the Acton line. We got here the week before Thanksgiving.”

“Wow, Alaska to here?”

“Yeah, Mom did three years at Eielson Air Force Base up there. Beautiful place in the summer and a great place to learn to play hockey but, damn did it get cold!”

“So, you hung around ice rinks to stay warm?”

“Pretty much!”

The revived Warriors bonded doing suicides.

“We may not be the best team out there this year, but we’ll be the best conditioned team out there!” was Coach Bramhall’s motto. Even Sabrina felt gassed following five in a row.

The coach must have liked what he saw. The basic passing drills ended almost as fast as they started. He divided up the team for an intra-squad scrimmage.

Pete and Vic benefited from their time with the Shockers but chose to return to the Warriors hoping for more playing time. They stifled Sabrina’s team’s front line during the mock contest. At one point Sabrina and Pete fought for the puck in the corner and things became heated between them.

“You two going to kiss and make up now?” the coach asked after their teammates separated them. They blushed and bumped gloves in apology before skating away.

“Who’s the guy you bumped gloves with?” Fran asked. “He’s kinda cute!”

“He’s also kinda my boyfriend there, Fran …”

“Oh, geez! Sorry!” Fran replied with a blush.

“I hear Norton’s single …” Sabrina answered, pointing out one of the sophomores.

“He’s good looking, all right. The problem is he knows it.”

“Don’t say I didn’t try to help …”