Frozen in Ice

Chapter 10

Luke's POV

I rested my head on the desk and half listened to Mr King drone on and on about something that wasn't even relevant to the topic. I was exhausted after hockey training and the shift at the restaurant.

Lilly is amazing and when it was less busy I managed to get some of homework done but I still had to finish it when I got home so I didn't get much sleep last night.

"Oh are you too tired? Go to bed too late last night?" Brynn mocked.

I didn't give her a response because I wasn't going to tell her about my job. She took as a sign that I was agreeing with her though.

"Too busy banging your slut girlfriend?" she teased.

I don't know why she thinks that I'm like that because I don't even have a girlfriend. I didn't bother to explain anything to her because she was going to try and judge me for that as well. I was sick and tired of her so I wasn't going to bother anymore.

I don't know what happened overnight because I thought that we were getting closer yesterday. I didn't bother anymore. I thought that Brynn was nice but clearly she wasn't going to stop judging me.

I lifted my head up off the desk and had one thing that I wanted to say to her.

"You can think whatever shit you want but I had better things to be doing last night than having sex," I snapped.

She didn't say anything else and I went back to rest my head on the desk. I didn't care if Mr King realised that I wasn't listening because I didn't have the energy for this. I was glad when class finished so I could get away from Brynn.

I was tired all morning and was still tired when I sat down at our table in the cafeteria. I listened to the conversations going on around me but I didn't interact. I had things on my mind and it was distracting me from the hockey conversation.

For a while I was thinking about Brynn and what she said. I don't know why she thought that things about me about having a girlfriend and why she said them but they hurt. I decided that she just wasn't worth it anymore.

Justin placed a hand on my shoulder and I sat up.

"You look tired," he said.

"I just didn't sleep that well last night," I said.

He nodded and I started to eat because I was never going to be able to fall asleep in here. I continued to listen to the conversations around me and for the first time I noticed that Mark was glaring at me.

"What did you do to annoy Mark?" Justin asked.

"I may have told him after practice yesterday why I thought that we were getting yelled at yesterday at training," I said plainly.

Justin looked at me and I shrugged.

"I've been meaning to ask for a while. Why does Brynn hate the hockey team?" I asked.

"No one really knows what happened but she used to date Mark and then they broke up," he said.

I took that new information and filed it away. If it was a particularly bad break up I could sort of understand why Brynn was so bitter towards the time but I was still annoyed about how she dumped me into a category because of what sport I play and that we must all be the same.

"How come you are asking about Brynn?" he asked.

I briefly told him about our conversations and then what happened this morning. Justin didn't say anything for a couple of minutes and I thought he had forgotten about it.

"I always thought Brynn was nicer than that," he said.

I didn't say anything because I didn't know what she was like before her break up with Mark. We didn't really get a chance to talk anymore because the bell rang.

"You really look tired. Get some more sleep tonight," he said.

I mentally reviewed my schedule and I had a rec game tonight and I wasn't sure how late I was going to be, it probably depended on whether we won. I nodded anyway and it seemed to please him.

I was pleased to get out of school at the end of the day. I even had time between that and when I was needed at the rink to finish all my homework. I had Peewee training before the game as well and when I headed onto the ice there were a few kids out there already, include Thomas.

Thomas had become my favourite Peewee because he was focused on the game, a good player and he was a good sport and made sure to look out for his teammates. I high-fived all the kids as I moved around the ice.

David was standing over by the boards and I skated over to him to see what we were doing today. He told me the drills that we were doing and I smiled. More kids joined us on the ice and David started practice.

I loved watching them on the ice because they loved it so much. I weaved between the kids, helping all of them with their skills. I felt relaxed on the ice because I wasn't worried about messing up or getting yelled at.

The practice passed quickly and all too soon they were finished and leave. I made sure to high-five every kid at the end and I think that I remembered everyone's name so I was happy.

"How come you aren't leaving Coach Luke," Thomas asked.

I knelt down to his level and smiled at him.

"I have my game to play now," I said.

Once again Thomas' parent was late and Jamie was already out on the ice before he left. He skated over to me and noticed the kid standing with me.

"Who is this, Coach Luke?" Thomas asked.

"This is my captain, Jamie."

Just as I said that Thomas got called off the ice by this Mother and that left me with Jamie.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"I coach the Peewee team so that was one of the kids."

He nodded and we started to skate once I pulled my pads on. More teammates joined us and soon the whole team was warming up together. Our opposition was on the other side of the ice and I got a chance to see what they are like.

The game started not long later and we played the best game I had been part of. Everything seemed to flow well and we made clean passes and played well in a 5-0 win. The locker room was once again loud but I couldn't feel it in me to join in.

I had had a couple of tough shifts and my lack of sleep was starting to get to me. I slowly undressed and showered and listened to everyone else make plans.

"Crosby, are you coming out with us?" Alex asked.

"No, sorry, I'm about to fall asleep," I admitted.

Jamie looked at me and he could see it in my eyes.

"I'll give you a lift home before I go out," he said.

"You don't have to-"

"No, it's not out of my way. Are you ready to go?" he said.

I nodded and slowly picked my stuff up. I was slightly sore and very tired and Jamie walked slowly out to his car. I slowly pulled myself into the car and slumped into the seat. I pretty much fell asleep in the car and was glad Jamie remembered where I lived.

"Thanks for the lift, again," I said.

He smiled and I climbed out of the car. I headed up to our apartment and crawled straight into bed. I needed all the sleep I could get.

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The Wise One