Page 43

Brooke

We are a week away from Christmas and travelling with the hockey team on the bus to their last game before winter break.

"I feel like I didn't pack everything," I stress next to Cami, fiddling with my phone in my hands.

"B, we triple-checked it all." She's been trying to calm me down since we left, but since we have such a tight turnaround to get The Drop out tonight, I can’t calm down till it's up.

We are going to shoot the last shots for the December drop at the away game with the crowd in the background. Coach okayed it once Grant assured him it wouldn't interfere with the team having Cami and me on the bus. He left out how close our friendship group is, but that's for the best.

We are sitting at the front with the coaching staff, so we don't distract the players, but Bear keeps texting Cami memes from the back of the bus, so I'm guessing he's not in the zone yet.

"Brooke." I hear Coach Bennett's gruff voice come across the aisle next to me.

"Yes," I squeak, having jumped when he spoke.

"You're not in trouble." He chuckles to himself like it's an inside joke.

"Um, good." I frown and look to Cami for confirmation that it's a good thing he's laughing.

"I have to start every conversation like that." He laughs it off. "Don't worry."

I nod at him, but I am, in fact, very worried.

"I wanted to check in on how The Drop is going?" he asks.

"Oh," I say, genuinely surprised that he's interested in hearing it from me. I know my professor has been updating him. "It's going great. We sell out every drop we've done. I've even upped the supply for this one and the next."

"The football team did well, too?"

"All the jerseys went quickly, and we increased our followers by using the footballers." I pull out my phone to show him the Instagram, leaning across the aisle to pass it to him. "I'm planning another football drop to coincide with the Super Bowl."

"Well, I'm impressed," he says, sitting back. "What's the plan at the rink for this one?"

"I want the crowd, so I'm borrowing Clark and Ryan to model pre- and post-game.” Both boys are injured, so they can't play today.

"I like it." He nods. "Do you need any of the other boys for post-game?"

"I was trying to avoid it in case it messes with your plans," I say hesitantly.

"Take 'em if you need 'em." He nods at me again and hands my phone back. "I mean it. I'm impressed by this, Brooke. I'll make sure I feed it back."

"Thanks, Coach,"

He faces back to the front, and Cami punches my arm.

"Ow," I hiss, rubbing the now sore spot where she hit me.

"You're killing it," she hisses back. "I want to be you when I grow up." She sighs dreamily, and I laugh.

I feel less nervous; it's all going to be okay.

1 hour later

"What do you mean, my bags are not here?"

We are standing in the lobby of the Redwood Raiders hockey rink, and I'm on the verge of a meltdown.

"I saw it come off the bus, I swear." The equipment manager, Andrew, reassures me. "It arrived here, but now it's missing."

"I'm going to throw up." I cover my mouth, and he steps away from me like I might hurl.

"No, no, it's going to be fine." Cami is straight on calm-Brooke-down mode; she moves me back to sit on the lounge chairs that are dotted around for people to relax in.

I'm not relaxed, nor do I find it relaxing. I'm the opposite. What's the opposite of relaxing?

I'm so panicked, my brain is melting.

"Cami, I have to go live two hours after the game to meet the shipping deadline before Christmas." I run my hand through my hair. "I never should have risked leaving it this late."

"We've got one hour before the game. There's got to be something open around here." Cami pulls her phone out.

"Everything will be closed." I sigh, putting my head between my knees.

"I'm going to check again," Andrew says, running off down the hall where the locker rooms are.

"Everything okay?" I hear Gunnar ask, and I look up at him, standing in front of Cami and looking concerned.

"My bag didn't arrive," I say, trying to calm my breathing. "I can't shoot the last of The Drop."

"What!? No way it's got to be here. I saw you put it on the bus." He shakes his head. Grant, Adam, and Bear catch the tail end as they approach us.

"It arrived and now it's gone."

Cami explains as I go back to wallowing with my head between my knees. "Didn't you shoot some of it already to get the colours, right? Maybe just try to edit those in amongst the good pics?"

"And when I don't get the bag back and can't ship the clothes?" I reply, not lifting my head.

"I did not think of that."

"We've got some time we can look for it," Adam says, rubbing my shoulder. I look up at Grant and can see he's conflicted. He needs to get his head and his teams in the game.

"No, you guys need to focus," I say, standing. "I'm fine. I'll just come up with something."

"Are you sure?" Grant asks

"Totally!" I smile, and it keeps them happy. "Good luck," I say, hugging the other guys. I hug Grant a little longer than necessary. He rubs my back as he lets go, the only comfort he can give me without outing us.

They head down the same hallway Andrew did, and I catch Grant looking back, so I give him a reassuring smile, which he returns.

"So, any ideas?" Cami asks as I turn back to face her.

"Zero." I sit back down, defeated