Page 109 of The Substitute

It’s been all fucking night with this shit.

The horn sounds for a goal, and I hate everyone.

As the captain, I should have some words of encouragement for my team, but all I have is anger. At myself. At Savage. At Tobi. Coach has yelled at us for the last two intermissions, and I don’t blame him.

As we’re heading back out to the ice for our last period, I’ve had enough. Savage has shut us out and fucked with my head. I’m so fucking done. If I can give them a common enemy, we’ll stand a chance at a comeback.

I hang back to fall into step with Teddy, a plan already forming in my head.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

“If this is about me being confused?—”

I cut him off. “It’s not. I have something really important to tell you. I need you to focus.”

Teddy narrows his eyes. “My ear balls are wide open.”

“I think you deserve to know the Gods’ goalie, Savage, is fucking your brother.” It’s fucking low, but I’m so over his bullshit. I need my team with me.

The guys around us stop and look between us. I’m taking a huge risk by dropping this bomb on our goalie. We all know how fragile Teddy’s headspace is, but I’m banking on something else.

Teddy’s mouth falls open. “That can’t happen. There’s too much of a height difference.”

Several of the guys on the team sigh, and Shredder says, “We told you to watch porn, dude.”

Teddy turns on him. “You also told me it’s not real. You save your special sex for one guy.” He turns back to me. “Plus, Tobs knows you can’t fuck the enemy. He wouldn’t do that.”

“Uh,” Shredder says, holding up a gloved finger, “you do it.”

“That’s different! That’s love!” Teddy tries to cross his arms, but the pads stop him. “We made sacrifices to the hockey gods. I talked to Coach about sex!”

While I want to ask questions, we don’t have time. I need to keep Teddy on task. “Tobi was with Savage last night. Probably why he’s having such a good game. He took your mojo juice.”

Teddy shrieks while the rest of the team sucks in deep breaths in unison. They know as well as I do that if Savage and or Teddy convinces themself that Tobi is a good luck charm for Savage, we’re fucked.

“Not my mojo juice!” Teddy says through clenched teeth. “How does he not know about the Jean Eva Conversion? Thisis blasphemy!” Teddy’s angry strides carry him to the ice, and as we skate into our positions for the game to resume, I watch Teddy point two fingers to his eyes, then point them at Savage. The Gods look at each other like that will make this make sense, but half of them end up shrugging and shaking their heads.

Third period gets started, and I’m waiting for my turn on the ice. Teddy is getting the team riled up for violence, and I am so fucking here for it. I need the outlet. Fights are inevitable. We’ve already had little shit slide—some high sticking, tripping, and body checks that aren’t quite timed right to be legal.

Coach is about to blow a gasket, so this isn’t going to go well for us, but if I can give Savage a black eye, it’ll be worth it.

Goalies are protected, sacred, to hockey players. Going after one is a quick way to getting your ass kicked by his team, but I’m not afraid. Savage will want to get his own punches in, he’s not going to let his team gang up on me and miss out.

Coach yells for a line change, and the boys switch up.

“What’s your deal tonight?” Blondie bumps his shoulder with mine.

“Nothing.”

“Right, I believe that.” He takes a drink from one of the bottles being offered to us.

“Worry about your own game.”

He laughs. “I’m not the one with a death wish.”

Osha flies up one side of the ice, hugging the boards as the puck is flung to him by Rizz. The puck hits the side boards, and he grabs it, racing for the goal, but Savage is huge and hunkered down.

Osha takes the puck around behind the goal, barely avoiding Lovelace body checking him, and attempts to flick it in the net. Savage expects it and easily bats it away. The Gods take the puck and pass it around a few times before Cox makes his move with Raven and Ridgeway.