Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Leah shouted across the ice at her team. She carefully crouched in front of the goal, her stick seeming to track the puck as it was sent hurtling across the field.
My chest tightened as two Harvard players neared Yale’s goal, passing the puck to each other to try to line up a shot. My hand clamped down on Jed’s as the center took the shot.
Leah quickly angled her left knee down, blocking the shot with grace. She swept the puck up with her stick and sent it down the ice to Lily.
“Yes!” I whispered before glancing over at the other guys, who were watching the game intently. They were probably waiting for the women’s team to mess up, but they were playing their very best today.
“They’re using a 1-2-2 formation,” Anthony told Hugo, pointing at Lily as she took the lead with Suzette and Soraya covering each half-wall. Anne and Naomi pushed up toward the neutral zone.
The Harvard defenders went after Lily, being distracted just long enough for Soraya to line herself up for a great shot.
Lily passed the puck to Soraya and dropped back, confusing the defenders.
“Shot!” Leah shouted.
Soraya drilled the puck into the back of Harvard’s net, cheers erupting from the small student and family section. She threw her fist up and skated to her team, enveloped in a tight embrace and greeted with pats on her helmet and back.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Leah exclaimed as she gave Soraya a happy shake.
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Leah celebrating, able to feel the joy radiating off her. She was a great captain, and her team followed her without hesitation because they believed in her. Now, I needed the guys to believe in them too.
Leah and the women’s team were only just getting started with that first goal. They scored another goal, using smart offensive tactics to trick and overwhelm Harvard’s defense. When Harvard managed to score one goal, Leah rallied her team, and they responded by scoring two more times before the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game.
I turned to Hugo and the others as the women’s team headed to the locker room to celebrate.
“Well?” I asked.
Mikael spoke up first.
“They’re good. Really good,” he admitted. “I didn’t think they could pull off the formations that they did.”
“Yeah, did you see that one-three-one formation they pulled? That’s a pain in the ass to pull off,” Stephen added, prompting murmurs of agreement from the others.
“Hugo,” I said, needing him to speak up. He was our captain. Whatever he did, the team followed because we trusted him.
Hugo breathed in deeply before nodding.
“They’re amazing. Probably the best women’s hockey team at Yale for a very long time,” he replied as he looked at everyone. “And they proved me wrong.”
“I guess the IIHF doesn’t just choose any team. They choose the best,” Anthony said.
“And Leah is the best captain they could ask for,” Jed told them. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
For once, the tension melted away for a little bit as all of us chuckled in a fond manner.
“Yeah, she is,” Hugo agreed as the side of his mouth curled up in a grin. “A hell of a force.”
As the guys talked about a few key plays in the match, I looked over at Jed, placing my hand over his and feeling him give it a squeeze.
“Think things will change now?” I asked with a hopeful tone.
Jed glanced over at the guys before meeting my gaze and offering me a comforting look.
“I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Chapter 17
Leah
A heavy weight settled on my shoulders as I scrolled on my phone, reading every tweet and post that had my name in it.
I saw her leaving the bar with all of them. You know what that means
She’s riding the men’s team all the way to the top. Literally
How else are they supposed to get any attention? They’ve been irrelevant for years!
I’ve seen her around campus with them. She’s totally doing all of them
Despite how well the women’s team had been playing lately, our success still didn’t erase the damage I had done to my reputation by being caught on camera with the guys. No one took me or my team seriously. That night haunted me everywhere!
Whenever I went to the gym to workout or the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat, I felt eyes on me or heard faint laughs around me. I knew that they were talking about me, making up scenarios and spreading rumors that most likely weren’t even true. They just loved beating on my already bruised ego because I was an easy target.
If they wanted to make fun of me and call me a slut, whatever! But what was worrying me was that all of those rumors and that video had made its way outside of the students at Yale.