I had proven my point in hockey. I felt a new pride leaping in my heart, a lion roaring. All the guys looked at me with a new found respect. We started up again, and everyone passed to me.
Maybe this was my chance at making new friends. It seemed like it was working out. But you can't trust something until it happens.
The game ended around three, and my team won, 7-3 (oh yeah!). As I was taking off my equiptment, I heard skates slicing across the ice. Swiftly and smoothly, both hockey teams stopped. Showered with ice, I looked up in surprise. But the team was looking at me not with hate, but with a half smile on their faces.
"Yo, Kait!" Tom was yelling, and he was two inches away.
"Jeez, I'm right hear, don't yell." I rubbed my ear for effect, then smiled. "What's up?"
"Well, we usually give people we hang out with, ya know, nicknames. And with that little move you pulled earlier, we're gonna call you Twist." Tom and the other guys smiled, like I should feel honored that they had given me names. And I was!
"Thanks, guys. I like it." I was grinning so much, I think my jaw was going to be permanently.
"And... we wanted to invite you to sit with us at lunch. You're always sittin' alone, and you look lonely." This time it was Chess, the one who checked me. I was still a little sore, but I appreciated the invite.
"Thanks, again, guys. I'll take you up on the offer. Any more pick ups I should know about?"
"Yeah, here, lemme give you a schedule..." Jack groped around in his jacket, and pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. "Here."
"Thanks." Wow, that word was becoming the only word I knew. "See ya tomorrow?"
They nodded and walked away. Tom jumped into the blue Mustang I parked next to (big surprise), and everyone else hopped in with everyone else.
I was putting my stuff into my monogrammed purple hockey bag, when the goalie from the other team walked over. Wow. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his blue eyes pierced me. The sweat was gross in a cute way, though.
"Hey, I'm Spence. My friends call me Slide, so I guess you could call me that, too." His eyes twinkled with a smile, and I felt my heart rate go up.
"Hey, I'm Kaitlyn. My friends call me Twist, so I guess you could call me that, too." Whoa, was I flirting? Yeesh. "Sorry for scoring that goal out there."
"No worries. It was a pretty sick goal. Where'd you learn it?"
"My dad taught it to me when I was 13. It was the last time I saw him before... he and my mom died in a plane crash." I had never shared that information with anyone... why did he get to be so special?"
"Oh. I'm sorry... I know how you feel. My brother's plane crashed into a mountain and he died, too."
"Oh, great. Now I've got a plane crash buddy." I giggled, and Spence laughed.
"Well, I've gotta get goin'. See you around?" Spence nodded and I hopped in my car. I drove away, smiling to myself for the first time in a while.

Monday was just like any other day to start. Get up, get ready, eat, leave, go to school.
But as I walked down the hall after English, I heard, "Twist, wait up!" and saw Spence running down the hall. The girls all watched him, waiting to see him run to a guy, but instead he ran to ME.
"'Sup, Twist?" He said high fiving me. I grinned at all the girls staring at me in envy, their eyes flaring green flames. How could they not be jealous?
"Nothin'. I'm watching all the girls staring at you and me."
"Oh. Whoops. Oh well."
"I have to get to math. See you later?"
"Yeah. Bye!"
"Bye." Love you.