Chapter 41 Let's do this

I was rushing to get done for school somehow I slept through my alarm and no one thought about waking me up. I grabbed my bags and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen where Jonah was supposed to be. "Jonah, come on we need to go or we... are going to be late." The last part of my sentence died down when my gaze landed on Brandon. He was resting with his back against the sink, dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt, and held a cup between his hands. He looked pretty rugged to me.

"Morning, Adams." He smirked when he looked at me. "What's the rush?" He asked. "Hills, what are you doing here?" The corner of his mouth quirked up. "If you read your messages like a normal person you would have known that I'm here to pick you guys up for school." Honestly, I went straight to bed last night when my father picked me up from school after the bus dropped us off from the camp.

"I haven't looked at my phone since Saturday. And all I wanted yesterday was to get in my bed and sleep when my dad picked me up."

"I know you guys can't wait to catch up but if we don't leave now we are going to be late and I don't know what to tell my teachers why." Brandon chuckled while I just rolled my eyes at him. "Fine let's get going then." I grabbed our bags and followed them to the car. Brandon first dropped Jonah off at school before driving over to ours. "So, how was the camp?" He asked. "Like a Bootcamp. I crawled through knee-deep mud, used my teammates as steps to get over a wall, and then threw them over the wall." Brandon chuckled. "Sounds like fun." He joked.

"It kind of was, the girls thought we took a wrong turn and that we were going to be eaten by cannibals. Briana tamed our instructor which was kind of fun to watch."

When we arrived at school I was immediately whisked away by Nicole and Briana they waited for us in the parking lot. Apparently, the coach wanted to see us urgently. Everyone was already there when we showed up. "Morning ladies." The coach greeted. "Sorry to call you on such short notice but Casey had a word with the team and me. As you are aware Casey is quitting the team." I nodded.

"We talked to each other and took a vote. They voted for you as their new captain." I didn't know what to say as I didn't even expect this. I knew she was quitting the team but I didn't know that the team wanted to make me their captain. The coach noticed my surprise and dismissed us when she heard the school bell.

I didn't know how to take the news with being the new captain, it was truly an honor that they vote for me. My life was changing at a pace I had no control over. My life was the complete opposite of what it used to be after my mom is gone. Suddenly everything fell into place at an incredibly fast rate. A life I gave up on and it was starting to make it's way back to me.

Lunchtime I found Brandon in the cafeteria already seated with Dahne and Jake. I sat down next to Brandon and stole a handful of fries from his tray and popped one into my mouth. Brandon snickered and pushed his tray towards me. "Why does it look like you've been hit by a train?" Daphne asked. "Not a train but a team of hockey girls." Everyone frowned. "I don't see any bruises or it was an unfair fight or I have to check to see if there is blood all over your hockey stick." Brandon said.

"Casey quit the team. And then the team voted for me as their captain." Daphne's eyes went round from surprise while Brandon just smirked. "No way!!!" She looked ecstatic and happy for me.

"I'm getting a different vibe from you." Brandon said picking up on my mood. "I'm just freaked out. It feels weird to have people actually voting for me. I used to be called a freak by everyone and now I'm the complete opposite."

"That's a good sign, right?" Brandon asked. "I believe so, Hills." He playfully bumped my shoulder with his. "You got this, Adams. You always have." I did, didn't I? I continued to share Brandon's food with him and catching up on the gossip that I missed out on over the weekend.

Jake and Daphne got up from the table when the bell signaled that lunch was officially over. We got up after them and also started to make our way. I felt the tension between Brandon and Clarissa when they passed each other in the hallway. She tried everything in her power not to look at him. "Did I just imagine all of that?" I asked Brandon.

"Nope! She came over to my house over the weekend trying to get me to change my mind but she didn't bargain on my mother who opened the door. My mother told her that she was making a fool of herself and she should stop."

"And that got her to leave you alone?" Brandon nodded. "By the looks of it, yes." I sensed something was bothering him. "But?" I asked hooking my arm in by his. We continued making our way down the hall towards our classrooms. "I still feel like an ass. While I got out in one piece, she got out with a broken heart, and that kind of makes me feel like the bad guy." He admitted.

"It's not your fault that she got attracted to you when she ignored the rules of the game you guys were playing." Brandon nodded and then pulled his arm free, dropped it over my shoulder, and pulled me against his side. "Maybe this was all wrong from the start." His mind was far away like he was overthinking things. "Hey, you are starting to scare me." I told him. "Why's that?" He asked looking at me.

"You are starting to catch feelings." He grinned. "And that's a bad thing?" He questioned. "Nah I like you this way." I answered dropping my head on his shoulder. I felt him rubbed his arm up and down my arm and it gave me a sense of comfort. Maybe I can tell him now how I feel? I lifted my head and was in the middle of opening my eyes when my gaze landed on Jake. "Is that Jake?" I asked Brandon frowning. He followed my gaze and nodded.

"What is he doing?" He was standing with his back to his with his front facing the wall. "I don't know... Is that Daphne?" He then asked. I swallowed my laugh when I saw that he had Daphne pushed up against the wall with his lips on hers. "Did you know about this?" I asked Brandon turning my head to look up at him "Not a clue." He answered. "But I'm feeling pretty awkward standing here watching them making out." He admitted making me snicker. "Yeah, let's go." I suggested.

We said our goodbyes and once again I failed to tell him how I felt about him. This whole week I tried to find the right moment to tell him but every time I thought it was the moment to tell him something had to happen. The hockey girls and I worked hard during practice to get into shape for Friday's game after the coach told us that during the game we will have visitors from Colleges/Universities. We were finally being scouted.

The week went by in a blur and before we knew it we were standing on the field facing our competition. They looked strong and fierce like they could hand out a beating or two. It felt like we were in a chapter of a movie of which Mel Gibson once played in. "Fight and you may die. Run and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade all the days, from this day to that, for once chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... our freedom!" I smiled at the quote in my head.

I never had the right thing to say to my team to get them to cheer up and believe. All I could do was help them to get points on the scoreboard and get us another win. The crowd was our companion throughout the game. They were cheering quite loud and proving to every single girl on this team that we were worth it. Every goal felt like a win, every steal of the ball gave us back our determination and that got us to finally win this game.

The crowd cheered so loud that it almost felt as if the world underneath our feet was alive. The girls overwhelmed each other with hugs and cheers before we made our way back to the locker rooms. I waved at my dad and Meredith when I saw them in the crowd. I also invited Aunt Maggie and Justin.

"Sasha-Lee Adams?" I stopped walking when I caught a woman calling my name. "I'm Judy Walsh from Los Angeles." My eyes widened when I realized who she was. "University of L. A." She nodded. They were one of my options and they had the best hockey coach. "We have been trying to get a hold of Miss Adams. For years we have been watching you and today I'm honored to give you this." She held out an envelope to me. "We found out recently that you started playing again and you got our attention." I accepted the envelope from her and opened it up.

"A full scholarship?" I asked with wide eyes.

"But I didn't apply." I told her. "Like I told you. We kept a close eye on you for years and waited patiently for you to get to age."

"You are gifted Sasha. Just like your mother."

"Welcome to our University, Miss Adams. Hope to hear from you soon." She said her goodbyes and walked away. I looked at the papers and smiled to myself before walking off to the locker rooms where the girls were not only celebrating our victory but a few got signed for College as well.

We were in the middle of getting dressed when Casey entered the locker room with an invitation. "Party at my house!" No one and I mean, no one turned her invitation down. It was definitely party time.