Chapter 41 The Mysterious Bag
The Mysterious Bag
Dylan’s POV
I called Calen back and he picked the call immediately.
“Man! Do you have a death wish?” He asked in amused disbelief. “I have been calling your line non stop. I even tried calling the captain but his line was completely off.”
“I’m sorry. I haven’t been feeling too well lately.” I said.
I could hear him breathing a sigh of relief. “You should have called the coach at least to inform him. How are you feeling now?”
“I’m okay, thanks.”
“I believe the captain is with you, right?” He asked.
I looked at Liam and he nodded that I should tell him the truth.
“Yes, I had to confide in him. I didn’t want to bother you guys.” I said.
“It’s okay. I get it. We have a serious competition coming up and the coach has gone wild because of you guys. Anyways, just be at the rink tomorrow.” He said.
“Alright, good night.” I said and cut the call.
The sound of my alarm woke me up in the morning. I seriously didn’t want to wake up because this had to be the best sleep I ever got in a long while.
“Dylan, we are going to be late.” Liam said, already pulling me out of bed.
I showered while Liam sat on the bed looking at his phone with an expression that meant he was thinking on whether to call the coach or just face him at the academy.
I came out of the bathroom and started drying my hair with a towel.
“Should I hypnotize him?” Liam said with a smile.
“Stop with that joke, you can’t do that to him.” I said while rubbing my sunscreen. “You should take a shower so we can get there on time.”
Liam took a shower and we dressed without rushing. We took a cab to the academy as taking a bus would be a long process. I looked out of the window, admiring the city and for a few minutes I let myself exist in the ordinary surface of the earth.
The cab dropped us in front of the academy. Some of the teammates were standing at the entrance when we got in. I prepared myself for questions they would ask but none asked immediately, they just had this collective relief like they had been waiting for us and finally, here we are.
“I thought you guys were dead. It’s not a relief seeing you.” Cole said but knowing who he is. I understood his sarcasm and smiled.
“Thank you for your love and care.” I said in between a laugh.
He eyed me, folded his hands and leaned on the wall.
“Don’t mind him, he has been worried sick for the past three days.” One of the teammates said. “Are you guys okay? Dylan, I heard you are sick?”
“It’s not serious, man.” I said and hugged him.
“Cat caught your tongue, why are you not saying anything?” Cole asked Liam who was leaning on the wall.
“Just admit that you missed me.” Liam said and we all laughed.
We all walked toward the locker room, chatting and laughing. We got changed and stepped to the ice when the coach’s assistant approached us.
“The coach wants to see you guys in his office.” He said and we followed him to the office while the teammates sent us off with an exaggerated solidarity of people who were glad it wasn’t them.
When we arrived at the coach’s office. He was behind writing. He closed the book immediately he saw us and waved at his assistant to go.
“So, what should we do for you guys? Maybe a welcome party after your absence without leave would do?” He said with a voice that clearly reflected his anger.
“We are sorry, coach. It wasn’t our fault and it wasn’t intentional.” Liam said.
“Yes, the fault is mine. I shouldn’t have given you guys the leverage to act stupid.” He said with a raised voice.
He heaved a sigh of relief like he had been managing his own anxiety for so long.
“Whatever the problem was, you guys should have communicated it to me. I called and called but I got nothing. We have a match that’s coming up soon.” He said and pointed at Liam. “You know very well how anxious I have been about the competition. I personally took my time to monitor the sessions this week and it required every player to be present and accounted for, but… No matter your reason for missing practice, it was so unprofessional.”
Liam wanted to speak but I held his hand and nodded in disagreement.
“We know that what we did is wrong and we don’t have an excuse for that. We are deeply sorry and we promise not to let such happen again.” I said carefully and made sure it came out genuine.
He put his two hands toge and loosened his posture a little bit.
“This would be the last time that I let such behavior slide. If it repeats itself, then, I would be brutal.” He said.
“Thank you.” We said and left the office.
We trained so hard and long, thrice what we did before. It was exactly what our body needed because it was getting stiff and rusty from missing trainings. We trained until we cleared our head by filling our bodies completely. I moved through every drill with the focus that had been fragmented for the past week finally pulling back together, my feet finding the ice properly, my timing returning to where it should be.
Afterward, Liam caught my eye from across the rink and tilted his head toward the side exit.
I came off the ice and followed him around to the back of the building, the section that ran along the tree line, away from the main entrance and the car park. He stood with his hands in his pockets and looked out at the tree line.
“What’s it?” I asked while pulling off my glove.
“I was thinking we should find a place to stay during the match week. We can’t be coming from our homes, it’s kinda far from here and with what has happened, it won’t be psychologically wise to stay there.” Liam said.
“Hmm! That’s not a bad idea. We should be at our safest at this point to avoid letting the coach down.”
We went back to the rink and continued practice until 7:00pm. Other teammates started packing up for the day and we joined them. We walked out of the locker room together, standing side by side in the cold. We didn’t quite speak to each other but I was guessing his mind was filled with the thought of where we would stay during the match.
“Dylan!” I heard one of our teammate’s voice calling as we walked toward the main exit.
We heard a footstep behind us, fast, someone running.
We both turned and saw him jogging toward us like he was trying to catch up. His breath coming out in clouds, he was holding a bag as well.
“You left this behind,” he said, holding it out. “Found it near the bench after you came off.“