The cat is out the bag

News travels like flies here. The next day news hit school like a wildfire, there wasn’t a single soul that didn’t know about Brandon and Clarissa’s break-up. It was as if one of the royal sons did something out of character and everyone just had to talk about it.

And then the gossip started, everyone drew up their conclusions.

I shut my locker, rolling my eyes at each stupid person gossiping about them. The last time I checked they didn’t even date that long. I walked down the hallway towards my usual spot when I noticed Daphne leaning against a wall, standing by herself. I decided to be a good person for once and walked up to her.

“Do you always stand by yourself?” I asked pulling out my box of cigarettes. “Yes, I do stand by myself.” She replied sarcastically. “I see the sarcasm hasn’t died down,” I said popping a cigarette into my mouth and lit it. I found her looking at me disapproving. “Those things are going to get you killed.”

“Yeah, so?” I said with a shrug, taking a pull and blowing out the smoke. I then went to stand next to her, leaning my back against the wall looking at upcoming students.

“I can’t believe they can make such a big thing over my sister and Brandon’s break up.” Daphne mumbled, not looking happy.

“Wait…hold up. Sister?” I asked almost choking on the smoke.

“Yeah, don’t you see the resemblance?” She asked sarcastically.

“I didn’t know Clarissa had a sister.”

“Not a lot of people do, Clarissa took my mother’s maiden surname while I have my fathers.”

“Makes sense. But why?”

“My parents divorced when we were still small. Mom took Clarissa and dad took me. My dad passed away a few years back, I was ten. I never went to change my surname. It is the only piece I had left of him.”

“I’m sorry.” I said, sharing the sadness.

“It’s fine. It’s not the best accommodation you can imagine.”

“She was crying her eyes out last night, I couldn’t even fall asleep. She was so damn dramatic, going off on our mother for how could he just end things with her.” I shook my head in disbelief. “He didn’t even love her. He would only come over to have sex with her and then he would leave. I never heard them talking or get to know each other.”

I looked ahead of me and noticed Brandon, he was walking with his friends unbothered with the students looking at him as he was more concerned about his conversation with his friends. He looked in the direction I was standing and our eyes met for a brief moment until he returned back to his conversation.

“That’s what the life of a playboy is probably like.” I told her throwing my half-smoked cigarette away.

After school, I promised Jonah that I would help him out with ice hockey. Not that I ever went ice skating before. I have played hockey before but just not on the ice. Jonah was already out on the ice shooting goals while I struggled to keep myself from falling.

I used the hockey stick as an anchor as I made my way towards Jonah. “Finally.” Jonah sighs, skating around me in a circle.

“If you are done mocking me, can we please start?”

“If you are going to stand upright and not fall.” I quirked an eyebrow hitting his skates with the hockey stick making him fall on his ass. Just as I wanted to laugh, my skates went out from underneath me and made me drop on my ass as well.

“Whose idea was this again?” I asked. We could be practicing his moves on grass, where you wear shoes and not skates. Where it is nice and warm outside and not freeze your ass off.

After a few minutes, I got the hang of the skates and helped Jonah with his shots. I noticed that Jonah was a speed skater, which made him a valuable player. They can shoot the puck out to him and he can zigzag through the players. But to get him to receive the puck and actually hold it was another thing.

“What are you afraid of?” I asked when an idea jumped into my head.

“Nothing, why?” He asked shooting the puck into the net and skating back to me.

“Why do you always end up losing the puck?”

I carried on when he didn’t reply. “You have the speed, Jonah. You can out skate any other player. We need to make sure you can keep it and shoot it out to the right player.” I worked on him for a minute testing his reactions. He had a long way to go but if he can show the coach where he needs help then maybe the coach can work on that with him and turn him into a great player.

Jonah shot the puck towards me and just as I wanted to shoot it into the net, an unwelcome guest stole the puck from me and bumped his skates against mine making me drop on my ass. “Hey!” I heard Jonah yell as my ass made contact with the ice.

“What are you going to do kid?” The guy asked with a smug smile.

“Why don’t I show you?” I asked once I was on my feet. The guy looked at me with a surprised look. “You can’t even stay on your skates. See?” He said tripping me once again. So, this is how it feels being picked on.

“Guys like you should be locked in the cage.” His friends who were laughing sobered up when they heard me talk.

I got back up and pointed my hockey stick at him. “I might not be a professional skater, but I am a professional hockey player that's for sure.” Used to, Sasha. Used to.

“What are you say, darling?” He drawled.

“Let’s play a game. The person who has the first five goals wins.”

“And why would I want to play against an amateur?” He asked skating towards me, mocking me.

“To show your boys over here what an arrogant bastard you are.” Dear, Sasha. Do you want to write your name up for death?

“Fine.” He snarled.

“Game on.”

I wasn’t surprised when he tripped me as we started with the game, making him earn his first goal. So he wants to play like that. Let’s see if he can keep up. We got back to the middle and as the puck hit the ice, I shoved him with my shoulder just as hard I could and got the puck hitting it off for a goal.

His cockiness grew and our game turned out to be a physical battle of shoving and tripping. Not really a fair game to me. The score was four each, whoever gets the last goal wins. And I never lose.

He stole the puck for the last time but I didn’t give him his victory yet as I skated beside him, I gave him a shove as I got the puck. I whirled around with the puck and skated towards the net and shot the puck for goal.

I looked over my shoulder watching the guy look at me with awe. “Guess I misjudged you.” He said, his cockiness gone all of a sudden. I turned around to face him. “Don’t feel bad about it, I always get misjudged.” He smiled, and this time it was a friendly smile.

“I’m Dan.” He said holding out his covered hand.

“Sasha-Lee.” I replied shaking his hand.

“So, you say you are a professional hockey player?” He asked reminding me of my tiny lie.

“I used to be.” I confessed.

“Well, hot damn. You still got it.” Seems like it.

I skated back to Jonah not realizing he had company. Brandon, Jake, and Adam stood behind him all of them wearing a similar expression of surprise. I took off my helmet and surprised them even more. They saw everything.

“Shit.”