“Show me what’s missing,” Henry said, taking the list from Jessie.
“A hockey jersey,” said Jessie, pointing to one of the items on the list. “And a hockey stick.”
Benny and Violet crowded around to look at the list, too.
“They definitely weren’t in the box,” said Violet. “We looked at everything, and there were no jerseys or hockey sticks.”
“We’d better call Kevin and let him know,” said Henry, going to the telephone.
A moment later he came back.
“What did he say?” Jessie asked.
“There was no answer,” said Henry. “Maybe they’re not home yet.”
“We’ll have to tell him tomorrow at the rink,” Violet suggested.
“That’s right, tomorrow’s our last practice before the championship game,” said Jessie. “I’d better get some sleep!”
The next day the Aldens headed to the rink, as usual, before the sun was even up. Cathy was already in the locker room when Jessie came in.
“How are you feeling?” Jessie asked.
“Fine,” said Cathy. “Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering whether your head felt better,” Jessie said.
“My head?” said Cathy.
“Remember, you had a really bad headache last night?” Jessie said.
“Oh, that ... that’s right ... yes, it’s all better,” Cathy said, gathering up her gear and leaving the locker room. She moved so quickly, it seemed she didn’t want to talk to Jessie anymore.
Meanwhile, out on the ice, Henry was trying to tell Coach about the missing jersey and stick. “Kevin, I have something important to tell you,” Henry said, skating out onto the ice.
Kevin was studying a clipboard of information about his players.
“What is it?” Kevin asked, looking up, a serious expression on his face.
“It’s about that box of stuff last night,” Henry said.
Kevin broke into a smile. “Pretty neat, huh? For me it’s like walking down memory lane, looking at all that stuff. Do you think you can set up the display?” he asked.
“Sure,” Henry said. “Violet’s going to make signs. She’s a great artist and has really nice handwriting.”
“Great. And thanks for dinner,” Kevin said. “It was really delicious.”
“No problem,” Henry said. “But what I wanted to tell you was—”
“Listen, we’ve got to get the girls ready for the big championship game, so I think we’ll need to talk about this later,” Kevin said, going back to his clipboard.
“Okay, no problem,” Henry said.
For the next hour, Kevin worked the Polar Bears like they’d never worked before. He had them skate laps and laps around the rink to strengthen their legs and made them do several intricate skating and passing drills. They ended with a shooting drill and a short scrimmage.
“Okay, girls, let’s break now,” Kevin said at last. “Come on over to the bench. I’d like to talk to you.
“Now, I realize some of you had never played hockey before when you started.” He looked around at all the girls, making eye contact with each one of them. “And you’ve done a great job. You’ve played hard, you’ve practiced hard, and now you’re seeing the result of all that hard work—tomorrow you’ll be in the mini-league championship game. And I bet you’re going to win that game, too. But whether or not you do, you should all be very proud of yourselves and of how well you’ve played.
“The game tomorrow is at ten o’clock. So I want you all to get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast, and come here ready to play. Ready to win. Let’s go, Polar Bears!”
The girls cheered along with Kevin and Henry. They were excited about their game tomorrow. Jessie was especially excited. She was going to try her best. She hoped it would be good enough to help the team win.
After Coach’s pep talk, Henry tried to get a chance to speak to Kevin alone, to tell him about the jersey and stick. But several players and parents were always around him. Finally the two were alone, and Henry spoke up. “Coach, I started to tell you something before practice,” he began.
“Oh, yes, what was it you were trying to say?” Kevin asked.
“When we were going through the box, we noticed—” Henry began.
“Dad,” said a voice behind him.
Henry turned around, and there was Cathy, her face quite serious.
“Yes, hon? What is it?” Kevin asked, his face concerned.
“I need to talk to you,” said Cathy. “It’s really important.”
“Sure,” Kevin said. “Henry, I’ve got to talk to my daughter. Can whatever you were going to tell me wait a little?”
“Okay,” Henry said. He was disappointed that he still hadn’t had a chance to tell Coach about the missing items. But he couldn’t help wondering what was so important that Cathy had to talk to her dad about. She looked so worried. Henry hoped everything was all right.
Back in the locker room, Jessie was getting dressed in her usual spot next to Beth.
“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Jessie asked, pulling on her sweater.
“I sure am!” said Beth with a big grin. “We are going to win that championship trophy!”
Jessie laughed at her friend’s enthusiasm.
“I think I’m cut out for hockey more than figure skating,” Beth said. “Hockey is much more fan!”
“Do you think so?” Jessie asked. “I enjoy playing hockey, but I still like figure skating. I love the spins and jumps, the music, the costumes.”
Beth was almost finished getting dressed. As usual, she asked Jessie to fasten the clasp on her silver skate necklace.
Jessie was turning around to help Beth when she spotted something. Something that made her eyes open wide.
Beth’s skating bag was on the floor beside the bench, overflowing with hockey gear. But what was on top of the gear made Jessie stop and stare.
“Is that what I think it is?” Jessie asked.
Beth saw Jessie’s expression and said, “Please don’t tell anyone you saw it.”
And Jessie knew that she was right.
Sitting on top of Beth’s hockey gear was an autographed Kevin Reynolds jersey. Just like the one that was missing from Kevin’s box. |