"Kyrogi, you can't pass all the time! Shoot!" Coach Bridge
bellowed from the sidelines of a Neohockey game.
The fire Draik gulped and shot the puck. It barely
moved at all, and bounced toward the net but rolled right around it. Laeyan
the orange Aisha snickered and grabbed the puck. Down the ice she skated, towards
FleurDelacour67 who was in net. She shot the puck like a bullet and it blew
straight into the net, right past the skunk Usul.
"Okay team, move in!" Coach yelled as he blew
his whistle. The six teammates approached their coach. "For the past couple
of weeks we've been practicing. And you all know the Annual Polarchuck Neohockey
tournament is in only a few days. I know you can win," he said confidently.
"Sorry sir, but I've calculated our odds and
a rookie team like us has a 86.4 percent chance of failure," Zeggaro the purple
Blumaroo told him as he punched digits into a calculator.
"Well with that attitude you won't," Coach Bridge
growled. "But I know you can."
EmeraldBlitz the fire Krawk nodded his head.
He dreamed of the glory he'd get if he won. Not only for him, but the entire
team. How amazing would that be, a team of two weeks winning such a prestigious
Neohockey tournament among the Neoschools all over Neopia. He clenched his fists
with determination. He knew they could win too.
***
The bus bumped across the snowy trails of Happy Valley. EmeraldBlitz looked
out the window as he passed numerous snow-covered fir trees, some still decked
with Christmas lights and ornaments.
"Nervous?" inquired Kai_Hawittari the yellow
Gelert sitting next to EmeraldBlitz asked.
"How could I not be? But I'm pretty sure we can
win this," he responded.
"I'm not so sure," Kai responded. "I mean, we're
good and all, but some of these teams have been playing since NeoPreschool."
Suddenly, the bus pulled up into a large parking
lot, right next to a huge Neohockey Arena. Other buses pulled up to the arena
and the Neopets inside got out. The Light Faeries looked through the windows
to see some pretty tough looking teams. One team was composed entirely of Grarrls,
another team with extremely powerful looking Tonus. The rest were mainly mixed,
but none of them looked like pushovers. They all looked bigger and more skilled
than the Light Faeries.
"Coach?" Kai asked. "Please tell me these aren't
the teams."
"Uh... sorry Kai, but they are. Sixteen teams
in this tournament, yourselves included. Game after game, they duke it out.
The teams are matched up and the winners go on and the losers leave. Sixteen
teams will turn into eight, then eight into four, then four into two. Those
two teams will duke it out for the Polarchuck Cup," Coach Bridge explained.
The team filed out of the bus and into the frigid
parking lot. They ran quickly into the arena, fighting the chilling Happy Valley
wind and finally they were inside. The pets where shivering hard. A team of
Tuskaninnies walked by. "Wimps," they heard one of them mutter.
"Team?" the Acara at the reception desk asked.
She only heard the coach mutter a response. "Sir, please state that again?"
"Uh... Light Faeries..." the Kyrii muttered under
his breath.
"Sir, speak up please."
"OUR TEAM IS THE LIGHT FAERIES! OKAY? THE LIGHT
FAERIES!" Coach Bridge roared.
Every Neopet in the entire arena started laughing.
The team hung their heads low with embarrassment.
"Okay, you will be first playing against the
Golden JubJub Elementary School Predators. The game starts in half an hour,
so I suggest you and the... er... Light Faeries get ready," the Acara stated.
The embarrassed team shuffled off to the dressing
room, to the stifled laughs of the other teams. Into the dressing room they
went. Coach Bridge glared at them. "You will not, and I repeat not take any
of that dung from the other teams!" he barked. "You will ALL play to the extent
of your abilities, and show the other teams that we're going to win not matter
what we're called. Now get dressed, and we'll show those Predators what we're
made of."
The Light Faeries cheered and began to get dressed.
They put on their equipment, slipped on their hideous pink and yellow jerseys
and tied up their skates. Every nerve in their body was pulsating, and their
hands felt tingly while their stomachs felt queasy. Putting the pre-game jitters
aside, the team walked out of the dressing room.
"Ha, oooh, look at the Light Faeries!"
"Nice jerseys!"
They tried to ignore the insults as the six Neopets
marched through the lobby. Coach opened a door for them and an icy blast of
air hit them. Putting the cold behind them, they walked out to the roars of
the crowd. Suddenly, the team gasped. Ice. It was their first game on ice!
"I... can't skate..." Zeggaro muttered nervously.
"I like, can't skate either!" Fleur cried.
Coach Bridge's eyes bulged. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL
ME!" he roared.
"I didn't think we were, like, going to be skating,"
the Usul explained. Zeggaro nodded his head in agreement.
"WHAT DID YOU THINK I MEANT WHEN I TOLD YOU TO
BRING SKATES!" he bellowed.
"We... uh... good point," Zeggaro replied. "I
didn't think about that."
"So you packed skates while you were totally
aware you couldn't skate?" Coach Bridge asked. Zeggaro and Fleur nodded.
EmeraldBlitz sighed. "This game is going to be
a joy," the fire Krawk sighed sarcastically.
To be continued...
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