Drag me down
Chapter 21 – Drag me down
If I didn't have you, there would be nothing left
The shell of a man that could never be his best
If I didn't have you, I'd never see the sun
You taught me how to be someone
After weeks of practice and a lot of hard work, it was finally time for the girls of the hockey team to make their first game together. Nicole managed to speak with some people she knew from Toronto and arranged an exhibition game against a team from there, which didn’t make it to the play-offs of the season.
The redhead arrived at the locker room earlier than the rest of the team to organize everything. She was surprised to see a bag in there, waiting for her. Once she opened it, she was shocked to see the inside. There was a new kit for them to wear during the game. On one of the sleeves, there was a small logo of the Gardner Property. Wynonna, Nicole thought, and chuckled. Well, the boys’ kit she borrowed from Coach Anderson wouldn’t be necessary anymore.
Right after she hung the uniforms for each girl, they all arrived for the game.
“Hello, girls. You’re all on time, very good,” Nicole said. “Now gear up and go to the ice to warm up.”
“Coach, what is this?” Maddison asked holding the red and white uniform in front of her.
“Someone decided to gift us with a very cool kit,” Nicole said.
“There is even a raven, Coach. Our mascot,” Amanda laughed.
“That’s true. Now come one, hurry up, you all. Thirty minutes of warm-up and then all of you back in here so we can talk. Rachel, can you coordinate it?”
“Sure thing, Coach.”
Once they were on the ice, Nicole looked at the bleachers and noticed people arriving to watch the game. She managed to spot the Earps easily and decided to talk to them before the match.
“Haught!” The redhead heard someone calling her name when she was only a few feet from her family. She was astonished to see the source of the voice.
“Shapiro? Hey.”
“Dude, come here,” Eliza threw her arms around Nicole in a hug. “Damn, I feel like I haven’t seen you since forever.”
“Yeah, it’s been quite a while. What are you doing here?”
“My little cousin is playing against your team so I couldn’t lose the opportunity to come here and see you,” Eliza explained.
“Your cousin, eh? So hockey runs in your family,” Nicole smiled happily to see an old friend. “If she plays anything like you, my girls will have a hard time today.”
“Well, she’s a good center, so pay attention,” Eliza teased.
“Your tips won’t soften my heart so I’ll allow you to watch it from inside,” Nicole pushed her playfully.
“Figured out my plan quickly.”
“You might be NWHL now, but I’ll always remember your tricks,” Nicole blinked. “Alright, I’m joking. All seriousness now, NWHL, Eliza. Congratulations, you deserve it more than anyone I know.”
“Thanks, Haught. Means a lot coming from you.”
“How is it there?”
“It’s a lot more exhausting than we ever thought it was,” Eliza sighed. “But at the same time, it’s a dream come true.”
“I’m happy for you and I might even buy a sweater with your name on it.”
“You know kids nowadays call it jerseys?”
“Jerseys? Goddamit, I’m old,” Nicole faked a complaint.
“What about you? How are you doing?” Eliza asked. “I’ve heard some things right after you left Toronto.”
“I can assure you they were not just rumors,” Nicole confessed. “I hit rock bottom once I came back to Purgatory. I started abusing after the surgery and it only got worse with time. But I’m better now, I’m clean for months and I finally feel like I’m walking on my own two feet again.”
“I’m sorry you’ve been through all of it. You were a hell of a player,” Eliza said. “You would be one of the greatest players at the NWHL.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t for me I guess,” Nicole shrugged. “But I can help some girls to get there. Keep an eye on my left-wing. She will take your spot there in no time.”
“I can’t wait for it. I’m glad you are happy, Nicole.”
“I really am. Maybe we could keep in touch?”
“That would be great.”
“And maybe you could get me and my girl some tickets for a game,” Nicole frowned.
“Sure, just say when and you have it.”
“Nice. It was really good seeing you, but I have to go now,” the redhead said. “Talk to you later?”
“Of course. I’ll tell the coach to give you my number. It was really good to see you, Nicole.”
“Cool. Keep kicking asses on the NWHL, Eliza,” Nicole said and walked toward her family, who was waiting for her.
“Who was that?” Waverly stood at the tip of her toes to kiss Nicole on her cheek.
“She’s an old friend. We used to play against each other in college. She’s in the NWHL now,” Nicole said.
“Nice,” Wynonna nodded.
“You guys are here early,” the redhead looked around to see not only the Earps but also Robert, Dolls, Chrissy, and Rosita.
“We didn’t want to lose a second of it,” Waverly smiled brightly.
“Nicole, look!” Alice screamed excitedly, showing the redhead the t-shirt she was wearing. She had written the words “GO RAVENS” in it.
“Wow, Alice. This looks amazing. Did you do it?”
“Yeah, Auntie Waverly helped.”
“Well, you did a really great job,” Nicole giggled.
“Tell us, Haught, are you nervous?” Wynonna asked.
“A little bit, I admit.”
“You know what they say. When you stop getting nervous is when it doesn’t matter to you anymore,” Dolls said.
“That is true,” Nicole agreed.
“You are a wise man today,” Wynonna teased him. “Isn’t he, Alice?”
“Dad is a wise man,” the little girl laughed.
“Oh, stop it,” he bent down to tickle Alice.
“Nicole, I wanted to congratulate you on the good job you have done with the girls here,” Willa said. “Some of the teachers even said their grades got better since they joined the team.”
“Thank you, Willa. I’m glad they are working hard,” the redhead felt her chest getting warm. “I should go now. Thank you so much for coming today. It means a lot to me.”
“Go there and make us even more proud of you, Nicole,” Wynonna said.
“On it, Earp. By the way, there’s a new kit of sweater in the locker room,” Nicole pretended not to understand what was happening. “Do you know anything about it, Wynonna?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about, Haught,” Wynonna dismissed her friend, but she had a mischief smile on her face.
“I imagined you would say that,” Nicole turned around and pulled Waverly by her hand to follow her. “Hey.”
“Hi, Coach,” Waverly smiled. “It’s going to be a great afternoon, I’m sure.”
“Thank you for being here today,” Nicole whispered.
“There is no other place I would like to be.”
“I have to go now, but I wanted a second alone with you.”
“Good luck today. Your team will be great, I’m sure,” Waverly kissed her much faster than both of them wanted it to be.
Nicole watched the final part of the girls’ warm-up and then told them to go back to the locker room so they could get ready for the game. She said a quick hello to the opponent’s team coach, exchanged a few words, and she knew it was time to go talk to her team.
Right outside the locker room, Nicole found Rachel, sitting alone and biting her nails.
“Rachel, everything ok?”
“Sup Coach. Yeah, all fine. The girls are getting ready.”
“That’s good to know,” Nicole said, “but I was talking about you. Are you alright?”
“I’m… I… I don’t know,” the girl sounded really annoyed. “I wanted this team before it even existed, but now I don’t know if I did enough to be a part of it. My wrist is weak, you know it.”
“Look, I know how hard the first game can be,” Nicole smiled sympathetically. “But I can assure you are ready for today. You improve so much since we started the team. Are you at the best you can ever be? Probably not, but nobody ever is. That is the good part, the exciting part about being a player. There is always room for you to get better and improve your game. This is just the start.”
“Do you really think I can do it?”
“I know you can. Just focus on today, that’s how you build your future. One day at a time. Besides, I need my Capitan with her head on the game,” Nicole pulled from her pocket a big ‘C’, so Rachel could attach it to her sweater.
“Do you want me to be captain?”
“You worked hard to be captain, you lead your friends even when I don’t ask you to do it. You made yourself captain, Rachel. I’m just making it official,” Nicole shrugged.
“Thank you, Coach,” the girl couldn’t take her eyes from the letter in her hands.
“Let’s go back inside, I want to talk to the other girls, too,” Nicole tapped Rachel on her knee and stood up, going into the locker room. “Are you all ready, girls?”
“Almost there, Coach,” Amanda shouted and hurried to get ready.
“Alright everybody, get over here,” Nicole grouped them. “That’s it, girls, first game. I know how you all are feeling, I’ve been there. And I know what you are thinking, that they are a great time. You are right, they are, but we are great, too. I want you all to remember this all the time. YOU. ARE. GREAT. What you are doing today is amazing. I don’t know many players who would be willing to play together after just a couple of months of training together. I want all of you to know that you are very brave for doing that. I know we still have a lot of work to do, but we will learn a lot about ourselves in this game. No matter what happens today, we will come out stronger than we arrived. We go there and we play hard and fair. Give the best that you have and everything will be alright. Never forget that we are stronger together. And please, please, please… Go there and have some fun, ok? In the end, that is what this is all about: working hard but also having fun with your friends. Now everyone line up, I need to take a picture so we never forget this day.”
“We wouldn’t forget it anyway, Coach,” Rachel said when Nicole pulled her phone and captured the moment.
“And one more thing, girls,” Nicole sighed. “I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your coach. It’s an honor to me to be here with you today.”
“Are you getting soft on us, Coach?”
“Not a chance, Amanda. Let’s go there and give our best. Ravens on three: One, two, three RAVENS!”
When both teams were on the ice and the game was about to start, Nicole looked at the bleachers and saw not only her family there but all the girls’ families as well. She knew at that moment that no matter the result of the game, they were going to win. When the puck first touched the ice, things got harder.
Nicole had watched some previous games of the opponent team, so she knew they were good. They prepared for that, and during the entire match, Nicole tried to remind the girls of what they have practiced. By the end of the first period, the Ravens were losing by 2-0. In the first minute of the second period, Rachel scored for the first time, and their team managed to hold the other more than in the first part of the game. When the second period ended, they were down by 3-1. When the third period started, Emma, their central, scored and they celebrated a lot, even though it wasn’t enough. At the end of the game, the Ravens lost by 6-2.
Nicole encouraged her team to greet their opponent for their victory. Once in the locker room, the girls pulled their helmets off and felt defeated, all of them with their heads down.
“No, this will not happen here, I won’t heave it. Everybody heads up, now. It’s an order,” Nicole screamed at them. “I know, losing sucks, I get it, I feel it, too. We lost a game but we are not losers. I don’t have losers on my team. Losing and winning is part of the game, it’s what we do with this result that matters. This feeling that you all have in your gut right now, we are going to use it next time we practice. We are going to work even harder than we did before. Heads up because you played at your best today and proved that you deserve to be here. Everybody understand?”
“Yes, coach.”
“One more thing... you made me so incredibly proud today. You listened to my instructions, you were respectful with them, you handle the puck beautifully. I took some notes on what I want us to practice more, but in the end, you were amazing today, girls. We are only starting and we’ll play even better next game. Now you get a shower and let’s get out of here.”
Outside the gym, their families were waiting for them to get out and greeted them with warm hugs.
“This day deserves a proper celebration,” Waverly told them all. “I prepared dinner for all of us, so everybody goes to the Homestead, alright?”
Cheers and laughs resonate around them and Waverly felt like she had accomplished her mission.
“Did you really cook for all of us?” Nicole whispered so only her girlfriend could hear.
“Of course I did.”
“Be careful, Coach. We are going to like Miss Earp more than we like you,” Rachel teased her.
“Don’t I know it?” Nicole played along.
“Stop it, you two.”
At the end of the day, with their bellies full and among friends, the girls took countless selfies and laughed over nothing at all. Nicole felt like she had accomplished her mission as well.
All my life, you stood by me
When no one else was ever behind me
All these lights, they can't blind me
With your love, nobody can drag me down