The mood among Chloé. and her friends was fairly good, all things considered. Hearing that the girls' hockey team had been taken away had certainly been an upsetting moment, but Chloé. was amazed at how Angela and the others had come together to come up with a solution. And, she supposed, she herself had been a part of that as well. It felt good to be a part of something like this.

The only issue they were having now, was having people take them seriously.

"Er…that sounds like a pain in the ass. Sorry, not interested."

Chloé. looked at Angela uneasily as she received her fourth rejection in a row from a Moose Track Falls girl who had been on the team the previous year. It seemed that their hope that the previous players would be on board was a little misplaced. Right now, besides Angela, Brooke and Victoria, only Kelsey and a pair of twins known as the Sanderson Sisters had agreed to try out the Loon's Lake hosted team. The others had all seemed to think it was some kind of a joke so far.

"Hey, it's not so bad so far," Kelsey told Angela as they stopped outside the older girls locker after the rejection. "Look, we can probably get permission to start the team with eleven people. Two forward lines, two defence pairs and a goalie. If you think about it like that, we're more than halfway there."

Angela nodded. "If we do that, then we might get more people to join since they'll see it's a serious club."

"Right!" Kelsey said. "You know, Angela, this is a really good thing you guys are doing. I was bummed about the cancellation news, but you had a solution right away. People will thank you for this in the end, so just keep your chin up, okay?"

"Of course," Angela promised, turning to the others. "Let's try getting one more before our next class. See you later, Kelsey!"

"See ya!"

Chloé. followed along as Angela led the way, looking at her list that she'd received from Kelsey. The next girl was a fourth year named Ginny. According to Kelsey, she was nice, and loved hockey, but she could have a problem with motivation sometimes. They would need to find a way to press the right buttons with her, but it did sound like there was some hope.

Thanks to some directions from a couple of students, Angela was able to find the way to their target's locker, and fortunately, she was there when their group arrived. Angela quickly hurried up to the older girl, who jumped in surprise as the redhead approached her. Her green eyes took in the group as they came to a stop in front of her, and she brushed her long black hair out of her face as she tilted her head in confusion.

"H-Hello," she greeted. "Why is it that you look so eager to see me?"

Chloé. blushed in embarrassment as she glanced at her friends, all standing tall and straight, almost as though they were ready for battle. She supposed she couldn't blame them after the previous rejections. It did look a little intimidating, however.

"I'm Angela Smythe!" Angela greeted quickly. "I'm a freshman from Loon's Lake, and I've been in the Loonie Girls hockey program since I was little. Same with my friends Booke and Victoria." She gestured to the other two girls. "You're Ginny Holloway, right?"

"I…well, yes, I am," the girl said, laughing a little nervously. She paused a moment, studying Angela closely. "Wait a minute, I think I've heard of you! You got a hat trick at the North Ontario U13 Invitational a couple years ago. I had a cousin on the team you were playing. You're really good!"

Angela gaped at the girl, and Chloé. couldn't blame her. It was certainly something to have a senior student compliment you like that. "You saw me play?"

"Oh yeah," Ginny murmured, tapping her chin as she looked up, thinking of the memory. "I'm pretty interested in scouting, you see. So sometimes I make little scouting reports on players. I actually thought you had a little bit of Marie-Philip Poulin in you with that clutch drive you have. Although your explosive speed and the way you evade checkers around the net is like nothing I've ever seen before. I don't really know how to describe it. And some of those defensive plays you can make in transition…" She trailed off, realizing she was rambling. "Sorry, lost my train of thought there. What are you here for?"

Angela appeared as though she was spacing out from all the praise, but she managed to recover herself a moment later. "R-Right! Well…you see…we're here for…" She held up her list. "Kelsey Gardner gave us your name. We're checking in with some of the older players from last year's girls' hockey team. We have an idea to bring back the team, but we'll need to get enough players on board."

Ginny raised an eyebrow in surprise, but Chloé. was glad to see she appeared interested. "All right, then. Can you tell me your idea to bring the team back?"

"Well, the first step is getting enough players," Angela explained. "Kelsey thinks if we can get two lines of forwards and defence and a goalie, we could at least start with that. We have us three, Kelsey, and the Sanderson Sisters so far."

"What about ice?" Ginny asked. "Pretty sure the school has already got rid of ours for the year."

"Oh, well…" Angela froze up a bit at that. This was where a couple of the rejections had come. Going to Loon's Lake seemed to be a turn off for some of these people. Chloé. decided she would try to put the best spin she could on it and spoke up.

"You'll be playing on the same ice where Angela learned all of her skills over the years," Chloé. announced proudly. "At Mr. Cliff's arena in Loon's Lake!"

That got a few stares from students walking by, but Ginny didn't seem to react. "Who are you?" she asked. "Angela didn't mention you'd be playing."

"I…er…I'm Chloé.. I actually can't skate, but I'm trying to get into the school paper as practice for becoming a hockey journalist." Chloé. looked away in embarrassment. "I wanted to write about Angela for my trial piece to submit to the paper."

Suddenly, an iron grip had ahold of Chloé.'s hands, and she looked up into Ginny's piercing green eyes. "You're going to write a report on Angela's hockey skills?!"

"W-Well, yes," Chloé. said. "As well as her trying to start up the team again."

"I'm in!"

"What? Really?" Angela stared at Ginny in shock. "You'll join?!"

Ginny pointed at herself, lifting her chin in the air. "Of course! I need to analyze the rising star players of this generation after all." She hesitated for a moment, though, peering at Angela and the others. "So what positions are filled? I'm a winger."

"Hmm…" Angela looked at the others, biting her lip nervously. "Well, that still leaves us with only forwards." She shrugged after a moment, though, smiling. "Oh well, if I need to, I can play defence."

Ginny's eyes lit up at that. "A multi-positional player! You're amazing!"

"Um…right." Angela blushed, looking at the clock as the bell rang. "Well, I guess we'd better get going."

"Sure, I'll find you later and we can chat!" Ginny gave the group a wave and hurried off. Chloé. wasn't sure if the girl was talking about chatting about the hockey team, or the report on Angela. Either way, she was glad they had another person on board.

Unfortunately, it seemed someone else had noticed the conversation, and as Chloé. and her friends turned around to head to their next class, they ran into the unfriendly and familiar face of Natalie. And with her, was the girl from the figure skating club they'd seen on their first day, Maddie.

"What's this I hear about you trying to keep the hockey team alive?" Natalie asked with a sneer. Her eyes were on Angela, but her gaze kept shifting to Chloé.. "It's not going to happen."

"It has nothing to do with you," Angela answered back with a snarl. "We don't care what you write about us. We're allowed to-"

"Oh are you really allowed to?" Natalie asked, suddenly shifting to her false persona. Chloé. blinked in surprise at how quickly she'd switched, but then she noticed it. A teacher was hurrying by them, coming just from behind where Chloé. and the others were standing. "Ms. Fielding! Hi!"

"Ah, Natalie, hello dear," the teacher, Ms. Fielding replied, coming to a stop. "I'm sorry, dear. I have a few papers I need to deliver to the office. I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Oh please, Ms. Fielding," Natalie said with that sweet tone of hers, "I can take it for you. I was just saying hello to my friends here. I believe you might want to speak with them. They're trying to bring the girls' hockey team back!"

Ms. Fielding seemed somewhat distracted, but a look of relief flashed on her face at Natalie's offer. She handed over her stack of papers. "Oh thank you, dear, that would be much appreciated." She was a fairly short woman, and somewhat fidgety. "I…" She paused, turning to Angela and the others. "What was that about the hockey team?"

Natalie adjusted her grip on the papers she'd been handed, turning around. "Angela Smythe and her friends, here, would like to revive the girls' hockey team." She started walking away. "In Loon's Lake. I'll let them tell you the rest of the good news. See you around, everyone!" She hurried off, Maddie scurrying along behind her after a quick smirk in their direction.

Ms. Fielding looked shocked for a moment, staring after Natalie, before turning to Angela. "What is this? In Loon's Lake, she said?"

"I…yes," Angela said in a small voice. "You see…the arena owner there, Mr. Cliff…well…"

"Yes yes, I know him. He's a nice enough fellow." Ms. Fielding rolled her shoulders. She seemed to be in a constant state of movement. "What's he gone and done? Offered free ice?"

Angela fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well…"

"Yeah, he has," Victoria broke in, noticing Angela's uneasiness. "Isn't that a good thing? We can just run the team over there. The school is fine having Loon's Lake kids play here, so why can't the Moose Track Falls kids play there?"

Ms. Fielding sighed. "Well, for one thing, there's a number of logistics to go through, dear. Insurance, parental permissions, rink quality. Now, I know Mr. Cliff runs a tight ship up there, but the high school teams in our division do expect a certain…quality." She sighed. "Ladies, this is not so simple as you may think it is. Even if I was willing to coach over there-"

"You're the coach?" Angela asked, eyes wide.

"Why yes, I am," Ms. Fielding answered. "But that's neither here nor there. "Unfortunately, dear, this little plan of yours just can't go along as smoothly as you may think. I just can't put my name down on getting this thing up and running."

Chloé. felt the whole group deflating as they stared at Ms. Fielding. "You mean…even if we got the players, got free ice, and had everyone willing to travel to Loon's Lake, we couldn't do this?"

"Well, I suppose no one can stop a group of girls getting together on some ice on their free time," Ms. Fielding said, looking up in thought. "But, I apologize, I just can't be involved. The school can't either. Perhaps something could be arranged in the next year or two, but many things would need to line up, and Mr. Cliff would likely need to do some renovations. And that's with everything going our way."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"So this…this is all for nothing?" Angela sagged, staring at her list. Chloé. noticed she'd happily circled the names of the few team members they'd had agree to join.

"This is stupid," Victoria mumbled bitterly. "This whole thing is unfair."

"Well, I must say I agree," Ms. Fielding murmured. "It wasn't right to shut down the club. But, I suppose, interest from both ends just wasn't there in the end. I must admit, I like your fire to fight for it, but unfortunately, the fight on the school's end is over. But please, if you're interested in joining the figure skating team, I'll be involved with them. I'm sure they'd love to have some of you hockey players on board."

Chloé. noticed the others grimace at that. She was thinking of something else, though. Ms. Fielding had said something that had stuck with her about Angela's would be team. "Er…excuse me, Ms. Fielding?" she asked, getting the woman's attention.

The teacher turned, smiling at Chloé.. "Yes, dear?"

"You said…you said no one could stop a group of us going to Mr. Cliff's rink on our own time, right? So…" Chloé. glanced at Angela, who was watching her curiously. "Would that mean we could have something like a hockey club…that didn't involve the school?"

Ms. Fielding shrugged. "It wouldn't be any of their business, dear. If you can get yourself ice, you can do what you want. That would ultimately be the girls' responsibility. And Mr. Cliff's I suppose. You wouldn't be able to play in our league, but perhaps you could find some tournaments to enter. I'm not sure." She tapped her foot, thinking through it a little more. "Ah…would be interesting, you know. Loon's Lake would certainly love their own team again. Something a little bigger than youth hockey, I mean."

"Are you sure you couldn't be involved on your own free time, Ms. Fielding?" Angela asked, suddenly perking up in excitement. "We'd need a coach."

"I'm sorry, dear," the teacher said, shaking her head. "It would be inappropriate if it wasn't a school sanctioned club. I would recommend Mr. Cliff, but he's probably too busy with running that rink. You'll definitely want someone who knows a thing or two about hockey, though. If you want the girls you get to join to be motivated, they'll need someone who can teach them things they've never learned before."

"Yeah…" Angela sighed, looking down. A moment later, though, she looked up. "But thank you, Ms. Fielding. You've given us some good advice."

"My pleasure, dear," the teacher said, grinning at the group. "I wish you the best of luck in getting this thing off the ground."

"We'll do our best!" Angela told her.

As Ms. Fielding left and the group set off to their class, Angela looked a little disappointed, but she smiled at Chloé., nudging her shoulder. "What is it?" Chloé. asked.

"Thanks for the idea. Even if the school isn't involved, there's no reason we can't still play." Angela grinned. "Maybe it'll be even better."

"No school means no games, Angela," Victoria pointed out. "That'll kill any chance of interest people have."

"Then we'll need to do what Ms. Fielding said," Brooke pointed out. "Find a way to keep people motivated."

"Yeah, someone who can teach us all new things. Someone who really knows hockey." Angela paused, appearing deep in thought.

Chloé. had an answer, though, and she jumped as the obvious answer came to her. Everyone looked at her in surprise. "Well," she said, "I think I know the perfect person."

They all grinned as she gave them a name.

----------------------------------------

Theo's leg was hurting him more today than it had in a long time. He wasn't really sure why, but he supposed it was a combination of things. He wasn't as motivated to get better, so he wasn't doing some of the exercises he'd been doing before. He also wasn't so stubborn about telling himself he was doing okay, and perhaps that made him notice the pain more. And, he supposed, guilt about the situation Angela was in was bothering him as well, not to mention his worry over what Natalie was doing to Chloé..

Nonetheless, he managed to make his way to his locker at the end of the day, ignoring Dylan as he droned on about some kind of nonsense that Theo couldn't make heads or tails of. When they reached Theo's locker, though, there was a surprise visitor waiting for them. They hadn't spoken much since she'd given Theo that warning, but Lily had expressed support for Angela getting the team together in Loon's Lake, so he considered her an ally in that goal. He hoped she didn't have more bad news, though.

"Hey, anything wrong?' he asked, as he began opening his locker.

Lily hesitated. "We should talk more so that when I approach you, it's not always assumed that I have bad news."

"Okay, but does that mean you have bad news now?" Theo asked, pausing as he looked to her, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded. "Just got word from Jimmy about a little stunt that Natalie pulled with your friends earlier today."

Theo sighed. "Oh no…I haven't had a chance to talk to Chloé. about your warning yet."

Dylan stared blankly at the two of them. "What warning?"

"Don't act like you weren't listening in on that whole conversation," Theo said with a sigh. Dylan grinned evilly. "Anyway, was it about that?" he asked Lily.

Lily shook her head. "No, she told Ms. Fielding about the plan to have the team meet in Loon's Lake. I'm guessing the whole thing got shut down."

Theo's eyes widened. "What?!"

Lily went pale, even backing up a step at Theo's look. "Don't…don't shoot the messenger."

"S-Sorry." Theo shook his head. "That Natalie…she can't just leave things alone. But wait…why can the school shut it down? They're not doing anything wrong."

"I guess not, but the plan is to get the school on board eventually, right?" Lily asked.

"If the school says there's no point in trying, what's the point in trying?" Dylan added, sounding surprisingly morose himself. "Sorry, man."

Theo frowned, staring blankly into his locker. He hated losing his chance to play because of his injury. Angela didn't have an injury, though. There was no reason she shouldn't be getting a chance to play. "Even if the school isn't involved, they can still run a club in Loon's Lake. It's just…it'd be their own thing. The school can't interfere with that, at least."

"Gonna be tough to get people to participate, though," Lily pointed out. "Not likely to get any games that way. It'd really just be like a hockey practice club, wouldn't it?"

"Better than nothing," Theo said. "At least the serious players can hone their skills and maybe if they show they're serious enough the school will bring the team back next year."

"A lot to hope for," Dylan murmured, "but it might be the best chance they've got. Any chance Ms. Fielding would sign up for that?"

"That's the thing," Lily said. "She's already joined up with the figure skaters. No coach is available, even if players join. Not likely to get anyone here willing to run a club in Loon's Lake at this point. Maybe ever."

"Doesn't need to be a teacher, I guess," Theo said. "Mr. Cliff might do it."

"Well, if you guys are still going to do this, just know it's got Natalie riled up," Lily warned. "I don't know if she can do much more than she's already done, but just in case, be careful."

Theo nodded. "Thanks, Lily."

"Yeah, thanks," Dylan said. "And hey, if you ever wanna-"

"Bye." Lily turned around quickly, hurrying away.

Theo glanced at Dylan, smirking at his dumbfounded look. "Nice try, buddy."

"I was just going to say, if you ever want to…er…borrow a book, I've got plenty." Dylan winced at his own bad excuse.

"Right." Theo finished up getting his things from his locker, while Dylan headed to his own. Once they were both done, they began to head out of the school. Theo was planning on getting on the bus to head back home, but just as he was stepping outside, his phone buzzed and he looked at it, blinking in surprise.

"What is it?" Dylan asked, noticing Theo staring at his phone.

"Angela and the others want to meet at TimBucks," Theo said. "Wanna come?"

"I'd love to!"

"Yeah, I bet you do," Theo muttered.

Theo could guess what Angela wanted to meet about, but he was curious about any solutions she might've had. As he and Dylan headed over to TimBucks, he tried to think of any possible way that the team could work with no association with the school. Having people take them seriously was no doubt going to be the biggest hurdle. Then they would need to find a way to be able to play games if they got a team together.

When they arrived, Angela, Victoria and Brooke were all seated at a table. Theo also noticed Chloé. doing some work behind the counter, already in her work uniform. He gave her a quick wave, and then he and Dylan joined the others. When they sat down, all three girls gave Dylan a hesitant look, but let it pass after a moment.

"So I guess this is about Natalie's stunt earlier," Theo asked, getting comfortable.

"So you heard?" Angela muttered, sounding frustrated.

Theo nodded. "She's really got it out for…well…everyone, I guess."

"She's such a you know what," Victoria murmured, Angela giving her a sharp glance.

Theo couldn't help but agree, but he didn't say anything. "So, what's the plan? Still planning to run the team somehow?"

Angela jumped a little at his statement. "How'd you know?"

"Well, I don't see why the school needs to be involved. I mean, it complicates things, sure, but we can still do this." Theo grinned, gesturing around them. "Moose Track Falls doesn't need to have a claim on Loon's Lake hockey anymore."

"Unfortunately, if we run the team outside the school, we're stuck without a league to play in," Brooke pointed out. "No league, means no games. No games, means no one takes us seriously. We're already having a difficult time with that, and that was without people knowing the school wouldn't step in to help eventually."

"No league will accept us without a team anyway," Victoria said. "So the problem is getting players. I mean, maybe we can keep the ones we have, but it'll be even harder convincing anyone else."

"We need a way to motivate them to join," Angela added. They all looked to Theo, suddenly smirking. "We need to make them think that it's a team worth joining, because they'll get something unique out of it."

Dylan spoke up then, apparently not paying attention. "Can we order something to eat? I'm getting a bit hungry, and those people over there are eating some really good looking donuts."

They all stared at him, shaking their heads, but at that moment, Chloé. arrived with a plate of cakes and five drinks for the group. Dylan thanked her profusely, while Angela quickly informed her of what they were talking about. Chloé. looked curiously at Theo as she finished.

"Chloé. actually had an idea for a way to inspire the other girls to join," Angela said. "A way to let them know they can learn something new."

Theo leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of his drink. "And what would that be? You got an NHLer to join the cause or something?"

"Actually, not far off there," Victoria muttered.

"To be a team, we need a coach," Angela said. "Chloé. thought of one."

Theo looked at Chloé., noticing her blushing. "Well, who do you have in mind?"

"Well…" She hesitated, but the other girls nodded encouragingly. "I was thinking of someone who knows hockey really well. Someone who sees the game in a special way." She bit her lip, now looking at Theo sideways, not making direct eye contact. "I was thinking of you."

Theo gaped at her, mind going blank. It took a few moments to process what she was saying, and once he had, he stared at the others as well, noticing them looking expectantly at him. Even Dylan was focused on him, looking as though he thought the idea had merit.

"You're joking, right?" Theo asked. "Who says I'd be a good coach?"

"Come on, Theo," Angela said. "You see the game better than anyone. Like at that tryout, you read the two on one play with Tanner before he and his partner had even reacted. That's not just skill. That's knowing the game at a deep level."

"It's instinct. I can't teach instinct." Theo laughed. "This is ridiculous, guys. You know, Wayne Gretzky didn't even have much success coaching."

"You're not jumping right into the NHL, man," Victoria said. "You'd be coaching an underground girls' team that can't even get accepted to play high school hockey."

She has a point there, Theo admitted to himself.

"We're just asking you to help us get off the ground," Angela said. "It doesn't have to be forever. But think about it, Theo. You're respected by Loon's Lake and Moose Track Falls. At least more than anyone else at school. I'm sure other girls would think it would be worth it to learn from you."

"You're quite handsome, too, so that might help-"

"BROOKE!" Angela interrupted quickly.

"She has a point," Victoria said, nodding sagely. "We could post his picture on a signup sheet and-"

"STOP IT!" Angela glanced at Chloé., who was looking away awkwardly. Theo was glad she wasn't looking at him, because he was trying to hide his own awkwardness.

Dylan, of course, decided to add his own thoughts. "I think you should do it, man."

"And why is that?" Theo asked, rolling his eyes. "So that you could hang out with twenty girls every time we meet up?"

"That is a great bonus," Dylan admitted with a smirk. "But no, I think you'd just be good at it."

Theo sighed. He didn't really know what to think. Now that they were saying all this stuff, it was needling its way into his brain. Coaching? Could he really do something like that? He did sometimes think of strategies during games that his own coaches seemed to miss. It wasn't like he would be playing anytime soon. And Angela did say it could be temporary.

"What do you have to say, Chloé.?" he then asked, looking to her.

Her eyes met his, and for a moment, he forgot the others were there. She looked surprisingly confident as she clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "I already told you," she said, leaning forward, "I think you could still have your hockey career. Maybe that starts with this."

"And what about your career?" Theo couldn't help but ask.

Chloé. looked startled by the question. "Well, I…I'm going to write a trial piece about all of this."

Theo sighed, eyes going over the rest of the group. They were all looking at him curiously. He wasn't sure why he was bringing this up now, but he felt it was necessary. They'd all lost something from the school shutting them out. Not so much Dylan, but he was happy to join them nonetheless. Chloé., though, still had it coming. Natalie still had her in her sights.

"Chloé., why do you need to join the school paper?" he finally asked.

"Well…" She hesitated, looking to Angela and the others uncertainly.

"Don't do it," Theo said suddenly, clenching his fist on the table. "Be part of this with us."

"What are you saying, Theo?" Angela asked. "Chloé. can do what she wa-"

"Hold on," Chloé. said, holding up a hand. "What do you mean, Theo?" she asked. She seemed almost excited.

"I mean I'll do this," Theo said, grinning at her, and then the others. "I'll do this on one condition."

"And what is that?"

"I'll be the head coach," Theo said, "and Chloé., you will be our beat reporter."

She smiled, and the others started nodding, apparently liking the idea. "I think," Chloé said, "I can agree to that."

Theo grinned, looking around at the group. He hadn't expected this when he'd walked out his front door on the first day of school, but maybe this was just what he needed. Maybe this was the start of a special new journey.

Loon's Lake hockey was coming back.