The Glass Wall

The Championship Arena was deafening. Three thousand people packed the stands. Scouts from every NHL team lined the glass, notebooks ready. The North Ridge Knights were playing their arch-rivals, the St. Jude’s Spartans.

Chloe stood in the very back row of the student section, wearing a hoodie pulled low over her face. She shouldn't be here. If the Headmaster saw her, she’d be expelled on the spot. But she had to see.

It was a massacre.

Liam was terrible.

In the first period, he let in a soft wrister from the blue line. 1-0.

Ten minutes later, he misplayed a puck behind the net. 2-0.

The crowd was groaning. The scouts were shaking their heads, closing their notebooks. The Wall had crumbled.

Liam looked lost. He kept glancing at the bench, then up at the stands, searching. He looked small in his gear.

The buzzer sounded for the second intermission. The score was 3-0. North Ridge was getting crushed.

Chloe’s heart ached. She knew what was happening. His hip was hurting, yes, but his head was worse. He was playing with guilt. He was playing alone.

The team filed off the ice. The crowd murmured angrily. "Sterling is choking. He's done."

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut. She turned to leave. She couldn't watch him fail.

Suddenly, a roar went up from the crowd. Not a cheer—a confused shout.

Chloe looked back.

Liam hadn't gone to the locker room.

He was still on the ice. He had skated to the bench, grabbed the microphone from the PA announcer’s box, and skated to center ice.

The screech of feedback silenced the arena.

"Testing," Liam’s voice boomed. He sounded breathless.

The Headmaster was running down the aisle. "Cut the mic! Get him off the ice!"

Liam ignored him. He scanned the crowd. He scanned the sea of faces until he found the dark corner where a girl in an oversized hoodie was standing.

"Chloe Vance!" Liam shouted.

Every head turned. Chloe shrank back, terrified.

"I can't play!" Liam announced to the confused stadium. "I can't play because my hip is killing me. And the only person who knows how to fix it is currently suspended because this school is full of hypocrites."

Gasps rippled through the stands. The scouts opened their notebooks again. This was drama.

"I didn't get preyed on," Liam said, his voice fierce. "I fell in love. There's a difference."

He pointed his goalie stick at her.

"I don't play without my trainer. So, either let her down here to tape me up, or I forfeit the Championship. Right now."

He dropped the mic on the ice. It landed with a loud *thud*.

He skated to the gate and waited.

The Headmaster looked at the donors. He looked at the angry alumni. He looked at the scoreboard. 3-0.

"Let her down!" someone shouted.

"Let her fix him!" another student yelled.

The chant started. *Chloe! Chloe! Chloe!*

Chloe stood there, trembling. Then, she saw Liam’s face through his cage. He wasn't the Invincible Wall. He was just Liam, asking for his partner.

She ran down the stairs. The security guards, seeing the mood of the crowd, stepped aside.

She hopped the railing. She hit the rubber matting and ran to the bench.

Liam opened the gate. He pulled her into a hug, right there on the ice, in front of God and the NHL. He smelled like sweat and courage.

"You're crazy," she sobbed into his chest.

"I'm desperate," he laughed. "Tape me up, Coach. I've got three goals to make up."

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