Page 55 of Home of the Brave

Running because he was only wearing socks. Slipping and sliding on the ice as he chased a bundle his teammates were passing between them, dodging him.

“What’s going on?” Cambrie asked at my side.

“I’m guessing that,” I pointed to the white, messily wrapped package, “is his skates.”

Laughter erupted around us as it became clear I was correct.

“Oh, no,” someone groaned as Hartman dove but missed as Erik slapped the bundle away.

“I’m going down there,” Cambrie whispered while everyone else watched.

I nodded, not waiting to draw attention. No one else had their phones or cameras out, and if we got exclusive footage of this, we’d be set for the day.

Hartman’s yells reached us, but I couldn’t make out his words, only his frustration.

Josh was stretching in front of the net, watching but not engaging. Probably enjoying the show as much as we were.

“Who do you think did it?” someone asked.

“Probably Taz,” a male voice answered. “He’s been pranking Tyson, but looks like he’s expanded to the alternate captains now.”

I laughed and internally cheered when I spotted Cambrie at the top of the stairs, filming.

Hartman didn’t get his skates until the coaches arrived, and Badaszek told them to pass them back. Hartman, normally so calm and unfazed, looked irate, and I couldn’t wait to see how he got his payback during practice.

As a group, we wandered back to the media room, where a couple of people began recording videos, rehashing what we had just watched. I grabbed my phone and laptop before rushing out to find Cambrie.

She was beaming when I sat next to her, watching the small screen of her camera playing back the antic.

“We need to upload it now,” I told her, opening my laptop. “No one else recorded it.”

“Amazing.” She pulled out the memory card, and I slid it in. I sent the file to the social media team without watching it, then sent them a text to get it out immediately.

As soon as I pushed the screen down, she did a little excited dance. “That was so funny.”

“Pranks and hockey go hand in hand.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, between teammates and opposing teams. There have been prank battles that last years, through trades and retirements.”

She laughed. “I had no idea.”

“There have been a few epic pranksters over the years.”

14

JOSH

Ididn’t owe her anything.

I barely knew her. In fact, she’d only been off my enemy list for a couple of days.

I shouldn’t care about helping her.

How could I?

Other than playing mini sticks and answering her silly questions with more than one-word responses, what could I do?