Chapter 1: Varsity Dreams
By Jake Maddox
The hockey puck slammed into Kyla Woodson’s stick. She glided across the ice, puck in her control. She could hear her opponents gaining on her, but she was too fast.
As Kyla neared the goal, she locked eyes with the goalie. Now was her chance. All she had to do was aim and score. Her eyes flicked away from the goal. It was just for a split second, but a split second was all it took.
Mackenzie Martin, Kyla’s ultimate rival, dashed in and hooked her stick around the puck. She sent it spinning in the other direction.
Kyla heard a cheer as the puck sailed into the net. She groaned. She’d just let her opponent score. Worse, she’d just let Mackenzie score.
Coach Adams blew her whistle. “Nice play, Mac!” she called. “Gather round, team.”
Kyla resisted the urge to smash her stick against the ice. Even though it was only practice, she’d failed.
This year was supposed to be one of the greatest years of Kyla’s life. She’d always dreamed of playing in this rink. The Ice Storms were one of the best varsity teams in the state. Now that she was in high school, she could finally try out for the team.
But the year hadn’t started out so well. At tryouts, the varsity coach, Coach Rafferty, had announced she wasn’t recruiting any ninth grade players right then. Kyla had been brokenhearted. She was stuck on the junior varsity team for now.
Kyla let out a heavy sigh as she joined her teammates in a huddle.
“You have to keep your head in the game,” Coach Adams told Kyla. She looked around at the rest of the girls. “Right?”
Mackenzie immediately piped up, “Yes, Coach!” She shot a glance at Kyla, but Kyla looked away.
Mackenzie had been her number one rival for as long as Kyla could remember.
Last season, Kyla’s team, the Sundogs, had played against Mackenzie’s Cougars for the middle school championship. Tied at zero and with only eight seconds left of the game, Kyla had the puck and headed for the goal. She’d launched a shot but came up with only thin air. Mackenzie had stolen the puck.
Kyla had swirled around just in time to see Mackenzie score the winning goal of the game. She would never forget that moment.
Coach Adams glanced at the clock. “Practice is over for today. See you tomorrow.”
___
Adapted from Power Play, by Jake Maddox, ©️ by Capstone. Reprinted with permission.
Is the main character the narratorof the story?
Yes, Mackenzie is narrating the story in first-person.
No, the story is narrated by a third-person narrator.
No, the story is narrated by a second-person narrator.