Free A Hockey Tutor by Mary Smith

great, Mom. How is the family? How’s Malden?”
    My mother rambled on about the ins and outs of my hometown. I only half listened to her as she talked, because I really didn’t care. I left Malden for a reason; I didn’t want to be part of that small town gossip mill. When Mom was finished, she asked me questions about school and work. “How’s your job at the diner going?”
    “Oh, I got a new job. I’m not at the diner anymore.”.
    “Really? What are you doing?” Mom asked.
    “It’s a tutoring job, and it pays really well.”
    “Well, that is great. Your father will be so proud to hear that you’re not at that diner anymore.”
    Honestly, I don’t think my dad cared one bit about where I worked, as long as I didn't ask him for money. Mom asked if I was coming home anytime soon. , With all that I had been juggling, I hadn’t even thought about it.
    “I guess not until Thanksgiving.”
    “Oh, that’s perfect. I love you and I’ll talk to you soon.” I could hear the glee in her voice.
    “Love you, too,” I said, and I hung up the phone.
     
    **
     
    “Katie?” Lindsay's soft voice woke me from my slumber.
    “Yes,” I said hoarsely. My mouth was dry, and my lips felt like sandpaper.
    “Are you going to the game? If you are, you need to get ready.”
    “Okay.” I cleared my throat and stretched my limbs. I grabbed my phone and saw that Wes had sent me several texts. I didn’t want to send him anything now; I knew that he would be getting ready for the game. Plus, I would see him later. I got up and started getting ready for the night ahead of me.
     
    **
     
    It was the third period with a minute left. North Maple Bears were up by two. Andrew hadn’t let one puck into the goal. My throat was sore from yelling and cheering, and I was so nervous, I had twirled my necklace so much that I thought I would have broken the chain.
    Thirty seconds left, and the other team stole the puck and sprinted towards Andrew. I held my breath. Andrew squatted down into position as the opponent shuffled the puck from side to side. He took the shot, and Andrew easily caught it in his glove. We all went crazy.
    The teams’ forwards lined up for another face-off, and I silently prayed that Andrew could hold them off for another twenty seconds. The puck dropped again, and everyone was scrambling to get it. The last few seconds felt like a lifetime, but he held them off. The crowd erupted as the final buzzer went off. We had won!
    I watched as the Bears congratulated Andrew. All of them but Wes, who remained by the bench. I couldn’t figure out what it was between them. They absolutely did not like each other. I followed Franks and Lindsay out of the rink and out to our cars.
    “You’re coming to the party tonight, right?” Lindsay asked.
    “I’m going to hang with Wes for a little bit, and then we’ll come over,” I explained.
    “Okay, see ya later.” She gave me a quick hug and walked away with Franks.
    Wes told me he would meet me at ten. It was only nine thirty, so I stopped and grabbed a quick snack. I couldn’t eat when I was at the game, because my nerves were on edge.
    I parked outside of Wes’ building and sat there. It was October and the air was getting much colder. I sat in my car, listening to the radio, thinking about my crazy life now. I was dating a great guy , I had an amazing best friend, and I had a job that paid me killer money and gave me a BMW to use. I had it all.
    I wished Nick were here to see all that I'd accomplished. I would give it all up just to hear his voice again, teasing me, or calling me names. I looked down at my necklace. The silver ‘N’ was shiny from the streetlight.
    I saw Wes’ truck pull up beside me. His poor mother must work so hard to make sure he had all these nice things. I felt bad he didn't know who is father was. Even though my dad and I didn't always get along, I was glad to have him in my life. Wes smiled at me as I got out of the car.
    “Great game,”