The Swap (37 page)

I move in to stand beside Jett. I lean on my stick with my hands, the top tucked under my chin, and press my nose to the cold pane of glass.

Jett turns and looks down at me, real quick.

“Hey!” he says warmly. His eyes flash like he knows me.

“Hey,” I say, smiling back eagerly.

The other boys all lean forward and look to see who Jett is talking to.

“Nice twig!” Gunner says, checking out my stick. “Is that an Easton Stealth?”

“Yeah.” I nod and shrug and smile like it's all no big deal.

“Dude, that's sick!” echoes Stryker. “Can I see it?”

I proudly hand my stick over. The boys all crowd around it. Stryker takes it and pretends to shoot an invisible puck. “Oh, yeah, this flex is unreal! You obviously know what you're doing,” he says, smiling, handing it back.

“Not really,” I say, a little shy. “I'm just starting.”

“Well, you'll dangle with that!” Gunner winks.

Jett looks at me, grinning through his thick black-framed glasses. “Just keep at it,” he tells me. “You'll be sniping in no time.”

Two guys come crashing into the glass. It shakes on impact.

“Oh, yeaaaah, bud!” Gunner's face lights up.

I step back.

Jack
is one of the guys!

When the whistle blows, the boys go nuts. “Yeah, buddy!” says Gunner. “More of that, bro!”

Stryker turns to Jett. “Yeah, he cranked 'em good. Great shot, great speed, what a shift. Kid's a stud.”

Jett pounds the glass with his palms. “That's how it's done, bud!”

At first I don't think he sees us, he's so focused. But then, right before the face-off, to the right of the goalie, Jack coasts in for the draw, quickly looks back at the four of us, and breaks into a huge smile.

There's more.

After the game, I'm about to step down onto the clean ice. The Zamboni has one more lap. I'm standing at the gate, fully dressed, pads, helmet on, stick in my hand, chewing on my mint-flavored mouth guard. The crowd from Jack's game is emptying out. I look up into stands, and I see her.

My mom.

She's wearing Ugg boots, her yoga pants, and her cozy warm shearling parka. She has on one of those big Russian fur hats, her deep red hair poking out in long, loose waves.
She looks adorable
, I think, and smile up at her, feeling lucky.

I see her smiling too, only she's not smiling at me. She's talking to someone. I almost don't recognize him because he's got this huge grin, and his hair is longer, wavy like Jett's.

Then—

I figure it out.

My eyes linger on the two of them talking and laughing. Jack told me about what happened. How much everything has changed. How his dad's been so much more relaxed, laid-back. How they do fun things together, and they don't have so many rules.

My mom is deep in conversation. She's flipping her hair and leaning forward and laughing. The Captain version 2.0—I'm not gonna lie, he's extremely handsome. The way he carries himself, strong, confident. He's like that good mix of tough and gentle. I'll admit it, as I stand there, about to get on the ice, as the Zamboni drives off into its little garage, the thought enters my mind. Crazier things have happened! I'm far away, but I can tell by the way she's standing. My mom looks so happy. I actually hear her laugh echo through the empty stands. I step onto the ice, smiling at my secret wish, and I dig my skate in and I glide.

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IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE
everything happened. There's so much to catch you up on, and I'll try my best. We sold our place and moved to a beautiful house on the lake—an old cottage that my dad stripped down to the bones and completely rebuilt. We all helped. It took two years. All the wood we used was reclaimed from the old cottage. The joists, the floorboards. It smells like pine. Every room has a view of the water. Every morning I watch the sunrise, and in the summer we take a running jump off our dock and swim all the way straight across lake. Well, no. My brothers, Elle, and I swim. My dad and Summer paddle our canoe, cheering us on. There if we need them.

My life is pretty much perfect. I never thought I'd have a sister, that's for sure. We all love Elle so much. She has four big brothers who would do anything for her. And you should see her play hockey! Man, she's fast! Her stride is almost flawless, her long dark-red hair flowing from the back of her helmet. And I'm her big brother now—by one year—so I can brag.

This spring, she earned the lead role in the high school's production of
Fiddler on the Roof
—as a tenth grader. Pretty badass. She was amazing. We were all there, all six of us, third row back, cheering like crazy. She's only a sophomore, but she's already getting recruited for soccer, hockey, and track. Her dream is Harvard. I'm pretty sure it's gonna happen.

My dad wasn't just saying it. He meant what he said. He changed. He changed more than I could have asked. First of all, he quit his job and works at home. He converted this old barn that was on the land into a wood shop. He makes sculptures now. They're really cool. People buy them for a lot of money. And in the other half of the barn, he built us a space to shoot pucks and mess around. It's better than The Cage. We push the giant sliding barn doors open and it feels like you're outside, even when it's snowing or pouring down rain.

My brothers, me, and my dad decided together that we would only play hockey during the season. It's not a job, it's a passion. We don't touch the ice from May through August. We just lift and swim and eat a lot—anything we want. Summer's even got us all—even my dad—hooked on yoga. Our new less-is-more approach, it's really paying off. Jett and Stryker play for Boston College. Jett is a senior captain and a first-round draft pick for the Los Angeles Kings. Gunner retired from hockey after he had too many concussions. He's playing guitar now, and he has his own band. They practice in the loft up in the barn. They're really pretty decent. They play acoustic country.

I still write down my goals every night. But I am proud to say I got to check one off. This fall I signed a national letter of intent committing to play for Boston College after I graduate high school. Stryker will be a junior, and I'll be a freshman.

I still visualize my dreams, but I've changed. I have a lot less fear. No more panic. My dad's been the biggest role model in my life. He's helped me become the person that I am. The only reason I am where I am is because of him. The discipline he instilled in me. The work ethic. He says, if you want to do something, just do what you love. Do it. And have fun!

My favorite times with my family are the warm, clear summer nights. The seven of us, Summer looking rad as usual with her flaming red hair and her incredible smile; my dad—he has a beard now. They're always holding hands. We all sit around a big bonfire on the lakeshore.

Summer's love and laugh has rubbed off on all of us. Just her presence, her strength. I guess if I had to explain it, she's taught us softness is not the same as weakness. Gunner brings his guitar, and we sing the Beatles, the Eagles, or James Taylor, the bonfire raging, the lake shimmering under the starry night sky. We laugh so hard. Sometimes we even talk about my mom. We remember her, all the good times.

I still wear the gold chain and pendant around my neck.

I never take it off.

The pendant is engraved with one word in tiny scripted letters. You need a magnifying glass to see. The word is love.

I love my family more than I could ever say. When I look across the fire at Summer and my dad, Jett, Elle, Gunner, Stryker, I'm so grateful. I feel like the luckiest kid in the world.

And maybe I am.

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Acknowledgments TK from author.

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BORN AND RAISED IN ITHACA, NEW YORK,
MEGAN SHULL
is the author of several books for kids, including the award-winning young adult novel Amazing Grace. Megan holds a doctorate in educational psychology from Cornell University, where she also earned her undergraduate degree. She lives in her hometown, where she feels especially lucky to walk the quiet rolling hills alongside red-tailed hawks and a magical string of waterfalls. She's a big fan of stargazing, coffee, sunshine, music, laughing, rad world changers, kindness, following your heart, and dreaming big. Connect with Megan on www.heymegan.com and on Facebook.

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Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

T
HE SWAP
. Copyright © 2014 by Megan Shull. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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ISBN 978-0-06-231169-6

EPub Edition March 2014 ISBN 9780062341068

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