Be Rey
1002 Words
If anyone pulled off my helmet today, my life would be over.
The thought followed Riley Ward onto the ice like a second shadow.
Every heartbeat echoed against the tight compression wrapping her chest. Every breath reminded her she wasn't supposed to be here.
Not on this rink.
Not in this jersey.
Not on Harwick University's Division men's hockey team.
Yet there she stood among thirty-two men waiting for the coach to announce the final roster.
She kept her head lowered beneath the navy helmet.
Be Rey.
Forget Riley.
Forget everything.
Three months earlier, Harwick had shut down the women's hockey programme without warning. Budget cuts, they called it.
One email.
One meeting.
One signature.
Years of sacrifice erased before lunch.
She'd cried exactly once.
Then she'd cut twelve inches off her hair, lowered her voice until her throat hurt, wrapped her chest every morning, forged a new identity, and walked into the men's open tryouts as Rey Ward.
Every drill had felt like gambling with her future.
Every locker room had been a battlefield.
Every shower she'd skipped had earned strange looks.
Every lie had kept her dream alive.
She'd learned to read a room before she even stepped into it, to know exactly where to stand, exactly when to speak, exactly how long she could get away with staying quiet before someone noticed. It had cost her more than she liked to admit. Sleep. Comfort. Every ounce of the girl she used to be able to be without thinking twice.
Today decided whether it had all been worth it.
Coach Reynolds stepped onto the ice with a clipboard.
Silence swept across the arena.
"You've all worked hard," he said. "Some of you earned a place here."
Nobody breathed.
"The names I'm about to call will remain on the Harwick Wolves roster."
Riley clenched her hockey stick so tightly the leather of her gloves creaked.
One name after another echoed through the rink.
Some players cheered.
Others quietly skated away.
Still no Rey.
Her stomach twisted.
Maybe someone had noticed.
Maybe the medical paperwork had given her away.
Maybe this was how it ended, standing here, hoping for a name that would never come.
"Rey Ward."
The words slammed into her harder than any body check.
For a second she forgot how to breathe.
She'd done it.
Against impossible odds, she had made the team.
Excitement barely had time to settle before Coach Reynolds continued.
"One more announcement."
The remaining players looked up.
"As everyone knows, Theo Vasquez won't be returning this season."
The rink fell silent again.
Even Riley knew the name.
Theo.
The star centre.
The future NHL draft pick whose career had ended after a devastating collision during last season's championship.
Nobody had truly replaced him.
Until now.
Coach Reynolds looked directly at her.
"Rey Ward will take Theo's position."
A ripple spread through the team.
Not surprise.
Disbelief.
Someone muttered a curse.
Someone else laughed under his breath.
Riley's stomach dropped.
She hadn't expected this.
Replacing Theo meant stepping into the shoes of a campus legend.
Then she felt it.
Someone's staring.
She turned.
At the opposite end of the ice stood the team captain.
Jackson Calloway.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dark hair damp beneath his helmet.
Blue eyes colder than the ice beneath them.
He hadn't applauded.
Hadn't moved.
He simply looked at her as though Coach Reynolds had personally insulted him.
Then he skated forward.
Every player instinctively moved aside.
Even Coach Reynolds didn't interrupt him.
Jackson stopped inches away from Riley.
His gaze travelled from her skates to her helmet.
Judging.
Calculating.
Dismissing.
"So you're Theo's replacement."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Riley forced herself to nod once.
Jackson let out a humourless laugh.
"No."
The single word carried across the rink.
"No?"
Coach Reynolds frowned.
"I said he's taking Theo's position."
Jackson never looked away from Riley.
"I heard you."
His jaw tightened.
"I said no."
Nobody spoke.
Not even the assistant coaches.
Jackson's eyes remained locked on Riley.
"He hasn't earned that position."
Coach Reynolds folded his arms.
"The decision's final."
"Then change it."
"It isn't changing."
Jackson skated one slow circle around Riley, studying every movement.
"You know what happens when someone can't keep up?"
Riley met his stare.
"No."
"They drag the whole team down."
A few players shifted awkwardly.
Nobody defended her.
Jackson stopped directly in front of her again.
"I'm not carrying dead weight."
Riley swallowed.
She'd expected resistance.
Not open hostility.
Coach Reynolds stepped between them.
"Practice starts tomorrow."
Jackson looked past him.
Straight at Riley.
"Don't expect me to go easy on you."
Then he skated away.
Only after he'd disappeared into the tunnel did Riley realise she'd been holding her breath.
Coach Reynolds sighed.
"He'll come around."
The players exchanged doubtful looks.
One of them whispered, quiet enough that he thought she wouldn't hear.
"Not after Theo."
Another answered.
"The rookie won't last a month."
Riley tightened her grip on her stick.
They were wrong.
She hadn't survived months of pretending to be someone else just to quit because one captain hated her.
She would prove she belonged.
No matter what it cost.
Forty minutes later, the equipment manager handed everyone their dorm assignments.
Riley barely glanced at the paper.
Then she froze.
Room 314.
Occupants:
Jackson Calloway.
Rey Ward.
The blood drained from her face.
"No."
The word escaped before she could stop it.
The equipment manager looked up.
"Problem?"
Riley stared at the paper.
Sharing a room with the one man who already wanted her gone. The one person most likely to notice every mistake, every lie, every secret she'd built her whole new life around.
Behind her, a familiar voice broke the silence.
"I hope you don't snore."
Riley turned slowly.
Jackson stood there with his duffel bag slung over one shoulder.
His expression was unreadable.
Then his eyes dropped to the paper in her trembling hand.
A slow, humourless smile spread across his face.
"Looks like we're roommates."
Riley's heart stopped.
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