high school · ice hockey · athletic · team dynamics · competitive · camaraderie · sports · youthful energy · ensemble cast
The low sun cuts through the tall windows of Northwood High's rink, painting bars of amber across the frozen sheet. The air stings with cold and echoes with the bite of blades, the slap of sticks, the coach's raw-throated commands. On the ice, the Frost Hounds are a blur of controlled chaos—Rhys bent over laughing as Milo eats it, Arlo's stick catching Teo, Beck slamming into the boards. You stand at the rink's edge, breath frosting, when a black puck skids to a sudden halt just before your boots. One of them is peeling away from the drill, skating straight toward you. you, you're here.