Carl comes in with the food, followed by mom and Bobbie. He puts the food down just as I come flying into his arms. He knows that when he is gone, even if only for a few hours, I miss him like anything. He gives me a tight hug, then I hug mom and Bobbie. “So, what did you guys think of NY city”, I ask as Carl hands me my meal. Both of them smile. “It is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen! It is so big”, Bobbie says. Carl smirks at Bobbie as he takes a bite of his hamburger. “So, the big cities in Sweden aren’t good enough for you”, he asks in a teasing tone. Bobbie glares at Carl before shoving him in the shoulder. Mom rolls her eyes at the two of them as I try to hide my laughter. I say a “Hail Mary” and an “Our Father” before talking. “Easy, Bobbie. The Rangers can’t lose Carl. They need his speed”, I say, looking up at my brother. Bobbie smiles at me from over his shoulder. “Can’t they lose him for a couple days”, he asks. I smirk at him. “No! Who else would get pucks for their line mates so that they can score”, I counter. “And, maybe score some goals himself”, mom says, getting a look from Carl. “Bobbie can’t beat me anyway. I could skate circles around him”, Carl adds. Bobbie raises an eyebrow. “Are you challenging me”, he asks. Carl smiles. “Tomorrow before practice”, he says. “Deal”, Bobbie says, a hint of amusement in his eyes. Mom and I look at each other, trying to hide our smiles. “Bobbie, I don’t think that is a good idea. Carl is the fastest skater in the NHL”, I say. Bobbie smiles a little and shoves me. “I think I know that, squirt. But, I played hockey before he did. I could beat him any day”, he says. Carl raises his eyebrows as he puts his plate in the dishwasher. “Have it your way. If I do beat you, don’t be surprised”, he says, smirking. Bobbie gives Carl a look over his shoulder. I can’t help but laugh as Mom and I clean up the table. “The only family member so far who has beaten Carl is me. That’s just because he wasn’t paying attention to where I was when we were skating”, I say, winking at Carl. My NHL playing brother gives me a look. “I was tired that day, squirt. I let you beat me”, he retorts. I laugh. “Excuses, excuses. You tried hard to beat me. You just couldn’t do it”, I shoot back. Carl shoves my shoulder. We pretend to fight, with mom and Bobbie looking on in amusement. I smile at Carl over my shoulder as I go upstairs to get my PJ’s on.

I wake up at seven thirty the next morning. No one else is up. I know how to cook pretty well and decide to surprise my family by making them breakfast. I say my prayers, then head downstairs. I look in the fridge and find bacon and sausage. I turn on the stove and get two frying pans out. I separate the pieces of sausage and place them in the pan. Next, I separate the pieces of bacon and place them into the other pan. I set the timer for ten minutes. Next, I make scrambled and boiled eggs. When they are done, I put them on plates and put the plates on the table. I turn over the bacon and sausage. The next thing I do is take the waffles out of the freezer. I put two in the toaster and set the temperate and timer. The timer for the frying meat goes off. I put them on two plates and set the plates onto the table. I set the table while I’m waiting for the first two waffles to be done. The timer for the waffles goes off, and I place them on a plate. I put the next two waffles in. While I wait for them to be done, I do the fruit. I cut two apples up and place them, along with strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, onto another plate. I set that plate on the table just as the toaster dings. I place these waffles on the same plate as the other one. I take the syrup out and put on the table next to the waffles plate. I take a moment to rest and glance and at the clock. Its five minutes to eight. I make the orange juice and pour it into four cups. I place the cups on the table and sink into a chair. I say a few more prayers.

Finally, at around eight fifteen, I hear voices from upstairs. I smile to myself. Carl is the first one to appear, followed by Bobbie and mom. I look up. Mom has her hand clapped over her mouth, looking around the table, while my brothers stare in silent awe. “This looks like a king’s meal”, Carl says. I laugh. “It is a king’s meal, Carl! I don’t surprise you that often, nor do I surprise mom and Bobbie. Or dad for that matter. I wanted to surprise you”, I reply, looking at my family’s faces. Carl runs to my chair, picks me up, and spins me around. Mom and Bobbie sit down, with mom still staring in surprise. Carl sits in the chair right next to mine. He looks at his cup. “I thought we didn’t have orange juice”, he says, looking at me sideways. I smile at his expression. “We don’t. I made it”, I reply. Mom takes a sip and licks her lips. “This is better than store-bought juice”, she exclaims, looking me in the eyes. Bobbie and Carl take sips of theirs. “This is good! Why didn’t you tell me that you could make this”, Carl asks. “I wanted to surprise you. Erica taught me”, I say, biting my lip to keep from laughing. Mom, Bobbie and Carl fill their plates and while we eat, little comments come flying at me. “This bacon is good”. “The sausage is better than at a restaurant”. “I still can’t believe you made this by yourself”. I am proud that this breakfast is turning out good.

When breakfast is over and the dishes put away, mom hugs me. “Thanks for making that”, she says. I smile. “No problem”. Carl looks at us from over his shoulder. “Do you guys want to come and watch practice? Bobbie said he’d go”. “Sure”, mom and I answer at the same time. I race upstairs to change. I wear jeans, my winter boots, my Ranger’s jersey, and my school sweatshirt. I put a coat on over all of that and grab my Rangers hat.

Carl leads me into the locker room as mom and Bobbie head towards the stands. “I can’t wait to tell Step about your amazing breakfast. He is going to be so mad”, Carl says with a little smile as he wraps his arm around my shoulders. I smile at little. “Of course he’ll be mad. He hates missing any thing good”, I say. We walk into the locker room. Step is sitting at his locker, and Richie is sitting at his. My phone goes off. It’s a text from A.J. Hey, hun! Can’t wait to see you tonight. Rangers kick butt. I smirk a little and send him a reply. Step looks up from his locker. “Hey, little speedster. Got anything up your sleeve for practice today”, he asks me. I smile. “Not today, Step. I’m watching from the stands with my mom and Bobbie. How about after practice”, I reply. Step smirks at me. “Sure”, he says. Richie looks over at us. “Where did you go for breakfast today, Hags”, he says. Carl and I look each other and bite our lips to keep from laughing. “I stayed home”, my brother replies before telling the two about my cooking. When he is done, Step stares at me. “Aw, I missed it”, he complains. I walk over and place my hand on his shoulder. “How about I come over and make you something”, I ask. Step looks up at me, his blue eyes lit. “Can you? I want to taste your cooking”, he says. I hug him. “I will, as long as you score a goal in the game tonight”, I reply. He makes a face at me. “I’ll try”, he says, a hint of teasing in his voice. I shove his shoulder. “Get out of here”, I say, pretending to be hurt. Step smirks at me over his shoulder as he walks out of the locker room. Richie laughs. “Do you have a trick up your sleeve for him”, he asks. “Maybe. You’ll find that out after practice”, I reply. Carl catches the face on my face and groans. “I know that look. She’s got mischief in her eyes”, he says.

Watching practice always gives me thrills. The team is much more light-hearted than in a real game. I love watching them joke with each other and play little tricks. At the moment, I’m laughing because three of Carl’s teammates are shoving him into the boards at the same time. I get a text from A.J. How’s practice going? I smile and send him a reply. This practice has been fun to watch… Carl is getting slammed into the boards by three teammates at the moment. Mom and Bobbie are trying to hold back their laughter. “Does this always happen to Carl”, mom asks. “Yeah. Carl is the player on this team who gets the most crap”, I reply. I can see Carl shaking his head as he skates away from his laughing teammates. I can’t help but smile. Carl is one of the funniest and nicest people I know, and yet, he gets teased the most by his teammates. I didn’t understand that, but I shrugged. That’s hockey for you. I look over at Bobbie, whose stretching his arms. “Ready to get beaten by Carl”, I tease. My brother gives me a glare from the corner of his eye. “No, I’m ready to beat Carl”, he replies. I look at mom. I tap her on the shoulder and whisper something into her ear. She nods. “I mean, I don’t have to practice with them. This was about family time”, I say. “Lizzy, we’re having family time. I don’t mind. Carl told me I’d be watching this from the bench anyway”, she replies, hugging me.


I sit on the edge of the bench. Mom is sitting next to me. My brothers are warming up, and I can hear them yelling at each other.
“You haven’t done this in a while, Bobbie”, Carl says as he skates behind his brother. Bobbie rolls his eyes. “I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t win”, he replies. Carl smiles. “You could win. I’m warning you, I’m fast”, he says. Bobbie smirks at his younger brother over his shoulder. “You’ve said that about five times the past couple minutes”, he complains. Carl smacks his older brother’s arm lightly. “That will make six”, he says. Bobbie shoves his brother’s shoulder. “I know that, smart one”, he says, trying to hide a smile. Carl circles around his older brother. “You ready”, he asks. Bobbie catches Carl’s eye. “Yes, I’m ready”.

I smile a little as my brothers do a second lap around the ice. Carl is winning, and Bobbie is skating hard to try and catch him. They skate by the goal and slow down. “Carl wins”, I say. Bobbie frowns. “Darn it”, he says, shaking his head. Carl and I slap high-fives. “You were close, Bobbie. Carl only beat you by a little bit”, I say. Bobbie smirks and sends a swipe at Carl’s helmet. “I could have beat him”, he says, taking off his helmet and pushing the sweaty hair from his face. Carl smiles at Bobbie’s words. “That is true. Only thing is, you didn’t”, he teases. Bobbie takes another swipe at Carl’s helmet. “I know, speedy”, he says, shoving Carl. I smile and step onto the ice. Carl smirks at me as I skate around the ice. “Are you going to beat us today, little speedster”, he asks. I smile. “I always try to beat you”, I reply, skating up to Carl’s side and swatting at his arm. My brother rolls his eyes and smacks my helmet. “Sure you do! Doesn’t mean you do it every time” he says.

I playfully punch Carl’s arm and skate away. I look back, trying to make him follow me. He gives me a knowing smile and skates after me. I sprint away, heading down the length of the ice. I spot Step standing by the bench. I skate up to him and shove his shoulder. He looks at me, surprised. “Who won the contest”, he asks. My smile and my glance in Carl’s direction tell him the answer. “Bobbie was close. He could’ve beaten Carl”, I say. “But, he didn’t”, Carl yells from the other end of the ice. “Thanks, Captain Obvious”, I retort. Step elbows me in the side, hard. “If this was a real game, the ref would call a penalty on you”, I tease, shoving him back. Step rolls his eyes and skates off to find a puck. He finds one and starts to skate faster. I sprint after him. At the last minute, when he is about to shoot into the empty net, I slide across the ice and poke-check the puck away. I get it and sprint back the other way. Carl is flying behind me, and I know that he is going to catch up to me. I shoot the puck towards the goal. Hank stretches out, but the puck ends up behind him. I yell and pump my fist. Bobbie sends a smile and a thumbs-up in my direction. Step skates up behind me. “Nice shot, little speedster”, he says. I smile and turn, playfully shoving him. He stumbles backwards and almost loses his balance. “What was that for”, he asks, a little surprise in his voice. “I just felt like doing it. Best friends play and tease each other sometimes, you know”, I say, biting my lip to hide my smile. I turn and fly down the ice. I can hear Step skating behind me. “Do you have to go so fast”, he complains. I smile at that and turn my head. “No. Would you rather practice with Carl instead”, I ask. Step glares at me. “Um, no. I just practiced with him. His speed is worse than yours”, he replies. “You mean to play against. You love his speed when there is an actual game going on”, I say. When Step looked over at me, he could see the teasing look in my eyes and in my smile. He makes a face at me. “Do you have to tease me all the time”, he asks. I smack his arm. “Yes, I do. Best friends tease each other, don’t they”, I reply, winking at him before I skate away. Step sighs. “That girl is going to be the death of me”, he says to Richie. “Whoa, easy buddy. That girl already has a boyfriend”, Richie replies. Step rolls his eyes. “I know that, Richie. I’m not dumb”. “Who says you were”, Carl wants to know. Step gives my brother a look. “Richie did”. Carl looks at Richie, amusement on his face. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it. You’re our best scorer. You can’t be dumb”, Carl says, the teasing back in his voice. Step gives them glares. “I hate you guys”, he complains, pretending to pout. I smile a little. “You’re just saying that, Step. You don’t really hate us”, I say, trying to be serious. My best friend looks over at me, and I can’t hide my laughter. Carl and Richie are grinning. Step gives us all looks before skating away. I smirk at his back. “You’re crazy, you know that”, I call after him. “Hush”, he says, sticking his tongue out at me. “Oh, that is so mature, Step”, Richie says. Step shakes his head and skates off the ice. Carl, Richie and I have trouble trying not to smile. “I told you he was crazy”, I say.