The Eagles player shoots the puck over our blue line My teammate Emma stops it and passes it up to Kayden He bolts to the Eagles end I go with Kayden An Eagles guy bumps Kayden from the side He takes the puck back to our end I’m like a dragon as I change direction and chase after him My friend Nam and Emma are all over the Eagles players Everyone is bunching up around our net Dad’s voice is in my head Stay open buddy I glide to the right side The Eagles number 7 has the puck He trips over his stick and crashes into Nam The puck is loose It’s coming right at me This is it My chance 2
I rake the puck to me Turn around Skate to the Eagles end Everyone is crowded around our net still I take the puck up the side It’s just me My heart is racing I’m so fast I’m a horse in the Vietnamese zodiac dashing across the ice I’m close to the net Stop quick Look at the far corner Aim And shoot The goalie dives toward me The puck slides across the line I score I raise both hands in the air My heart is bursting with joy and everyone is cheering and clapping It’s my first goal of the season Way to go Jacob Kayden says behind me I high-five him and Emma and Nam too 4
My shift ends and I skate back to the bench and look over at the bleachers Grandpa Nội claps He holds up four fingers on each hand I know he means my jersey number Number 8 lucky Grandpa Nội said when I first got it last month in October Usually only Dad comes to my games I love when Grandpa Nội comes too 5
