The Cost of The Cage
Aarav, the stoic pillar of the St. Jude’s hockey team, knew a different kind of pressure than the cool humidity of an ancient archive. His pressure came from the hot, synthetic smell of his own goalie pads and the knowledge that every failure would be recorded in the back of the net.
The summer break had begun, and with it came the relentless intensity of the State Level Qualifiers, the only path to the Nationals. This year was a personal, fierce 'do or die' situation; at sixteen, Aarav knew his opportunity window was closing, having failed to secure a consistent starting spot the previous season despite his best efforts.
Aarav was propelled by this singular need for redemption. It was during the final, high-stakes internal scrimmage that would decide the starting goalie for the qualifiers—the match where he had to secure his 'do or die' spot—that he’d made his famous stand against an unfair call by a student umpire. A moment of righteous anger he had already forgotten, but which had secured his place in the net. He was focused solely on the pitch now, an immovable object. The St. Jude's boys' team secured their spot at the newly inaugurated National Hockey Finals. The girls' team also qualified, setting the stage for the school's biggest hockey success in years.the pressure of a secret crush, which he didn't know about—was enough to erode his focus.
