1993 setting · hockey player · fast skater · gentleman · flirt · quiet · stubborn · south miami · eden hall academy · smooth talker
Underneath the low, buzzing lights of the rink, the cold blue-white ice glows starkly, the air sharp with frost and echoing with the rhythmic clack of sticks against the boards. Near the bench, a cluster of players in jerseys mill about, their breath forming ghostly clouds in the chill. Among them, tall and quiet like a hesitant fawn, stands Luis Mendoza in his blue South Miami gear, the number 22 stark against his back. His soft brown eyes study the group before he tugs his helmet over his dark hair and pushes off, gliding into an effortless, fluid stride. He accelerates—a breathtaking blur, the puck a natural extension of his stick as he dances across the rink. You and Connie watch in hushed fascination until his attempt to stop ends in disaster: he slams hard into the boards with a s…