Page 43 of Slapshot Obsession
Mack’s wounded expression would be funny if Tucker didn’t have a point. “Me? What’s wrong with me? We’ve played hockey together for two years. You know I’m an upstanding guy.”
“Maybe before you ended things with Gen.” Tucker bites out. “But nowadays, you change girls more often than I change underwear.”
“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with having some fun when you’re single. And I guarantee you, I never make any promises I don’t intend to keep. It’s not like I make them believe I’m in love or anything. I’m upfront that I’m looking for no strings attached fun right now.”
Tucker nods. “Fine. Just have your fun away from my sister.”
“I never said anything about your sister. I was just pointing out that you’re a little too intense when it comes to her.”
“Yeah. Look at her with less than pure thoughts and I’ll show you how intense I can get.” Tucker slams his fist against his palm with another one of those scary smiles that don’t reach his eyes.
The sound of Coach’s whistle works like magic in reducing the entire room to silence.
“Alright.” Coach Harrison scowls at all of us. “Now that you’ve all had a look at the dolls, Carole and Lexi need your full attention.”
The hockey players are trained to obey Coach’s orders without discussion, but I guess his commanding presence has the same effect on the cheerleaders. Everyone settles back in their seats, eager to hear what else our coaching team has in store for us.
TARYN
Holding a doll that looks like me feels surreal. I feel like I’m a rockstar all of a sudden. “She’s so pretty.” I tell Jodie.
“It’s a nice doll.” My BFF agrees, taking it from me and checking it over. “But it doesn’t hold a candle to you, Tar. You’re way prettier.”
“Aww,” I hug her neck and kiss her. “You say that because you’re my best friend and you love me.”
Jodie insists. “I do love you. But I’m serious. You’re beautiful, inside and out.”
This is how I feel about her, too. And I know that even though she didn’t get a Jodie doll, she’s happy for me. We’ve always rooted for each other, no matter what. Her happiness is my happiness and vice versa. We’ve always said that we’re more than sisters because sisters can be jealous of each other, but we aren’t. There is no jealousy between us.
The sound of Coach Harrison’s whistle gets our attention.
“I hope you like the dolls.” Carole smiles. “This first line should go on sale at the beginning of the official hockey season, and each unit will retail for about fifty dollars.”
Vaughn Heston raises his hand.
“Heston,” Coach bites out. “You better not have any inappropriate comments.”
“No, sir,” Vaughn is a very cocky guy. The way he squirms under his coach’s gaze is kind of funny. “It’s a legit question, sir. I promise.”
Carole smiles encouragingly. “Then go ahead, Vaughn.”
“You said these dolls would go on sale at the beginning of the season. I mean, personally, I’m stoked there’s gonna be a Vaughn doll out there for all my fans to own. But didn’t you need our permission to use our image and likeness before putting these dolls into production?”
Vaughn is pre-law. I guess he’s looking at an aspect I hadn’t even considered.
“We already have your permission.” Carole explains. “Even though the cheerleading candidates haven’t yet signed a contract with the Shooting Stars while we’re still undergoing the final selection process, you all signed a contract with the network that’s producing the reality show. That contract included permission to use your image and likeness for any marketing purposes connected to the show. That includes the dolls. I know you want to be a lawyer, Vaughn. My advice to you is to read carefully what you sign in the future.”
“You’re right, ma’am. I’m sorry. I have no problem with the dolls. I was just wondering, that’s all.”
I don’t entirely blame Vaughn for not reading the entire contract. It was dozens of pages long. That’s how they missed that the infamous no fraternization clause had been omitted by mistake. Even if actually that clause was part of the terms and conditions to attend camp rather than in the contract. I guess the network didn’t care about preventing cheerleaders and hockey players from getting close.
As it is, it’s extremely unfair that the consequences forbreaking the no fraternization rule are much harsher for the cheerleaders. Tucker, Colsen and I looked at it carefully, and they can get benched or kicked out of camp, but not cut from the team like we can.
What Carole says next pulls me out of my reveries. “The one thing that will need a separate contract is the deal we want to offer you for helping promote the dolls. We would like to do a full photo shoot with the players and the cheerleaders who have a doll. You’ll get paid an extra five grand for that and receive a royalty of eight percent from the sale of each unit.”
“Babes, that’s amazing.” Jodie beams. “You’re gonna do it, right?”
“Of course.” It’s a no brainer. Once training camp is over, Jodie and I will have to find a place to rent. And housing in California is anything but cheap, so every cent will help.
