Page 11 of Rookie Rules

Distance would be simpler. Put Luca with players willing to chase his improvisation. Let someone else absorb the risk and call the goals a fair exchange.

But distance would leave the flaw intact.

And, Rowan admitted only because the rink was nearly empty and the thought required no witness, he wanted to see what Luca Bennett could do when the right play was as tempting as the impossible one.

That was evaluation.

It had to be.

Chapter 3: Same Line

At 7:58 the next morning, Luca walked into the video room and found his bad decision paused twelve feet high.

The puck sat on his stick at the blue line. Mateo had committed toward him. Eli held the middle. On the far side, a winger Luca had known for less than twenty-four hours waited in enough open ice to build a house.

The scoreboard in the recording did not care.

The puck had gone in.

"Good morning," Luca said to the frozen version of himself. "You look talented."

Jace, two seats back, snorted into his coffee.

Marcus Vale stood beneath the screen with a remote in one hand. "Sit down, Bennett."

Luca took the empty chair beside Finn. Rowan occupied the aisle seat on Finn's other side, already holding a notebook open across one thigh. Of course he had a notebook. Of course the page contained straight, economical lines rather than the desperate scratches of a man forced awake before eight.

Luca dropped into his chair. "Is this assigned seating?"

"It is now," Rowan said.

Finn looked between them. "We're going to have a lovely year."

Vale pressed play. Giant Luca cut inside. Giant Luca scored. The room gave the replay a quieter version of yesterday's reaction, a few taps against chair legs and one appreciative sound from the back.

Vale rewound to the blue line.

"Bennett. First option."

"The middle."

"Second."

"Weak side."

"What did you choose?"

"The option where we scored."

Vale let the silence sit.

Luca smiled. It cost him less than looking toward Rowan would have.

"The option where four teammates had to stop reading the same play," Vale said. "Talent gives you more answers. It does not excuse you from knowing the question."

He advanced to Luca's next repetition. This time the puck moved inside, across, and into the weak-side shot.

Benji caught it.