Page 27 of Rookie Rules

Rowan continued reading.

"Did you put this here?"

"You did not eat at the gate."

"You counted sandwiches too?"

"You spent twenty minutes moving seats."

Luca opened the wrapper. The gesture should have felt captainly, the same attention Rowan gave rear rows and equipment cases. It did. It also felt specific because Rowan had noticed the exact meal Luca skipped while pretending not to watch him.

"This mentoring package is invasive," Luca said.

"Eat."

Luca did, because hunger had begun sharpening the turbulence into nausea and because obeying Rowan was easier when he could call it winning.

The airport at the other end was worse.

Their landing came late and hard through crosswind. By the time the team collected bags and boarded the bus, the rain had become a solid sheet against the glass. Traffic crawled. Emergency lights flashed on a flooded frontage road.

The operations coordinator stood at the front with one hand braced on a seat.

"Hotel lost power in one wing," she announced. "Backup covers common areas, not all guest floors. They're moving us to the Harbor Regent near the arena."

"Same meal setup?" Vale asked.

"Boxed food on arrival. Restaurant's closed."

"Rooms?" Rowan asked.

A pause.

Luca looked up from his phone.

"We have enough beds," she said. "Not enough rooms. Airline crews took most of the remaining inventory when flights canceled."

Jace raised a hand. "I feel that 'beds' was doing alarming work."

"No one is sleeping in a bathtub," she said. "Mostly doubles. A few rollaways. Staff is sorting it."

The bus filled with resigned noise.

Rowan was already asking about coaches, goalies, medical equipment, wake-up time, and whether the rink could accommodate a delayed morning skate. The coordinator answered each question. He made one call, then another.

Luca watched the rain blur the city into red and white light.

"Control issues," he said when Rowan ended the second call.

Rowan sat across the aisle this time, the seating shuffled after baggage. "Planning is not a control issue."

"That's exactly what someone with a control issue puts on the brochure."

Finn, beside Rowan, looked out the window to hide a smile.

"There is a difference between wanting control and preferring competence," Rowan said.

"Which one are you using to stop the rain?"