“we wouldn’t be in this insane amount of debt. Fancy buffets, new equipment, these production costs are killing us!”
“We kept that tape to get
out
of debt, remember?” Inez snapped back. “Brian, it was a
long-term plan.
Give it some time. We have built a great show. Nish is the perfect braggy, bratty show-off for a series about over-privileged rich kids. Our merchandise team has been
loving
the poor Detroit underdog idea. Now the sympathetic little Motors are going to win, and then we’ll be rolling in money.”
When the players had seen Roger at the breakfast buffet that morning, Sarah, her face still a little flushed, had been the one to confront him.
“How could you seem so nice?” she’d stammered while scooping a large spoonful of scrambled eggs onto her plate. “You were really just … using us … manipulating us.” She was both embarrassed and angry. She was trembling.
Travis had seen Roger in the line ahead of them, but he hadn’t expected Sarah to say anything. Not right away. Not until they had a plan. He’d half expected Roger to yell back at them, but instead the cameraman had leaned forward, smiled at them, and offered more of the story.
Inez and Brian, Roger said, had by accident received Nish’s audition tape, which was meant for a different production office. They’d then built a show around it, and around manipulating young players into a drama they’d created, even though they were calling it a reality show. Roger and Daniel had been against the manipulation, but they’d both needed the work. Although now, Roger confided, they were both having second thoughts.
Travis felt the entire rink was holding its breath underneath the scoreboard screens as Brian and Inez’s plan now became clear to everyone: pump up the spoiled-brat Owls at the beginning of the competition, then grind them into the ground at the end.
Some fans in the stands started to boo.
“
Luckily, these young players don’t care about your drama
…
they care about their game
,” Mr. D’s voice-over continued.
The scoreboard cut to a final clip: Muck, giving the Owls a pep talk in the team’s trailer at the Henry Ford estate – the footage Data had captured.
“If you fight fair, if you play hard, and honestly, you’ll already have won something,” Muck was saying.
Down on the ice, below the scoreboard, someone yelled, “
Yeah!
”
It was Nish, pumping his fist in the air to prove he’d been in on the plot the entire time. In reality, they’d edited the entire promo after Nish had gone back to sleep.
Cody was the first player to start rapping his stick on the ice. Then Lars, then Andy, then Alex, and soon every Motor and every Owl was banging away.
16
T ravis wasn’t sure what to do.
To kiss or not to kiss?
He was, unbelievably, about to pull a Detroit Motors jersey over his head. He had never in his life, in all his years in minor hockey, worn anything but a Screech Owls jersey. He had been secretly kissing the inside of his Owls jersey for as long as he could remember – his own very private good luck charm.
The other Owls all kidded him about how he had to hit the crossbar during the warm-up, but no one knew about the kissing ritual. It stood to reason, therefore, that no one would know if he
didn’t
do it this time. Because this time he’d be kissing the inside of a jersey that, until a few moments ago, had belonged to the enemy.
Everything had happened so quickly it made Travis’s head spin. Brian and Inez had been booed off the ice by the angry fans. Most of their production crew had left with them, but not Roger, the friendly cameraman who had helped expose Brian and Inez for the manipulative frauds they were. Daniel, the sound guy, was still there, too, now sitting in the stands behind the Owls’ bench, wearing an old, worn Detroit Motors jersey in support.
It was Muck who made the suggestion that all the kids pile their sticks in the middle of the ice. The Motors all
“We kept that tape to get
out
of debt, remember?” Inez snapped back. “Brian, it was a
long-term plan.
Give it some time. We have built a great show. Nish is the perfect braggy, bratty show-off for a series about over-privileged rich kids. Our merchandise team has been
loving
the poor Detroit underdog idea. Now the sympathetic little Motors are going to win, and then we’ll be rolling in money.”
When the players had seen Roger at the breakfast buffet that morning, Sarah, her face still a little flushed, had been the one to confront him.
“How could you seem so nice?” she’d stammered while scooping a large spoonful of scrambled eggs onto her plate. “You were really just … using us … manipulating us.” She was both embarrassed and angry. She was trembling.
Travis had seen Roger in the line ahead of them, but he hadn’t expected Sarah to say anything. Not right away. Not until they had a plan. He’d half expected Roger to yell back at them, but instead the cameraman had leaned forward, smiled at them, and offered more of the story.
Inez and Brian, Roger said, had by accident received Nish’s audition tape, which was meant for a different production office. They’d then built a show around it, and around manipulating young players into a drama they’d created, even though they were calling it a reality show. Roger and Daniel had been against the manipulation, but they’d both needed the work. Although now, Roger confided, they were both having second thoughts.
Travis felt the entire rink was holding its breath underneath the scoreboard screens as Brian and Inez’s plan now became clear to everyone: pump up the spoiled-brat Owls at the beginning of the competition, then grind them into the ground at the end.
Some fans in the stands started to boo.
“
Luckily, these young players don’t care about your drama
…
they care about their game
,” Mr. D’s voice-over continued.
The scoreboard cut to a final clip: Muck, giving the Owls a pep talk in the team’s trailer at the Henry Ford estate – the footage Data had captured.
“If you fight fair, if you play hard, and honestly, you’ll already have won something,” Muck was saying.
Down on the ice, below the scoreboard, someone yelled, “
Yeah!
”
It was Nish, pumping his fist in the air to prove he’d been in on the plot the entire time. In reality, they’d edited the entire promo after Nish had gone back to sleep.
Cody was the first player to start rapping his stick on the ice. Then Lars, then Andy, then Alex, and soon every Motor and every Owl was banging away.
16
T ravis wasn’t sure what to do.
To kiss or not to kiss?
He was, unbelievably, about to pull a Detroit Motors jersey over his head. He had never in his life, in all his years in minor hockey, worn anything but a Screech Owls jersey. He had been secretly kissing the inside of his Owls jersey for as long as he could remember – his own very private good luck charm.
The other Owls all kidded him about how he had to hit the crossbar during the warm-up, but no one knew about the kissing ritual. It stood to reason, therefore, that no one would know if he
didn’t
do it this time. Because this time he’d be kissing the inside of a jersey that, until a few moments ago, had belonged to the enemy.
Everything had happened so quickly it made Travis’s head spin. Brian and Inez had been booed off the ice by the angry fans. Most of their production crew had left with them, but not Roger, the friendly cameraman who had helped expose Brian and Inez for the manipulative frauds they were. Daniel, the sound guy, was still there, too, now sitting in the stands behind the Owls’ bench, wearing an old, worn Detroit Motors jersey in support.
It was Muck who made the suggestion that all the kids pile their sticks in the middle of the ice. The Motors all
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