Survival Of The Fittest

((Quincy Jones contd from Waiting For Inspiration))

Quince stepped out into the stands, looking around. Thankfully the game hadn't started yet. The players weren't even out. Still, the place looked packed as was the usual for a Friday night.

He hoped that Mikaela was close behind him, as he scanned the seats, looking out for Rudy. He doubted he would miss the big guy, but was always that little bit worried. He kept his popcorn close to his chest as he started to weave his way amongst the bloodthirsty crowd.

Thankfully he looked mean enough that most people parted and let him past. As long as they were as considerate for the girl behind him, he was fine with that. Now where was Rudy?

((I really know nothing about hockey, so if somebody wants a play by play of the match, I apologise now.))

((Rudy Leyton continued from Waiting for Inspiration))

"Oi! Morris, over here!"

Rudy grinned, as he waved to Quince... From the front row. Somehow, some idiots had not taken the few empty seats right up front. Jackpot. As for the 'Morris' thing, considering Quince reminded Rudy of Quincy Morris from Bram Stoker's Dracula, he just couldn't pass that one up.

Rudy looked at the rink. Best possible view of the rink anyone could get. Ain't he a stinker? He still couldn't belive his luck. It was if the lord was smiling at him. Of course, he doubted it, considering the stuff he's done.

Rudy looked back at Quince. He still couldn't see Mikaela from here. He hoped she would come, otherwise she'd be missing the game!

((Neither do I, actually. Still... By the way, lack of link up top due to me using my DSi to type this up.))

(Continued from Waiting for Inspiration)

Mikaela walked out into to the stands. She thought back to the first time she had ever been to a hockey game and realized she hadn't actually been to a one. She was planning to go once, but got side tracked by something of unimportance. She had come to the arena before and played a hockey video game once, but it had been dreadfully boring. Of course one can't judge life from a game right. "Dive in! Take chances."

She noticed Quince standing looking around when she heard Rudy.

"Oi! Morris, over here!"

Mikaela laughed at this, but she didn't really get the joke.

Quince Jones - Jones + Morris = Quince Morris? Quincy Morris? Nope clueless. I could swear I've read that name before.

She walked up behind Quince. "Hey!" She was practically screaming as she said this. She then began her sad girl act. "Did you change your name? Please don't do that without first consulting me! I dislike memorizing new ones." She pretended to weep as she said this.

(Dang well I know nothing about hockey or at least very little about it.)

"Rudy, my man. Thanks for grabbing these for us. Mikaela should be right here. She was just behind me, but you know how these crowds are." He was used to Rudy calling him Morris by now, but still rejected his attempts to make him read the book to properly understand it. The movies were cooler anyway.

It was just like Rudy. Always making with the references, never understanding that Quince didn't always get them. He kept trying to convince him to read this book, try that game. He remembered the one time that Rudy had convinced him to play chess. After he had patiently sat down, explained the rules and how all the pieces moved, he then proceeded to beat him in 4 moves.

Quince had gotten upset at that. He had felt humiliated. So what if he couldn't play chess? He knew that he could still outfight the guy. Rudy may be bigger, but Quincy trained. While bulk could be of some use in a fight, it was nothing unless you knew how to move. Quincy had floored him with one punch. It hadn't been public, or no doubt he'd have been one of Rudy's targets for the next two years. Instead, Rudy got up, looked down at Quince and said. "Good move."

Something had clicked between the two of them. From then on, their relationship worked better now that they really understood each other. Rudy was the brains, and Quince was the muscle. Plus, Rudy was able to guilt him about the punch for a long time, making him do things he hadn't always wanted to go along with. In the end, it usually worked out between them.

As he fought his way to the seats, he was jostled by some prick in the row behind. Even though he almost dropped his popcorn, he resisted the urge to flatten the guy. Rudy had helped him with that, shown him that he didn't always have to fight against every insult. He just went to his seat and sat down. When you didn't have to fight, everything was a lot easier. That was all he ever wanted.

Thankfully Mikaela showed up then. Just as well he'd kept his temper, as the last thing he wanted was for her to see him go mad like that. Likewise, she didn't get the Morris joke. "Hey Miks. Was worried we'd lost you for a second. Don't worry, my name ain't changing. It's just a Rudy thing."

"Aw, come on, surely you get the joke, Quincy Morris, the protaganist of the original Dracula stories...? Aw, forget it."

Rudy chuckled, as Quince sat down beside him. Mikaela had come around, too. Rudy sat back, relaxing. "I can't believe it. We get front-row seats, just our luck, eh?" He scanned the ice rink. Just perfect for a good game of hockey, and even better with a couple of friends next to you. And said friends liked the game too. Though, Rudy felt like he was being involved in a date, because he knew how Quince and Mikaela acted around each other.

He sat forward, thinking, while had time to do so before the game started. What could be his next "stunt"? He had done a lot of things, and he needed to think of a new way to cause trouble. Something unique. He was always hoping to outdo himself in any way possible. But today, he was kinda stumpted. Perhaps it wasn't the right day to brainstorm potential troublemaking? Probably.

Rudy crossed his arms behind his head. "This'll be an interesting game for sure. Or at least, hopefully."

"Hey Miks. Was worried we'd lost you for a second. Don't worry, my name ain't changing. It's just a Rudy thing."

Mikaela chuckled and took a seat by Quince. She found it funny that he often took her sarcastic remarks seriously. Mikaela had noticed that a lot of people took her comments seriously, it may have been the way she said things.

Perhaps their just kidding with me and I‘m the one who doesn‘t get it?

"Aw, come on, surely you get the joke, Quincy Morris, the protaganist of the original Dracula stories...? Aw, forget it."

Mikaela shrugged at this and just grinned. She was embarrassed to admit it, but she didn't get the joke. She had read the book a long time ago and although she knew the name she wasn't quite clear on who it was.

"It would be easier to remember these kinds of things if they would make a more accurate movie."

Mikaela was being sincere, she hated most modern movies. Re-hash that re-hash this, she dreaded hearing if anything she even remotely liked was getting a movie.

"This'll be an interesting game for sure. Or at least, hopefully."

"Well it could become very interesting." Mikaela had begun to put a story together in her head. "By some freak accident the puck flies out and conks you in the head. Next thing you know you wake up and it's been five years and the whole world feels brand new, but all your old friends have gone on with their lives."
She then pointed at Quince "Except for Quince and me who didn't have anything better to do then watch over you cause that‘s what a true friend does." Mikaela had decided it ends when she gets hit by a bus for the tragic downer ending.
"Hey wouldl you two pay for the funeral?"

The sad ending would come out of no where, better make it happy.

"Nope never mind, just a coma."

"Give it up man. You're just gonna have to join a book club, or figure out that we ain't gonna get everything. And you're supposed to be the smart one." He hoped that he hadn't offended Rudy, but the big guy was used to it by now.

Quincy listened half heartedly to Mikaela as she went on about accidents and coma's. He was used to her conversations wandering off track, and tried to make sure he was paying just enough attention to be able to make an intelligent reply if required.

"Well, I dunno about paying for a funeral, but I'd certainly come along. Do we have to be so dark? I'm here to watch people hitting other people with sticks, not to think about my friends dying, or going into coma's. All the years I've been coming here, I've never seen anyone in the stands hurt badly by a puck. Don't worry."

He looked up as the teams skated onto the rink. The Wild were playing an exhibition game against the Golden Gophers. Quince fully expected the Wild to win easily, but wanted to see how the gophers were playing, if any of them would be good enough to make the big leagues next year. He figured that that was why most of the other people were there that night as well. Plus there was every chance that there'd be a good match out of it. He didn't fancy either teams chances at playoffs, but they were local. Always support your home town. That had been something his dad had drummed into him, when he'd first started taking Quince to the games, and something he tried to do. As much as he was tempted to go and support some other team, like the Red Wings, he couldn't bring himself to abandon Minnesota.

"Jeez, I was just joking around..." Rudy chuckled, as Quince told him to give up on trying to convince them. He knew it was pointless, he just did it purely for a joke - that was the response he expected, really, so he wasn't offended.

Then Mikaela went on, strangely enough, about the possibility of an accident. Mostly aimed at him. He burst into laughter at this. "A funny thought, that. Though, the possibility of it occuring, let along the possibility of a puck putting me in a coma, is slim at best. I wouldn't expect that to happen. Who has heard of someone getting a coma from getting hit by a puck in a hockey game by accident? Come on."

He looked back at the game. It was an exibition match between the Wild and the Golden Gophers. Now, Rudy wasn't american, of course. He didn't really care about this "support your home town" stuff. Heck, he didn't bother supporting anyone throughout any season. It was really the game that counted, and really, he only supported the ones in a particular game that he liked. In this case, he was conflicted between the home team and the Wild. This time around, he simply thought 'screw it' and started rooting for the underdog. Hopefully, it would be a fun game to watch. Especially if the players beat the shit out each other. That would be highly entertaining.

Mikaela just sighed. She was disappointed that such things don't happen as her story would lack realism.

Perhaps I should put that in the school newspaper, they never check my stories.

Mikaela snickered and looked at the teams. The two teams were local, not that Mikaela cared. She found their names to be silly though. The Wild and the Golden Gophers if they combined into one team they would be The Wild Golden Gophers. Mikaela had no idea what Gophers had to do with hockey though. Did every team just choose a random animal or something? How about the Platypus? At least Platypus swim and ice was frozen water. What the hell does a Gopher have to do with ice? Well she should be supportive.

"They've got silly name. That is the one thing I never got about these kind of things, why give themselves such names? I mean Gophers? And The Wild what?"

Mikaela looked at Quince. "Who are you routing for Quince? I say we root for the Gophers."

Mikaela's voice was soft, but it was by all means an order. Mikaela opinion was of course because Gophers where cute and to her The Wild were just being indecisive by not saying what they were, although she wasn‘t going to say that out loud.

"Who are you routing for Quince? I say we root for the Gophers."

Quince looked down forlornly at the Minnesota Wild jersey he was wearing. He had fully intended on supporting the Wild. They were the proper team, with the Gophers just being the college boys. It was pretty much a given that the Wild were going to win. Only the die hard Gopher's fans were supporting them, and even they were just out to see which of their boys would make the big leagues.

Still, Mikaela had asked. And it had been with the tone of voice that suggested he better not go against her. Not that anything bad would happen, but it would make sure that nothing good would happen either, for the rest of the day at least. He wished he knew who Rudy was wanting to side with. It could go either way. He could choose to go with the winners, but knowing him, he'd just as soon add to Quincy's misery.

"Okay, we can cheer for the Gophers. Just promise me you won't get too upset if they don't win, okay." He pulled off the jersey, causing a few stares from those sat around. Thankfully, he'd worn a t-shirt underneath. It was a tight white affair that showed off his physique, which would hopefully dissuade anyone from making too big a deal about his changing sides.

Sure enough, as the ref blew the whistle, Johnson for the Wild got control of the puck right away, and started a strong offensive towards the Gophers goal. Quince looked down at the Gophers trying to block him, but being simply out-skated at every opportunity. This was going to be a long match. "Go Go Gophers"

To his sides, Quince and Mikaela were discussing which team to support. Though Quince was wearing a Wild jersey, Mikaela had insisted on rooting for the Gophers. So Quince took it off. Rudy figured that the Wild were mostly likely going to win, but still. Couldn't hurt to root for the underdog. "Funny you should mention that. I was thinking of rooting for the Gophers as well."

He sat back, and watched Johnson out-skate the other players. He chuckled at the one-sidedness of it all. "Look at him go. This seems like such a one-sided match, doesn't it?" Then the puck hit the net. Rudy burst into excited laughter. "That was QUICK! That guy must be good and lucky, the game's barely started and he's already scored."

He sat forward, grinning. But the game had barely begun, and that was the interesting part. Anything could happen. He cried out, "GO GOPHERS! Are you gonna let those pussies step all over you? Come on, now!" He chuckled, as he watched the match continue, with the puck trading players all over the place. "I'm gonna love this game. What about you?"

Mikaela grinned at Quince as he took his jersey off, but inside she felt an odd twinge of guilt. She just brushed it off. Quince didn't have to do what she said if he didn't want to. Obviously he didn't mind, in fact he may even have been honored to help her route for them.

"Okay, we can cheer for the Gophers. Just promise me you won't get too upset if they don't win, okay."

"Thank you Quince. But don't worry the Gophers may just surprise you."

Mikaela winked at him and faced the game, As the game started this Johnson fellow seemed to be doing well. The problem was he was on the wrong team. Mikaela sat without making a word, she even ignored Rudy and Quince. She just stared at the rink. Her face had her usual grin, but she seemed somewhat distant.

That's not fair, I want my team to win! Damn it Gophers do something right or else!

Mikaela had come to realizes why Quince had said what he said. The Gophers where the underdogs, no one thought they could win and to be honest now Mikaela believed that to. However she had said she would route for them and she was going to abandon them now. She stood up out of her seat and began yelling as loud as she can.

"Hey Gophers your not gonna put up with this are you. Show them your worth something! You don't wanna stay here! You wanna go places! Come one! Those Gophers those guys are losers, you can beat ‘em! Your just don't have the right mind set that's all! Surprise all these people! It's only the beginning so come on show them your skills! You don‘t wanna be a bunch of nobodies so crush them!"

After she had said all she felt she needed to say she had sat down. She had even begun tearing up. She just whispered to herself "Even if you do lose, you're winners in my book.", but no one could hear her over the noise. She quickly began her grinning and took a sip of her soda. She had always wished someone would say something like that, but in real life no one is ever that cheesy and underdogs almost never win. Still it was nice to pretend it could happen.

"Damn straight, Rudy. If not, then I'd hate to see the fans getting mad." The game was going pretty much as he expected. The Wild were running rings around the Gophers, Johnson was showboating for the fans as usual, Vasquez helping him to set up several good shots.

Thankfully the Gophers were putting up a stronger defence now. White, number 5, in particular was doing a great job. Quince had gotten excited when he and Johnson got into a fight. Annoyingly, the referee stopped it before anything serious happened, but Quince reckoned that White was probably going to be in some league team next season. He was glad. His older brother Des had known Aaron White in High School, and it was always great to see a local boy do well.

Thankfully, both Mikaela and Rudy were getting onto the game. He had worried that Miki in particular may have been bored by the whole thing, but she was really getting involved with the Gophers. "Hey, guys, after the game you wanna see if I can get us into see the team?"

Aw. An oppertunity for someone getting the shit kicked outta them, and it got interuppted by the ref. That kinda sucked. Well, there was still the rest of the game to-

"Hey, guys, after the game you want me to see if I can get you guys into see the team?"

This question piqued Rudy's interest. So Quince had connections, presumably. Rudy liked people with connections. A wide grin came over his face, as he replied, "Holy hell yes! I didn't know you had-"

Then the goal buzzer went off. Rudy had caught a glimpse of what just happened. The Gophers scored. Barely. It was a very lucky goal. And it was none other than White who had scored it. Rudy bounded to his feet, almost jumping in excitement. "YES! YES! THIS IS DELICIOUS! AWESOME! AMAZING...! Oh, hell, I ran ouuta words. Eh. GO GOPHERS!"

He dropped back into his seat, laughing in excitement. "So it is turning out to be an interesting game!" He remarked, now practically on the edge of his seat, "Makes the prospect of meeting 'em in person all the more exciting."

Mikaela was now deeply engrossed in the game. She ignored the world around her so she could better support the Gophers. That's when a fight was about to break out, however the ref put a stop to it.

A fight, damn ref this would have been a chance for the Gophers to remove their enemy. Huh what kind of thought is that that. Geez people would think I was crazy for talking like that.

Quince asked some kind of question, but Mikaela barely heard him over her own thoughts. She just gave a thumbs up and a uh-huh without taking her eyes off the game. Her eyes where trying to watch everything at once, but soon they settled on White.

He seems to be the most talented of his teammates. The team has spirit, but they can't let one person carry them.

She then saw it, White scored a whatever they call it, a point or goal. Mikaela wasn't particularly clear on Hockey, but it was awesome. The speed and skill to not crack under such pressure. Mikaela jumped out of her seat. She had a manic look in her eyes.

"YES!" Mikaela had begun to laugh hysterically as tears poured from her eyes. "Did you see that!? Yeah that's what I meant! They are winners in the making! Hehehehe soon victory shall be theirs."

She fell back into her chair still laughing, she had finally begun to channel to words of her friends into her head.

"Makes the prospect of meeting 'em in person all the more exciting."

Mikaela looked at Rudy with a confused glare.

"We get to meet them? When did that happen! Don't get me wrong, I'm happy but did we discuss this before?"