Without making eye contact or acknowledging her little trick, I skated back beside her and got low into my stance. She did the same and started pushing into me right away. I was ready for her, though, and didn’t hold back. When she tried to swerve away again, I kept low enough to maintain my balance and managed to keep my shoulder against hers, moving with her and shoving harder. Before she could try and shift away again, I generated all the force I could and sent it up through my shoulder to send her flying sideways. She hit the deck like a sack of bones (which she kind of was), her helmet knocking the ground and her face twisted in pain.

Everyone around us stopped the drill. Kat, Lena, and Dominique skated over.

“What’s happening over here, kids?” Lena said, mainly addressing me.

I couldn’t say anything—my head and chest were boiling with anger. I just shrugged.

Kat rolled over to me while Dominique went to help Gwen up. “Daya, what’s the deal?”

I figured if anyone would understand what the “deal” was, it would be Kat. I forced myself to speak. “You know how it is when someone’s pissing you off. You take care of it.”

She folded her arms in front of her. “That’s how you deal with drunk assholes, maybe, but not folks who might end up being your teammates.”

Seriously? What about sober assholes who play shitty tricks during a drill? I wanted to say, but I wasn’t a snitch and didn’t want to sound like I couldn’t handle my own shit.

“Fine. Whatever.” I looked away, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, but ended up making eye contact with Shanti, who was watching from the stands, feet perched on the railing in front of her and a book in her hands. A book. At a roller derby tryout. But she was looking up at the moment, like everyone else, and when our eyes met, she blinked and frowned. I directed my eyes to the ground in front of me.

Lena broke the awkwardness, shouting, “All right, my feisty little chunks of cheese, break time! Grab a sip of water and get your sweet asses back here in five minutes. No sitting, though—keep those muscles moving!”

Dominique skated Gwen over to a bench—to look her over, I guess. I hoped Kat would just let it go, but she remained in front of me, hands moving to her hips. I still avoided eye contact.

“You think you can cool off enough to keep going?”

I just shrugged again. I definitely did not feel cool enough to respond in words. This was some full-on bullshit and I was extra angry that Kat didn’t seem to get it.

“Okay, guess not. Why don’t you head outside and do whatever you need to do to get your head on right.”