That sounded nice and all, but something told me these two regularly skated as well. I could tell I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to be an effective blocker. Not only would I have to support my fellow blockers, but I’d need to be able to adapt quickly and keep my eyes open for gaps and opportunities.

“Well, thanks for showing me all this stuff. It might actually help me to look like I know what I’m doing tomorrow,” I said.

“If you can show you’ve got your teammates’ backs and work as hard as you did today, I think you’ll be just fine, Daya,” Alma said, giving my shoulder a squeeze.

I guess. I wasn’t sold, but there was no way I was going to tell Alma that. “Thanks for making time for me, Alma, Joe. Can I give you some money for the lesson? Please?”

“Oh, Daya, don’t be silly. It was our pleasure. Like I said, we need more chocolate on the track.” She winked at me. “And I have no doubt we’ll be seeing you on the track very soon.”

She seemed so sure I would make the team, and while I still had my doubts, it did feel good to have this woman’s confidence.

Chapter Eighteen

Now what I needed was the confidence of Kat and the others. Proving myself became the name of the game during the second tryout.

We’d started with some laps, warm-up drills, and stretching, at the end of which Lena yelled, “Baby pork chops! Hustle up!”

Dominique was standing next to Lena and without warning, she shoved Lena hard with her hip. Lena probably had about thirty pounds on Dominique, but she fell—also hard—onto the track. We all gasped, my eyes growing wide.

But Lena popped back up on her skates within seconds and flung her own hip back at Dominique, who toppled over sideways into the ground. The rest of us stared, silent and confused.

Dominique seemed to fall into a roll and continue right back up onto her skates. Then the two of them fist-bumped.

Hmm. A demonstration of sorts. And though I’d be happy to focus on knocking each other to the ground, I wondered what this had to do with team play.

Dominique and Lena looked out at us and laughed. “Don’t worry,” Lena reassured us, “we’re not going to ask you to hit each other that hard—just a light shove will do. But before we get into any blocking drills and team stuff, you need to know how to fall. If you don’t know how to get your butt back up, you may as well leave. In roller derby, hitting the floor isn’t about ‘if.’ It’s about ‘when.’ And that when is now, hunky monkeys. Find a partner.”