Two Minutes for Hooking

Chapter 3

Hook: Illegally obstruct an opponent by using the stick. Results in a two minutes minor penalty. (The Complete Hockey Dictionary)

Jocelyn

I panicked. James showed up and I choked like a chicken and ran. I had never really been good with people but I hadn't ever really failed to that extent, until this moment. Weaving my way through the crowd, I was berating myself when a chorus of "dude!" "what?" "that was so greasy!" caught my attention.

Turning my attention in the direction of the sound, I discovered a set of stairs leading to, what I assumed, was the basement. I descended the stairs and found myself in a hockey lovers man cave. The walls were painted in Blackhawks colors and were littered with memorabilia from the teams past and present. It was amazing, but also, as a die hard Avalanche fan it served to remind me once again that I was not in Colorado anymore.

Another chorus of cheers and chirps came up from the depths of the room and I twisted to look at the source of the noise. I saw exactly what I expected to see. A group of maybe seven or eight people was gathered around two individuals in gaming chairs playing NHL on the Playstation. The occupants of the chairs were involved in furious game, both of them mashing the buttons like their lives depended on it. The first chair was occupied by a tall brunette with a fierce scowl on his otherwise handsome face. From his expression and the good natured jeering "Phearsy, you're losing to a girl!" coming from behind him, I was able to figure out two things, one that this was Crigg McPhearson (center forward and alternate captain for the Frost) and second that he was losing.

A laugh burst forth when I noticed who the second player was. My laugh caused both players to jump and then the second player jumped up from her chair, all 5' 11" of supermodel beauty wrapped up in skate pants and a warmup jacket, her pale blonde hair thrown into a messy bun and striking face free of makeup. In a blur, she rushed at me and picked me up in a crushing hug, squealing in my ear,

 "Joss! I didn't think I would get to see you until training started!"

I laughed and squeezed her back. Janine Helwig, or Helly as she was known in the hockey world, was the left wing to my right. She looked like a Dutch supermodel, her blond hair was Draco Malfoy pale, her face was striking, the kind of beautiful that made her painful to look at. Her eyes were such a bright, clear blue that seemed to defy nature. Best of all, she was the sweetest, goofiest person I knew and she seemed to always be trying to downplay her beauty. It didn't seem to work though, she turned heads even when she was sweaty and smelly after a hard fought game. It didn't seem to matter, men and women both gravitated toward her.

"I missed you too Helly." I laughed. We had been playing together on and off for years. The first time I met Helly I was nine years old and attending my first real hockey camp in Minnesota.

 I was on the verge of an anxiety attack watching my parents drive away and realizing this would be my first time on my own with a group of strangers. I was seconds away from crying when this angelic, porcelain doll of a girl with twin blonde braids down her back and boys clothes came running up to me full bore only skidding to a stop when her feet nearly trampled mine.

She smiled at me and stuck our her hand, "Hi, I'm Janine. You look nice, you're my best friend now." We went everywhere together that summer. And every summer after. Now, years later, we were still pretty inseparable. When we were too old for camp, we started volunteering as councilors. She was the one who witnessed all of my most embarrassing firsts. First kiss, first time drinking, you name it, she was there.