Puck Off!

Chapter 8

The gallery was very nice, with art samples of every type scattered throughout it. Pottery, metal sculpture, printing, drawing, and photography were all represented. You could buy the pieces too, and the money would go towards the student artist that created it, which was a nice thing. We wandered through the sculptures and pottery first, though I was pretty sure I wouldn't get anything there. Some of it was gorgeous, especially a metal sculpture of a woman that looked completely different depending on what angle you gazed at it.

But I'd never fit it into my apartment, there was no room.

The sketches and paintings were more likely, and there were some very nice ones indeed. And while there were several I liked, none of them were things I'd want to have hanging in my apartment. I might have also been predisposed to wait for the photos too, since I might have been hoping to get something that Iryna took. I know, it might have been cringy, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

But would she take that as pandering? Maybe I should just go by what I like, and not worry about who took the photo. "Hey, before we go check out the photos, is it possible to cover up who took them?" I wondered. "I don't want to be influenced here."

"Are you saying that knowing it was mine might influence you?" Irena asked with a smirk.

"Yep. It would." I wasn't going to lie. There was no other reason to ask.

She thought about it for a moment, her eyes staring at the ceiling, then smiled. "Hold on. When they do the silent auctions they use sticky notes, and I bet I know where they are. Stay here!" She jogged off towards the front of the gallery, and the rest of us stood about for a few minutes.

"You're lucky Ella," Elske stated to break the silence while we waited. "Fisher Dawson is graduating this year, and hopefully leaving the city, so you won't have to deal with his shit. None of the hockey players will date him, he's as violent off the ice as he is on it. No girl has ever dated him for more than a couple months before running and hiding, usually with bruises."

"So, if he knows all of you know this, why is he still trying to win over Iryna?" I asked. The guy seemed more like the type to go after the younger girls that didn't know his reputation.

"I have no idea. Maybe he thinks she'll fight back or something," Elske snorted. "He's right about that, if he tried anything with her, she'd kill him. She takes no shit from anyone. Last month we were playing Colgate and one of their players kept hitting her with their stick when they were setting up in front of the net, and the referees weren't doing anything, so she grabbed her stick and snapped it against the goal. Every time that girl came back, she escalated it until the refs finally gave them both penalties. When the other girl came back on the ice, she went right after Iryna, but she knew it was coming and kicked her ass. Everyone looks big under the pads, but nobody really knows just how big she is. Iryna just picked her up and slammed her on the ice, and then ignored her until she came back and tried hitting her. She just did it again. The refs were useless in that game."

Damn. I mean, I knew she was strong, and probably had like 20 or 30 pounds on me, but that was some power. "I guess I should come to more games, huh?"

"You're coming to them all next year!" Ella interjected. "So, get used to it!"

Yeah, I'd have to come see her play, that was a given. That meant seeing Iryna too, which was an added bonus. But if things were going well, I'd come see her play this year too! "Of course, I'll come to your games, I have to cheer you on!"

"Okay people, let's go look at the photos!" Iryna said as she rejoined us. "I covered up all the names so there is no bias. Let's just see what makes you feel something."