The Puck Bunny

Sixty-Three

It finally got to the last week of the semester, Christmas technically being the end of the next week. And everyone was running off little sleep and much stress. Admittedly it didn't make us a fun group to be around, but we all stuck together through snarky comments and snapping back at one another.

In saying that, I spent more time in the library that in any other place on campus besides my bed. I was waking up early to study and going to bed late when the library would finally close and I'd be kicked out. Some nights, when I could tell sleep was off the menu, I wound up in the Gopher Hole, a big basement study area in Centennial. Almost always prepared with red bull and pretzels, I'd sit 'til the sun rose, trying to cram my brain with as much info as it could handle.

Most of the others were pretty similar, letting hockey take a back seat, much to Tyler's dismay, in favor of their studies. It was officially the midpoint of the season and between the semesters the team had three weeks off, much like we all did for the break. But where Tyler was adamant about filling that time with hockey, the rest of the team were adamant about not. I never thought I'd see the day that these boys actually studied but on any given day, at least two of them would be in the library with me and Bunker had joined me in my Gopher hole all-nighters once or twice too.

My flight to New York was on the 23rd like I'd organized with my mom. And Lexi was flying in on the 27th and we were both staying until the 3rd of January. My mom was kind of shocked, seeing as I ordinarily would have protested staying more than an entire week, but I knew Lexi was desperate to see the city, so I would show her the city as best I could. My mom would go back to work as soon as she could as well, so it's not like I'd have to spend long periods of time with her once the holiday was over. And she had my brother for 5 days before I arrived, which would suit her because he was much more like her than I was. Although my brother and I had always gotten along, so his being there the whole break would be good for me too.

I wasn't sure what the rest of the team was up to for the break, but I knew Luke was taking Bunker back to Boston with him. It upset Bunker's mom but she had witnessed everything that happened with Georgia a month ago so she understood. And two of Luke's four brothers were also hockey players so Bunk would fit right in. As far as I was aware, everyone else was heading home on the last day of classes. Luke and Bunker's flight was actually the same day as mine, just a half hour after, so the three of us were splitting an uber to the airport.

But before that moment could come, we all had to finish final assignments and sit final exams for those who had them. Luckily for me, I didn't have any. I had one or two tests, but nothing as pressurized as an exam. I knew Bunker had some big crazy midterms, so I'd actually been helping him study. I was almost shocked to find out he was not only very smart but also very studious and didn't like to be distracted too much.

"Come on Bunk, we've been over this for the last ten minutes. You know this one!" He groaned and held his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry Pruitt, my brain's having a stroke with all this info"

"Maybe we should call it quits for the night? It is 4 am after all, and your exam is tomorrow afternoon"

"You might be right. I need a good sleep and a decent meal, maybe even a workout beforehand"

"I can meet you at the gym after breakfast if you want. Help you make sure you're taking your mind off things" He grinned.

"I would usually go for a jog but it's 15 degrees max most days, gym sounds good. So long as you can keep up with me" He said with a wink. I rolled my eyes.

"Get some sleep Bunk, I'm sure I can more than keep up with you." He grinned and we both packed our things into our bags. Classes had finished last week so all we were doing now was finishing assignments and sitting exams, meaning we had plenty of time for the gym.