The Minnesota Miracle [kirill kaprizov]

Chapter Twenty-Four

It's surreal how fast time can fly when you're having fun.

Kirill had to wake up early for morning skate, as the Wild were hosting Game Six of the Western Conference First Round series against the Winnipeg Jets. So far, the Wild just need to win tonight to advance and play the winner of the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames series.

Too bad I'm not able to go watch such an important game because today was an extremely important day—it's graduation.

The commencement ceremony for the mathematics and computer science departments was tonight at five, and the Wild began playing at seven. It sucks, yes, but if they lose tonight, then I'll make my way up to Winnipeg to watch the final game of the series on Saturday so I'll make up for tonight.

My mom came over from Saint Cloud to help me get ready for the special day and help me work on my address to the class. I'm not exactly sure who picked me out of all the people in my class, but I guess people heard about my "fantastic" public speaking skills. Or maybe it was the fact that I had a famous boyfriend who shouldn't determine whether I speak or not.

"Are you ready?" Story asked me as we waited outside of the entrance that we were told to stand by at Huntington Bank Stadium.

I frowned. "I'm gonna miss this place. The memories held here, the people I've met, the new experiences I've tried," I responded as I glanced at my paper with my speech on it. "I'm not ready to leave,"

She sighed as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and brought me into a hug. I could feel myself tearing up, but in order to not look like a wreck during one of the most important ceremonies in your life, I just breathed to calm myself down.

"There's a lot of people who are proud of you," she said as she let go of me. "You will go on to do great things, Kenzie. I want your name to be credited for finding a way on how to find the tangent of a triangle using the hypotenuse," she chuckled.

I rolled my eyes with a smile. "I'm pretty sure that's impossible," I responded.

She giggled. "I know. My point being is I expect your name to be on research papers about how to understand basic trigonometry. Because I never understand that kind of stuff," she told me.

I looked at her in confusion with my eyebrow raised. "And you decided to major in mathematics and minor in mechanical engineering?" I questioned her.

She shrugged with a smile. "Yup!" She exclaimed.

"Oh my good God," I said as I rolled my eyes.

I sighed as I adjusted my graduation cap. "Is Anthony coming?" I asked Story.

She nodded her head. "Yup. He's here with my family at the general admission entrance," she responded.

I nodded my head as well. "Sounds awesome. I'm pretty sure my parents are also here," I told her as I glanced up at one of the football banners hanging from the side of the stadium with this last season Gophers.

"Is Kirill making it?" Story asked.

I frowned and shook my head. "He has a game tonight. It's not one of those games he can just skip, it's a crucial playoff game. If the Wild win tonight, then they go on to play the winner of the Stars and Flames series," I responded.

"Oh yeah. I suppose the Wild can't score without Kirill, huh," she mentioned.

I nodded my head again. "Sadly. The Wild wouldn't be in the playoffs if they didn't have him," I responded, then a slight, cool breeze blew by, causing me to shiver a little.

Story sighed. "If only they could get the support Kirill needs," she said.

"Kirill has the support, it's just when they decide to show up," I responded. "He has Mats, Ryan Hartman, and Matt Boldy if the opposing team shuts him down,"