Kiss Cam

Chapter 2

Waking up and actually getting ready closer to noon was a lot better than the earlier 4:47. Making both Brynn and myself lunch and getting ready took me till 1:30 and we left to get snacks and head to the game. You're not actually allowed to bring outside foods into the George Ramshaw stadium but Brynn works there and I come with her so I sneak her snacks while I wait for more people with her in the control booth.

"So, who's today's movie look alikes?"movie look alikes?" I asked as she brought up all the camera settings. She looked at her list on the calendar then turned back and answered.

"Looks like today is Disney." she said while she set up the frame for watching the game. I sat back in one of those metal folding chairs the stadium kept in the control room while I snacked on Brynn's Skinny Pop. I waited for the hockey team to show up and eventually said my farewells to Brynn as I walked up to the hockey team of Lausanne International University, they paused when I walked up.

"Hey guys, I'm here to watch today so make sure you do your best." I said to add on to the Tigers' immense pressure, I used to play but decided that I'd rather be the manager of the dorks than get caught up in all of the rivalry shit. I had enough drama to deal with already and the Tigers definitely stirred up rumors wherever they went.

"Bailey, why aren't you with us this game?" one of the players, a fellow American, Troy, asked.

"Troy, you know damn well how hard it is to yell at all of you in different languages at practice, the game is way different and besides, I already got myself a seat."

"Who beat your ass?" A Russian player by the name of Ivan asked as he pointed his finger at my face. He was new but he still liked me enough to care, I guess.

"It was an accident. Besides Jeremy and I are over so it isn't a big deal." I shrugged as I fished my ticket out of my jeans pocket. "Have fun out there, Tigers!" I exclaimed as I walked away before anyone got mad at me for being in that situation.

"Nuh, uh. You can't just walk away from us, McGall." Coach is here, too. Damn it. Coach Bachmann was a Swiss man to his core, but he spoke in the deepest accent ever, so his English sounded like he was always threatening someone.

"I'm fine, Coach, really! Besides it's just a slap and-" I was cut off by Coach's loud authoritarian voice. He might be old but the man was six feet of muscle and had a full head of buzzed gray hair to accompany the hard wrinkle lines all over his face. His hard blue eyes were staring into my soul.

"And!?" He roared. He was at my face in three long strides as he grabbed my face with his rough, calloused hands, much like Brynn did, except Coach's hands were a lot less soft than Brynn's. And he wasn't poking me with long acrylic nails. "You see this?" he asked as he plucked my glasses off my nose.

"You look like you lost a gang fight and-" He paused and rotated my head on the spot. If Coach was mad before, he was fuming now.

"It's..." I struggled to find the words because I knew that he was looking at the spot on my scalp with dried blood flaked into the parts of my hair Brynn couldn't get with her comb, and the patch of my head that had less hair than the rest. I hadn't seen it yet but I brought a baseball cap that I was prepared to wear. "It was a misunderstanding, and he's not in my life anymore. So, it's not that bad- shit!" I hissed as Coach pushed down on the sore spot with his thumb.

"You call this okay, McGall?" He seemed exasperated as he bowed my head down so the rest of the team could see it, too. "Does this look okay to you all?!" The players had never seen the damage of Jeremy and I's fights. Usually, it was a lot more manageable. I was a blushing mess as Coach pulled my face back up and looked a bit closer, under the concealer and foundation, and saw the faintest outline of where the slap actually was.

"What did he do to you?" Asked the most timid new player, Oliver', from Norway. He barely spoke English so I was genuinely surprised he even spoke that much.

"He..." I tried to word it in an easier sense so that Oliver could understand me better. "He grabbed me here." I said and held the spot on my head where he grabbed me. "And he hit me on the wall." I pointed at the wall and simultaneously swung my head by my hair, hoping I'd get the message across. "Uh, but he also slapped me and he punched my nose." I made the gesture of a hand slapping my cheek and did the same with punching my own nose.

"That is pain." whimpered Oliver as leaned down to my level and hugged me.

"Yeah it is, but you need to play." I pushed him up and slapped his shoulder, "You all need to play." I sent a pointed look over Oliver's shoulder at the rest of the team. While I really appreciated them looking out for me, they had practice. I put my baseball hat on and marched over to the bleachers