The Turnover - Luke Hughes

Chapter 14

Winter 2023 - February

Ana walked across campus to Emma and Jentry's apartment. She promised the girls she was going to stay for dinner at their place, and watch Jack play tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. Ana walked through the door to find Jentry in the kitchen, prepping chicken to make tacos for dinner.

"Hey hey," Jentry said, throwing some chicken and garlic into a skillet, along with some spices and taco seasoning. "How was class?" She asked.

"It was good," Ana replied to her. She sat her backpack down on the couch and made her way back into the kitchen to lean against the counter, watching Jentry cook. "You'll never guess where I'm going tomorrow," Ana looked at her.

"Where?" Jentry asked.

"Hockey team practice with Rutger, for our project in Sports Med. We shadow the athletic trainer and get observation hours and we also have to write a report on the whole project."

"Ana! You're joking! Oh my gosh, that's so cool! Perks of being besties with Rutger, I see," Jentry winked at her. "And Lukey will be there too!"

"Yes, he will be," she smiled. "I haven't told him I'm coming yet. He's at practice right now. Apparently Rutger has noticed him texting me a lot. Sneaky bitch."

"Nothing gets past that motherfucker," Jentry laughed. "I think that's a good sign he's mentioning you to his friends, though."

Ana grabbed some plates out of the cabinet. "Yeah, I think so too. I'll be honest, it's been nice talking to him again. I didn't realize how much I missed talking to him until I had him back, you know?"

"I totally agree. I'm really happy for you, Ana. I'm ready for all of us to be together and close again. Summer will be here before we know it." Jentry placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I know, it's crazy how fast the semester is going. And thanks, me too."

"So what will you have to do when you do your observation hours?" Jentry put some corn in with the chicken to cook. 

Ana shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not totally sure. From what I understand, treating player injuries and doing tape jobs and stuff."

Jentry gave her the look. "Ana, I have a hot take..."

"Oh fuck, do I even wanna know?" Ana put her face in her hands.

"Oh you're gonna know. The hot take is that I think the whole damn team is gonna be crushing on miss new athletic trainer here, wanting you to tape them up or treat them before every practice."

"Well it's only 20 hours, so they better not get too attached," Ana cackled. "Besides, I'll probably just be observing the actual trainer do stuff, not me doing it. But who knows."

"I say you would do a little bit of real-world application, to some degree. That's still super exciting, though. Maybe you'll fall in love with sports medicine and athletic training! Have you thought about that?"

Ana thought to herself for a moment. "No, I really haven't. But it's a possibility. I really have enjoyed the class this semester, it's been my favorite. I mean, our best friends are pro athletes and you're even thinking about doing sports journalism. What's there not to love about the sports industry?"

"That's what I'm saying. Amanda Stein is the team reporter and journalist for the Devils. I love watching the work she does, she's amazing. That kinda pushed me towards wanting to go more of a sports route in journalism. We'll see what happens, though."

"That's awesome, Jentry. I think you would love getting to do stuff like that. Would you want to work in the NHL one day?"

Jentry's eyes lit up. "That would literally be a dream come true. They always say to find a job that you love so much that it never feels like work. I think that would definitely check those boxes off for me."