The Hot Hockey Player

Chapter 3 - Jude 🏒

"Why are we doing this again ?" Colin asks me as we're running in the treadmill sweating so much, I start to hate salt.

"Because, and I quote 'we're a bunch of foolish kids who can't take orders right'" I answer to him.

"Come on, next sprint in 10 seconds — 9, 8..." Coach Reyes says to our group of five. Yes it is only us five kids doing a training after the training.

"I'm gonna die," Colin says before taking a deep breath.

Yes we are.

"5, 4..." Coach Reyes continues nonetheless.

Let's get this over with. It is the last sprint and my last thought.

"1, GO !" Coach yells.

I am doing everything I can even though my left eye hurt like hell. I can feel drums being played in my head and my eye hurts with each stride I take. It was basically the reason we are doing those drills. This and the miscommunication.

Our last game from the five we still have left outside the NHL circuit went wrong in every possible ways. We were completely disconnected with one another. When I wanted to make a pass, I did it. Without assuring myself I had someone watching my back and read my game. Usually, that would be Colin. Guess, we were both out of it.

As much as I want to say I did everything right and by the books or whatever, I know it's not true. Yes, Colin must read my game as best as he can but I also need to anticipate his. And clearly, I only thought about myself for a while. The same happened for our goal, Sascha Briggs, who couldn't intercept those goals as well as he is known for.

Almost all of the four previous games went smoothly. To resume, The first one, we are eager to show Coach Reyes that we still have it in us to do good and well. The other team isn't really strong but has some good movements and individualities, which made the game interesting. We learned a lot from this one, for sure.

The second one is a bit more mixed. During the first two periods, we are literally being walked over. I am questioning everything. Why am I the captain, why are we still playing if it is to show that. Then it goes better the last two periods. We won by a single point but it is a victory nonetheless. And it showed us that we can't give up anytime. We have to play until the game is over. Very valuable lesson.

Then the nightmare began. Even though we won the third game, once again by a very thin thread, we were out of it. Imagine : My body won't move as fast as it used to. Colin is constantly hypoglycaemic. Well, not during the game but all the low glucose levels cause migraines and a consequent lack of energy. I've never seen him on the bench that much. And at the moment, I am questioning wether the others are diabetics too. Everyone is slower than usual, lacking confidence, energy, peps or something.

I took one course in psychology last year and from what I can remember, it was the rush going down. Because our defeat, we were sad, angry so we took it all on the first games. But then, the euphoria crashed, and took us with her ; leaving us sad and this time numb. 

After the fourth game I basically craved sleep. All I wanted to do was to sleep and I had no more energy for training or whatever. A break is very much needed.

The fifth and last game was the most horrible one of my career. We lost but it was as if the other team was playing against toddlers who hold a stick for the first time. We knew them, we were the ones to took them out in the middle of the tournament. So, I guess they had the same program as us : playing those few games for their season to last a while longer. And they weren't even happy to win. I mean, yes of course they were but it wasn't because it was a fair game. I guess every time, including the ones we bet a hundred or a thousand times would have won. We sucked and the coach was neither angry nor sad or anything. He was as numb as we were.

"Okey, you're good !" He roars one last time.

I literally jump off the treadmill and lay on the floor on my back with arms and legs apart. I try to grab my towel and my flask which I successfully do. I look on the right to see the rest of the guys doing the same, some on the floor, the others still on the treadmill, sitting. Colin is the only one up on the treadmill, his head in his arms and his breathing heavy. I don't wait any longer to jump on my feet and give him his insulin pump to check on his glucose level. I don't even have time to completely hand it to him, it beeps. Coach Reyes hears it and was coming with some fruit past his wife made for us. He hands an entire one to Colin who gladly takes and eats it without even looking at it.

"I am seeing stars dude," he tells me as I am holding and sitting him down.

"I guessed that much you idiot. " I answer back, a bit angry at my friend.

"Oops," he says harshly to me his eyes closed as I am waiting for the dizziness to go away. I also guess it is my clue to leave him alone for a bit. When he is like that, you can't talk to him. He would say nonsense and he can be really irritable. It isn't necessary to try and make him aware of things ; he's going to come back to his senses once his sugar level rises. 

I sit on the back of the treadmill and we wait for coach Reyes to say something. Our teammates are waiting for us in the back of the gym. I look at them and with my eyes, told them to go. They aren't really sure about that but I insist a bit and they understand. I know they would still be waiting for us in the locker though.

As they are leaving, Coach Reyes finally opens his mouth, having apparently seen the entire exchange.

"Where do you think you're going ? " he asks them coldly.