The Bread Man

1 (slightly revised)

I bounced up and down in my seat, because I just couldn't help myself. I was so excited! I get to watch the Chicago Blackhawks play against the Los Angeles Kings! And I have awesome seats, from a friend who knows the coach. We sat behind Crawford's starting goal net. And that friend was Gianna, and she was sitting next to me.

"And here are your Chiiiccaaagooo Bllaaccckkhhhawwss!" The announcer said. I started to cheer as the team launched onto the ice. I saw my favorite player, Artemi Panarin. I had his jersey on.  I saw him take a lap around the goal net, and he looked at me with a bright smile. 'Those eyes look way too familiar. But I just don't know where they came from.' I thought to myself.

"What is it Kris?" Gianna asked.

"His eyes look familiar. Wait- no I can't be." I said with a shake of my head.

"What is it? You can tell me." Gianna said with a smile.

"Alright. There was this kid that lived across the street from me back in Russia. It was a boy and we were the best of friends. We were practically inseparable. And I think that boy is Artemi." I said.

"I think you told me about him! But you could just be right." Gianna replied.

"Please rise for the singing of the national anthem." The announcer said. A woman with a wonderful voice started to sing the national anthem. Once they finished, the players lined up for the starting face off. Patrick was lined up in front of a King  and the linesman dropped the puck. Patrick got a hold of the puck, and passed it down to Artemi. He passed it down to Jonathan and he shot the puck towards Quick. It went right above his shoulder, and pinged off the top pole and into the net. I jumped up to my feet and cheered along with the rest of the crowd. "Woo!" I yelled.

The celebration ended, and the period continued. Soon it ended, and me and Gianna went to get snacks.

-------Artemi's POV:

I sat down at my spot in the lockeroom. "-enter Russian words like 'where have I seen her before?' 'She's so familiar.' And stuff like that here-" I muttered to myself.

"You okay Artemi?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"You just haven't seemed yourself since the warmups" Jonathan said.

"A girl I saw look familiar." I said and looked up at Jonathan.

"Oh?" Jonathan questioned.

"I think I grew up with a girl I saw in the stands." I replied.

"Did you know her well?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes. We were awesome friends." I replied.

"Alright. We have to continue playing, but we'll continue this conversation later. okay?" Jonathan asked.

"Okay." I replied.

-------Kristina's POV:

The guys jumped back on the ice, and lined up for another period. It went by quickly, and the Kings  ended up scoring. The game was now tied 1-1. The third period was soon underway, and the Blackhawks scored again. (I applogize about the vague detail, but I am working this at like 10:15 at night and very little brain power left... Also I am lazy so yeah- resume the story!) Once the game ended, I headed back to the locker rooms with Gianna.

As we stood in the doorway of the locker rooms, Gianna said," The guys are changing, but they will be done in five minutes. The coach just texted me."

"Okay cool." I replied. The door swung open, and it was opened by Artemi. He smiled and looked at me. "Kristina? Is that you?" Artemi asked in Russian.

"Yes." I replied back in Russian. His smile got brighter, and he went in to hug me. I hugged him back, since it was nice to see him again after all of these years.

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I hope you guys enjoy the story. Again, I apologize about the vague detail and sucky writing, but I just finished this thing up at almost midnight- and my brain is fried. And I have zero brain power left. I wanted to finish this up so my head doesn't explode with ideas. So yeah. Umm idk what else to say

LW out!⚡️