Pond Hockey • Artemi Panarin

3

My sister casually walked down the steps, a smirk on her face. My eyes widened as I heard the sentence that came out of her mouth. 

"I saw you from my window." 

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to play it off. 

"You can't even keep a boy with you for over 20 minutes! It's hilarious! He said five words to you before running off to his house." Anya laughed. "Gosh, what a loser." 

"Shut up Anya." I snarled, embarrassed.

"I bet you were so desperate he just walked away." 

"Please, you don't even know what happened." I muttered, walking up the stairs. I turned a corner and walked into my bedroom, kicking my shoes off at the door. I dropped my hockey stuff onto the floor and sat down on my bed. Even though Anya will probably continue to taunt me for a few days about the ice-rink incident, at least I didn't kiss the boy. Because if she would've saw that, I wouldn't of lasted a day without being teased. 

I grabbed my phone, logging on to Instagram and scrolling through my feed. Before I knew it, it was already half past nine, and pitch black outside. I heard the door open and shut really fast, a gust of cold air traveling all the way through my open door. I shivered, reaching over to my dresser to find something warm to wear. I slipped on my Montreal Canadians footie pajamas and walked downstairs, only to find a pitch black house. 

Anya had left to go to some party a few hours ago, and my mom usually doesn't get home from work until two or three in the morning...why did the door open? I reached my hand out to the light switch, and flipped it on, but no light appeared. I tried a couple of times before giving up, and walking to the door. 

Maybe we blew a fuse? 

I feel like I'm in a hitch cock film, and in any moment a huge guy with a knife is going to jump out and kill me. My eyes peered over the small window at the top of our door, inspecting the outside. 

The snow was coming down pretty hard. I grabbed my phone, and a small weather alert popped up, making a loud buzzing noise. I cringed and shut it off, my eyes scanning over the writing. 

BLIZZARD WARNING-There will be up to five feet of snow in the providence of Quebec. Temperatures will lower to -20 degrees Fahrenheit. Stay inside and keep warm! If your power goes out, seek different shelter immediately! More than ten minutes outside can lead to serious frost bite! 

"What am I going to do?" I shivered, pulling my hat down farther on my face. If the power is out, and it's already below zero, I'm going to freeze to death! I grabbed my boots and slipped them over my pajamas, before walking to the kitchen. My husky, Blue, was sitting on the couch, shivering under a blanket. 

"Blue!" I grabbed my dog, signaling for him to follow me. My phone was dead, but I grabbed it anyways as I walked outside with my dog. I shut the door behind me, locking it for extra assurance. There was already two feet of snow on the porch. There was no way Anya and my mom were getting home tonight. 

The first thing I thought of was my neighbors house, but from the looks of it, no one was home. And I also didn't feel like trudging through a half a block of snow to get there. Especially at this time of night. As I looked around, my teeth chattering, the only place that seemed to have power was a house across the pond. I looked closer, realizing a horrific fact. 

That was the house the boy lives in. 

I sighed, knowing it was my last hope, and began my walk of shame across the slippery pond. My dog followed closely behind me as I walked to the house. My eyes drifted to the two brightly colored flags that hung from the roof. One of them I recognized to be a Chicago Blackhawks flag, which confused me, considering that most habs fans in Quebec hated the Hawks. As I stepped on the doorstep, the other flag was a red white and blue one, which I presumed was Russian. 

My hand reached up and rang the door bell once, then twice-just for reassurance.

I couldn't hear anything above the high winds, but after a few seconds, the door swung open, revealing Artemi himself. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked, squinting. The snow was flying into his house as he spoke, so he grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, shutting the door behind me. 

"The power went out at my house and no one else around me was home. You are in the only house that has power I believe." I rushed out. 

"Oh." 

"I'll only be here for a little while, I assume the blizzard will end pretty soon. At least that's what the weathermen said." I shivered as I covered my ears with my hat, moving my two french braids to the sides of my face. 

"Your probably cold, h-here." Artemi handed me a blanket from his couch, wrapping it around my shoulders. 

Once he looked down at the floor, he saw my dog. His face lit up and he crouched down besides it. "Whose this?" He asked, his Russian accent peaking out. 

"My dog, Blue. He's a Siberian Husky." 

"My Grandpa has one of these in Korkino." He said, petting my dog on the head. 

"Do you live alone?" I asked, kicking off my boots. 

"No. I don't live in Canada. Every couple of months I visit my Grandma and Aunt. They live here. I live in Chicago."

He looks familiar...but I can't seem to put my finger on it. 

"So do you live in your house alone?" Artemi asked, sitting down on the couch. I followed him, letting Blue sit between us. 

"No. I live with my mother, whose never home, and my sister. I'm going to college right now, and I play hockey there, which costs a lot of money and time. Since I'm usually never home I stay with my mother and sister during the off-season instead of staying in my dorm." I explained. 

"Oh me too." 

"What league do you play for?" I asked, trying to discover who he was. 

"I used to play in the KHL, but I was just drafted to play in the NHL this following year." 

"For the blackhawks?" I asked.

"Yes. It's only April, so I have a lot of time before season starts. I moved to Chicago so I could adjust to the city life." 

"Wow. It's great to be on a team that just came off of a great season...winning the cup and all." I said.

"You a blackhawks fan eh?" He asked. 

"In some ways I guess. But I'm a die hard habs fan." I spoke proudly.

Interrupting our conversation, the emergency news came on the TV with another alert. 

"Attention all people in Ontario, do not leave your houses! Temperatures have reached up to -30, breaking an all time low in the month of April! There is also up to three feet of snow piling up outside! Stay inside and keep warm!"  The weather woman spoke, enthusiasm in her voice. 

"I guess your going to be here for awhile." Artemi said laughing. 

I laughed, petting Blue. 

Then everything went black. The power was out.