Making it

Agent Hailey 69

Upon arriving at the hotel I spot Henrik, Pavel, and Geno sitting in lobby chairs. All three of them seem to be re-enacting past games, I laugh to myself as I watch Datsyuk pull back his arm and swing it forward; mocking a slap shot.

And then, from the corner of my eye I see something that makes the smile disappear....Jonathon is sitting by himself, scrolling on his Blackberry.

After the way we were introduced I feel like I owe it to the guy to at least make an effort. Not to mention he seems pretty closed off....

With that, I approach him cautiously trying to put on a big smile.

"Whatcha doing?" I say sweetly.

He looks up from his phone, his expression serious and professional. "Just emailing family, making the final preparations." He says smoothly.

"Well...uh, why don't you come with me and we'll meet up with the Europeans?" I ask him.

"There was some mistake and so the rooms won't be ready for another hour. I'm probably just going to relax here." He says tiredly.

"C'mon....I mean, we should all go somewhere and kill the time. I'm going to be wasting my summer with you guys and I'd like to get to know each one of you. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I would really enjoy your company and it wouldn't hurt to get out, right?" I insist.

That's when his face lifts a bit, and slowly I can see his straight face melt into a tiny grin.

"And what exactly do you propose?"

"Well...I know a hip bowling alley, it's only fifteen minutes from here..?"

Jonathan throws the idea around his head before nodding and suggesting I ask the others.

-----

"Bowleeng? Count us in!" Geno says pointing at Pavel.

"Sounds like fun, I'm up for it." Henrik says.

A late Alex also decides to tag along.

-----

I flop onto the hotel bed. Tonight's been a long night and I'm still pretty beat-up about how badly I lost. We played in teams, Hank and Jonathan, Pavel and Geno, which of course, left me with Alex.

Most of the conversation we shared was one-sided....Alright, basically he spent the night complimenting me.

It's not like I didn't appreciate his efforts...I just don't know how I can accept praising when I don't really love myself.

In any case, we lost with a mere 100 points. And surprisingly enough Captain Serious and Hank won with over 200. They were dynamite, getting constant strikes.

I fall asleep pretty quickly, anticipating tomorrow.

-----

I'm awake and ready for the world by 7 am. I'm supposed to wait for a call from Mr.Moore to head down to the brunch, I assume it will probably begin around 9, so I look around for ways to pass the time.

First I put on an impressive short summer dress, it's orange with floral prints all over it. I've never been the type to dress up, but I can't deny how adorable the outfit is.

Then I flop down on my bed and turn the t.v on, looks like there's a Wipeout marathon, good enough. 

-----

At 8:30, I hear a small knock coming from the door, I open it to find Geno dressed casually in a t-shirt and jeans. "Hulloh! Me and Pavel are going to see if we can sneak food, want to join?"

I smile at him, it was only yesterday that I was too star-struck to speak to the guy and now I consider him almost...a friend.

"Yeah, for sure." I say as I leave my room, "Where are the other guys?"

"Uhhh, well, Hank is still sleeping on couch in our room, and Cap'n Serious is working in wifey room."

I interject while laughing, "You mean the wi-fi area?"

He laughs and shrugs, "Yeah, that one....And Alex, who knows!"

We walk beside eachother playfully nudging the others shoulder until we reach his room. Geno opens the door, and inside I see the blinds are still closed making it extremely dark. All I can make out is the basic shapes of furniture. I suppose that Malkin can't see much either because he pushes his head through the door and starts whisper-shouting, "Pavel...Hellooooo, Pavel?"

It's completley silent.

Until out of nowhere Pavel tackles Geno, laughing silently.

"You scare me shitless!" He says.

Pavel sticks out his tongue and escorts us out of the doorway and into the hall.

"Okeey, so the plan. What we are doing is sneaking into the brunch hall and finding any food we can get our hands on. We have to be quiet, or else probably going to have our fingers cut off." Datsyuk says. I can't really tell how serious he is, but I nod along.

I try to hold back a fit of giggles as the two start walking very slowly towards the elevator. "Are you guys some sort of Russian spys?" I ask.

They look at me with blank expressions before Pavel lowers his voice and says, "I'm Pavel 13."

Malkin looks at him before turning his head sharply towards me and saying,"I'm Geno 71."

"And I'm Hailey...uh,uh..." I try to sort through all the numbers in my head. I don't have any specific one that I would choose over the other...  

"I'm Hailey...69!"  

The three of us crack up and the elevator door closes. 

-----

We only manage to steal a few oranges before we're shoo'd by a chief. By the time we've cleaned up the brunch is about to begin, so we straighten ourselves out and put on professional faces.

The brunch area is very tall and is covered with long open windows. Beautiful white tables are set with small flowers sitting on top. If I knew any better I would have thought this was some sort of reception hall.

It seems that everyone has been assigned to a seat and I'm not surprised to see that six chairs line the largest table where the NHL players and I will most definitely be sitting.

I pick up the card with my name on it and sit down in my chair, then I take a quick peek beside me.

Oh God.

To my right it reads, Henrik Zetterberg.

To my left, Alexander Ovechkin.

Breakfast is about to get much more interesting.