Morning Shift

Locker Rooms

Jonah didn't know why his coach felt it was necessary to announce that he'd invited an NHL scout to come watch him play at their after school hockey game in front of the entire locker room, but there he was, hyping Jonah up in front of the rest of the guys, who looked like they were getting ready to rip him apart once Coach left.

"This is a big deal, boys, and not just for Moshe. I want you all working your hardest," he told them, but his gaze was fixed on Jonah as he said it, which made him squirm a little bit. However, nothing was more uncomfortable than the fear he felt after Coach gave him a supportive clap on the back and left, leaving him alone with his fuming teammates.

In an attempt to release the massive tension in the room, Jonah smiled and gave them all a thumbs up. "Good luck, guys."

They all glared back at him, so he lowered his hand as they started to file out of the locker room around him. Erik walked by and gave him a good shove to the shoulder, but he wasn't on his skates yet, so he didn't go anywhere. He stayed completely still, knowing it was better that he let everyone go before he finished getting geared up.

Only when he was positive that they'd all walked away did he start to put on his skates. Freshman year, he put on his skates in the locker room like everyone else, but some senior had used his instability to his advantage and pushed him over. He twisted his ankle and couldn't play for a week and a half.

Jonah tried not to think about it too much. He didn't want to be afraid of his own teammates.

He finished lacing up his skates and pulled on his lucky blue guards aba got him for Hannukah when he was a kid. With a deep breath and a silent prayer he wouldn't get tripped on the ice again, he walked over to the big metal door and pulled it.

Only nothing happened.

So he gave it another good pull.

It didn't budge.

"No," he mumbled as he frantically yanked the handle. "No no no no no."

He clambered over to the other door in the back of the room and tried again, only to find it was locked as well. He pounded on the metal, but there was no use. Nobody would hear him.

"Fuck!" He screamed, throwing his stick on the floor. He grabbed his phone from his bag and checked the time.

He had sixteen minutes until the game started, and he was sure his coach would want him on the ice warming up in less than five. At this point, he'd have no time to introduce himself to the scout, no time to run drills, and no time to psych himself up.

Translation: he was fucked.

He considered pounding on the door some more, but that wouldn't do any good. The locker room was isolated from the rest of the rink by a long hallway filled with trophies.

He also couldn't call his parents. The last thing he wanted was for his teammates to see his mommy save the day for him. Plus, they worried too much about him, as he was their only child and he was dedicated to playing a seriously dangerous sport. Jonah hated that he was such a big concern in his parents lives, so he really didn't need to give them another reason to worry about him.

Jonah was trapped. He looked around him at the cinderblock walls and the metal lockers he'd had the luxury of being shoved in more than once and decided this place was ten times worse than Happy's. Sure, he had to endure Priya's rants and the awful smell of the pharmacy, but nothing could be worse than being trapped in a locker room filled with humiliating memories that made him shudder to think about. Also, it smelled like BO.