The Puck Drops

Chapter 6 - Jackson

The next month went by fast and I couldn't believe it was Saturday night and we were getting ready to play against the Binghamton Devils for opening night. I was nervous like it was my first time ever playing. The night before a game the coach wanted us all to stay at the hotel near the arena, so we were all together for the first game. It was a nice bonding experience too with some of the guys that I didn't spend a lot of time with yet. During the last month I was able to become close with a few guys and we were becoming good friends. Cory Conacher, Andy Andreoff and I became an unstoppable line during practices. We believed it was because we were able to click so well that Cory and Andy just knew where they would be on each side in front of the goal and Andy and I were able to get the goals where no one thought it would happen. Coach was still playing around with the center for our line. I was sharing a room with Andy and I had a feeling that this would be my room buddy when we traveled. He didn't snore and we got along with having to share a few things. We made our way downstairs to grab some food. I grabbed the bagel and toasted it and a few other fruits and yogurt and made my way to an open table. Brady Brasert and Andy sat down next to me and we all looked up when Cory sits down.

"So, you ready for the game tonight Jackson?" I looked up to Andy and waited to answer until my mouth was empty.

"I am so ready for tonight. I am a little nervous with Kenna going to be there." Which was true this would be the first time since High school that Kenna would be out in the crowd and there is something about having her there again.

"Kenna is the girl that came the first day of practice, right?"

"Yea she is. She was the only person I have ever been able to rely on growing up."

"You like her, don't you?"

I paused I didn't know how to answer this. I knew I liked her, but I didn't know how she felt about me. I never took the next step to figure out if she wanted more and didn't want to lose her friendship now.

"We are just friends. I don't think it will be anything more."

I went back to eating the food on my plate. The guys didn't ask any more questions and just left things how they were. I was grateful for the quiet and finished my food and then cleared the plate. I made my way back to my room and grabbed my phone. There was still five hours before we had to be to the arena. I looked down at my phone and noticed I missed a text message when I was eating earlier.

Good Luck today! I will see you tonight!

Thank you. I will look for you in the crowd tonight.

It was Kenna and now I knew she would be at the game which helped calm my nerves a little more. She always loved watching us boys play hockey growing up and I always liked to believe that she was my good luck charm. The four years I played in high school we made it all the way to the championships and won. It was the best time but when I went to college it became more of a struggle. It wasn't until I was in my third year when Kenna came to college that the team made it to the championship and won. That is when I started believing that she was the reason I would have an amazing game and my team would make it to the finals and win. In Los Angeles I had good games, but they weren't at the level I was playing at before I was drafted which made people question drafting me and keeping me on their team. I was sure that is why I was traded to the Lightning but maybe having my good luck charm again, I will be able to prove I have the skill to play at this level. I made it back to my room I decided to take a nap before the game to make sure that I had all the energy I could have. I was hoping that this would help me get out of my head.

My alarm woke me up about an hour before we had to be down in the lobby to head over to the arena. I got up and jumped into the shower, where I just let the water run down me and wash away everything. I heard Andy come back into the room and start moving things around. I took a few more minutes in the shower then grabbed a towel and jumped out. I wrapped the towel around my waist and walked out to the sink that was just outside of the bathroom to start shaving and making sure I had a clean look for the game. Andy walked into the bathroom and closed the door; it only took a few minutes to hear the water start running. Once I was done shaving, I drained the water from the sink and walked over to the closet and grabbed my dress clothes and set them onto the bed. Andy came out of the bathroom and started getting ready along with me. I was in a black dress pants and shirt with a red tie. I thought the little bit of color made the outfit pop. It is one of my favorite outfits to wear when having to dress up. Andy was in a blue suit with white shirt. We got our shoes on then made our way down to the lobby. Some of the other players were already down waiting when we showed up. We had to wait for three more people who weren't too far behind us. Once we were all there the coach brought us out to the bus, and we made our way to the rink. The bus made its way through the downtown traffic which wasn't too bad. The bus pulled up to the back of the arena where we all started to unload from the bus and make out way down to the players room. The nerves did start growing with each step towards the locker room, you would have thought it was my first game ever. I knew it had to be because I was coming home again and playing in front of people that I grew up with. Once in the locker room everyone started going their own way to prepare for the game.

I grab my headphones and plugged them in and just started listening to my music. We had an hour until the game started. I walked out of the locker room tunnel and went and sat on one of the seats looking out onto the ice. Listening to my music and tuning out everything that was going on around me. The end of my playlist came around and I knew it was time to head in and lace up. The doors were getting ready to open and soon the seats would be filled. I made my way back down the tunnel and walked over to my locker and put my phone on the top shelf and then I started getting my pants and socks then skates on. My pads and jersey would be the last thing that would go on and it would be right before warm-ups. The coach came in and we all sat in front of our lockers as he began his pep talk before, we went out for warm-ups. Once he was done it was time for us to go out. I grabbed my pads put them on and then threw my jersey over the pads. I was officially in a Syracuse Crunch jersey with my favorite number 16, it was the number that I had through my high school and college career. I couldn't have it out in Los Angeles but when I came to the Syracuse and they said they had the number available I grabbed it before anyone else could get it. Once I was fully dressed, I grabbed my stick and made my way towards the line that was getting ready to hit the ice.