We Can See STARS

Future Chapter 25: Jonas

The following morning you are awoken by the sound of the alarm you had set for 6:30am. Granted it was a Saturday morning and any sane person would have grabbed the alarm and thrown it right out the window in order to sleep in. But with three year old twins and a husband, waking up early was the only option to enjoy some peace and quiet alone. You look over to make sure he didn't wake up from the sound of the alarm, and see a still sleeping lightly snoring Benn. You slide out slowly from the bed so as to not wake him up. You slip on your slippers and fuzzy robe exiting the bedroom and tiptoeing as you head to the stairs to not wake up the little monsters as well. It was still dark outside so you turned on the lights and started to brew a pot of coffee and open the fridge to steal one of the twins premade pb and j sandwiches to enjoy with your cup of coffee. Once the coffee was done you make your way to one of the recliners in the family room area, coffee in one hand, sandwich inside of your mouth and your tablet in the other. You finally settle down and open 'The Athletic' app on your tablet to catch up on your sports news. Something you liked to do alone since Benn as a former player and now a mentor for the Stars avoided these articles done by reporters like a plague. Whether it be a positive or negative article.

There wasn't much under your baseball categories with the postseason so close to ending so you start off instead by scrolling through the NHL articles. Benn would beg you not to read the articles when it talked solely about the Stars for fear of you accidentally telling him what you read on there. You had promised him you wouldn't, but sometimes if the article only mentioned the Stars briefly you would read what the article said. As you scroll down you find an article that peeked your interest. "Top 10 International Hockey Stars to Lookout for in 2031-32." Curious to see if the young German kid who was now going to be living in the Benn household was on this list, you click on the article.

Just as you were getting to the #5 prospect, you see a picture of Jonas in his Germany league team uniform. You continued reading: 'Jonas Brandt from Stuttgart, Germany. This young Star was picked up by the Dallas Stars early last year from the DEL. Although, at the time, there was a big question mark as to why. Having had a breakout year with the Eisbären Berlin, it has become evident he has something to prove. This season, being called up directly to the NHL, he is projected to become a contender for the Calder Trophy and already has made a significant impact with the Stars with 10 points early on in the season. At just 20 years old, could he be the factor that gets the Stars to the playoffs and onto the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2024?'

You were curious to find out more about him. You open up the web browser on your tablet and type in his full name. After all he was going to be staying in your home and around the twins. You needed to make sure he wasn't an unruly, partying young kid that would cause trouble for your family. He apparently was born in Stuttgart but at a young age moved up north to live in Berlin to attend junior hockey leagues. He had won awards and championships at the junior level. He was a C/LW and a top scorer in most of the teams he played for. Just as you were about to dig deeper into your 'research' you decide to stand up and refill your mug with coffee. As you round your way back into the kitchen, still engrossed on the tablet screen you didn't see a still sleepy eyed Jonas walking into the kitchen as well still rubbing the sleep from his eyes and bump straight into him. As you collide you manage to hold onto your coffee as your tablet goes flying onto the ground

"Scheisse!" You let out, at the unexpected collision. You open your eyes and see Jonas who is sporting a cute little bed head look.

"Es tut mir leid!" He immediately replies. His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. "Are you okay?"

"Ja, Ich bin gut. Sorry I didn't mean to swear. Usually when I say it people don't really know what I'm saying." You let out a nervous chuckle. Jonas smiles back and laughs at the German profanity you let slip.