Sporting his helmet with visor, his green Minnesota Wild track-suit, and a brand new pair of Bauer hockey gloves, Nik Kronwall skated out on to the ice of the Steve Carlson Arena. The local rink manager and zamboni driver Gus had informed Nik that the ice was open at 2pm due to the cancellation of some local games and that he was more than welcome to use it if he wanted.
Nik was never one to turn down a chance to skate. The sound of his blades cutting the ice, the firm sound of stickhandling the puck, the loud boom of a slapshot hitting the boards. All these sounds contributed to Nik's love of the game. The real reason he was out on the rink tonight was that he and his brother Staffan were being chased by hockey companies looking to sponsor the two. It had been a flurry in the last couple weeks of boxes being sent to the Killop's house. Boxes with skates, helmets, gloves and sticks, all with lucrative offers to use them.
Tonight Nik was trying out the different sticks he'd been sent. He'd already settled on using a Reebok Helmet, Bauer Gloves and Bauer Skates. He set up the nets at the ends of the rink then went back over to the player's bench where he'd stacked the pile of sticks he'd been sent. He decided to try the Warrior stick first, since the rep had been friendly. Unfortunately for Warrior, Nik wound up for a slapshot and as he was coming through the shot the stick snapped in half and sent Nik sprawling in a magnificent faceplant.
"Well, we won't be going with you." The Swede laughed to himself as he tossed the pieces of the stick back into the bench area.
After going through sticks from Easton, Reebok and CCM, Nik finally came around to Bauer's sticks. He picked up the black composite stick and picked up the puck. After deking around the ice for a while, Nik took a couple wrist shots and snap shots. The stick felt great, but Nik knew it would have to be good on slapshots more than anything so he grabbed ten pucks, lined them up a couple feet inside the blueline and did a series of rapid fire slapshots moving across the line. All of the slappers were rockets, hitting the net each time. Nik had found the twig he'd be using.
After settling on the Bauer stick, Nik gathered up the rest back into a pile. He was about to leave the ice and head to the dressing rooms when Gus came akwardly striding on to the ice in his beat up skates that looked like they were from 1972 and a stick in his hands.
"Hey Gus." Nik said smiling.
"Ah, watching you and your brother going through all this makes an old man happy, you know that eh Nik?"
"Glad we can make you smile. You've been as good to us, just like the Killops. Thank you again for letting me use the ice here tonight. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to choose a stick, but this one won over the others." Nik replied handing Gus his new Bauer stick.
"Ah, you kids and your composite sticks. Back when I played we used sticks that were basically 2 by 4's, with barely any curve at all." Gus mumbled as he looked over Nik's new stick.
Nik laughed in response.
"I was going to ask you if you'd wanted to play a game of three bar with me before you took off. Unless you have somewhere else to be?" Gus inquired.
"Oh, sure, I'll play a quick round with you. First to hit both posts and the cross bar right?" Nik asked.
"Yessir."
Both the old man and the Swede skated out to the slot area in front of one the nets.
"Ladies and Swede's first." Gus joked.
Nik laughed as he scooped up a puck with his stick and fired a shot that hit the left side goal post.
Gus took his first shot hitting the left side post as well.
"Ha!" Gus said as he fist pumped.
Nik took his next shot and missed hitting the crossbar by an inch.
Gus took his shot, hitting the right side post, once again doing a fist pump.
Nik fired and hit the crossbar.
"No pressure now Gus." Nik joked.
Gus screwed his eyes into a steely look of focus and determination, before firing a shot, which hit the crossbar square on.
"Yeah! First time in a while that I've gone 3 for 3. Though I think you missed your shot purposely Mr. Kronwall." Gus said.
Nik just shrugged his shoulders and laughed as he skated back over to the player's bench.
"Hey Gus come here for a second."
Gus skated over to the bench.
"Take one of these sticks. I can get them anytime I need them, and I won't be here next year, so I want you to have something to remember me by, that isn't me losing three bar." Nik said with a smile.
"Thanks kid," Gus said as he took one of the sticks from Nik,"I'll put it in my office. In fact I've actually got some paper work to do for the city, so I should get to it. The ice is still free for another hour or so if you wanted to work on anything else. Talk to you later Nik."
Gus skated off the ice as Nik watched smiling. Gus was such a good guy. If it wasn't for him, Nik doubted that hockey in the city would be what it was.
Deciding that he wouldn't mind skating around a bit more, Nik took to the ice once again, doing laps while looking into the stands, dreaming about the same situation but wearing a Minnesota Wild jersey with 20,000 fans cheering him on.
Three Bar
Three Bar
Stuff. Things. Stuff and things.
Autumn O'Leary made quick work of the stone steps leading down to the hockey rink, a small smile creeping onto her face as she spied a familiar certain somebody on the ice. She was always happy to get out of the house and away from her parents, who seemed to jump at the opportunity to cram charity work down her throat. 'Autumn, you'd really enjoy it!' or 'Autumn, you get the greatest feeling from helping others!'. Who the hell got enjoyment from feeding a bunch of hobos soup? Not Autumn O'Leary. Her parents could handle that, she was perfectly content studying or doing her sports. No charity work, thank you very much.
Hurriedly straightening her denim skirt and quickly brushing it off, Autumn knocked hard on the glass overlooking the rink- hoping Nik would notice her right away. Her hopes were almost immediately granted (whether it was by her knock or not) when the tall boy skated over to the glass where she was standing.
The smile already plastered on her pretty face instantly grew bigger, offering a small wave as it did. Autumn wasn't the type of girl to fall head over heels for a boy, but there was something about Nik that made even her heart melt. It might have been the goofy way he carried himself or the curiosity the foreigner possessed, but there was something that struck an interest and Autumn definitely wasn't going to fight it.
Walking over to the penalty box, Autumn carefully climbed over the wall (making sure not to let her skirt slip up) and sat down on the bench and waited for Nik to come over.
Hurriedly straightening her denim skirt and quickly brushing it off, Autumn knocked hard on the glass overlooking the rink- hoping Nik would notice her right away. Her hopes were almost immediately granted (whether it was by her knock or not) when the tall boy skated over to the glass where she was standing.
The smile already plastered on her pretty face instantly grew bigger, offering a small wave as it did. Autumn wasn't the type of girl to fall head over heels for a boy, but there was something about Nik that made even her heart melt. It might have been the goofy way he carried himself or the curiosity the foreigner possessed, but there was something that struck an interest and Autumn definitely wasn't going to fight it.
Walking over to the penalty box, Autumn carefully climbed over the wall (making sure not to let her skirt slip up) and sat down on the bench and waited for Nik to come over.
Nik heard the rap against the glass and saw Autumn standing there with a smile on her face. Nik grinned as he kept skating, shaking his head slightly. Autumn was one of his best friends in America. He'd befriended the girl at his first USA high school party. She seemed like a pretty nice girl and was one of few people who seemed to be legitimately interested in his stories from back in Sweden. Helped that she was pretty damn good looking too.
Nik skated hard down the rink making the cross-over turns to circle behind the net before he made his way over to the penalty box. Taking a few deep breathes Nik sat next to Autumn and glanced around.
"So I didn't expect to see you here today. Nice surprise to get since I don't think Staffan is going to show up."
Nik skated hard down the rink making the cross-over turns to circle behind the net before he made his way over to the penalty box. Taking a few deep breathes Nik sat next to Autumn and glanced around.
"So I didn't expect to see you here today. Nice surprise to get since I don't think Staffan is going to show up."
Stuff. Things. Stuff and things.
The ice ranked up amongst Jessie Anderson's very favourite places to go. One of the reasons was of course her sport. She imagined the feeling she got stepping out onto the ice was much the same as the one a footballer got when they walked onto the field. The other was far harder to explain, the closest Jessie could get was that it felt oddly soothing to just skate. That was why the rink at the mall was Jessie's second favourite place.
Earlier that day, Jessie had been annoyed to find out that the night's games had been called off. She had been looking forward to spending the evening doing the next best thing to actually playing hockey - watching it. Still, it hadn't taken a genius to figure out that if the games were off, then the ice would be free during the times they were supposed to have been played. Hoping that there hadn't been any developments in the meantime, Jessie had got together some of her gear and headed out to the arena.
It hadn't taken her too long to get ready, and soon enough, Jessie was stepping onto the ice, her stick in one hand, a puck in the other. She had figured she could do a bit of practice, shots, general skating, control, that kind of thing. However, it didn't take her too long upon getting onto the ice to spot that it wasn't unoccupied. There were a couple of people sitting on one of the benches behind the goal. Jessie recognised both - they were in her grade at school after all. One was Autumn O'Leary, who was a very athletic person, although Jessie didn't know much more about her than that. The other... Nik Kronwall, somebody she spoke to occasionally because of a shared interest in hockey, but again, not exactly one of her best friends.
Jessie decided that there was no point changing her plans just because a couple of people were talking. In case the conversation was private, she would just go up to the other end of the ice. Jessie gave the pair of them a casual wave, then tossed the puck down and began manoeuvring up towards the opposite goal. No sense bothering anybody she didn't have to.
Earlier that day, Jessie had been annoyed to find out that the night's games had been called off. She had been looking forward to spending the evening doing the next best thing to actually playing hockey - watching it. Still, it hadn't taken a genius to figure out that if the games were off, then the ice would be free during the times they were supposed to have been played. Hoping that there hadn't been any developments in the meantime, Jessie had got together some of her gear and headed out to the arena.
It hadn't taken her too long to get ready, and soon enough, Jessie was stepping onto the ice, her stick in one hand, a puck in the other. She had figured she could do a bit of practice, shots, general skating, control, that kind of thing. However, it didn't take her too long upon getting onto the ice to spot that it wasn't unoccupied. There were a couple of people sitting on one of the benches behind the goal. Jessie recognised both - they were in her grade at school after all. One was Autumn O'Leary, who was a very athletic person, although Jessie didn't know much more about her than that. The other... Nik Kronwall, somebody she spoke to occasionally because of a shared interest in hockey, but again, not exactly one of her best friends.
Jessie decided that there was no point changing her plans just because a couple of people were talking. In case the conversation was private, she would just go up to the other end of the ice. Jessie gave the pair of them a casual wave, then tossed the puck down and began manoeuvring up towards the opposite goal. No sense bothering anybody she didn't have to.
Pristine, bright white teeth exposed themselves as Nik Kronwall skated toward the pretty redhead, a bright smile present on his own face. Her slim index finger quickly met with her front teeth, which she rubbed harshly- hoping to rid them of any pleasantries that could have squeezed in between. Immediately following, Autumn opened the clasp of her small purse and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. You could say she was a tad bit of a germaphobe, but Autumn would be the first to correct you. She wasn't afraid of germs, she just didn't like them. And being a germ-killer seemed to work for her, too. Never missed of a day of school since the second grade chicken-pox outbreak, she'd proudly proclaim.
Nik's voice corralled her attention and she looked up in time to see the tall boy walking (more like hobbling, really) toward her. She finished up her small cleaning session and made room from the clunky boy on the bench. The unpleasant smell of sweat attacked her nostrils, but she tried her best not to show it on her face.
"So I didn't expect to see you here today. Nice surprise to get since I don't think Staffan is going to show up."
Autumn smiled at the boy and spoke, "Well, I figured I might as well come and see you. I mean, I've already finished my homework for today and Mom left the car keys for me." She paused and looked out toward the rink. Her heart beat a mile a minute as she mused on her next action. She desperately wanted to ask him to prom, but she was having a difficult mustering up the courage. As she contemplated her next move, the figure of Jessie Anderson caught her attention.
Ugh.
Despite reciprocating the small wave, Autumn really didn't care for the Christian. Did Christian's even play hockey? Wasn't that against their religion or something? She sighed and watched Jessie skate around for a bit. Stupid bible humper had totally kill any semblance of a mood the two had made.
"So, ready to get out of here?" She asked, disappointment heavy in her voice. Oh well. Maybe some other day.
Nik's voice corralled her attention and she looked up in time to see the tall boy walking (more like hobbling, really) toward her. She finished up her small cleaning session and made room from the clunky boy on the bench. The unpleasant smell of sweat attacked her nostrils, but she tried her best not to show it on her face.
"So I didn't expect to see you here today. Nice surprise to get since I don't think Staffan is going to show up."
Autumn smiled at the boy and spoke, "Well, I figured I might as well come and see you. I mean, I've already finished my homework for today and Mom left the car keys for me." She paused and looked out toward the rink. Her heart beat a mile a minute as she mused on her next action. She desperately wanted to ask him to prom, but she was having a difficult mustering up the courage. As she contemplated her next move, the figure of Jessie Anderson caught her attention.
Ugh.
Despite reciprocating the small wave, Autumn really didn't care for the Christian. Did Christian's even play hockey? Wasn't that against their religion or something? She sighed and watched Jessie skate around for a bit. Stupid bible humper had totally kill any semblance of a mood the two had made.
"So, ready to get out of here?" She asked, disappointment heavy in her voice. Oh well. Maybe some other day.
Nik noticed the girl's tone when she saw Jessie. There must have been some underlying reason for it, but he wasn't going to be one to prod. If there was one thing Nik had learned thus far in America, it was to keep his nose out of other people's business.
"That's cool that you have the car keys. If you wouldn't mind I could actually use a ride home. Like I said, Staffan was supposed to meet me here but he hasn't showed so I'm rideless. I do have a bunch of sticks to bring back though, so if your car can fit them in there we're good to go. I'll even take you for lunch at the mall if you want as a thank you." Nik replied casually hoping Autumn didn't notice him blushing.
All of his friends from the hockey team and even his brother had been telling him he should get a girlfriend or start going on some dates while he was here. Autumn was a girl he'd thought about asking out.
Just ask her to the prom later at the mall.
Nik nodded to himself as he waited to see if Autumn's car could fit the assload of sticks he'd been trying out.
"That's cool that you have the car keys. If you wouldn't mind I could actually use a ride home. Like I said, Staffan was supposed to meet me here but he hasn't showed so I'm rideless. I do have a bunch of sticks to bring back though, so if your car can fit them in there we're good to go. I'll even take you for lunch at the mall if you want as a thank you." Nik replied casually hoping Autumn didn't notice him blushing.
All of his friends from the hockey team and even his brother had been telling him he should get a girlfriend or start going on some dates while he was here. Autumn was a girl he'd thought about asking out.
Just ask her to the prom later at the mall.
Nik nodded to himself as he waited to see if Autumn's car could fit the assload of sticks he'd been trying out.
Stuff. Things. Stuff and things.
To start with, Jessie just skated. Flicking the puck into the goal then propping her stick up against the wall, she went back and forth, one side to the other. Occasionally, she ventured as far as halfway towards the opposite goal, but since she was really trying to respect the privacy of Nik and Autumn, Jessie tried to do that as little as possible. It made things slightly awkward, but what the hey: it was worth a bit of discomfort to give some other people their space.
Going through the motions of skating was fairly automatic for Jessie, having played hockey long enough that it was pretty much instinctive. As usual, her thoughts started to drift to other things. It was hard to concentrate on just the movements.
Jessie stole a glance towards Autumn and Nik again, and worried. She was beginning to suspect she had interrupted something, and it felt as if she was intruding... Jessie probably should have just ducked out when she had first seen the two of them. Going on had been a selfish thing to do. Urgh... she needed to think things through a bit better before just going for it.
Wasn't she, after all, supposed to be the considerate one?
Going through the motions of skating was fairly automatic for Jessie, having played hockey long enough that it was pretty much instinctive. As usual, her thoughts started to drift to other things. It was hard to concentrate on just the movements.
Jessie stole a glance towards Autumn and Nik again, and worried. She was beginning to suspect she had interrupted something, and it felt as if she was intruding... Jessie probably should have just ducked out when she had first seen the two of them. Going on had been a selfish thing to do. Urgh... she needed to think things through a bit better before just going for it.
Wasn't she, after all, supposed to be the considerate one?
"Oh, yeah. No problem," Autumn chirped, flashing her pearly whites once again. The thought of uninterrupted alone time (she sent an accusatory look over towards the ice) with Nik thrilled her. And who knew, maybe she could even muster up the courage and ask him.
"How's about you get your sticks and I start the car?" She kept her wide smile, nodding as Nik agreed. "Don't take to long getting changed though, 'kay?"
[ Autumn O'Leary continued in Talk Shows on Mute ]
"How's about you get your sticks and I start the car?" She kept her wide smile, nodding as Nik agreed. "Don't take to long getting changed though, 'kay?"
[ Autumn O'Leary continued in Talk Shows on Mute ]
Nik was delighted at the response. Couldn't have planned it any better. Nik quickly skated across the ice, dodging Jessie Anderson on the way, picked up the bundle of sticks off the bench before walking back into the locker-room area. He did a quick wash of his face before changing his skates out for his shoes and heading outside where Autumn had the car waiting. It was a tight fit, but the sticks managed to fit. Resting his gym bag on his lap, Nik told Autumn the directions to his house.
((continued in Talk Shows on Mute))
((continued in Talk Shows on Mute))
Stuff. Things. Stuff and things.
Jessie spent a while longer practicing, noting as she did so that Autumn and Nik had left. Oh dear, she hoped she hadn't ruined anything, that would be horrible...
All the same, there wasn't really much point worrying about it. They were gone, the offence (if indeed there was any), had been done, and now that the ice was deserted... well, time to do what she came there to do, right?
Some time afterwards, a little tired, but satisfied with the session, Jessie skated to the edge of the ice and exited the rink altogether. It was late, and she would have to head home, otherwise people would be worried.
((Jessie continued in Keep Your Head Down))
All the same, there wasn't really much point worrying about it. They were gone, the offence (if indeed there was any), had been done, and now that the ice was deserted... well, time to do what she came there to do, right?
Some time afterwards, a little tired, but satisfied with the session, Jessie skated to the edge of the ice and exited the rink altogether. It was late, and she would have to head home, otherwise people would be worried.
((Jessie continued in Keep Your Head Down))