Poker Face

Okay, QUICK NOTE This one has the actual press conference in it. I tried typing it word for word for a while but obviously when you have a guy who has English as his second language there’s going to be a lot of “Uhhh’s” and stumbling and weird words and stuff. But then I found it already typed out on a website so I just copied and pasted it. You can always just go watch it too, or not. It doesn’t really make a difference, it’s just to show how upset Kris is.

The backdrop had Pens and Red Wing Logos, along with a Stanley Cup final logo, as it was May 30th, 2008. He sat in front of the microphone, in a Penguins cap and t-shirt, much like always during press conferences. The difference was, this was no normal press conference. He sat, eyes red and puffy, arms crossed vulnerably across his chest, hands tentatively rubbing up and down is arms. Occasionally he would rub his shoulder, neck, or chest, but not because he needed to. It was a nervous tick, and he just wanted to leave as soon as possible. He wasn’t light hearted or confident, discussing the games. He wasn’t going over strategy or talking about his fellow teammates.

“Kris, I know you're good friends with Luc. Can you talk about how you found out, and how difficult this is for you?”
“I was going out of my apartment and someone called me, my agent. And just told me, like, what happened to Luc. It was so tough to handle it, because Luc was one of my great friends. Someone I can like always talk about my tough times and someone that always liked to have fun.”

“When was the last time you talked to him?”
“Three days ago. We were talking about his motorcycle, and I never thought it would happen. I can't still believe it, because when you lose someone close like that, you can't do much. And it's so tough to me. He was my best friend.” He was choked up; I thought he was about to cry. His accent was making him all the more difficult to understand, but the pain in his eyes could be read clearly. He seemed out of it, like he was only here in body.

“Tough to focus even on hockey?”
“Yeah, I don't know why, but this morning I had no, like, energy. Even if I wanted to skate, I couldn't approach it's like I lost so much energy when it happened yesterday.”

“I'm sorry about your loss, but what's your fondest memory of Luc?”
“Me and Luc went through two seasons in Val D'Or. We had so much fun. Like after we played the World Juniors together and we won two gold medals together. We were playing together. We were roommates together. We share, like, everything together. We were supposed to go on vacation this summer, and he was coming to Montreal all summer long to train. And he was a guy really funny. Like only close people could know really well Luc. He was a guy who always, like, stick up for you and always there for you.”

“Can I ask you how you found out yesterday?”
“My agent called me on my phone, and he just told me what happened.” He looked so heartbroken, I wasn’t used to him like this. I silently cursed my cousin and Kelli for making me come here with them.

“Last Question,” some man in the corner said. Kris closed his eyes at the words, whether in grief or just plain relief I don’t know. After a moment, the last reporter spoke.

“You say you just talked to him a couple days ago about the motorcycle. Had he just gotten it, and was he excited about it?”
“He got it three days ago. He was pretty excited. He's a guy who had fun with, like, sports stuff. Like Seadoo and sport cars and whatever. We talked about it. We know it was dangerous, but he had fun with it. I know he didn't do, like, speed with it. He just had a bad move or something. Those things, you have, like, no second chance.”

“Thank you, that’s all,” the man in the corner said.

Kris looked away from the reporters and ran his fingers along his sleeves. His hands had not stopped moving the entire time he talked, nor did his arms come uncrossed. Sidney, who had been sitting next to me, immediately got up and went towards Kris. Jordan, who was on my other side got up as well with Callie, as did Marc and Evgeni who were seated behind us. I followed but stayed behind, since I wasn’t that close to Kris. Which is ironic, seeing as we sleep together and everything. Sidney put a reassuring hand on Kris’s shoulder and patted him on the back. Kris got up and walked toward the rest of us, where he received hugs and ‘We’re sorry’s.’ Kris looked at me for a moment before just opting for a head nod. We both knew the less we said to each other the better off we were.

The rest of the team came up then, all talking and what not. A few of them were interviewed as well, but no matter how his teammates tried to get Kris to say more than a few words, he just wouldn’t. Eventually, the reporters left and most of the team dispersed. The only ones left were Kris, Sidney, Jordan, Callie, Geno, and Marc. And me, of course. They all walked to the locker room to get their stuff, and Callie I waited patiently outside. Sidney came out a few moments later and walked over to us.

“You wanna grab some food before going back to the apartment or do you just wanna order out?” He asked me. I shrugged.

“Is it just you and me?” I inquired. Sidney and I shared an apartment.

“Nah, the guys are all coming over,” he replied. “And Callie, you can come too of course,” he added. She smiled.

“Gee, thanks Sid,” she laughed, knowing he didn’t mean it to sound like he didn’t want her there.

“Even Kris?” I asked, getting back on topic. He nodded.

“Wow…I figured he’d just want to go home or something,” Callie noted.

“He did, but we told him to come over and not be alone,” Sid explained.

“Sidney, why didn’t you just let him be? I’m sure all he wants to do is go home and go to bed,” I argued. Just then the rest of the guys came out, signaling that our conversation was now over.

“Hey, what do you guys wanna do for food?” Sidney asked them, purposefully avoiding my comment.

“I think Jaime should cook us something,” Jordan asserted, picking me up and hauling me over his shoulder. “Last one to the parking lot is a rotten egg!” he started running, before turning back around. “Geno, grab my girl and race me,” he said. Callie got a worried expression on her face but Geno still did as told. He started running towards us, and then Jordan sprinted off again too.

“Jordan!” I squealed. He just laughed out loud and smacked my butt. Once we reached the parking lot he set me down, Evgeni doing the same with Callie. Since I didn’t see the guys anywhere, I assumed they weren’t acting like complete freaks asnd were walking normally. I leaned up against Sid’s car, and Jordan leaned on it next to me.

“So, Jaime,” he started. I rolled my eyes and turned to him with a smile playing on my lips. I knew where he was going with this, he did it every day.

“Yes Jordan?” I played along.

“How’s your love life?”

“Just fine,” I said. Just then, the guys walked out of the arena.

“Yeah well lemme know when you’re done messing around with boys and you want a real man,” he asserted, kissing one of his biceps. I giggled and shoved him lightly, but he just threw his arm around my shoulders and messed up my hair. Callie snorted as well, because she and I both knew Jordan was never serious when he hit on me; he was more like a brother if anything. I know girls say that all the time, but I’m serious. Like I said, I’m more like a guy than a girl anyways, and that’s why I got along so well with the guys; I could chill with them and they didn’t have to worry about being inappropriate. Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a slob or anything. I dressed nice, wore makeup, that whole thing. The guys said they considered it a ‘plus’ because I was the best of both worlds, especially because I knew how to cook. They really loved that one.

“Too bad you not real man,” Evegni stated, causing Callie and I to laugh and Jordan to glare at him.

“Let’s hit the road!” Sidney called. Everyone got in their prospective cars and re-assembled at Sidney and mine’s apartment. We all made our way into the building and into the elevator. Evgeni backed me into a corner and stood in front of me so I was trapped behind his back.

“Geno! Get out of here!” I laughed, attempting to push him away. He didn’t budge. The guys, with the exception of Kris, all laughed at my 5’4 frame trying to get around Evgeni’s 6’3 stature. Although Kris didn’t laugh, I did see an amused smirk on his face. After failing to move him for the millionth time, I just collapsed against his back. “Ugh, you suck.” He laughed and reached behind him, grabbing me and hoisting me up to a piggy back position.

He shot Jordan a look, prompting him to grab Callie. Just then the doors opened to our floor and they rushed out with me and Callie on their backs, occasionally spinning around in a circle or doing other odd moves, all earning giggles from Callie and I. We finally stopped at the apartment door and waited for everyone to catch up. Callie immediately hopped off of Jordan and clutched her stomach.

“Oh my god hurry Sidney!” Callie yelled, crossing her legs and laughing. “I have to pee!” Sidney unlocked the door and ushered everyone in, locking up behind us. Callie had already claimed the bathroom. Geno walked over to the couch and dropped me, but before I could even blink he had collapsed on the couch on top of me and made himself comfortable.

His body was between my legs and his head rested on my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair and laughed at his legs that hung over the edge of the couch due to his tallness and the fact that he was already half way down it to begin with. Since he was on his back he had to tilt his head upside down to glare at me, which only made me laugh harder. Callie came out of the bathroom and collapsed on top of Geno, earning an “Oof” from both of us.

“Geno, are you stealing my woman?” Jordan joked, sitting on an armchair.

“Yeah, it looks like she found real ‘real man,’” he replied. Callie started to crack up and Jordan frowned dramatically at her, pulling her off of Geno and onto his lap. The other guys plopped down all around us, and Sidney set up the play station so they could play NHL 08. This excited Evgeni and he shot up instantly, freeing me. I took my chance at escape and scurried off into the kitchen.

I looked around for a little, wondering if we had enough for me to make something good. I was surveying the fridge when another hand came out of nowhere and startled me. I jumped, hitting my head on one of the shelves, which caused me to then back up quickly, knocking me into the arms of the owner of the mysterious hand.

“Jesus,” they muttered, one arm securing my waist and the other stabilizing himself against the table I had backed us up against. My own hand was clutching my head while the other was on top of his around my waist.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, turning around in his arms. I saw it was Kris and moved to get out of his grasp, but he didn’t let go right away.

“Are you okay?” he asked, motioning to my head. His eyes were piercing, and I lost my voice. I just nodded, and he moved my hand that was covering the bump I just received. “Sorry, I was just trying to grab a bottle of water.”

“You couldn’t have waited until I moved?”

“I waited for a while, and you weren’t moving. I saw the water right there, I figured I could just grab it no problem. I didn’t know you were going to freak out,” he defended. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my still racing heartbeat. When my chest hit is, I finally realized just how close we were. He must’ve realized it too, because he removed his arm from around me and cleared his throat. Even though he released me, neither of us moved. He moved his hands up to my face, examining the injury on the top of my head. As soon as his thumb brushed it I winced, and his touch became softer. “Sorry.” I smiled lightly to let him know it was fine.

“Am I bleeding?” I asked worriedly.

“No,” he chuckled. “You’re okay.” I breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at him.

“Are you okay?” I asked. His eyes clouded over and suddenly he looked angry.

“What do you think?” He spat, pulling away from me. He walked out of the kitchen, leaving me dumbfounded. A few minutes later, after realizing we were going to have to order out to be able to feed everyone completely, I walked out of the kitchen. Jordan and Geno were dueling it out in the videogame while the other guys watched animatedly. I walked over to Kris and handed him a bottle of water, which he took hesitantly. “Thank you,” he mumbled sheepishly. I just nodded as I sat on the armrest of the couch next to Sidney.

“What’s up?” He greeted.

“What do you guys all want to eat?” I asked. At the mention of food, Jordan and Evgeni paused their game. “I looked around for stuff to cook but I think we’d be better off ordering out.” They all nodded and discussed it among themselves, finally settling on Chinese. Sidney wrote down everyone’s order and gave it to me so I could go call it in. Callie joined me in the kitchen so I could order the food away from the noise of five men goofing off. When I was done we went back into the living room and plopped down in between Jordan and Evgeni. I could feel Kris looking at me, so I glanced up at him. He looked back at the TV however, so I couldn’t really assess the situation.

A while later there was a knock on the door, signaling the food was here. I hopped up off the couch, oblivious to the guys who were still engrossed in the game, and made my way to the door. I grabbed some money off the counter and unlocked the door. As soon as I swung it open I froze, because it was not the delivery man.