Beneath the Surface

February 9th, 2012
Thursday
CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA
6:50 P.M.

Carmen quickly followed behind Mindy, she felt tiny in the oversized Crosby jersey Sidney had given her to wear.

“That jersey is the one he was wearing when he won the Stanley cup,” said Mindy.

“Do they usually keep their jerseys?” asked Carmen.

“No, usually they get auctioned off or have raffles for people to win them but Sid wanted to keep it because it was his winning jersey.” They found their seats down by the bench.

“These must be hard seats to get,” said Carmen.

“Not when you’re Sidney Crosby’s cousin!” said Mindy smiling.

“Do you ever go to the away games?” asked Carmen.

“No, not unless it’s a playoff game,” said Mindy. Carmen could tell the game was about to start when loud music began to play. The lights dimmed and a loud booming voice echoed throughout the arena.

“Please welcome your Pittsburgh Penguins!” Carmen saw the players come out onto the ice, moving fast as they circled around their side of the rink. Loud boo’s filled the arena as the other team came out. Carmen spotted Sidney circling around, gliding smoothly on the ice. He slowed down when he came by them and smiled down at them. Mindy got up and cheered, banging on the glass. Carmen wasn’t sure if she was imagining it but as Sidney skated away she swore she saw him turn his head a little and wink at her. She turned to ask Mindy if she had seen it but she was busy rummaging through her purse for something. She pulled out a Pittsburgh Penguins hat with a signature across the Penguin on the front.

“A little boy who always sits here found out that I’m Sid’s cousin and asked me if I could get a signed hat for him.” Carmen saw two empty seats next to Mindy.

“Is he coming?” asked Carmen.

“Should be, they have season tickets to these seats.” said Mindy.

Sure enough five minutes later, a little boy and his father came and sat down.

“Hi Mindy,” he said.

“Hey John,” said Mindy smiling, “I got you your hat!” She game him the hat and the boy’s face lit up.

“Thank you so much!” said John. His father smiled and said

“It was so nice of you to do this.”

“It was no problem,” said Mindy. “Sid will do anything for his fans.” Carmen happily watched the boy and Mindy said “John this is Carmen, it’s her first hockey game.”

“Hi John,” said Carmen.

“Are you also Sidney’s cousin?” asked John. Carmen smiled and said

“No, just a friend.” They were interrupted by a loud cheering as the singer for the national anthem came out. Carmen stood up and listened to the girl start singing. He looked over at the bench and saw Sidney with his back turned and head down against his stick. If Jenny only knew where she was right now.

After the Canadian anthem was sung the players went out onto the ice to play. Mindy tried to explain what was going on as quickly as possible to her.

“They’re in the face off and Sidney’s the center on the first line.” Carmen saw Sidney crouch down, head to head with the opposing player, waiting for the puck to drop. The referee let go and just as the puck touched the ice, Sidney was lightning fast a he took it away from the other player. Mindy stood up and cheered. Carmen watched as Sidney passed it to another player on his team. A sound of disappointment came from the crowd when the puck was stolen away from the Penguins.

The more Carmen watched the more she understood about the game. Finally, about ten minutes in, Sidney scored on a breakaway. Carmen jumped up with Mindy, cheering as Sidney skated around their end in celebration. The players pressed up against the glass in front of them. Mindy banged on the glass to get Sidney’s attention. He turned and looked at Carmen smiling before skating away.

“Isn’t this awesome?!” yelled Mindy.

“Ya !” said Carmen. “I’ve never been to something as exciting as this!”

The Penguins won the game 5-2 and Carmen left the arena still full of energy from the excitement of the game.

“Let’s go see Sid!” said Mindy.

“What? We can do that?” asked Carmen.

“We can’t go into the locker room but we can wait at the top of the stairs for him.” Carmen followed Mindy outside to the parking lot where the players parked for games and practices. A security guard stood by a double doorway.

“Hey Frank,” said Mindy.

“Hey Mindy,” he said. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Carmen; it’s her first hockey game.” said Mindy.

“Hi,” said Carmen shyly.

“Did you have fun?” asked the guard.

“Ya it was great,” said Carmen smiling. He moved aside for them to go in.

“Bye Frank, see you later.” Once the doors closed after them Carmen said

“He just lets you in?”

“Ya he knows I’m Sid’s cousin,” said Mindy. They stood inside a small concrete room with a staircase leading down to a hallway. “This goes to the locker room so we’ll see him when he comes out.” Carmen saw Sidney appear at the bottom of the stairs and said

“Or now,” He was still in his hockey gear except for his skates. He was drenched in sweat, his hair dripping.

“Aren’t you supposed to be changing?” asked Mindy.

“I thought I’d come see you first,” said Sidney, coming up the stairs. When he got about halfway up the disgusting smell of sweat and wet hockey gear hit their noses.

“You smell so gross,” said Carmen laughing. Sidney smiled and said

“That’s how it is after I play.” He came up to them and opened his arms. “Want a hug?” Both girls pressed against the wall in disgust. Sidney laughed and said “So Carmen how’d you like the game?”

“It was amazing!” said Carmen, “So exciting1”

“Good,” said Sidney, “So you’ll come to the next one?”

“Absolutely,” said Carmen. She saw him smile and couldn’t tell if he was blushing or his face was just red from the game.

“I’ll see you guys when I get out,” he said. He walked back down the stairs to the locker room out of sight.
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Thanks for reading :) Please comment.

Sorry I haven't updated in so long :( I've been really busy with end of the school year work. Once schools over I'll be posting A LOT more :)