The Ice Life

The empty halls of the Consol Energy Center greeted Sam as she strolled around the arena, her black laptop that was adorned with Penguins stickers sitting in the safety of its case on her shoulder. Tonight’s game against Boston didn’t start for another three hours or so but she’d been at the arena since the team’s practice earlier that morning to write up a brief piece for the Pens website. She’d decided not to leave after considering that she didn’t have anything better to do with the rest of her free time.

Sam sighed and looked down at the clock on her phone, again. “Come on guys, how hard is it to get your asses into a car and drive?”

Mallory, Caitlin, and Kim had run back to their house to grab a few things and clean up a bit before the game, Mallory had been complaining of the new HD channels and ordered everyone to go back home with her so she could prep herself for her first live TV interview on the high definition channels.

“Hey Sam wait up!” Rob Rossi huffed, running up to her with a piece of paper in his hand. “Do you think you can do this report for me? Something came up last minute and I have to run out of town this week and I need someone to cover some of my work, a couple of other guys took over some stuff but there’s still a lot left to do.”

“Sure, sure not a problem.” Sam took the paper from him and read down the long list of assignments. “Damn, get enough work Rossi? This list is longer then the number of suspensions Cookie’s gotten in his entire career!”

“I’m going to tell him you said that.” Rossi laughed, waving as he turned and headed toward the doors.

Sam shook her head and went back to wandering around the rink, reading over the list as she did and not paying attention to where her feet were taking her. After turning right down another hallway she looked up at the sound of voices and then walked right into someone’s chest, falling back onto the seat of her pants and looking up with a scowl on her face.

“Oi veyh, I found Penguins!”

Marc Andre Fleury, Max Talbot, and Pascal Dupuis stared down at the short girl in surprise, all of them having stopped short in their French spoken conversation to wonder where she’d come from and why she was sitting on the ground.

“Oh sorry!” Marc quickly pulled her back up and handed her the fallen laptop case. “We didn’t see you there, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah it’s all good here. Sorry for plowing into you guys like that, I was too busy reading Rob Rossi’s task list.” Sam shot them a crooked smile, waving the list of paper around for them to see.

“Task list eh? Rossi still making everyone do his work for him?” Pascal asked with a laugh.

Sam shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Something like that. I think he just likes dumping all his extra work on the new kid.”

Max’s eyes widened and he started pointing excitedly at Sam. “Oh! You’re one of those new journalists! I thought I heard some of the older reporters talking about these new people that just joined with the organization.”

Sam smirked. “Yeah, I’m one of them. I think everyone met my two friends Mallory and Kim earlier today during your practice.”

Pascal snorted. “Those two chicks up in the commentator’s booth? Damn they were great.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, those two are just a huge bucket of laughs.”

“Oh why thank you, short stuff.” Kim smirked as she walked up to Sam and threw an arm over her shoulder; Sam glared at being called short. “I’m Kim by the way boys, Mallory and Caitlin are off snooping.”

“They’re doing what?” Max asked, frowning in confusion.

“James Bond-ing their way around the Bruins locker room.” Kim rolled her eyes. “For God knows what reason.”

Sam snorted. “I have a funny feeling it wasn’t Caitlin’s idea.”

Kim smiled, mischief dancing in her eyes. “Duh, who else but Mal would try to break into a hockey locker room in hopes of seeing some shirtless men?”

Sam and Kim laughed, thinking of how ridiculous their friend’s antics were. The three Penguin players standing in front of them stared wide eyes at the two girls, worry clouding their expressions as they glanced nervously at one another.
“Um, does she do that kind of stuff a lot?”

♦♠♣♥

“We’re going to get fired for this!”

“Only if we get caught, calm down!”

“I hate you for this!”

Mallory and Caitlin were crouched down, glaring at one another as they whispered-argued outside the Boston Bruins locker room.

“I don’t know why I let you talk me into these things.” Caitlin hissed as Mallory grabbed the handle on the doors and pushed them open.

“I keep your life exciting, remember?” Mallory grinned at Caitlin over her shoulder and slipped inside the quiet locker room.

Caitlin sighed and followed her friend inside, shaking her head and muttering incoherently under her breath. The Bruins locker room was silent and empty as far as the two girls could tell. They players away game jerseys were already sitting in their stalls and the coaches’ plans for the night’s game were drawn up on the whiteboards.

“Ah check this out!” Mallory ran over to Tyler Seguin’s stall, grabbing one of his sticks. “One of the hot rookie’s sticks!”

Caitlin gasped and stared in horror at Mal. “Put that down before your break it!”

“Will you relax? No one is even in-” Voices echoed outside the locker room doors, causing Mallory to drop the stick and freeze. “Hide!”

The girls scrambled around the room for a few seconds before jumping inside an equipment closet, leaving the door cracked slightly so they could watch what the players were up to. A moment later the door opened and a group of Bruins players walked in, talking and joking loudly with each other.

“I’m telling you man, it was just a gag gift!” David Krejci said; crossing his arms and glaring up at team captain Zdeno Chara.

“Who gives a guy a coupon for a free massage and pedicure at a spa?” The immensely tall defenseman asked, an amused smile tugging up the corner of his mouth.

“It was a joke! She doesn’t think I’m gay!” David threw his arms up in exasperation as Zdeno shook his head and laughed.

“Okay ladies,” another player waltzed into the room wearing a black hat cocked to the side and a white wife beater. “Calm down before you break a nail and make way for the real man on this team!”

“Why are you dressed like that dude?” David laughed; gesturing to his teammate’s outfit. “It makes you look like a total douche.”

“It does not!” The guy exclaimed, insulted.

Mallory made a face. “Dude his voice is so hot! Who is that? I can’t see his face.”

“What?! I don’t know, what do you mean his voice is hot?”

“I don’t know, it’s like all deep and makes me think of someone like maybe Flo Rida or something. I think I’ll call him ‘Drop it Low’, until I can find out who he is.” Mallory decided; smiling at the new name she’d just given the player.

Caitlin slapped a hand over her face, shaking her head as Mallory continued to listen to the Bruins bicker with one another like old married couples.

“Will you quit criticizing the way I dress?!”

“It’s my duty as your friend to inform you when you look like a moron!”

The doors opened again and a young looking guy walked in. “What the hell are you guys fighting about now?”

Mallory gasped and jumped up and down in excitement, shaking Caitlin by the shoulders. “Ohmygawd look it’s the hot rookie!”

“Doesn’t he look like a douche dressed like that?” David asked Tyler, pointing to ‘Drop it Low’ who just glared furiously at his teammate.

“I do no-”

“Well with the hat, wife beater, gold chain, fancy jeans, and flip flops you do look a tad bit douchey today man.” Tyler smiled sheepishly before walking over to his stall, leaving ‘Drop it Low’ gaping at him.

“And what the hell do you know Seguin?!” He screamed, throwing his hands up and stomping out of the room, muttering angrily under his breath.

The other players chuckled and followed him out of the room, making their way into the kitchen area to scavenge for food. When their footsteps had finally faded away, Mallory and Caitlin made a break for it. They jumped out of the closet like they’d been fired from a cannon and sprinted toward the doors, throwing them open, and sprinting full out down the hallway to the safety of the commentator’s booth. David walked back out into the main room, looking curiously at the locker room doors that had just closed and listening to the loud pounding of footsteps in the hall outside.

“Did you guys hear anyone come in?” He asked, turning around to address the members of his team.

As the guys looked around in confusion Tyler finally notices the stick Mallory had dropped in front of his stall. He walked over and picked up the fallen stick, staring at it in amazement and wondering how it had ended up on the ground. The four Bruins players looked at one another, wondering what the hell they had missed out on this time.

♦♠♣♥

With an exhausted groan, Sam fell back into the large, black spinning chair in her office and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Papers were scattered all over her desk and on the floor, some were basic notes and others were drafts she’d typed up. Rob Rossi’s task list had been an endless supply of tiring assignments that had dragged her all over the arena and involved her making many last minute phone calls

“Now I know why he didn’t do any of this himself.” She muttered, placing all of the finished drafts into a folder and leaving it in the basket on the outside of her door to be picked up later.

Only one item was left on the list, and with only an hour left before the puck dropped Sam needed to get moving if she had any hopes of getting an another last minute interview with a coach or player. Sam sighed heavily, vowing to never take on any extra work from Rossi ever again, and picked up the list; she had to do a quick interview with a Penguins defenseman about how the team planned to contain the Bruins offense.

“And, I’m off to find Brooks Orpik.” As Sam shoved herself up, Mallory came flying into the room with an excited grin on her face.

“Dude you won’t believe what just happened to me and Caitlin! And did I hear you mention that you’re off to find my man Orpik?” Excitement over took the taller girl’s features. “Ohmygawd can I come with you? Please?!”

Sam groaned, placing her head in her hands. “No! I need to interview him, not let you run off with him to find an empty equipment closet.”

Mallory glared down at her friend. “Fine! And it wouldn’t have to be an equipment closet, an empty shower room works just as well.”

Sam rolled her eyes ducking past her and hurrying down the hallway. “Oi veyh.”

Sam hurried down the hall, hoping that she still had time to get in one last interview with a defenseman before all the Penguins disappeared behind their locker room doors. She broke into a jog as she rounded another corner, spotting the locker room and a couple of players standing outside it. A relieved smile appeared on her face when she spotted the exact person she was looking for.

“Hey!” She slid to a stop in front of Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, and Brent Johnson. “I need to borrow you Brooksy; this should only take like seven minutes.”

Brooks stared at her, very unsure of what to say. “Uh, sure I guess I’m not bus-”

“Great! Let’s go.” Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him into the locker room, looking around for a place to interview him. “Are there any empty rooms around here Brooks?”

The defenseman’s eyed widened. “I-I um I don’t-”

Sam rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I need to interview you Orpik; I’m not planning on having my way with you…like Mal probably would.”

“What? I didn’t hear that last part? And we can go into Dan’s office; he’s out with Tony talking to Ray about some Wilkes-Barre call ups.”

Sam ignored his question and rushed into Dan Bylsma’s office, setting her laptop down on her lap after sitting in one of the chairs. Brooks pulled up another chair across from her, sitting down and waiting for her to start asking him questions. As Sam pulled up Microsoft Word, she listened to some of the Penguins players talking and tossing things around the locker room. Every once in a while she could distinguish a couple of voices from the others, the French Canadian accents made it easy to pick out Flower, Max, and Duper, but it mostly just sounded like a mass of noise from behind the walls of Dan’s office.

“Okay here we go; you’ve been having a very good season against the Bruins so far Brooks, what can you say contributes to your success against them?”

The defenseman shrugged. “We like to keep it simple. Getting all of our shots on the net and screening the goaltender is a big part of how we get most of our goals on Thomas and Rask, they’re such good goalies that don’t give up many goals so we take whatever we can get.”

Sam nodded, typing away as he talked. “As one of the team’s stay at home D-men, how are you planning to contain the Bruins’ offense during tonight’s game?”

Brooks cracked a smile. “Hope to God they skate slower then me and have bad aim.”

Sam snorted. “Great game plan Brooksy, that’s a sure-fire way to grab an easy victory. How well do you and your defensive partner communicate on the ice?”
“Well when he’s not screaming at refs and players in French, we can read each other really well and always manage to find each other no matter where we are on the ice. He’s fun to play with and takes care of the offensive stuff, so that takes some pressure off me since he’s got more skill in one finger then most other defensemen in the league.”

“Damn, sounds like a bit of a bromance to me.” Sam chuckled, Brooks rolling his eyes.

“Nah, I like ‘em without annoying French accents.”

Sam laughed. “And how have you-” The office door banged open, cutting off her sentence and startling Brooks.

“And speak of the devil!” Brooks grinned, waving at the person in the doorway.

The hockey player was staring in surprise at Sam, having not expected to see her in his coach’s office. He was dressed in loose jeans that hung low on his hips, a black Metallica shirt, and a black beanie that sat loosely on top of a mess of long black hair. Sam opened her mouth to greet him, trying not to stare at the muscles she could see through the tight black shirt, but quickly snapped it shut when the only thing that came out was, “Gah! Uhh…”

“Well don’t just stand there Kris, what do you want?” Brooks looked at his defensive partner expectantly, tapping his foot as he waited for the French Canadian to speak.

“Um I-erg um, I wanted to-um…”

“LETANG!” Brooks exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “English please!”

“Dan! I need to talk to Dan.” Kris managed to get out, blushing slightly.

“He’s in a meeting with Ray, he’ll be back later. Now get out of here and let this lovely lady finish her work.” Brooks made a shooing motion with his hands and turned back to Sam, waiting for her next question.

When Kris hesitated in the doorway Brooks groaned and pointed toward the door, demanding that Kris leave them alone. Sam turned in her seat again and found herself looking directly into the warm brown eyes of the French Canadian defensemen, he smiled hesitantly at her; her heart started fluttering wildly and a sweat broke out on her palms. ‘What the hell is going on with me?’ Sam thought, shaking her head to clear her mind.

“Are you new? I haven’t seen you before.” Kris asked, taking a step into the office.

Sam nodded, still unable to speak, and stuck her hand out toward him. Kris took it and gave it a gentle shake, looking at her expectantly as he waited for her to introduce herself.

“Sam! My name is Sam.” She blurted, feeling her cheeks heat up as Kris smiled brightly.

“Nice to meet you Sam.” He waved to both of them as he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“You too.” Sam breathed, still staring at the door with her hand out in the open.

She jumped when Brooks snapped his fingers in front of her face, laughing at her flustered expression. As Sam resettled herself she noticed Brooks smirking at her, wiggling his eyebrows when she looked up at him.

“Shut up Brooks.” Sam glowered at him, ducking down behind her laptop and typing up the last question.

“Well you know, I could totally hook you-”

“No!” Sam interrupted, shooting Brooks a warning look. “Let’s not even go there ok?”

Brooks held his hands up in the ‘I surrender!’ pose. “Alright, fine. Whatever you want, girl.”

Sam nodded, breathing out in relief that he wouldn’t push the issue. “How have you worked to improve your game in order to play against teams like the Bruins?”

“Focusing on the little things and trying not to over think our plays.” Brooks answered flatly, shooting Sam a disappointed look as she typed.

Sam stood and shook his hand. “Thank you for your time Mr. Orpik, I appreciate it.”

“Just call me Brooks. ‘Mr. Orpik makes me think of my dad.”

Sam smiled. “Sign something for a friend of mine and you’ve got a deal.”

♦♠♣♥

“Caitlin! Look at what Sam got me!” Mallory plowed through a crowd of reporters, waving a white practice jersey above her head.

Caitlin gaped at the autographed practice jersey. “Is that what I think it is?!”

Mallory nodded excitedly. “It says, ‘Mallory, I heard that you recently became part of the Pens organization so I’d like to personally welcome you to our family! I hope that you enjoy your time here and I’m looking forward to meeting you. Thanks for being my biggest fan in Pittsburgh ;) –Brooks Orpik’”

“Oh wow.” Caitlin shook her head, staring at the jersey “I have to admit that I’m jealous Mal. I wonder if Sam’s going to bring me and Kim something.”

“Uh huh, sure exactly right.” Mallory answered dreamily, clutching the jersey to her chest and swaying on her feet.

Kim rounded the corner of the hallway, spotting her two friends standing at the end of the runway where the Bruins would come onto the ice. She walked over and joined them, staring at Mallory after realizing that the girl had a glazed look in her eyes and a jersey clutched tightly in her hands.

“What the heck is wrong with her now?” Kim jerked a thumb toward Mal, shooting Caitlin a questioning look.

“Sam got Brooks Orpik to sign one of his practice jerseys for her; she has just entered the first level of ‘sexy hockey player heaven’.” Caitlin waved a hand in front of Mallory’s face and sighed when she got no response.

Kim groaned and slapped a hand over her face. “Nice move Sam! Why would she give Mallory one of her favorite players used jerseys? Ugh, she’s probably going to make a shrine with it or something.”

Mallory snapped out of her daze to glare at Kim. “What the hell would I do that for?! That’d be a complete waste of the jerseys value to me.”

Kim and Caitlin rolled their eyes, turning away to watch the Penguins pre-game warm-up as Mallory got ready for her interview with one of the Boston players. The Bruins had already been out for their warm-up so the ice was full of snow, causing Tyler Kennedy to trip and fall onto Jordan Staal who then his Max Talbot; this domino effect left half the players on the ice and the other half cracking up on the bench. As Kim snorted Caitlin spotted a short, blonde journalist talking animatedly to Brent Johnson and Marc Andre Fleury through the glass. Behind the two goalies, multiple players who had already met Sam that day waved to her over their goaltenders’ shoulders.

“Damn, she’s already friends with like seven of them” Caitlin shook her head. “And how many have we met so far?”

“Well I get to meet a Bruin player tonight.” Mal said, carefully folding up her jersey and placing it in her bag. “Actually he should have been here by now, anyone see a towering Boston player anywhere?”

The girls looked around and saw that the only people in the hall other then them was the camera crew working with Mallory for her interviews that night. A glare fell over Mallory’s face and she tapped her foot impatiently, taking out her phone and scrolling through her schedule.

“That damn ape was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago!”

Everyone jumped at Mallory’s angry outburst, sliding away from the pissed off sportscaster until they were a safe distance away from her wrath. By now the players had vacated the ice and returned to their locker room until the start of the game. As Mallory stomped off to make a call to her supervisor, Kim and Caitlin wandered back over to the glass and saw that Sam had made her way onto the Penguin bench and was talking to defensemen Kris Letang.

“What’s that girl up to now?” Caitlin wondered, watching as Sam rushed off the bench and ran to the top of the steps in section 103.

Sam yanked up her hair into a ponytail as Kris put on sneakers before joining her at the top of the stairs, the two sinking down into a crouch like swimmers did when they were on the blocks before the start of a race. Sidney appeared at the bottom of the steps, holding a stopwatch and cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling up to them. Suddenly Sam and Kris shot forward and began racing down the stairs, gently pushing and shoving each other every once in a while and laughing together. When they were only a few steps away from Sid, Kris lost his balance and tripped over his feet; he threw his arms out for balance, accidentally hitting Sam and sending them both falling down the last few steps and landing in a pile at Sidney’s feet.

“Oh for God’s sake!” Kim threw her hands up. “Does that kid not have any coordination at all?!”

As the two girls turned away from where Sid was now pointing and laughing at Sam and Kris, they realized that Mallory was in the middle of an angry rant about the late Bruins player. The camera crew stared wide eyed at the furious girl, nodding occasionally when she screamed rhetorical questions at them and flailed her arms wildly above her head.

“I mean, who the hell does he think he is to show up late to an interview?! The Queen of England?!” Mallory roared, kicking her bag and growling in frustration.

“Actually honey I’m much more famous then the Queen.” A hockey player rounded the corner, dressed in full gear and smirking at the stunned group. “Milan Lucic at your service my dear.” He grabbed Mallory’s hand, giving it a light kiss.

“Drop it Low?!” Mallory gasped, recognizing Milan’s voice from when she had been in the Bruins locker room.

“Who-”

“YOU STUPID EGO-STRICKEN SON OF A BITCH!”

Caitlin stared in horror at the smirking Bruins player and a now furious Mallory. "Oh geez, she’s going to get fired for attempted murder!”

Kim smirked, tapping her chin thoughtfully and glancing up toward the Consol Energy Center’s jumbo-tron. “Actually, I think this is going to turn out to be a very entertaining night.”