I'm Just a Kid That Tried Too Hard

Ariel snorts at me after I tell her about my thoughts on the other Bruins players. “Greg seems like a douche bag.” I laugh at her. It’s as if she didn’t remember what went down during my birthday. She narrows her eyes at me from her kitchen, “What are you laughing at girl?” Okay, so she really doesn’t remember.

“Ariel, you and he made out and you tried to take him home and he said if you weren’t drunk he would so you tried to beat him up.” I say this all in one breath, like a I was ripping off a verbal band-aid. She drops the plastic cup she was filling with coffee in my sink before exploding.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS!? HE’S SO…SO…OLD!” She comes over to the couch and dramatically collapses like the actress she is. “Please tell me that you’re joking.” I shake my head at her and pass my box of Girl Scout cookies to her as a peace offering, “Please don’t shoot the messenger.”

Ariel sighs, “Fine, fine…wow that’s embarrassing. Was that before or after I almost gave Tyler a lap dance?” I laugh, having forgotten about that bit. I decide to not tell her that there’s not almost about it. She absolutely did that. It was just too funny, but Tyler being a guy just played along. That had definitely been before.

We go on talking about that night’s events before she gets dressed and heads off to work. I admire her. She works two jobs, goes to school, and is always on the lookout for parts in productions. She can act as any character and it amazes me. She becomes an entirely different person. I have no doubt in my mind that one day she’ll be on Broadway.

Macy crawls into my lap, meowing to get my attention. She’s getting big so fast. I pet her and turn the tv on to watch the game. I didn’t have work today so I wasn’t at there to cheer my boys on in person. Lucic is on fire, and not even 5 minutes in, he’s already in the penalty box because of a fight, which he won. I laugh and tell Macy what I think of all the plays and calls.

Despite the Bruin’s best efforts they lost. Brad is always grumpy after that. It’s absolutely justified too. When his team plays well like they just did, he expects the outcome to be positive. It’s like some of my course work, he just doesn’t understand why it is the way it is.

I shoot him a text, congratulating him on his goal, hoping to cheer him up a tad. Seconds later my phone buzzes with a response from him telling me how much he appreciates it and Seguin wants to try cooking for us. I laugh and put Macy down before heading out to the car.

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I can hear the fire alarm before I even enter the apartment and the shouts of the two boys. I enter to see Tyler in an apron and Brad with a fire extinguisher. There is a charred piece of something that smells overly of cinnamon.

“Uh, hey boys!” I say brightly, hoping to put the tension in the room at ease. Both of them jump at my voice. Tyler rushes over, “THIS IS YOUR BOYFRIEND’S FAULT!!” Before I can come up with a witty response Brad comes over and throws his arm over my shoulder, “He’s lying Dev. I didn’t do a thing.” I laugh at Tyler who is gaping at the older man.

“Brad, I think I’m going to have to trust Segs on this one.” I reach out for Tyler’s hand and he pulls me to his side with a twirl on my part. Now it’s Brad’s turn to gape. We both laugh at him.

I look towards the kitchen. “Let’s see if I can do something to salvage this meal?” I go to take a step but Tyler steps in front of me, “OH NO Devin. I am cooking for you and your hot piece of man. I got this.” With that, he wiped his apron clean and reentered the kitchen. I peck Brad on the cheek to let him know I was just fooling around and we decide to start the movie without Tyler.

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“BRAD! HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS!” Chara scolds Brad for the umpteenth time during practice. Brad slams the puck back to Chara, obviously frustrated. He is focusing. Really. Tyler punches Brad in the arm with affection and a bit of sympathy.

Brad looks at him and Seguin jerks his head in the coach’s direction. Once Julian sees Brad looking at him, Claude waves him over. Brad lets out a breath and skates over. “Yeah coach?” He looks at Brad critically, “Are you feeling alright? You seem off. Are you getting enough sleep?” Brad shrugs.

He was. Then he actually thinks on that. He really wasn’t. He’d talk to Devin late into the night sometimes then still not manage to fall asleep because he’d be thinking or Seguin’s snoring would become too loud. If that was the case, he usually just went to his roommate’s room and punch his friend wherever. Of course, he can’t do the same to his thoughts.

Coach squints at him, “Well Brad whatever your problem is you need to clear it up for the next road trip. We need you 100% focused, okay?” Brad nods, not knowing what else to say. He skates back to Bergeron, at a loss for words.

He looks at his older friend, “How do you manage to balance everything man?” Patrice thinks for a moment, “I live with my girlfriend. I don’t need to worry about her because she’s there for me to come back to. I know how to handle my cash, and I keep in touch with my family.” He shrugs after he finishes, figuring he isn’t much help.

He is, but not really. Brad couldn’t imagine having someone move in after such a short time. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place it seems. If anything what Patrice said had the opposite effect. If Brad couldn’t stop thinking about his girlfriend and focus on what he earns his living from, then he couldn’t have a girlfriend at all.