Orlando

Val’s POV

I sat in my spot in the locker room. I had finished undressing my uniform and had thrown on a nice grayish blue shirt. It fit me snugly, hanging loosely on my upper body. I stole a glance at the stall, which sat vacant beside mine, as I rolled each sleeve up my arm to my elbow and buttoned the material in place. I then made sure that three of the buttons that ran down the center of the shirt were left unbuttoned. I couldn’t cover my chest that much, according to my other teammate and the team’s “fashionista” Tyler Seguin.

Under the shirt, I had a shiny gold chain that I always wore around my neck. I wasn’t necessarily superstitious, but I loved to wear it and it had been my mother’s. Though she was miles away, back in Chelyabinsk, Russia, I still honored her presence and support with her jewelry. I was far from Russia and my hometown but I made sure to keep in close contact with my parents. I always wore the chain for good luck.

I also had on a pair of slimming, but loose gray jean pants. They were a darker gray color, but the boys had told me that I looked good in them. The color really made my blue eyes pop and of course, if the chief of the pretty boys and the man of fashion known as Tyler Seguin complimented you, it was a good outfit. It was even the outfit I had worn for a “New Star Rising” poster for the previous season.

“So, where are you off to, Val?” Jamie Benn asked, as he came into the locker room and began to strip himself of his equipment.

Jamie was always the last one out of the rink. He was the captain and it was kind of the unwritten rule. Today, however, he was the second to last one off the rink. Tyler was still practicing.

“Oh, just going to Florida.”

“Florida, eh?”

“Yeah.”

“Where in Florida? The beach?”

“No. Orlando.” I cracked my sweet smile, unable to hold back anymore.

Jamie paused, mid-way into putting on a black jacket, over his dark t-shirt. He cocked his head in interest. “Why Orlando?”

“Disney. I’ve never been.”

“Really?”

“Nope. I was always in Russia doing hockey. I never had time to go on a vacation. And now I do.”

“Are you staying in one of the hotels near the theme parks?”

“It’s close. But I’m actually staying in Downtown.”

Jamie nodded. He finished putting the jacket on and yanking it into position, by the collar. Then he struck a pose. “How does it look?”

“Awful. Just awful,” a voice teased from behind him.

I raised my head up and saw a grinning Tyler Seguin, leaning against the door frame. He twirled his stick in his fingers, before walking in.

Jamie spun to him and folded his arms, giving him a playful angry look. “No one asked you, Segs!”

“Well, being that I am chief of the fashion police--” Tyler began, humorously.

“--And being somewhat feminine!” Jamie interrupted, rolling his eyes.

“--I have a right to make a comment on your appearance.”

I chuckled at their little war of words. I didn’t understand most of what they said, but that wasn’t new for me and I really didn’t mind much. I watched as Tyler rounded Jamie, surveying him like one of those fashion people on some kind of reality clothing show, like “What Not to Wear.” He was even making some humming noise of approval and disapproval.

Finally Jamie had enough and shoved him backward. “Stop it, Segs!”

“You look fine, Benny. Don’t be such a drama queen!”

“Says the chief of drama queens!” Jamie retorted, flashing the cheesiest of smiles.

They laughed and hugged. I smiled, giving my classic clueless look. I understood more English now and had caught on to some of the slang, but I still had moments where I got a little lost in translation.

“Hey! I thought we were talking about my plans!”

“Oh right!”

“Where are you going for the remainder of the offseason, Val?” Tyler asked, punching Jamie in the shoulder, as he tried to touch his hair.

I knew that nobody touched Tyler Seguin’s hair. That went for family, other teammates, close friends….EVERYONE. I had tried once, but the man had caught me by the arm and sternly told me “no.” I never tried again. But Jamie always loved to bother his new buddy and this was one of those tactics.

“Orlando.” I responded in my thick natural accent.

Tyler shoved Jamie away, but smiled at his clueless teammate...me. “Sick! I’m just going to Boston to hang out with Marchy some and then see my parents. And then come back down here to hang with Marshall and my boys!”

My grin grew. I knew “sick” as the most common slang word that hockey players used. In fact, I heard it all the time. A really good pass was “sick.” A nice drive to the net to score an insane goal was “sick.” It was hockey vernacular for “cool” or “awesome.” This I knew, as Tyler almost always used it. He said that his previous teammates in Boston would often utilize the word, so he carried on the tradition in Dallas.

“What are you doing in Orlando?”

“Going to Disney World. I haven’t been there before, being Russian, you know.”

“Right, right,” Tyler sat down in the locker next to mine, which happened to be the only other Russian on the team, Sergei Gonchar. Sergei was helping me out tremendously. He loved to help me out with the language and on the ice, as he said that he never had the same treatment. That was also how I was learning English.

“I am staying in a nice hotel Downtown. It is not too far from the parks...so I have heard.”

“Sick!” Tyler said.

Jamie sat down on the other side, giving up on trying to bother his buddy. He put his hand on my shoulder. Tyler did the same.

“If you need anything, any help or whatnot, you give Benny a call!”

“Same here. Don’t be shy to contact Seggy too!”

I nodded, biting my lip. Even though I was Russian and was still in the process of learning the English language, this team never ceased to welcome me with open arms. And these two, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, were the reason why I was happy to be a Dallas Star. We all hugged one another and then got to our feet and went our separate ways. I grabbed my equipment bag, hockey sticks and all of my numerous other miscellaneous items. “See you in a week!”

“I can’t believe that the season is almost here again! At the start of the offseason and during, it always feels so slow and repetitive, but now...it’s like, almost here!” Tyler stated, clapping his hands.

“Go have fun in Orlando and then be prepared for your captain to snap at you a few times to pass that puck to him!” Jamie joked, earning a slap from Tyler.

I chuckled again, this time understanding him completely and left the room. I headed down the familiar path to the parking lot of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.