Wildest Dreams

My heart was pounding nervously as I stepped foot inside of the United Center for the first time. Today marked the first day of my internship with the Blackhawks. Since I was one of the top 3 in my graduating class I was lucky enough to score an internship, and they seemed really honored to have me. I wanted to be a journalist, and doing interviews seemed like the next best thing. My heels clicked against the floor and echoed throughout the building as I walked up to the security desk.

“Name, please” The middle aged man at the desk asked. He looked at me suspiciously like I was some crazy fan who was trying to get near a player.

“Cara Amelie,” I said nervously as he scanned the paper for the list of people he was allowed to let through. A smile came to his face when he realized who I was, “Ah, yeah, you’re the new intern they were telling me about. Coach’s office is down the hall and to the right,” He handed me a pass and I was let through without another word.

I nervously tugged at my skirt before knocking on the door No turning back now, Cara.

“Come in,” The voice on the other side of the door answered. I took a deep breath before stepping inside the huge office. It was big, and a lot neater than I expected. There was a bookshelf on either side of the room filled with books, a couch, a couple of chairs, a TV, and a dry erase board for what I assumed was hockey plays. I stepped inside and the man sitting at the desk stood up and walked over to me.

“You must be Cara,” He smiled before taking my hand in his own, “It’s really nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you. I’m Joel Quenneville”

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Quenneville” I smiled, he let go of my hand and motioned for me to sit down. He sat down in a big leather chair on the other side of the desk and began dialing a number on his phone.

“Hello?” A female’s voice answered.

“Hey, Erin, it’s Joel. I just wanted to let you know that Cara is here, so whenever you’re free you can stop by and meet her before tonight”

“Okay great! Thanks Joel” He hung up the phone and turned his attention back to me, “Nervous?” He noticed me biting down on my lower lip and looking around the big office.

I nodded, “A little. This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. College was kind of like a safety net for me. But this..” I took a deep breath, “This is the big leagues”

He chuckled, “You’re going to do fine. Erin is one of the best we have here, she’ll teach you everything you need to know about how to do an interview, what to say, how to keep the flow” Before we could say anything else, there was a knock on the door and the sound of it opening.
Joel stood up and I took it as my cue to get up and greet the girl who was going to be taking me under her wing. I turned around and was greeted by a blonde in her mid-twenties with a very friendly face, perfect for interviewing people. She was very tall and skinny and she looked like she could have been a model if she wasn’t doing interviews. “Erin, I’d like you to meet Cara. Cara, this is Erin. She’s going to be teaching you everything you need to know”

Erin stepped forward with a huge smile and shook my hand, “Hi Cara, it’s so great to be working with you. I’ve heard a lot of great things about you and I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

I smiled and nodded, almost letting out a sigh of relief that she wasn’t a bitch and I wasn’t going to be working with Satan herself. “I’m really excited to be interning here and learning a lot from you. Thank you so much for the experience”

She smiled and Joel cleared his throat causing us to both look at him, “Erin, Mark has all of the guys you will be interviewing tonight. Cara, you can stay behind the camera with Mark and take everything all in, watch how everything is done.”

“Do you know anything about hockey, Cara?” Erin asked, returning her attention to me.

Of course I knew a lot about hockey. I grew up watching it with my dad. I never really rooted for a specific team since I was always too busy to actually watch one every time they played, but I definitely enjoyed the sport.

“A little” I shrugged, “I would watch it with my dad all the time. There was always a hockey game on at my house”

“Good, then you’ll know what I’m talking about and it’ll be a lot easier for you to understand. I think you’re quickly going to catch on”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Erin finished getting ready to interview the players and the camera was now being set up while she waited for the first player, Patrick Kane to come and talk to her.

“Okay,” The camera guy Mark said tweaking some things on the camera, “Erin, we’re good to go whenever Kane gets here”

Erin gave him a thumbs up and he turned to me, “Tonight’s a big game you know. You’re going to learn a lot about player’s moods tonight depending on how the game turns out”

Everyone knew why tonight was a big game. Tonight was the big game between the Blackhawks and the Bruins; it was redemption for the Blackhawks since the Bruins beat them in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in overtime just a couple of months ago. I was excited that this was the first game I’d be getting to witness live, but also a little nervous and I didn’t know why. I wasn’t even the one in front of the camera. However, Erin seemed calm and collected like she had been doing this her whole life. Patrick Kane finally showed up and it was time to get the interview underway.

If I wasn’t already in a relationship, I would have found him really cute and adorable, but I knew better than to stay away. Plus, I didn’t need anything distracting me from this internship and learning all that I needed to.

“In 3, 2, 1...” Mark gave Erin a hand signal that it was time to start the interview.

“Hello Blackhawk fans, I’m Erin Daley! Tonight is a game of redemption for the Chicago Blackhawks as they look to win in a rematch against the Boston Bruins. Right now I have with me Patrick Kane.”

Patrick gave a small smile and a little wave to the camera, “How are you feeling tonight Patrick?”

He shrugged, “Really excited to get back out there on the ice for our first home game of the season. It feels like I’ve never left this place”

“How are you feeling playing against the Bruins who won the Stanley Cup here just a couple of months ago?”

“You know, I try not to think about it like that. I think of it as a new season so it’s a fresh new start. Anything can happen tonight, and I just want to get out there and play”

“Alright, sounds like a good plan. Good luck out there tonight, Patrick. Stay tuned everyone, the first period starts when we come back” Mark gave Erin a signal that the camera light was off and she turned to Patrick.

“Good luck tonight, kick some Bruin ass” He laughed and turned his attention to me, “Who’s that?”

“Oh!” Erin was still in interview mode that she completely forgot about me, “Patrick, this is Cara. She’s the new intern. Cara, this is Patrick Kane”

I smiled and he took my small hand in his large one, “It’s really nice to meet you Cara, you’re going to learn a hell of a lot from little Miss Erin over here”

“I’m not little,” She huffed “Listen, Kane, I could ask you some really embarrassing questions but I chose not to. So I would watch it”

He held his hands up in defense, “Hey hey hey, I’m sorry. Just trying to poke a little fun. I got to get back out on the ice though, I’ll see you later. It was nice meeting you Cara!” He gave a wave and took off to the ice to join his team.

“You get used to the guys’ antics. Obviously we all spend a lot of time together so this place just becomes like a huge family,” She smiled, “But, it’s also a lot of work. Best of both words really”

“He seems nice. Fun to interview” I nodded and put the notebook that I had taken notes in during Erin’s interview back in my bag and followed Erin to where we would be watching the game. “He is, but he’s also a little flirt so just watch out for him. Do you have a boyfriend?”

I nodded and she laughed, “Well then good, he probably won’t try to put any moves on you”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Blackhawks won their first game of the season, and everyone in the arena was still buzzing about it as they were leaving. Erin was scheduled to do an interview with Jonathan Toews since they won and he was captain, and we were standing in the exact same spot where she interviewed Patrick before the game.

Jonathan was still in the locker room so we had to wait until the people in there were done interviewing him. Considering they had won tonight, I’m sure he was going to take a while. “Toews is not exactly the most interesting person to interview” She sighed and fixed her earpiece, “He’s very serious so he likes to focus on the aspect of the game and nothing really else. I guess it’s not a bad thing, but he needs some more life in him”

I laughed, remembering some of the interviews that I’ve watched him do. He was always very serious and monotone, I guess that’s how he got the nickname Captain Serious. After 15 minutes, Jonathan emerged out of the locker room and walked toward us. I had seen him on TV but seeing him in real life was completely different. He was handsome, really handsome, in almost a boyish way. He was at least a foot taller than me and his muscles showed through the under armor he was wearing which was not keeping me from staring.

I snapped back to reality before Erin could say anything or before either of them could notice I was staring, “Hey Jonathan”

“Hi, Erin” Erin turned to me and Jonathan focused his attention now, “Cara, this is Jonathan Toews. Jonathan, this is Cara. She’s the new intern so you’re going to be seeing a lot of her around”

Jonathan stuck out his hand for me to shake which I gladly took, “It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to the Blackhawks family, I guess”

“Thanks,” I said quietly and Mark gave Erin a 2 minute warning which quickly died down our conversation, or whatever exchange we just had.

The interview went pretty smoothly and what Erin said was true, Jonathan was very serious and kept his Captain Serious composure the whole time. It lasted about 2 minutes before the camera stopped rolling. “Thanks for the interview, Jon”

“No problem” He picked up his bag off the floor and slung it over his shoulder, “Listen I have to get going, I’m exhausted”

Erin looked at her watch, “Oh no, it’s 11:30, way past Captain’s bed time”

“Ha ha” He laughed sarcastically, “Very funny, Erin. I’ll see you tomorrow though. Cara, it was really nice meeting you and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around. Good luck with the internship”

“Thank you!” I gave him a big smile which he gladly returned. He didn’t have a bad smile either. Jonathan walked away and Erin began walking back to her office, me closely following behind her.

“So, what’d you think?” She asked me excitedly, “Did you like your first day? Was it everything you dreamed it would be?”

I laughed, “Yeah, it was great. I learned a lot. You’re so calm and collected in front of the camera”

“You’ll be like that one day, just stick with me kid and I’ll teach you everything you need to know. Wasn’t I right about Toews?” She opened the door to her office and plopped down into the chair.

“Yeah,” I agreed taking a seat across from her, “I had seen him do some interviews before, and I can see why they call him Captain Serious”

She nodded, “Okay, well, it’s getting late and I’m sure you want to get home. So, tomorrow we have another game, I guess meet me here at 5 since the game starts at 7:30, and we’ll go over everything.”

I collected my belongings and stood up, “Thank you so much for today Erin, it was a great experience and I can tell I’m going to learn a lot I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Goodnight Cara, it’s a pleasure having you, honestly. You’re going to do awesome”

I gave her a smile and a wave before heading out the door and to the parking lot where my car was. I threw all my stuff into the back seat and got into the driver’s side. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Adam’s number.

“Hey, babe” He greeted sleepily. I feel bad for waking him up but I was excited to tell him about my day.

I met Adam in college about 2 years ago and we’ve been dating for a year. Our relationship had its ups and downs but in the end I still loved him. He wasn’t too excited about me getting this internship because he was worried it would take a toll on our relationship but I assured him it wouldn’t.

“Hey, so I just got out” I started the car and put him on speaker so I could drive a little bit safer.

“How was it?” There was noise in the background and I figured it was him shifting in his bed trying to get comfortable.

“It was great! I learned a lot today. The girl who’s mentoring me, Erin, seems really sweet and she’s great at her job”

“Did you get to meet any of the players?”

“Yeah, she interviewed Kane and Toews so I got to meet them briefly”

“Cool,” I knew what question was going to come next, “Did any of them try to hit on you?”

Adam was a little bit jealous even though he doesn’t like to admit it. He hates when other guys try to hit on me, and whenever I’m not with him and around a bunch of guys he always asks if any of them tried to flirt with me.

“No,” I laughed, “They were really great guys. I met them really briefly, everything is completely professional”

“Good, well I’m glad you had a good day. I’ll see you tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, I have a shift in the morning and then I’m free in the afternoon until 5 so I’ll see you”

In addition to the internship, I also worked as a waitress at the local diner not too far from the United Center since I had to pay my bills somehow. My parents offered to pay my rent for me since I did so well in college and have a great internship, so I just pay for all of my bills and necessities. “Great, I’m going to go back to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Good night Adam, I love you”

“I know,” was the only answer I received. We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone.

Adam and I have been together for one year and he has never said those three little words to me that every girl wants to desperately hear. He has been hurt a lot in the past and I’ve never tried to push him to say it or anything, but sometimes I get frustrated and upset. I keep hoping that it’ll just take some time and he shows me he loves me through his actions which is more than enough for me.

The drive home seemed shorter with my mind thinking about my relationship with Adam. I pulled into the apartment complex’s garage and parked my car in my usual parking spot. I grabbed all my belongings and headed into the lobby.

“Good evening, Miss Cara” The doorman greeted me holding the door open for me.

“Thank you, goodnight” By the time I got to the elevator, my heels were off and I was rubbing my sore feet. I was standing on them all day and all I wanted to do was take a shower, put on some comfy pajamas, and fall asleep watching a movie which is exactly what I did when I got inside. Tonight was filled with excitement and I could barely sleep anticipating the rest of my internship with the Blackhawks.