Status: just have to post
Forever Changed
Chapter 009
This was the day Niklas had been looking forward to for about a month. The day he, his team, and the fans would honor Alana-the inspiration behind the Stanley Cup. He sat at his locker before the game, bouncing his leg, something he did usually when he was nervous. But this time he was more excited than anything. One of Alana’s favorite singers, Danielle Bradbery, was going to play some songs at center ice. When Niklas had talked to her over the phone, he’d requested that she play “My Day” last, knowing that was not only Alana’s favorite, but the fact that it was an inspirational song for her. Niklas was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you excited, bud”, Hank asked.
“Oh yeah, I’m really excited. She’s a special girl and to be doing something like this… it’s just an amazing experience. This is like an once-in-a-lifetime thing.” Hank smiled.
“Alana’s going to be surprised and excited as heck. Carol will probably cry and Tyler… he’ll just be taking pictures. I can’t believe you’ve managed to keep it from her for this long”. Niklas smiled and shook his head.
“I know. It’s been very hard for me to keep it in. I almost let it slip once, but I caught myself and started talking about something else. I don’t think Alana suspects anything, although she has asked me once or twice why I stopped talking about something when she came in the room. I think she was just being typical Alana, though, because that’s what she does.” He sighed and ran his hands through his dark brown hair. Hank gave his friend’s shoulder a squeeze before he stood up and walked back to his locker. – I cannot wait to see Alana’s face when she sees this- he thought.
Niklas bit his lip nervously as he waited for the crew to hand him the mic. He was hoping everything went to plan and so far it was doing just that. The jersey made for Alana was in his hand. It was exactly like the one he wore, except it had the name ‘White’ on the back and ‘Cancer Survivor’ in the middle. He looked up into the stands and noticed the crowd watching the setup with curious faces. Some of them had cameras out and were taking pictures. Finally, he was handed the mic and he swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the nervousness in his stomach.
“I bet most of you are wondering what is going on out here. You’re thinking ‘what’s the big event?’ Well, it’s for Alana White.” Niklas went on to explain about Alana’s illness, the first meeting he’d had with Alana, their friendship, and how she was the inspiration behind winning the cup. He noticed people in the crowd getting choked up and some of them were wiping the tears from his eyes. He found himself wiping away a few tears of his own. When he turned to look near the bench, he saw Alana, Carol and Tyler standing there with nothing but pure shocks on their faces. He smiled. “When she comes out, I want all of you to take up the cheer ‘Alana’. So here she is, everyone, Ms. Alana White.” The crowd started to chant ‘Ala-na! Ala-na’. Niklas felt his eyes burn with tears and noticed the teammates that were on the ice tapping their sticks. Carol and Tyler were crying, overwhelmed with emotion, but Alana, although she had tears in her eyes, was smiling.
“NICKY”, she yelled, running across the red carpet towards him. Niklas held his arms out to her and nearly cried when she jumped into them. Her head buried in his shoulder and Niklas started rubbing her back.
“I have something for you, Alana”, he said after a few minutes of silence. He placed her on the floor and held out the jersey to her. Alana’s eyes widened as she took the jersey from him.
“This is mine”, she asked.
“Yes, baby girl. This is your jersey.” Tyler snapped a picture of Alana’s facial expression and Carol wiped the tears from her eyes. “Now there’s one more person I need to introduce. She has songs out such as “My Day” and “Young in America”. She was first heard by music lovers on NBC’s The Voice. Please help me welcome, the winner of The Voice, Danielle Bradbery.” The crowd screamed louder and Alana’s eyes got even bigger in shock. Carol nearly fell over and Tyler’s jaw dropped. Danielle came out dressed in blue jeans and a light blue sparkly t-shirt. She took the mic from Niklas and waved at Alana.
“Thank you for that wonderful introduction, Niklas. I got a call from him about a month back asking if I would do this for him. My first reaction was to say no. But I realized that this wasn’t just about me doing another show. I realized that Niklas and the team were doing something special for a little girl who had made her way into their hearts. Cancer is an illness no one, especially a child, should have. But since fate can’t be changed, they have to work within it. So I am here tonight to honor someone who inspired these players to win the cup and had them realize that if they didn’t win, it didn’t matter because there are larger things in life than winning. What do you say we get this party started?” It was about twenty minutes later that Danielle was introducing the last song for the night. “This song is one that Niklas told me inspired Alana. This is her favorite song that I sing. And she’s going to help me sing it! (She was interrupted by cheers from the crowd). So come on over here, Alana.” Amid the crowd’s screams and cheers, Alana ran up to Danielle, who picked her up and placed her on her hip. “Do you want to introduce this song, Alana?” The girl nodded and Danielle put the mic up to her lips.
“This is called My Day”. Danielle smiled and the two of them started to sing.
Like a locus flower growing in the dirt
Ain’t nobody ever noticed what it’s worth
till the sun shines and the rain falls
And in no time at all it’s beautiful
This is my day, this is my day
Oh, won’t let it slip away
Oh, I’m waiting for these changes to say
This is my day
There’s a voice inside that’s trying to be heard
And it’s echoing across the universe
If you listen it’ll lead you
To that place you’ve always been running to
This is my day, this is my day
Oh, won’t let it slip away
Oh, I’m waiting for these changes to say
This is my day
I always saw it coming
A little light behind the clouds
This is the start of something
My heart believes in now
This is my day, this is my day
Oh, won’t let it slip away
Oh, I’m waiting for these changes to say
This is my day
My day
Like a locus flower growing in the dirt
When the song was finished, waves upon waves of applause and cheers came down on them. Niklas didn’t think he’d seen Alana wave so many times or smile as much as she was doing right now. This was her night, her moment, her chance to be in the spotlight. He glanced to his left to see Carol still with tears in her eyes and Tyler taking pictures of his little girl. A smile appeared on his face as he realized all of the time and effort on this night was worth it. For the first time, the fans had gotten to see the true reason why they had won the cup. It was for little girl in front of them, the girl who had captured their
hard-hitting defenceman’s heart.
“How did you ever manage to get Danielle to come here”, Carol asked. Niklas smiled and turned to her.
“It’s just one of the many benefits of being famous: you can get other famous people to do events for you”, he replied.
“Thank you for doing this for her.” Niklas shook Tyler’s hand as Alana’s father also added his thanks.
“I’d do anything for that girl. She’s a very special kid. She deserved a night like this after all the stuff she’s been through.”
“NICKY!” The Swedish defenceman turned as Alana threw herself into his arms. “You planned this, didn’t you”, she asked, looking straight at him.
“Yes I did, Lannie. I did plan this. You deserve it, baby girl. You deserve every bit of it”. Alana rested her chin on his shoulder for a minute or so.
“You know what would make this night even better”, she asked as they had their way to the bench. Niklas shook his head.
“What?”
“If you guys won the game tonight”. Niklas laughed and placed her next to the bench.
“We’re going to try, Lannie. We’ll try, okay?” He knelt down to be at eye-level with her. Alana threw her arms around his neck.
“That’s all I ask is that you try. And Nicky”, she looked him directly in the eyes, “I love you”. Niklas gave her small hand a squeeze and kissed her cheek.
“I love you too, Lannie”, he said. She smiled and then walked with her parents back to the locker room. Niklas watched them for a minute before he stood up and stretched.
“She’s special, ain’t she”, a voice at his side asked. Niklas grinned and turned to Hank.
“She sure is, Hank. She’s very special. Now let’s go out and win this game”.
“You got it”, Hank said with a wink before he skated off. Niklas smiled before he glanced into the stands right behind the bench. Alana was leaning on the glass with a giant smile on her face. She caught his eye and gave him a wave. Niklas waved back before he skated off as well.
“For you, baby girl, anything”.
“Are you excited, bud”, Hank asked.
“Oh yeah, I’m really excited. She’s a special girl and to be doing something like this… it’s just an amazing experience. This is like an once-in-a-lifetime thing.” Hank smiled.
“Alana’s going to be surprised and excited as heck. Carol will probably cry and Tyler… he’ll just be taking pictures. I can’t believe you’ve managed to keep it from her for this long”. Niklas smiled and shook his head.
“I know. It’s been very hard for me to keep it in. I almost let it slip once, but I caught myself and started talking about something else. I don’t think Alana suspects anything, although she has asked me once or twice why I stopped talking about something when she came in the room. I think she was just being typical Alana, though, because that’s what she does.” He sighed and ran his hands through his dark brown hair. Hank gave his friend’s shoulder a squeeze before he stood up and walked back to his locker. – I cannot wait to see Alana’s face when she sees this- he thought.
Niklas bit his lip nervously as he waited for the crew to hand him the mic. He was hoping everything went to plan and so far it was doing just that. The jersey made for Alana was in his hand. It was exactly like the one he wore, except it had the name ‘White’ on the back and ‘Cancer Survivor’ in the middle. He looked up into the stands and noticed the crowd watching the setup with curious faces. Some of them had cameras out and were taking pictures. Finally, he was handed the mic and he swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the nervousness in his stomach.
“I bet most of you are wondering what is going on out here. You’re thinking ‘what’s the big event?’ Well, it’s for Alana White.” Niklas went on to explain about Alana’s illness, the first meeting he’d had with Alana, their friendship, and how she was the inspiration behind winning the cup. He noticed people in the crowd getting choked up and some of them were wiping the tears from his eyes. He found himself wiping away a few tears of his own. When he turned to look near the bench, he saw Alana, Carol and Tyler standing there with nothing but pure shocks on their faces. He smiled. “When she comes out, I want all of you to take up the cheer ‘Alana’. So here she is, everyone, Ms. Alana White.” The crowd started to chant ‘Ala-na! Ala-na’. Niklas felt his eyes burn with tears and noticed the teammates that were on the ice tapping their sticks. Carol and Tyler were crying, overwhelmed with emotion, but Alana, although she had tears in her eyes, was smiling.
“NICKY”, she yelled, running across the red carpet towards him. Niklas held his arms out to her and nearly cried when she jumped into them. Her head buried in his shoulder and Niklas started rubbing her back.
“I have something for you, Alana”, he said after a few minutes of silence. He placed her on the floor and held out the jersey to her. Alana’s eyes widened as she took the jersey from him.
“This is mine”, she asked.
“Yes, baby girl. This is your jersey.” Tyler snapped a picture of Alana’s facial expression and Carol wiped the tears from her eyes. “Now there’s one more person I need to introduce. She has songs out such as “My Day” and “Young in America”. She was first heard by music lovers on NBC’s The Voice. Please help me welcome, the winner of The Voice, Danielle Bradbery.” The crowd screamed louder and Alana’s eyes got even bigger in shock. Carol nearly fell over and Tyler’s jaw dropped. Danielle came out dressed in blue jeans and a light blue sparkly t-shirt. She took the mic from Niklas and waved at Alana.
“Thank you for that wonderful introduction, Niklas. I got a call from him about a month back asking if I would do this for him. My first reaction was to say no. But I realized that this wasn’t just about me doing another show. I realized that Niklas and the team were doing something special for a little girl who had made her way into their hearts. Cancer is an illness no one, especially a child, should have. But since fate can’t be changed, they have to work within it. So I am here tonight to honor someone who inspired these players to win the cup and had them realize that if they didn’t win, it didn’t matter because there are larger things in life than winning. What do you say we get this party started?” It was about twenty minutes later that Danielle was introducing the last song for the night. “This song is one that Niklas told me inspired Alana. This is her favorite song that I sing. And she’s going to help me sing it! (She was interrupted by cheers from the crowd). So come on over here, Alana.” Amid the crowd’s screams and cheers, Alana ran up to Danielle, who picked her up and placed her on her hip. “Do you want to introduce this song, Alana?” The girl nodded and Danielle put the mic up to her lips.
“This is called My Day”. Danielle smiled and the two of them started to sing.
Like a locus flower growing in the dirt
Ain’t nobody ever noticed what it’s worth
till the sun shines and the rain falls
And in no time at all it’s beautiful
This is my day, this is my day
Oh, won’t let it slip away
Oh, I’m waiting for these changes to say
This is my day
There’s a voice inside that’s trying to be heard
And it’s echoing across the universe
If you listen it’ll lead you
To that place you’ve always been running to
This is my day, this is my day
Oh, won’t let it slip away
Oh, I’m waiting for these changes to say
This is my day
I always saw it coming
A little light behind the clouds
This is the start of something
My heart believes in now
This is my day, this is my day
Oh, won’t let it slip away
Oh, I’m waiting for these changes to say
This is my day
My day
Like a locus flower growing in the dirt
When the song was finished, waves upon waves of applause and cheers came down on them. Niklas didn’t think he’d seen Alana wave so many times or smile as much as she was doing right now. This was her night, her moment, her chance to be in the spotlight. He glanced to his left to see Carol still with tears in her eyes and Tyler taking pictures of his little girl. A smile appeared on his face as he realized all of the time and effort on this night was worth it. For the first time, the fans had gotten to see the true reason why they had won the cup. It was for little girl in front of them, the girl who had captured their
hard-hitting defenceman’s heart.
“How did you ever manage to get Danielle to come here”, Carol asked. Niklas smiled and turned to her.
“It’s just one of the many benefits of being famous: you can get other famous people to do events for you”, he replied.
“Thank you for doing this for her.” Niklas shook Tyler’s hand as Alana’s father also added his thanks.
“I’d do anything for that girl. She’s a very special kid. She deserved a night like this after all the stuff she’s been through.”
“NICKY!” The Swedish defenceman turned as Alana threw herself into his arms. “You planned this, didn’t you”, she asked, looking straight at him.
“Yes I did, Lannie. I did plan this. You deserve it, baby girl. You deserve every bit of it”. Alana rested her chin on his shoulder for a minute or so.
“You know what would make this night even better”, she asked as they had their way to the bench. Niklas shook his head.
“What?”
“If you guys won the game tonight”. Niklas laughed and placed her next to the bench.
“We’re going to try, Lannie. We’ll try, okay?” He knelt down to be at eye-level with her. Alana threw her arms around his neck.
“That’s all I ask is that you try. And Nicky”, she looked him directly in the eyes, “I love you”. Niklas gave her small hand a squeeze and kissed her cheek.
“I love you too, Lannie”, he said. She smiled and then walked with her parents back to the locker room. Niklas watched them for a minute before he stood up and stretched.
“She’s special, ain’t she”, a voice at his side asked. Niklas grinned and turned to Hank.
“She sure is, Hank. She’s very special. Now let’s go out and win this game”.
“You got it”, Hank said with a wink before he skated off. Niklas smiled before he glanced into the stands right behind the bench. Alana was leaning on the glass with a giant smile on her face. She caught his eye and gave him a wave. Niklas waved back before he skated off as well.
“For you, baby girl, anything”.