Crossing enemy lines

Chapter 1 Briar Swearing at my shoulder bag, I put my arms around it and carry it like a baby instead of on my shoulder. It’s too damn heavy; I packed it with almost all my research books about hockey before I left my dorm room. I know hockey, but I don’t know everything, and I thought I’d have to study up before this interview. ”But you didn’t have to bring them all,” I mutter to myself, angry that I didn’t just take my notebook with the questions I prepared. As if the heavy bag wasn’t enough; it’s so hot outside. After returning from summer break and entering my final year of college, I was hit by the biggest heatwave yet in Hawthorne Hollow. We’re at the end of September now, and the heat should begin to drop, but no. I can’t stop feeling amazed by my own stupidity though, I told myself that it’s been enough hockey in my life, my grandfather played hockey, my father played and my brother is playing hockey, we are a hockey family down to the roots. I wanted to break free and do my own thing, so I became a journalist right? Yeah, so why did I have to major in sports journalism, more specifically hockey? ”Because you’ve got problems,” I remind myself. I love writing articles, the possibilities are endless with the right facts. For the big project, and for like 80% of my grade, I am going to be following and shadowing the hockey team of Evercrest College, covering both home and away games; and on the side of publishing articles in the college newspaper about the games, I am to write my biggest essay yet; games, dynamics, rivalry, coaches, who gets hurt, interviewing all players on our team with photos and names. I really took water over my head, because I have no idea how to manage this. And covering away games means that I will have to travel with the team. The only good thing with this is that my best friend who happens to be a photography major also decided to make her project about the hockey team, mostly because she thinks hockey players are hot. I can’t argue with that. I spot Evercrest Ice Pavilion but with this heavy bag it feels like a million miles away. ”Note to self, do not ever, under any circumstances, bring this many books again,” I don’t care if I sound or look like a madwoman by mumbling to myself. I will have heatstroke before I can manage to get inside that building with cool air. I look at the pavilion, nothing else matters now, I don’t take my eyes off my destination. I need to get inside, find a bottle of water, and sit down for five minutes before I find the captain of our hockey team. All I actually know is that he plays center, his name, and that he is very popular with the girls at this school and the one in the nearby bigger town. I know that Blaine hates this captain, I have only been to a few games during my time here, mostly due to my stubbornness, but I know that he’s a good player, not according to Blaine though who in his fit rage, refers to the captain as ’that dickhead’. Blaine sees our captain as his biggest rival, since they both are captains and play centers. It’s actually ironic that we ended up in two different colleges in neighboring towns. Whereas Blaine’s college is a little bigger and in a bigger town, my college is smaller but is the better one according to statistics, Evercrest College and Ravensgate College have always been rivals. I sigh in relief when I can actually touch the handle of the door to the pavilion, and when I enter I am hit by the cool air and the sight of the vending machine that will offer me water for my money. The damn thing can have all my money if I can get a water bottle out of it. I am not usually friends with these things, they’ve stolen plenty of money without delivering. When I try to put my bag down on the floor, the books tip out and land on the floor with a loud thud, and I curse under my breath. No, not before I get my water. In the hunt for my wallet though, the rest of the books need to be taken out. I sigh and just push them out while grabbing my wallet. When I put the coins in the machine and press the number for the water, it doesn’t pick a fight with me, I get my water and I couldn’t chug it fast enough. I sit down on the bench beside just as the water is gone and take a deep breath. God, I didn’t only choose this college because it’s one of the best in the country with the best journalism program, but because if it’s not winter the climate is almost always autumn, except for the peak of summer, but never this hot. A little heat is okay but definitely not like this, when the air is too thick to f*****g breathe. I gather the books back in the bag and carry them up in my arms before heading to the men’s locker room. The coach said I could use his office for my interviews with his players, but not to touch his stuff; he even gave me his spare key. When I enter the locker room, it’s empty; it’s not practice time yet, which is why this is the perfect time for the interview. It’s really weird how the men’s locker rooms always seem to smell. Why? Where from? For God's sake how? It’s empty, and yet the smell is canny. I guess it’s all the testosterone that’s lingering even when they are not here. When I unlock the door I stumble inside towards the desk, closing the door with my feet. The room looks like an ordinary office; the walls have the school crest on them, as well as a poster of the school mascot. But other than that an ordinary office. I bend down lower to put the bag on the floor and take my notebook from the top. When I sit down in the soft chair I lean back for a moment and close my eyes. I take a deep breath and all the tension leave my body. I am here, I am on time, and I didn’t get a heat stroke. I open my eyes and realize that with all the books I packed, I forgot to bring a pen. Coach said not to touch his stuff, but he wouldn’t mind if I borrowed a pen, would he? He’d never know anyway. I take and take a pen from the desk. A black pen with the Evercrest name in silver. He’s got three more, and I have zero of these pens, would he notice if I took this one? I open my notebook and write Colton Heyes on the page beside the questions I'd written beforehand. Under his name, I also write his position in the team as well as captain. I then wait.