Page 12 of Hockey Bois
“Sweet! Thanks, man, you’re the best!” Chad called as he winked and disappeared.
“And you are awful,” Nick whispered under his breath.
It could’ve been worse. The guy was all work or all play with no in-between, and escaping with only a couple minutes wasted was always a win. Considering that the alternative was Chad dragging their small talk out by telling one of his stupid stories before he got to the point, Nick wouldn’t question his good luck.
Hewouldgrind his teeth a little, but oh well. What was a job if not a constant source of stress?
Nick dutifully pulled up the report to send, if only so Chad couldn’t complain about a delay (or, cringe, come back), and then got up to lock his door so he could enjoy his lunch in peace. He flung his tie over his shoulder, a dingy red thing his mom had gotten him for his high-school graduation and that he still kept around for nostalgia, and dug into his leftover spaghetti and meatballs. It was still cold, but he wasn’t willing to brave the lounge for the microwave and the social interactions that would follow.
Nick knew if he even left this room to pee, he’d get a half-dozen requests just as tedious as Chad’s. He didnotwant to deal with that today; he was swamped enough and too tired to play nice much longer.
“I get thirty fucking minutes to myself. This dick probably doesn’t have shit to do today, could look up that report himself, waste of my time…” Nick pulled out his phone, desperate for a distraction to get him through the next few hours. “Fuck him and his fucking T&E crap. Like I don’t got better shit to do.”
Normally, his phone would be devoid of notifications this early, so it was a pleasant surprise to find he had several waiting for him. The top was so filled with alerts that some were cut off by an ominous “…” that made them more mystery than notification.
Interest piqued, he scanned the list of messages as he tried to find the best place to start.
Jenna May (8:15 a.m.)
Movie this weekend. Tear jerker or horror?
FYI the scary one is in French and Terry is trying to veto it because he doesn’t want to read a movie
It’s a horror movie!!! It could be silent and you could understand!!!!
He snorted.
Nick (11:49 a.m.)
terry is a wimp i vote incomprehensible french horror
bonus if the subtitles are also in french
There was one from his mom—her weekly check-in.
Mom (9:15 a.m.)
Hope you are having a good week so far!
It was good to see you at the family picnic last week but I would love to get some time with you to myself :’)
Lunch this weekend? I’ll make your favorite
Nick (11:51 a.m.)
sure mom i’ll be there
i can pick up dessert on the way if you want
The choices got rougher from there. Emails to his personal account, some random Twitter notification, a friend request on Facebook, and—
He promptly swiped open a new message from Brady.
Jensie from Hockey (9:10 a.m.)
there’s pick up at Wheaton Friday @ 9, you in?
They’d been meeting regularly for stick-and-pucks and open skates the past few weeks, often enough that Nick had blocked out those times in his schedule and adjusted his runs around them. He’d seen a big improvement in his play (andin Brady’s demeanor) and wanted to keep it up. A pick-up game, though? Random people with no actual investment in playing as a team didn’t seem like a recipe for success, at least not for someone as new to the game as Nick was. It was enough of a mixed bag when clinics ended in mini-scrimmages, and so he avoided the whole concept of pick-up games as a general rule. That was a thing Good Players™ did, and Nick wasnota good player.
