“So they give you better seats if you’ve been to more games?”
“Pretty much. It kind of works on seniority, and this season it’s my turn to have the good seats.”
I nodded and eagerly took a nacho he offered me.
“We should finish these fast,” he said. “Once the game starts, we won’t be able to eat.”
I squinted. “Why not?”
“We’ll be standing the whole game.”
“What? Why?”
“You’ll see.”
“That sounds tiring.”
“It’s more active that way—just the way you like it.” He smiled and I returned the gesture, liking the way he paid attention to minor details I told him about myself. “But we do sit down between periods.”
Hunter and I picked up the pace on eating the nachos. It seemed like Hunter was really into hockey and I kind of found it cute. We finished our nachos just as the arena lights dimmed. I looked around, but nobody seemed surprised, including Hunter. Instead, everyone was standing.
“Game time,” he said, looking down at me.
I stood up and watched as our team filtered onto the ice, followed by several spotlights. They skated around the rink while the band played the fight song to our right. Hunter and the rest of the section sang the lyrics loudly. I didn’t know the words to the Arrowhart fight song, so I just clapped along, making a mental note to learn the song in case I ever went to another sporting event.
When the song ended, the lights came back on. Hunter banged on the glass and screamed words of encouragement at the red and white clad players as they skated by. There were a few other people along the glass doing the same.
He turned to me to gauge my reaction as the players skated to the bench. I smiled at him and gave a thumbs-up sign, enjoying the lively pre-game ceremony.
The other team was already sitting on their bench, which was situated right next to our team’s bench. Their jerseys were dark green and their coach, wearing a black suit, seemed to be already yelling at them already. Our coach was standing with his arms crossed as five guys and the goalie jumped over the short wall in front of the bench and onto the ice. Soon, the green team followed. The game was about to start, and everyone was yelling.
“This is called a faceoff,” Hunter said. Even though he was right next to me, I could barely hear him above the clamor, but I nodded anyway. The referee dropped the puck and the game began.
It didn’t take long to realize that hockey was a very fast game. The players seemed to be constantly chasing after the puck when it was against the boards. Whenever they crashed up against the glass, I was shocked at how much it shook. The way these guys kept skating after hitting each other so hard boggled my mind.
The first period was over quickly without anyone scoring any goals. The student section sat down for the first time since the game had started. It wasn’t until I had taken a seat that I realized how sore my legs were.
“So what do you think?” Hunter asked.
“It’s definitely fast.”
He smiled. “Yeah, it keeps your attention.”
“Is it normal for them to not score for a whole period?”
“Yeah, there’s usually only a couple goals in a game. It makes it more exciting when they score.”
I nodded. We were quiet for a while, recovering from the intensity of watching the game. Everyone in our section seemed to be resting before the next period.
“Did you ever play hockey?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “They don’t really play much hockey in San Diego. I didn’t get into it until I came here for school, but now I love it. Kinda wish I played, actually.”
“I guess doing cage fights is enough athletic activity for one person.”
He laughed. “Yeah, probably. I’m sore enough after training that I doubt I'd have the energy for any other sports.”
The second period and most of the third flew by. There were five minutes left in the game and we finally scored the first goal of the game. The entire arena erupted in cheers so loud the noise hurt my ears. Hunter high-fived everyone around us, including me. His palm made a loud slap against mine; it stung but I ignored the pain because his excitement for the game got me excited as well.
The band played the fight song, and everyone sang, then shouted a mean chant full of curses at the other team’s goalie. Even though my ears were ringing like I’d just been at a concert, I found myself screaming and cursing along with everyone else. The energy was infectious.
“C’mon boys, hold on!” Hunter yelled during the third period.
“Yeah, f**k ‘em up!” I screamed.
Hunter turned to me in surprise. “You’re getting into this.”
I flashed him a grin. “It’s hockey.”
His lips curved into a boyish smile. “Couldn’t have said it any better.”
Suddenly, a player was body-checked and slammed into the glass in front of us. Thinking he was going to crash through the wall and into us, I jumped into Hunter’s protection.
Hunter put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me to him. The hockey player shook off the hit, looked at me through the glass, grinned, and winked then he continued skating after the puck. Bold letters on the back of his jersey read “MASTERS”.
“Focus on the game, you douche,” Hunter yelled harshly then looked down at me tenderly. “Scared you huh?”
“Just surprised is all.” His arm squeezing me against his hard body felt good.
“The glass might look weak since you can see through it but it’s actually really strong. You don’t have to worry about it breaking.”
“Appearances can be deceiving,” I said eyeing the glass gingerly. “Did you know that player?”
“He’s Caleb Masters, the star of the Arrowhart team. He’s a bit of an arrogant prick but I have to admit he’s good at hockey.”
Arrowhart ended up winning the game, leaving our entire section in smiles. As we were filing out, Hunter asked me if I wanted to go to Clyde’s for some ice cream so we could revel in our victory. I had a great time at the hockey game and could still feel excitement buzzing through my body like I’d actually been one of the players, so I agreed. Whereas Hunter preferred cooldown walks, I preferred cooldown ice cream eatings.
It seemed like everyone had the same idea he had, because the line at Clyde’s was out the door and around the corner. We decided to wait it out. There were few things I remembered about Arrowhart from before I left, but one of them was Clyde’s. They had some super delicious ice cream.