Royally Falling

~ 30 ~

"Haven't I made it obvious?
Haven't I made it clear?
Want me to spell it out for you?
F-R-I-E-N-D-S"
FRIENDS - Marshmello & Anne-Marie

oOoOo

On Saturday morning, Grace informs us that she got us tickets for the Bruins game this afternoon. Apparently, her dad owns box seats. He was supposed to go to the game today with friends, but something came up and he gave the tickets to Grace instead.

I'm reluctant to go, but my worries are pushed aside when Blair gives me a pep talk. Hanging out as a group gives me the perfect chance to make things up to Kaden and show him how much he means to me.

After lunch, Blair, Marc, Grace, and I pile into the car. We go to pick Kaden and Chase up from their house and then head to TD Garden.

We enter the building and make our way up to where the box is located.

It has seats in front of a large glass window that overlooks the ice. The back of the room has a long counter with catered food. We are by far the youngest people here; we're sharing the space with businessmen tonight.

"So who are they playing today?" I ask, overlooking the stands. People are starting to file in and take their seats.

"The Canadiens," Chase responds. "They're our biggest rival, so shit might go down tonight."

I'm surprised when he answers me. It's the first time he has acknowledged my presence so far today.

"Yeah. It always makes the game a lot more interesting," Kaden adds.

"Have you ever been to a hockey game?" Grace asks.

"No," Blair and I both answer.

"I don't usually go to huge events like concerts or games. It's a security issue."

It feels good to finally be able to be open. Coming up with countless cover stories was getting exhausting.

"That sucks," Chase says.

"I'm not really into sports, so it's not a big deal to me. I don't understand hockey, anyway." I shrug.

"Same, girl. All I know is that the guys whack a puck with their sticks and fight each other," Grace laughs. "Kaden, didn't you use to play hockey?"

He nods. "Yeah, I've played for most of my life. I can try to explain it."

We claim the seats in the corner of the room.

"Okay, so there are six guys on the ice from each team," Kaden starts. "The goalie obviously defends the goal. The two defensemen are on defense and prevent the other team from scoring. Then, there's the center. Centers are similar to quarterbacks in football. They support the other players and do face-offs for the puck. Finally, the left and right wings try and score. Obviously, each position does so much more than that, but I won't get into that."

"That makes sense, I guess."

Blair nods in agreement.

"We'll explain more as the game goes on," Chase offers.

oOoOo

An hour later, the game is in full swing.

I watch the players skate back and forth. A player shoots the puck across the ice and suddenly a whistle is sounded and the game stops.

"What just happened? What's icing?" I ask after hearing the announcers on the TV next to us talking about it.

"28 just shot the puck all the way down the ice and the puck crossed the red goal line," Kaden says as he points to the rink. "That's not allowed, so the refs paused the game. Now there's a faceoff on the other side of the rink."