Page 123 of Pucking Strong

Okay, no, that’s good. Get all the bad ideas out now, Teddy.

I jog down the concourse, weaving through the throngs of fans in line for the bathroom or concessions.

“Hey, Teddy,” says Marjorie with a wave, guarding the tunnel access door.

I find her a smile. “Hey, Miss Marj.”

“You on duty tonight too?” She’s been a volunteer at the arena since long before I was an intern. She’s this eighty-year-old white lady who weighs, like, ninety pounds. And she always has candy.

“Not tonight,” I say, flashing her my access badge. “Just forgot something earlier.”

She reaches a bony hand into her pocket. “Want some candy, honey?”

I pause. “Actually, you got any mints?”

She hands me a peppermint in a twisty plastic wrapper.

“Thanks. You’re an angel.” I give her a wave as I pop the mint in my mouth.

The break between first and second period is only seventeen minutes long. And the buzzer went off as I made my way over to Marjorie. The clock is already ticking. I hurry down the stairs,passing the last set of security guards with a wave of my access pass before I’m in the tunnels.

What am I even doing? Am I just gonna charge into the dressing room, lock eyes with Henrik, and shout, “Colin is straight!”

I round the corner and nearly crash right into Cody, one of the EMs. “Whoa,” he says with a laugh, juggling a bundle of hockey sticks. “Close call. You on tonight?”

“Nope.” I dart around him. “You seen Henrik anywhere?”

“Who?”

“Karlsson. Where is he?”

“Uhh … beats me.” He shrugs, rattling the jumble of sticks. Someone calls his name down the hall, and he takes off. “Later, Ted!”

This is a sign, right? Cody doesn’t know where he is, so I should just give up now. Probably head back upstairs. This was a bad idea anyway—

“Teddy!”

I flinch, turning around. Brady is in the hall, waving me down. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I thought you weren’t on shift tonight.” He looks me up and down. “What are you wearing?”

“Umm …”

“Whatever. Look, if you’re working, go hunt down some ice packs. Someone moved all our shit around. When I find out who, there’s gonna be hell to pay.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, they literally came in and moved a whole goddamn freezer. And apparently no one on my staff fucking noticed until now! It’s gone, replaced with a fridge full of electrolyte water.”

“Well, I’m not actually on shift—”

“Whatever. Just find me that freezer and get some ice packs to the guys waiting in the PT suite. Help me out with this, and I’ll give you all the cash in my pocket, you greedy fuck.”

I laugh, crossing my arms. “Why do I get the feeling there’s no cash in your pocket?”

“Teddy,go!”

“On it.” Spinning on my heel, I’m emboldened with my new mission: Find Freezer.

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