Friday, January 9, 2009

I miss you-The Next Time You're Close We Should Get Together

About a week after our presentations we each met with the professor to receive our grade. He told me that I had a bright future and that he was very impressed with my work. He informed me that the Penguins were looking for someone to do casual, maybe even funny interviews that show another side of the team. They had asked him to recommend one of his students for the position and that is why he had given us the preceding project. He had not only looked at the results but at our dedication and creativity with the assignment.

“Those are a few of the reason I have chosen you. You are one of my brightest pupils and this project eliminated any doubts I had about work. You should head down to the arena now and every class period as these interviews will now count as the majority of your grade. Work hard but don’t forget to also have fun.”

Hearing him say this not only made me extremely happy but also quite nervous. I thanked him and left for the arena. I was nervous simply because I had not seen or heard from Colby since the end of my project and now I was about to see him again this time at his job. I don’t know what I feel for him. I don’t know if I should even consider him as a friend I mean would he like that or would he think I’m just using this to try and take advantage of him.

I parked my car and walked in through the main entrance because I wasn’t quite sure where to go. Obviously they were expecting me because the great one himself was waiting for me. Even though I worked for him I had never met him and for a lifelong fan this was a shock. He greeted me and led me through the arena to watch the penguins practice. It didn’t take long to spot Colby as he was standing near the wall laughing with Sidney Crosby. Mario told me to enjoy practice and that he would come get me afterward and show me where the locker room was. I choose a seat near center ice and sat down to watch a few of the greatest players in the world practice. Even with players like Crosby and Malkin on the ice my eyes continued to fall upon the guy that I had actually gotten to know quite well. At the end Mario tapped me on the shoulder and took me to meet the coaches while the players showered and changed. We then toured the arena and I probably looked like a kid in a candy store. After about a half hour led me to the doors that had the famous (well at least to pens fans) "We Walk Together". He briefly knocked before peeking in the door to make sure that everyone was decent.

He opened and held the door open while I walked in completely in awe of the people and things that had occurred in this very room. Trying to keep my jaw from dropping was easier said then done especially when I saw the shirtless hockey players that were walking around the room. One of them was the object of my thoughts for the past day or week. Our eyes met and there was something different in the way he looked at me. I excused myself from Mario and walked across the room. I was met with a smile and a great big hug. "How did you do on the film," he asked. I smiled mainly because he smelled so good. "Great that's actually why I'm here." I responded. He had a look of confusion on his face so I quickly added onto my sentence. "The point of the assignment was for my professor to choose a student to get an internship with the Penguins. Thanks to your help I was picked for the job." At that point he wrapped me in an even bigger hug said goodbye to his teammates and led me out of the arena to his car. I'm pretty sure that the look on my face was pure shock especially since his teammates were cracking up at the sight.