{irl. social media}

cardiac - violets crush

The next morning, AJ woke up to the sound of her alarm radiating throughout the dorm. Typically, Monica is the one to sit up and shut off the alarm, so when it continued to ring, AJ opened her eyes to see the bed empty.

With a groan, she shut off her own alarm and went to brush her teeth. AJ had ten minutes to get to practice, so she quickly put on her uniform and left the room. She was about halfway out the building when she realized she forgot to brush her hair, but decided not to worry about it.

Walking into the gym, she was met by four smiling faces: Nick, Matt, Monica and Nate. Chris was also there, but he did not seem to pay much attention to AJ joining the group.

"Good morning babe!" Monica smiles "Looks like you just woke up!"

"What gave it away?" AJ asks playfully. Monica looks at her up and down before reaching to brush through AJs hair with her fingers.

"Not sure" She rolls her eyes teasingly "Random question... did a bird fly in the room and find shelter in your hair or...?"

AJ scrunches her nose and rolls her eyes, playfully pushing her best friend on the shoulder.

"Oh, by the way, Where did you go this morning?" AJ asks, fixing her best friend's necklace under the collar of her jersey, the dangling 'M' was twisted towards the back. "I had to actually get up and turn off that damn alarm" She pretends to pout

"Well..." The smile on Monica's face was wide and big, her teeth shining from the bright lights above. They were perfectly straight and ideal, as she had braces for several years. Her smile has always been contagious, which was evident in the moment as AJ finds herself smirking "Matt and I went for breakfast together this morning. And..." She looks back at Matt, who was too busy talking to Chris and Nick to notice, and returns her gaze back to her best friend "He asked me to be his girlfriend"

"Moni!" AJ squeals and wraps her in a hug, almost falling to the ice in excitement. This was Monica's first boyfriend, the first guy to appreciate her for who she truly was. The first guy to see the genuine soul she has.

"What are we squealing about?" Chris asks, joining the conversation as he stands next to AJ

"I am no longer a single woman" Monica grins ear to ear, directing her eyes to Matt

"And you're excited? I thought you 'hated all men'...?" Chris rolls his eyes at AJ, putting air quotations around selected words

"Not all men, just you." AJ snickers. Chris responds by expressing a sarcastic smile towards her, obviously unamused by this conversation

"Well, congratulations. I'm happy to see Matt happy" Chris says to Monica "And you of course"

A few minutes pass by and it was time for practice to start, indicated by the typical whistle blow from Coach. Everyone lined up in their teams. In every game of hockey, there are two teams of six. However, at camp there were about 15 people in each group, so some sit on the bench and wait to be put in the game while others play. AJ was a center, Chris played right wing, Nate was a left wing, Matt played goalie (but was trained in all positions in case he ever needed to switch), Nick was a right defenseman, and Monica's position was goalie. So together, they had every position except for left defenseman. Needless to say they worked well together.

Everything depends on skill, exactly why AJ desired to be the best.

"Today will be a mock game, so most of you should be familiar with the fundamentals by now. For Team A, I need Young on center. Chris S on right wing, Doe on left wing, Matt S on goalie, Dyal on right defense and Roberts on left defense" Coach demands. AJs team immediately moves into positions, "Team B, I need..."

He continues down the row for the opposing team and AJ attempts to get into her game day headspace. During games, her opponents typically doubt her abilities due to her small stature. Centers were stereotypically big and tall, which is her complete opposite.

However, AJ was unbelievably fast, which gave her an advantage during every game. She was also a quick thinker, the key trait needed for every great center. Centers usually play more assists than goals, because they pass it to their wings. Her confusing relationship with Chris, the right wing, could either make or break this game.

Centers needed to understand the motives and intentions of their Wings, and watch for their patterns to know when to pass the puck. If she couldn't understand Chris, it would interrupt the flow of the game and potentially cause her team to lose.

AJ found herself breaking a cold sweat of worry, and Monica noticed this. They made eye contact as Monica silently gave her a smile and a thumbs up, immediately understanding where her best friend's mind was. She decided to look up and observe her opposing team.

Their center was a boy who she knew little about, but he was tall and wide. He was honestly a little intimidating, but AJ commanded herself to shake away the worry. The right defenseman was Wes, so he and Chris would eventually be facing each other trying to defend the puck. The rest of the team were players she had not had the opportunity to get to know yet.

The blow of coach's whistle zones AJ back into the freshly started game.

The puck drops, and with a swift motion, AJ wins the draw cleanly for her favoring side. The game officially begins. AJ immediately swerves to her right ready for face off, leaning closely with Wes as he protects his center. AJ swiftly skates up the ice, weaving through the defensemen on the opposing side. As she enters the offensive zone, she manages to pull off a clear deke, leaving the defenders flat-footed. AJ observed her wings, Chris and Nate. Nate appeared to be focused on the opposing wings, but Chris had his focus on AJ. With a small smile and a nod of his head, he quietly confirms that he is a safe pass. With a quick snapshot, AJ sends the puck to Chris, confusing the opposing team. Chris sends the puck top shelf, right over the goalie's glove - a smooth and beautiful play and a point for AJs team.

"Good work! Positions ready" Coach announced, clapping his hands with a smile on his face. This was one of the first times AJ had seen Coach smile, and honestly it was creepy. It meant she was doing something right and advancing at hockey.

AJs team gets back in their opening positions, shaking off their win and preparing for the next.

The puck is dropped, and the opposing center immediately grabs it and moves to the right. Team B's center is hustling down the boards, chasing the puck into AJs zone.

As he battles for possession of the puck with AJ, Chris comes in to her side ready to swipe the puck. But, Wes comes speeding up aggressively with his hockey stick, intentionally knocking Chris off balance and leaving him to crash onto the ice, a move that is typically a penalty, however Coach was nowhere to be found.

Hockey changes game to game, but the most important, unchanging rule of hockey...when a fight breaks out, do not let your emotions take over and stay calm. A rule Chris did not listen to.

@avyoung made a new post!

@avyoung: u would not believe the reason this coffee was free
liked by @nicolassturniolo @nathandoe8, and 3850 others
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@user: not confirming or denying the dating rumors is so suspicious

@user2: so we are just posting anything now?

@matthew.sturniolo: a haters gonna hate
↳avyoung: stay out of my dorm matthew

@christophersturniolo: double shot espresso!
↳avyoung: for freeee!

@user3: are you going to tell us the reason or no?

@nathandoe8: i, in fact, could not believe it.
↳avyoung: you get me

@monihayes: sighing from behind my phone
↳avyoung: keep sighing pretty girl.
↳monihayes: your wish is my command

@nicolassturniolo: i want one!
↳avyoung: no.
↳nicolassturniolo: ):