9. Jackson
Jackson
The air in the locker room was thick and heavy, a suffocating mixture of sweat, ointments from the trainers’ room, and the cold, metallic scent of melted ice.
Every muscle in my body screamed in protest after the punishing two-hour practice.
It was a skate until you drop session that left most of the team exhausted on the benches, pulling off gear with agonizing slowness.
The intensity had been so brutal that a few of the rookies were doubled over near the trash cans, actually sick from the sheer physical toll of the drills.
I was oblivious to the general suffering, perched on my bench with my helmet resting by my feet, entirely focused on the letter in my hand.
“Hey!”
A towel lands straight on my head, snapping me out of my thoughts. “That smells disgusting! Who threw it?!” I yell.
I was so engrossed in re-reading the latest letter from Splash that I hadn’t even noticed my teammates messing around in front of me. The massive grin on Logan’s face tells me everything.
“So, who’s put that smile on your face?” Logan teases.
“Not you, you fucker!” I shoot back.
Donovan sits down on the bench next to me. “Talk to me, Hayes. Who’s the letter from?”
I felt a sudden spike of nervousness. Should I really be this anxious about telling my team captain that I had a pen pal?
Was he a pen pal? Nope, that doesn’t sound right at all!
It sounded so stupid out loud. “Erm, well, you know that charity event that was here at the stadium last month?” Donovan nodded, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I kinda signed up for this thing where you get letters from someone in the military. Did you know they did that? It feels like I’m talking to a secret spy right now. How crazy is that?”
I passed the latest page, pointing to the corner. “And look at this. He drew a little duck wearing tiny hockey skates. I mean, he’s thousands of miles away in a desert, and he’s taking the time to draw me this. It’s a lot, you know.”
Donovan smiled, chuckling to himself. “Yeah, Willow draws pictures and sends them out to the guys. We usually give them to my brother, since he’s enlisted.
” We sat in comfortable silence for a minute before he added, “It’s really cool that you’re doing it, Hayes.
I know a lot of those guys don’t have anyone to talk to, or want to talk to, for that matter.
They’re carrying that kind of silence while our lives are all noise.
You’re great with your words, and trust me, having someone disconnected from the noise to talk to helps.
You’re providing him with a way to find a teammate.
I can guarantee you won’t know how much receiving a letter will mean to him.
Imagine the things they all go through and see every day.
I bet the letters you send take him out of that world, even if just for a moment.
You can sent other things too. I send my brother his favorite chocolate bar and protein powder. ” Just then, an idea formed in my head.