Chapter 11
Eleven
Two days later, practice at Allegheny Arena had a different rhythm.
The bleachers were nearly empty, the air filled with the scrape of skates and the low murmur of coaches.
Cassie took her usual place along the boards, notebook in hand, intending to write about tactical tweaks and to avoid any awkward run-ins with Elias Johansson.
As Cassie made her way to the locker room for interviews afterward, the lanky Swede was waiting for her in the hallway.
His blond hair was still damp, his eyes rimmed with fatigue.
“Cassie,” he began, his English softened by his Gothenburg cadence.
“Can I talk to you?” She tensed, but his expression held no arrogance.
He shifted awkwardly, then blurted, “I’m sorry for the other night.
I was angry at myself and I took it out on you. That’s not who I am.”
Elias fumbled for the right words, explaining that he’d never been jeered by the fans like that in Sweden, and that he felt like he was letting the team down. “My mother reads everything,” he added with a sheepish grin. “I didn’t want her to have to read about my stupid penalties.”
Cassie’s frustration melted. She remembered her own early missteps on the beat and how a harsh comment from a senior columnist had nearly derailed her confidence.
“Thank you for apologizing,” she said, meeting his gaze.
“It happens.” Elias nodded earnestly. As he turned to leave, Luke slowly approached from down the hall, equipment bag slung over his shoulder.
He watched Elias go, then looked at Cassie with a raised eyebrow.
She shrugged and mouthed, “He apologized.” Luke’s jaw unclenched, relief flickering in his brown eyes.
Cassie jotted the encounter in her notebook, not for publication but to remind herself that even quick tempers can cool.
After practice, her story focused on the team’s defensive adjustments, with quotes from Elias explaining the drills they worked on in practice that day.
No one reading would know about the quiet conversation that mended a small tear in the fabric of the locker room.