Chapter Text
Kamon follows Yasmin through the Centaurs' training facility, half-listening as she explains where things are.
“Are you nervous?” She asks as they stand outside of the locker room door.
“A little,” Kamon replies, truthfully. Yasmin, the team’s official physiotherapist, smiles knowingly.
“Don’t be. The guys are great! Plus, all you have to do is just introduce yourself. That’s not too hard.” She says as Brendan Weibe, the head coach, approaches them.
“Hey!” He says with a friendly wave. “The guys should all be here by now. We have a busy day today, so if you could keep anything you have to say brief, that would be great.” He says, and Kamon nods. Brendan then opens the door to the locker room and steps in, followed by Kamon and Yasmin.
Once fully inside, the coach steps forward. “Hey guys, Yasmin has an announcement for you.” The man turns to Yasmin.
“Alright, listen up, this is Kamon Wang,” She says, gesturing at the guy beside her. He waves, smiling brightly. “He’s doing his internship with us. So, he’ll be helping me out. We want him to earn his degree, right? Be nice.”
“I’m really excited to be here and work with you guys!” Kamon says, enthusiastically. “I’m almost done with my degree in physiotherapy and kinesiology at the University of Ottawa. Hopefully, something like this internship will be my job in the future!” He explains. Kamon looks around the room. It's so crazy to him that he’s managed to get this internship. Most of his classmates either couldn't find one, or they ended up at random physio clinics.
Coach Weibe speaks: “Okay, boys, let’s hit the ice. Don’t wanna let the Bears beat us tomorrow, do we?”
A chorus of “No coach” is yelled out by the team, and they get up and grab their sticks. Kamon and Yasmin take this as their cue to leave.
❆ ❆ ❆
Kamon walks into the Centaurs' training facility bright and early the next morning. It’s his first official full day of his coop, and he’s excited to be getting into actual work. Yesterday was just a bit of onboarding: meeting the staff, the team, and learning his way around the building.
Kamon enters the office and spots Yasmin, who’s already at her desk.
“Good morning!” Kamon greets, setting his coffee and bag down on the desk that’s been assigned to him for the upcoming months.
“Morning,” Yasmin responds. “Ready to work?”
“So ready!” Kamon tells her, grinning. “I’m so excited to be doing this.” Kamon still can’t really believe that he landed this as his coop. All his friends in his kinesiology program struggled to find placements, and told him he was crazy for even asking the Ottawa Centaurs if they needed an intern. Kamon honestly didn’t expect to hear back, but was so grateful he did. It means a lot to him to be working for an NHL team.
“That’s great to hear,” Yasmin says. “It’s always pretty busy here; hockey players are always injured.”
“Wait, does this mean I’m actually going to get to work with patients and not just like, I don't know, check inventory and keep records?” Kamon asks excitedly.
“Yeah. You’ll actually get to work with the guys. Just small things, of course, but I think it’ll be more beneficial than just keeping records or whatever other boring task interns typically do.” Yasmin responds.
“Great,” Kamon says with a smile. Yasmin gestures for him to come over to her desk.
“Pull up a chair. I’ll walk you through the spreadsheets where we keep all the players’ information.” Kamon does as told and watches Yasmin log into the laptop. “You got your login info right?” She checks with him.
“Yep”.
“Great.” She types aggressively and then turns the laptop towards Kamon. “This is where all information for any of the Centaurs can be found. It’s organized by name on the left column.” Kamon nods. “Once you click on a player, you can click through the tabs at the top to see personal info, previous medical history, notes from past sessions, and so forth."
“Right. Sounds simple enough.” Kamon says. Yasmin nods, opening a new document.
“This document here is the schedule for upcoming appointments. Just double-click the appointment for more details.” She demonstrates by clicking on an appointment that’s later in the afternoon. Kamon reads that it’s for Wyatt Hayes, the goalie, about his knee. “All these documents are shared through Google Drive with your work email.”
“Okay, perfect.”
“Now, in regards to meeting with the players, at first you’ll just shadow me, but then you can work with them alone. Obviously, I'll supervise, but unless you need help, I'll be hands-off. How does that sound?”
“Sounds great!” Kamon says with a smile. This internship has everything he wants: a seemingly knowledgeable boss, actual hands-on work, and a great connection. He can’t wait to get started.
There's a knock at the door, and then a second later, Coach Weibe walks in. “Hello! How’s everything going?” He asks cheerfully.
“Hey, Brendan. Everything's going great, just showing Kamon how to work the system.” Yasmin says.
Weibe nods and turns to Kamon, “How are you finding things so far?”
“It’s been good. Yasmin has been super helpful, showing me around and how stuff works.” Kamon replies.
“That’s good to hear! I’m glad you like it so far. I hope you’ll be joining the staff lunch.”
“The staff lunch?” Kamon questions.
“Yeah, most days the staff take lunch in the break room around one, so we can catch up and chat. I’ll introduce you to everyone; the team is great.” Weibe says.
“That would be great, thank you!” Kamon wonders what he did to be this lucky. Everything about this internship is literally perfect.
“No problem, kid,” He turns to Yasmin. “I have a few papers here about our next couple of away games. Email me if you have any questions.” Weibe says, handing Yasmin a thin stack of papers. “See you at lunch!” The coach tells them and leaves the office.
❆ ❆ ❆
Lunchtime rolls around quicker than Kamon expected. He walked through basic procedures and how to run sessions with Yasmin all morning, proving that he did, in fact, pay attention in his lectures and possess all the necessary knowledge.
The pair walk through the facility towards the break room, chatting easily. Kamon decides that he really likes Yasmin. She’s very honest and down to business, but funny. He thinks they’ll get along well during his time here.
They enter the room. There’s a large table in the middle with a few staff members around it, a fridge, microwave, and sink in the corner, and a couple of cabinets and cubbies.
“Ah, our physiotherapists have arrived!” Weibe announces.
“Everyone, this is Kamon, our newest hire.” The General Manager, Scarlett Parker, takes over the introduction. The rest of the employees say their hellos and quickly return to their previous tasks.
“C’mon, I’ll introduce you to some people,” Yasmin says with a smile, leading Kamon over to a group of five people who are standing around and chatting amongst each other. “Hey, guys! This is Kamon; Kamon, this is our content creation team. They're the coolest people here.”
“Hi Kamon, it’s so great to meet you! I’m Harris, director of communications. That’s Gen, our photographer. Theresa is the other director of communications. Theo, our mascot. And Rebecca, a marketing intern.” Harris happily points at each person as he introduces them.
“It’s nice to meet you all,” Kamon says politely, and the conversation in the group starts up again. Harris moves to stand beside Kamon.
“Are you nervous? I definitely was when I first started, but really, there's nothing you need to worry about. Everyone is so nice and welcoming, even the players.”
“That’s good to hear.” Kamon pauses. “How long have you been working here?”
“Oh! Since 2018! It’s been amazing, I absolutely love it.”
Kamon nods, glad to hear that Harris has loved his time here so far. It’s reassuring to know that everyone seems to genuinely love their jobs here.
“What got you interested in physio?" Harris asks. Kamon smiles.
“Oh, well, I played hockey and other sports as a kid, but I always liked science too, so when I found out about physio, I was sold,” Kamon explains with a light laugh.
“Really? That’s so cool.” Harris says with an enthusiastic tone. “I started working here cause I’ve always loved the sport. When I saw the job posting, it was great because then I could blend my career and my interests together!”
“Me too! My friends told me I was crazy to apply here, but I love hockey and had to give it a shot.”
“Well, it’s not so crazy cause you got in,” Harris says. “What was your interview process like?”
“It was kind of long. I emailed back and forth with a receptionist for a while, and then I ended up having an interview with both Yasmin and the General Manager. It was terrifying to be honest.”
“Oh! So you’ve met Scarlett! She’s actually really nice when she’s not interviewing you.”
“Oh yeah? She seemed very intense over the phone.”
“She can be, but it’s just because she cares about the organization and making sure everyone's a good fit. Trust me, once you get to know her, you will love her.” Kamon nods. He was really worried when he realized that his interview would be with the General Manager of the Centaurs. Scarlett Parker is the first female General Manager of an NHL team, and is known for being incredibly skilled and no-nonsense. He considers it an honour to be able to work for her for the time being.
Harris’ phone buzzes, and he looks at it with a sigh.
“I’ve got to take this, we’ll talk soon though, okay? My office door is always open!” He tells Kamon. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You too!” Kamon says and pulls out his lunch.
❆ ❆ ❆
“Chiron!” Luca looked up from his stall, where he was lacing up his skates for practice. Harris had walked in with the team’s dog, and Rozanov jumped up to swoop the dog from his arms.
“I’ve missed you! Harris, you haven’t brought him in so long! He should come visit once a week.” Ilya told Harris. Luca stands and walks over to where some of the team is petting Chiron in Roz’s arms. Luca gently pats the dog’s head. He’s more of a cat person himself, but Chiron is too cute to resist.
“I’ll let you have him for ten minutes. I’ve gotta get back to work soon, and I promised I’d drop by the physio office and introduce the new intern to Chiron.
Luca perks up at this news. “Kamon?” Harris nods in confirmation.
“Yup. He was very excited to hear that we had a team dog.”
“He likes dogs?”
“Yeah, it seems like it.”
Ilya (reluctantly), hands Chiron to Young, who’s been begging to hold him. The team plays with the dog and chats for a few minutes, until they’re interrupted by Coach Weibe calling them to come out onto the ice.
Practice runs smoothly, nothing out of the ordinary happens, and it ends quickly. The team has been working really well together so far. Luca has high hopes that this will be the year the Centaurs win the cup. The team walks towards the change rooms. The mood is light, and everyone is chatting amongst themselves.
“Haasy,” LaPointe says, putting his arm casually on Luca’s shoulders. “Can you drive me home?”
“I thought you were going with Holmberg and Young.”
“I was, but they want to go look at the canal on their way back, and I just want to go home and take a fat nap.”
Luca furrows his brows. “Why do they want to look at the canal? It’s freezing outside.”
“I don’t know, man, can you drive me or not?”
“I can drive you, it's fine.”
“Yay! Haasy, you’re the best!” LaPointe says, detaching himself from the man and going to get changed. Luca goes to his stall and sits down.
When Luca joined the team last year, he was asked by the prior year’s rookies, Pointy and Young, if he wanted their spare bedroom in a house they shared with Holmberg, the rookie from the year before them. Luca, not really knowing anything about Ottawa or the Canadian housing market, said sure. It’d be easier than finding a place on his own, anyway.
Shane walks up to Luca. “Hey, I know you mentioned that you and the others were looking for a new couch for Rookie Manor. Have you found one?” Luca smiles at the diabolical nickname the team gave the rookie’s house.
He shakes his head. “No, we haven’t. Why?” Shane tilts his phone so he can see.
“Oh, well, in that case, there's this company I really like, I got one of my couches there, and it’s honestly my most comfortable one. I can send you the link to their website if you want.” Luca watches Shane scroll through the website. The couches seem expensive but quite nice.
“That would be great, thank you, Hollander,” Luca says. “I’ll get the guys to look through it with me tonight.”
“Okay, let me know if you need any help,” Shane says happily and goes back to his stall.
Luca finishes getting packed up, and then he and LaPointe head to Luca’s car. The house isn’t very far, only about a 20-minute drive.
“Haasy! You will not believe who I matched with on Hinge.”
“Who?” Luca asks, paying attention to the road in front of him.
“Aria Smythe! She was the hottest girl in my high school! Like, friendships ruined over this girl.”
“Were you friends with her?”
“No. She was exes with my best friend, so, like, she was off-limits. But oh my god, she’s so hot.” Pointy gushes. “Do you want to see a picture?”
“I can't, I'm driving. At the next red light, maybe.”
“Okay, because just wait until you see her. You will be so jealous.” LaPointe explains, and Luca thinks about how he probably won’t find her as attractive as Léo claims.
“Okay,” Luca says. “Are you gonna try and go out with her? Does she even live in Ottawa?” Luca knows LaPointe lived in Quebec before joining the Centaurs.
“Yeah, she’s at UOttawa, she’s so smart, she’s studying Biotechnology. It’s apparently their hardest program, and she's on track to graduate summa cum laude or whatever.”
Luca nods, listening. “Wow, that’s really impressive.”
“It is,” Pointy says with a sigh. There’s a silence for a bit, and they arrive at the house. Luca pops the truck, and they both take their bags out.
“You should try a dating app,” LaPointe says.
“Um, I don’t know about that.” Luca will not think about it. He hates the idea of dating a stranger.
“Think about it!” Pointy says, going into his room.
❆ ❆ ❆
Luca and the rest of the younglings arrive at Bood’s house in Young’s car. They walk in, and it seems like they are among the first to arrive.
“Hey guys!” Bood says, approaching them. “Chouinard and Boyle are already here in the living room.”
“Sounds good!” Says Pointy, heading over there with Young. Luca and Holmberg bring the beer and cookies that they brought to the kitchen before joining everyone else.
Not long later, the rest of the team arrived. Luca is in a conversation with Dillon when Wyatt Hayes comes and sits down beside him.
“Haasy! What’s up, lil’ guy?” He says to him, patting Luca on the shoulder.
“I’m good.” He responds. Luca likes Wyatt. He’s super easy to talk to, really funny, and enjoys all the same movies as him.
Dillon stands up, letting them know he’s going to go get a drink and leave them nerds (affectionately) alone.
“Have you seen the newest X Squad movie yet?” Hayes asks him. “It’s so good.”
“No, I haven’t, I’ve been meaning to, I’m probably going to go this weekend with Young. I’m really excited to go watch it!”
“You’re going to love it! Please message me immediately after you’ve watched it. There are so many crazy plot twists that I need to talk about. Lisa is getting tired of hearing about it already.” He says with a chuckle.
“Okay, yeah, I definitely will. If I have time, I might make some art for it. I’ll post it to my Tumblr.” Luca says quietly.
“Ooh! I’ll make sure to check it out, I haven’t used Tumblr in a hot second if I'm being honest, though.”
“Shhhhh!” Luca says, looking around. Thankfully, the only people around are Harris, Caitlin, Boyle, Holmberg, and Cassie, and they are not paying attention at all. “You can’t be so loud about it! It’s a secret.”
“What’s a secret?” Harris says, pulling away from his previous conversation.
“Tumblr!” Hayes says. “Oops, sorry, Haas.”
“Oh my god! I love Tumblr! Can I follow you?”
“No!” Luca says, turning red. “I mean, no, you can’t, sorry.” Nobody needs to see any of his fan art, worst of all, his 2015 Hollanov fan art that’s somewhere in the depths of his account.
“Aw, why?”
“You just can't!"
“Luca, you don’t have to be so shy about your artwork. It’s so good! Harris won’t judge your X Squad and Spiderman art.”
“I would never!” Harris agrees. Luca just stands there, looking back and forth between the two.
“Luca!” He turns at the sound of his name. It’s Selena, Nick Chouinard’s wife. “Nick, Troy, and I are playing Mario Kart. Wanna be the fourth player? Troy said you’d probably be down.”
“Sure!” Luca says, taking his chance to escape.
“This isn’t over!” Harris calls after him, and Hayes just laughs.