Waiting For Superman

Sweep Me Off My Feet

The next day was the National Championship game at six. We had team breakfast at nine, lunch at one thirty, and then we got to the rink at four.

I got up early again and worked out, managing to avoid the team when I got back this time.

I quickly showered and threw on a sweatshirt and leggings before making my way down to our banquet room for breakfast.

"Hey Penelope," Logan said with a smile as I walked in and got in line behind him.

"Hey," I said.

"Sleep well last night?" he asked.

"Yeah, you?" I asked.

"Been up since five, could barely sleep," he laughed, "Excited for the game tonight I guess."
"I don't think I'd be able to sleep if I was playing for the National Championship tonight either," I laughed.

"You ready for the big game?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, "I've got the camera charged with two back up batteries and three empty memory cards all in the bag."

"Way to be prepared," he laughed.

"I don't want to miss anything," I said, "I really wish I had another camera body though. I'd like to have my small lens on one camera and my big one on the other for the end of the game."

"How much is a new body?" he asked.

"Twelve hundred," I said.

"Holy shit," he said, "That's a lot of money."

"Yeah," I said, "That's why I started selling prints. Hopefully I'll sell enough to pay for it between that and my job at the rink this summer."
"That's a good plan," he said.

"I've almost got enough to buy a new bag," I said, "I'm really hoping my parents are getting me the camera I want for a graduation present, but if they don't I'll probably have enough by the time the season starts."
"Do you get a lot of people that want prints?" he asked.

"Kind of," I said, "A few fans, one lady wanted one for the player she takes care of and I gave a few to one of my mom's friends. A few senior parents have called me the past couple weeks too."

"Were you at the game where I scored my fiftieth goal?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with a grin, "I got a picture of the puck hitting the net too."

"I was just going to ask that," he said, "I'll have to tell my dad, he'll definitely want one for up on the wall at home."
"Is your dad coming tonight?" I asked.

"Probably not," he said, looking down at his plate, "he's working so I don't think he'll be able to take the time off."
"That sucks," I said.

"Yeah, it's okay," he said, "You'll just have to get a ton of pictures right?"

"Right," I smiled.

###
The hours seemed to drag on and on as we went through the day, finally it was time for the game.

I was standing in the same spot in the corner where I had stood the game before with my camera, waiting for the teams to take the ice.

This year's matchup was a big one, we were facing St. Norbert College, our biggest rivals. They had beat us in the only other National Final game we had been to a few years back and knocked us out of quarterfinals the first time we got to Nationals. This year, we had swept them in the regular season and beat them in the league championships, so it was guaranteed to be a good game.