ANASTASIA
The massive arena became much louder as thousands of excited fans started filling up the rows of empty seats, and I moved slowly around the place of the ice rink to take some good warmup pictures before the championship game officially started.
The stadium lights were incredibly bright on the white surface of the rink, and the players looked completely different once they stepped out on the ice in their full equipment pads and matching jerseys.
The casual joking from the locker room stopped entirely, and every single person focused completely on hockey and their pre-game skating lines.
Cassian spotted me standing behind the low plexiglass barrier almost immediately, and he skated quickly toward my section of the glass during his very first warmup lap.
He slowed down, stopped right in front of my position, and pointed his gloved finger at my camera lens and laughed while shaking his head.
"Hey, Anastasia, you need to promise me that you won’t post any picture where I look nervous or messy before the match," Cassian said, leaning his arms on the top of the barrier wall. "My family is watching the official team page tonight, and I need to look completely ready for this game."
I laughed at his request, and I adjusted the settings on my camera strap and reminded him. "I cannot make any promises like that to you, Cassian, because embarrassing pictures usually get the most attention online anyway, and the fans love seeing those shots."
A few older players overheard our short conversation from the ice, and they immediately skated over to our corner and started teasing Cassian loudly again about his behavior.
One of the veteran forwards stopped his skates right beside the rookie, and he loudly asked a question to the group.
"Hey, Brooks, are you actually trying harder to impress our new photographer tonight than you are trying to impress the fans in the stands?" the older player asked, shaking his stick toward us.
Cassian didn’t even try to deny it, and he just looked directly at me and admitted the truth. "Yes, I am definitely trying," he said, making everyone laugh out loud, including me.
While we were talking and laughing by the glass wall, I saw Thiago skate right past our small group without stopping his quick pace for a single second.
He didn’t say a single word to anyone, but he looked directly and deeply at Cassian for a long moment before continuing his skating line toward center ice.
His eyes were completely serious, and the quick look caused the other players to stop laughing and immediately return to their hockey drills.
Cassian winked at me before he skated back too and I just shook my head with a smile.
Kier glanced at me for a second and I gave him a good luck nod before he concentrated back in the game.
The championship game started soon after that warmup session ended.
I threw myself entirely into my photography work, completely forgetting about everything else as I followed every single play with my camera.
The match was incredibly fast, and the loud crowd cheered at the top of their lungs for every big hit against the boards and every single save the goalie made.
I managed to get several amazing action shots during the periods, especially a few clear pictures of Thiago blocking a very dangerous offensive play near our goal.
He threw his large body directly in front of a hard shot, and his defensive move saved the team from losing their lead.
The New York Titans won the match after a very hard and exhausting game, and everyone immediately celebrated on the ice while I kept taking quick pictures of the happy group.
The head coach came out and congratulated the entire team on the bench, and several players skated past me with smiles on their faces.
"Make sure you email me that picture of the final huddle, Anastasia," Miller said, waving his helmet in the air. "That one is going on my wall at home."
"I will send them out as soon as I finish editing them at the hotel," I said, packing my gear away.
Just as I was packing my camera into my bag by the empty bench, a local news reporter I had never met before walked straight toward me from the media section.
He smiled politely at me before asking one simple question.
"Anastasia Bian, can I ask if the online rumors about your previous job are actually true?" he asked, holding his microphone out toward my face.
The happy smile disappeared from my face instantly.