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Best Served Cold
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TateRegistered Posting Freak
Previously on the Chronicles of Knox Booth:
- First Article - Chapter 2 - The SMJHL Draft Approaches - Chapter 3 - The Losses Mount - Chapter 4 - Draft Day - Chapter 5 - Collect $200 when you Pass Go Chapter 6
Best Served Cold “Your name sir?” The front desk clerk asked him, she was young and wearing a black suit with a blood red tie. “Knox Booth,” he said before he instinctively spelled out his last name for her, on occasion people would hear him say, “Boots,” instead of Booth and rather than wait for her to get it wrong he’d often found himself spelling it out for strangers the first time, just in case. “Team Canada,” she said as her eyes bounced up from her monitor to make contact with Knox, “You’re the first to arrive.” Knox was already aware of that fact but said nothing. He had elected to travel into the city earlier than join up with the team at the airport. Knox was becoming a man of preparation and wanted to leave very little to chance or surprise, he had a desire to know what his surroundings were beforehand and felt an urge for acquire familiarity with the city. Players were permitted to travel in and out of the city however they wanted and being that Knox could now afford to schedule and pay for his own travel he was pleased to do it. In the past he had been at the mercy of his parents, and although he loved his Mother dearly she wasn’t capable of being consistent and this meant he was often late or disappointed at missing an event altogether. “You’ll be sharing a room,” the front desk clerk told Knox as she prepared a card for him, “Room 545 is on the fifth floor, west wing,” she handed him his electronic room card, “Did you need a map for the city?” Knox shook his head and held up his phone, “I’ve got the best one.” She smiled, “Breakfast begins at 6 am and both the pool and sauna are located on the first floor,” she motioned behind him, “Down the hall.” “Thank you,” Knox said as he turned to pick up his bags but froze as soon as he noticed they were missing. “They’ve been taken to your room,” the front desk clerk said from behind him, “Room service took them while I was checking you in.” Knox was surprised but appreciated how swift the service had been, “Thank you." “We hope you enjoy your stay.” ***
“It’s great Mom,” Knox spoke into the phone, he was unpacked and was waiting for Bo to arrive so that they could go to the conference room together, “I already went down to the pool and sauna area, it’s so big that they even have a water-slide in there.” “That’s wonderful love,” his Mother responded, “And you said I could watch the games on TV?” “Hmm-hmm, yep, they’ll be televised,” Knox told her. “I’m so proud of you sweetie.” Knox could hear commotion in the background, “Are you making dinner?” “Yes,” she said as the sound of a pot falling on a kitchen floor banged in Knox’s ear. “God damn it Maureen!” The voice of his Father. “Dad’s there?” “Yes.” “Mom,” Knox began but stopped himself, he didn’t want to fight with her or make her upset and being that their conversation had gone well so far Knox knew that getting angry with her in this moment about his Dad being at the house wouldn’t change anything. It never did. “Did he tell you he won some money?” Knox asked instead. “He what?” His Mother's tone was surprised even though she had heard correctly what Knox had said. “We had lunch and he told me he won some money,” Knox pretended in his mind that the conversation between he and his Dad had really gone that way and imagining this farce in his mind allowed Knox to maintain his tone. Knox knew that if he sounded sincere, his Mother would believe him, “He tried to give me a little bit of it but I’m making enough now, I didn’t need it.” “No,” she said to Knox and then it was clear she had now turned to speak with his Father in the background, “He didn’t tell me anything about winning money.” “Yeah,” Knox listened for a moment to hear for his Dad’s reaction but when his Dad stayed silent he continued, “Something like thirty thousand dollars.” “THIRTY THOUSAND!” His Mother shouted out, “Frank! You won thirty thousand dollars!?” Knox smiled on his end, enjoying the fact that his Father was probably squirming in his seat, trying to come up with an excuse. Knox wished he could be there to see the expression he knew was on his Father’s face. Unbeknownst to his Mother Knox had been paying her rent for the past four months and was also putting money into a savings account for her. Knox didn’t want his Mother to know about the payments he was making because if she knew, his Dad would know, and Knox certainly did not want that. Knox couldn’t help but relish in this unexpected moment, he had paid his Dad enough money to exit out of his own life, but what was the harm in having some of that money get back to his Mother? After all, his Dad had sucked his Mother dry for years and had been one of the main reasons they struggled financially most of their lives- what was the harm in a little payback? It was true that Knox didn’t know what his Dad needed the money for in the first place, and he just assumed it had something to do with gambling or alcohol- didn't it always? But had Knox understood then why his Dad really needed the money, he would never have told his Mother about it in the first place. He would never have said a damn thing. “He should have kept his mouth shut,” Frank Booth said to his wife, his voice clear and distinguishable. “How could you not tell me?” His Mother asked his Father while still holding the phone to her mouth, Knox was now just a bystander to a conversation between his parents. “It’s gone,” Frank said, his voice rising with anger, “I don’t have it!” “Thirty thousand!? Gone!?” Her voice was rising to match his, “How!?” “Get off the God damn phone right now!” Knox could hear his Father getting closer to his Mother on the other end, “Shut that off!” “Knox,” his Mother began. “No,” Knox cut her off, “Don’t hang up, just leave the house and let him calm down. I shouldn’t have said anything-“ “SHUT IT OFF!” “Knox,” she spoke his name again, “I have to go.” “No, don’t-“ the call ended and Knox closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He had made a catastrophic mistake in telling his Mother about the money. Even worse was the fact that Knox had no idea what was happening now in his former home at this very moment. What was he doing to her? Knox wanted to hurt himself. The feeling washed over him like a bucket of water. He had never been angrier with himself than in this moment. “Fuck,” Knox spoke aloud before he stood up and crossed his hotel room to the vacant washroom. He flicked the light on, running the tap so he could splash cold water on his face. The door to his hotel room opened, “Hello?” It was Bo Kane, fellow Raptors and Team Canada, “Knox?” “In here,” Knox said loud enough for Bo to hear him, “Just a moment, I’ll be out in a moment,” Knox focused on keeping his tone steady and continued to maintain his slow breathing, taking in long breaths through his nose and breathing out through his mouth. Knox could hear Bo place his bags down on a bed. “You already call the bed by the window?” Bo asked him from the room. “No,” Knox called back, “You take it!” “Thanks!” Knox dried his face and looked in the mirror, he had come here early but now he wanted to leave just as fast. How could he possibly concentrate on the tournament knowing that his Mother could be in harm? How could he have been so stupid? “You ready to head down?” Bo asked Knox as he walked out the washroom and they made eye contact. Knox forced a smile, “Just waiting on you.” ***
The conference room was well lit due to the east fall being entirely made of glass and by the time the afternoon had rolled around the sun was in full form. In the center of the room was a long rectangular table and seated all around was Team Canada. There was a mixture of both player and personnel and the meeting had gone well so far with everyone taking a turn to introduce themselves. The room naturally fell silent as the General Manager of Canada, @Gwdjohnson spoke for the first time, “You’ve all be chosen to represent your country for a number of reasons, and as I look around this table I see a lot potential,” Gwdjohnson made a point to look each player in the eye as he spoke, ensuring that each one of them knew he was speaking to them both collectively and individually, “I see greatness.” Gwdjohnson paused for a moment but not a single person spoke nor moved during this brief moment of silence, “We believe in every single of you and know that you all share one thing in common, and that’s the concept of what it takes to be a team, and to have a team mentality. We wanted the right fit when we chose this group because the first place we looked at was your character, and each one of you here has just that- good character and leadership skills.” Knox Booth lowered his eyes from Gwdjohnson, he didn’t want him to telegraph his emotions to his newest General Manager. Knox had only met Gwdjohnson when he first came onto the team, and he didn’t want to cast doubt in the man who had selected him to represent his country. “This tournament will be hard fought and we’re going to have to make tough decisions every shift,” Gwdjohnson continued, “Every period.” Gwdjohnson shifted slightly in his chair as he sat forward, “I need everyone of you in this room to be on board, so we can succeed as a group. Is there anyone among the group that disagrees?” Gwdjohnson waited for any of them to speak up, “If at any point you do disagree with what's happening, I want to hear about it. Let’s communicate, and let’s move forward together. All right, hands in,” Gwdjohnson put his hand forward on the table and the group mimicked his movement so that all of them were doing the same thing, “On three, ‘Go Canada’… 1 … 2-“ GOOOOOOOOOO CAAANAAADAAA! In unison they raised their hands up from the table and immediately the room erupted into conversation with both players and personnel engaging with one another with enthusiastic gestures. Knox sat quiet for a few moments before he got up from his chair and went to a small table on the far side of the room, he grabbed a jug of filtered water and poured himself a glass. The water was still cold and Knox felt every drop of it as it slid down his throat and into his stomach. “Knox.” Knox turned to face Gwdjohnson, who had followed him over to the table and was now facing Knox with his back to the group. It wouldn't have mattered if Knox and Gwdjohnson were facing the room, it was so loud in there that their conversation would have been unheard anyway. “Hello sir,” Knox responded, doing his best to hold eye contact with Gwdjohnson and trying not to give him any indication of self-doubt. “Just call me Gwd,” Gwdjohnson told Knox, “You doing okay?” Knox nodded, “I’m fine.” “You sure?” “Yes,” Knox insisted, “I’m okay.” “You seem a little off,” Gwdjohnson was forthcoming, “Is it about your role as the back up? We plan to play you during the preliminary round and you never know what can happen during the tournament.” “No,” Knox said but revealed no more about his inner thoughts, “I’m fine with being the backup.” Gwdjohnson studied him for a moment but did not persist, and instead he lightly touched Knox on the shoulder as a mentor would do to a mentee, “We think you’re special,” Gwdjohnson assured him, “That’s why we brought you here. We’ve watched you this year, you make good decisions on the ice Knox, we see strong discipline in you.” Knox was fighting back tears, all he could think about was his Mother and what could be happening to her. He didn’t want to tell Gwdjohnson that only hours before he had potentially made one of the biggest mistakes of his life, all out of a petty revenge- all for nothing but a feeling of helplessness. “Thank you,” Knox finally mustered out of his mouth, “I appreciate that.” “You’re a part of this team Knox,” Gwdjohnson told him, “It’s okay to feel good about it.” “I do Gwd,” Knox said, doing his best to reassure the man who so confidently believed him, “I feel great.” 2355 words **Special thank you to @NONAME and @Gwdjohnson for guesting in this media. ![[Image: lqfXIpe.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/lqfXIpe.jpeg) ![[Image: FThunMn.png]](https://i.imgur.com/FThunMn.png)
WhikadoodleRegistered S23, S45 Challenge Cup Champion
GwdjohnsonSHL GM siMp
This is great dude. Happy to be involved in one of your media pieces. Hands down if I could take one guy from S49 to be in Anchorage it would be you. Shame you're stuck behind a goalie who just had a record breaking S48 in the J, but the future is bright!
![[Image: Gabe-lights.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/853563288988942356/1023840211416928318/Gabe-lights.png) ![[Image: nMz40Vc.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/nMz40Vc.gif) |
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