Chapter 5: A New Friend

After waking up I realized that it was Christmas eve. I stayed in bed until Stella woke up because I didn't want to wake her up by accident. After waking up Stella gave me a big grin.

"How'd you sleep Kenzo?" She asks me. To be honest that was probably the best sleep I've had in years.

"It was the best sleep I have had in years. Thank you so much" I thank Stella.

"No problem and I'm okay with doing it whenever you need, but ONLY when you need it." Stella explains.

"Understood." I say with a grin.

After that Stella and I hung out all day at home. We ordered food and I showed her TV shows from my time period. Her favorite was SpongeBob for some reason, but it was nice to show her things that I am familiar with. Later that day Henry came home and we talked about us going to basic training in Anchorage. Apparently we should be leaving on the 26th and arrive early on the 27th. He decided to book us train tickets instead of plane tickets, so we will be going on an overnight train. His reasoning for this decision? Because it would be harder to sabotage a train ride rather than a flight. After he explains this to us he heads back to his room, but I am hungry with questions so I follow him to ask him some stuff.

"Hey Henry, can I ask you some questions?" I ask Henry after I flag him down.

"Yeah, what is it Kenzo?" Henry asks me.

"What do you mean it would be harder to sabotage? Why would it be sabotaged?" I ask Henry concerned.

"There is something you have to know Kenzo..." Henry says with a tone of dread. Know something? I mean this isn't new to me. I have been clueless this whole time, but what is it this time?

"Oh what is it?" I question Henry.

"Listen, Kenzo, when you're with Stella you're carrying precious cargo." Henry responds.

"Precious cargo, what does that mean?" I ask Henry.

"Stella is the precious cargo. Many people in this universe are after her. So when making plans or trips you have to be wary of that." Henry explains to me. What does he mean? Stella is being hunted? But why?

"Why is Stella being sought after?" I interrogate Henry.

"It's because of our bloodline... Stella and I's family was slaughtered by the second ranking family in the universe. They were one of few who could defeat us in battle. After both sides suffered heavy casualties they fled. Yet it was only me and Stella left, but the thing is we were only children. So why did they leave? The answer is Stella. She repelled what was left of the enemy forces. This was enough to scare them into fleeing. Unfortunately this took a heavy toll on Stella causing her to lose some of her memory of the event." Henry explains in detail. Lost some of her memory from the event? And Stella was powerful enough to push them back as a child? How powerful is this girl?

"She repelled them all by herself? Just how powerful is she?" I question Henry

"Stella is known as our family's prodigy, someone who comes once every few generations. Yet there is something extraordinary about Stella that we haven't fully come to understand. For some reason she holds amazing power that dwarfs past generations' prodigies. Our family hasn't seen this kind of power in centuries. She is regarded as a massive threat to our enemies. Her power is so immense America has a plan for if her or other people with similar power levels ever were to attack." Henry goes into even more depth with his explanation.

"So then why does she need to go to basic training? If she is already so powerful and your family was already involved with the military then what's the point?" I ask in confusion.

"She doesn't know how to control or activate the power, so she is basically like any other person you meet. I've only seen it activate a few times, but never to the extent it did that day." Henry tells me. That makes more sense then.

"Alright I understand, is there anything I can do to help the situation?" I ask Henry. If there is something I can do then I have to do it!

"As a matter of a fact there is. Here." Henry says as he hands me a wristband. A wristband? I've been interested in what they are, so maybe I'll learn more about it.

"So what is this for?" I ask Henry.

"This wrist band has direct contact with the United States military. If anything happens contact them and they will be there in seconds. And don't be afraid to do it even if you think it may not be fully necessary." Henry informs me. In seconds? How do they get there so fast?

"Do you really mean in seconds? Because that's insanely fast." I question Henry.

"Well that's because the military will have people following you guys very closely, almost like a police escort." Henry explains. An escort? Just how much protection do they have for this girl?

"How much protection does this girl have? Like how often does the military do this?" I ask Henry.

"This is a 24/7 thing Kenzo. No matter what, there are 2 people in the shadows watching over her. I'm honestly surprised you didn't notice. For example I know you guys went to the bar the other night. Dusty and the bartender Steve are both military. Steve is ex-military, but still very powerful, and Dusty is currently in." Henry lets me know. Wow I didn't even notice it all. I wonder how many I've met and didn't realize.

"Wow, I honestly had no clue at all." I admit to Henry.

"Well that's good, that means they're doing their job well. Stella is fully aware of this and has forged friendships with a lot of them, so it's almost like she has one big family protecting her. A lot of them saw Stella grow up, or fought with our father or mother. So just make sure you don't do anything wrong HAHAHA." Henry tells me with a laugh. As much as that last part might've been a joke it felt like a warning. Which it most definitely was.

"That makes a lot of sense. And thank you for trusting me with this info. I promise I'll protect her!" I promise to Henry.

"You better protect her. You're gonna have to if you're gonna be close with her. Now go back to Stella and enjoy the time you got left lounging around." Henry tells me with a tap on my shoulder. Yeah he is right I won't have much time to lounge around anymore after we start everything.

I head back to where Stella is. She is still on the couch just enjoying SpongeBob.

"Hey Stella, I'm back." I announce as I sit back on the couch.

"So I'm guessing Henry told you about my guards?" Stella asks me. Her guess is right on the money!

"Yup you're correct." I confirm her suspicion.

"And you're not scared?" Stella asks in confusion. Scared? Huh I never really let myself take in the situation. I think that's why I'm not scared at the moment.

"Nope, not scared, and even if I was It wouldn't change anything." I tell her.

"Why not Kenzo? It's a scary thing I understand if you don't wanna stay. I have baggage, it is a lot to deal with." Stella explains to me in a sad tone.

"Because Stella, I care about you. You barely knew me yet you were so nice to me. You've been amazing to be around, and have already gotten me through a lot of things despite it only being a couple days." I spill my heart out to her. And also she is very pretty, but I can't tell her that unless I wanna get slapped!

"Kenzo I didn't do much." Stella states. Didn't do much? I would be lost if it weren't for her!

"But you did Stella! You've done more than you know!" I push back.

"Do you mean that Kenzo?" Stella asks in disbelief.

"Yes Stella I do. I mean it full-heartedly." I tell her.

"Then I won't fight your decision Kenzo. Especially because I like your company a lot!" Stella compliments me. Without even thinking my face immediately goes from serious to a massive grin. I try to stop smiling since it is kind of embarrassing, but it's hard to fight it.

"Anyways Stella, can you teach me how to use this wristband?" I ask her. I gotta know how to use it just in case.

"Of course!" Stella answers with a smile.

Stella explains to me that the wristband is activated by touching the screen. After activating it a hologram screen will pop up and will allow you to cycle through the apps and everything it has to offer. It also allows for texting and phone calls. Phone calls can only be heard by the wearer unless put on speaker by the user. These wristbands also allow you to change certain attributes of your clothes if you are wearing compatible clothing. It is limited to a few options normally, but generally the more expensive the item the more customizable it is.

After explaining how the wristband works Stella and I decided to keep watching shows. Eventually I fell asleep on the couch. The next morning I wake up with a blanket on me and Stella on the other couch fast asleep. I decided to take a look around the house and see if there is some stuff I can learn about. Just day to day things that are useful to know. I get up and head to the kitchen. It looks very sleek and modern, the kitchen is a clean white color. The stove seems to be electric and the same for the oven, but there is one thing I just can't seem to find. That thing is a dishwasher. My mom would love this world since she always said "The dishwasher uses so much water" and because of that we would only use it for storage of plates and utensils.

"Well let's see how this thing works." I say to myself as I tap my wristband to try to look up if dishwashers aren't really a thing anymore. After looking it up I find an article that is named 'The death of the dishwasher'. After reading this article I learned that it was one of many things that were deemed to wasteful on most planets. So it is pretty rare to find them anywhere in the universe since most places have banned them. I wonder how many other things were banned or just lost to time because of different reasons.

After looking around the kitchen I decided to wake Stella up. I really want to go play some hockey, so I will probably need her to drive me to the rink.

"Good morning sleepy head." I say as I shake Stella awake.

"Kenzo? What's up?" Stella asks in a really tired morning voice.

"Uh I kinda wanna go to the rink. Do you think you could drive me?" I explain to Stella.

"Oh yeah I can drive you no problem! But one condition, I get to watch!" Stella tells me. She wants to watch? Well that shouldn't be an issue at all!

"You got yourself a deal!" I exclaim in agreement.

After Stella agreed to take me she needed some time to wake up fully. Once she was fully awake we headed to the Ice rink. After entering and looking at the screen at the front desk I see a Gretzky hour set for 20 minutes from now. I ask Stella if she could pay, and after she agrees to pay I head to the black rink to get dressed in the designated locker room. As I enter the locker room I see Al who waves me down.

"What's up Higgins?" Al greets me.

"Nothing much dude! What are you doing at a stick time? Aren't you like in the show?" I respond to Al in confusion as to why he is here.

"I'm here to give a lesson to one of my buddies' kids!" Al explains as he points to a kid across the room who looks to be 14ish.

"Oh that makes sense. What are y'all working on today?" I ask Al.

"Nothing too crazy, just some skating." Al answers. Skating? I could help teach the kid too. Might as well offer!

"Oh well if you'd like I wouldn't mind helping you teach. I totally understand if you wanna teach him yourself, but just offering." I tell Al my offer.

"You know what that'd be cool. I trust your skill no doubt! You're definitely NHL level skill Higgins." Al says as he gives me a little bump with his elbow. That was weird... does he know I'm an NHL player?

"Yeah I'm most definitely NHL level. Hey Al are you from the 2000's? I ask Al. All of a sudden Al's face turns from smug to shock.

"Yeah I am... Are you actually Kennedy Higgins?" Al asks me in a whisper trying not to say my name too loud. Holy shit he is from the past. I thought I was gonna get a weird look or be laughed at, but I was right!

"Yes it's actually me. Why are you even here?" I question Al.

"Well I tripped you by accident in the first game of the season, and you went straight into the boards. It was a pretty nasty fall to be honest, so Bertuzzi decided he wanted to drop the mitts. Obviously I obliged since I did trip you, but I ended up losing the fight and falling on the ice. Almost immediately after hitting the Ice everything went black and I was greeted by some 'Goddess' who was pissed off for some reason, and then she sent me to the future in a fit of rage." Al explains. No way he must've been transported to her right after I was. That's why she was pissed at him... So I'm probably the reason he is stuck in the future also...

"No way dude, something similar happened to me! When I fell into the boards everything went black then I met the goddess too. She was watching a soccer game, and being an asshole, so I got mad and was mean back to her. Then she got pissed and sent me to the future... Sooooo I think I'm the reason you're stuck here too. I'm sorry dude" I give Al my side of the story. I slap my hands together as I apologize.

"No way dude that's fucking crazy! Don't worry dude this whole situation is super weird, so don't worry about it too much." Al tells me. This is insane... Also the fact he isn't mad at me that I might be the reason he is stuck here is bewildering.

"We have to talk about this more after we teach this kid. There is a good bar I know, and it's the perfect environment for this kind of talk." I explain to Al.

"Wow you already have places you go to?" Al asks me.

"Yeah, but only because I was lucky enough to run into Stella. Ya know the girl who played shinny with us." I tell Al trying to jog his memory.

"Oh her! Yeah I remember her. So you're close with a rocket like that? That's such a W dude!" Al exclaims as he daps me up. Yeah it sure is a massive win for me!

"Yeah dude I got lucky she put me up in her house for the past few days." I state in a really relieved tone. I wonder where Al has been staying. Because I got lucky that Stella had the situation with me, but I doubt that happened to Al at all.

"Lucky!!! I've been in a capsule Hotel for the past few days. In order to get enough money for hockey gear, so I can start selling lessons I had to get a credit card. The goddess was kind enough to give me citizenship , papers, and something called "AE". So I was able to make a bank account, but that means I'm already in debt." Al informs me. Wow so the goddess helped him out a little too. She must've felt bad. As soon as that thought entered my mind I immediately remembered how she treated me. No way she felt bad!

"Oh dude I'm just glad you weren't on the street!" I exclaim in relief.

"Me too dude!" Al exclaims in response.

"Wait, so then who's kid is this?" I question Al. He said it was his buddy's kid, but if he is from my time I didn't expect him to have friends already. So who's kid is this?

"Oh he's the kid of one of the guys we played shinny with. He said he was impressed by my skill and asked if I did lessons. So I took advantage and told him yup, and that I'd cut him a deal. 10% off if he books 5 sessions." Al informs me. Oh wow I guess that makes sense, and 5 sessions? He must be one hell of a salesman to do that.

"That's sick dude! Alright then let's get ready to head out there" I compliment Al as I sit down to start getting dressed.

After getting dressed in my gear I decide to head onto the ice. As soon as I get on the ice, stretch for about 5 mins, and almost like clockwork after I finish stretching Al and the kid come out the locker room and get on the ice.

"What's up bud. What's your name?" I greet the kid with a fist bump.

"Oh my name is Connor! Nice to meet you!" Connor responds excitedly.

"Ya ready to practice?" I ask Connor.

"Hell yeah!" Connor replies.

"Fucken rights! So today we're gonna work on your skating technique. Go skate a lap for us, so we can analyze you a little bit?" I tell Connor.

Connor starts to skate a lap around the ice. Immediately I notice that his stride is very shallow and that he doesn't get as low as he should be getting. It's causing him to waste more energy for benefit. After Connor finishes skating he stops next to Al.

"Alright Connor I know where we can start." I tell Connor.

"Really? What can I work on?" Connor asks me.

"Well first of all you're not getting low enough. It's important you're in a hockey position since it makes your center of gravity lower and allows you to push with more power. I know it sounds funny, but try and act like you're sitting on a toilet. Another thing I realized is that your strides are too shallow, so when you're working on getting lower also try and extend your stride a little. It doesn't have to be fast yet as long as you work on the technique." I explain to the kid. Wow I explained a lot of those things to Connor like how my dad used to teach me. For some reason I feel like if he knew I was doing this he would be happy.

After my explanation I fist bump Al tell him that he can give the rest of the lesson to Connor, but if he needs me he can ask me for help. After telling Al that I skate over to glass and look at the bleachers and there I see Stella in her cardigan looking cute as ever. I give her a smile as I wave at her. She responds with a thumbs up and a grin. After seeing that I decide to do some drills to make sure I don't get rusty. Easy drills like skating a circle then shooting, and then skating the next circle and shooting again. On the opposite side of the ice there was a goalie that some youth kids were shooting at, so I headed over to take a couple shots, but before I could get there Al calls me over.

"Higgins over here!" Al exclaims.

"Yeah what's up dude?" I ask Al after skating over to him.

"Me and Connor will probably be getting off the ice early since he has practice after this. So I was wondering if I could get your contact info?" Al asks me.

"Yeah of course dude!" I tell Al. We head into the locker room and I give Al all my contact info, so he can contact me whenever he needs. I head back out onto the ice, and right before I'm about to step on the ice I hear someone trying to flag me down.

"Excuse me sir!" Someone exclaims trying to flag me down. I turn around and am greeted by a man who looks to be in his late 50's. He has a grey beard and a full head of grey hair. He is also wearing a hockey warm up tracksuit that has a logo of an eagle with a blue background. Along the side of his pant leg it spells out "Eden Eagles".

"What may I help you with sir?" I ask the man.

"I was just killing some time before I had head over to my practice, so I was watching you practice and I must say you're amazing!" The man compliments me. His practice? He must be one of the youth coaches.

"Oh why thank you! That means a lot." I thank the man.

"Oh I apologize I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Michael Ecklund, the coach of the NHL team the Eden Eagles. You really caught my eye! What level of hockey have you played?" The coach asks me after introducing himself. What level I've played? Huh how am I supposed to answer that? I don't know if any of the teams I played for exist anymore!

"I've played hockey 15 years of my life, but my most recent season was with a WHL team." I inform the coach.

"Oh wow no wonder you are so skilled. May I ask how old you are?" Coach Ecklund asks me. Well I'm 18, but when I was transported through time it changed months around. My birthday is the 15th of December, so I think I would be 19 then? But I'm actually only 18. But I was only a couple months away from turning 19, so does that mean I should just say 19? No way right? 18 years old is definitely more appealing to scouts and coaches.

"Just turned 18 on the 15th sir." I say with a nod.

"Oh wow great! Well would you mind if we exchange contact info?" Coach Ecklund asks me.

"Not at all!" I respond. After exchanging info I head over to Stella and wave at her to come over to me.

"What's up Kenzo?" Stella asks me confused.

"I have amazing news!" I inform Stella.

"Really? What is it?" Stella questions me, hungry for an answer.

"I just talked with the coach of the Eden Eagles!" I explain to Stella.

"No way! That's who that was!?!?" Stella says in utter shock.

"Yup it sure was!" I say as I give her a big smile.

"What did he want?" Stella asks me.

"He just wanted to know where I played hockey before, but don't worry I gave him a really brief answer." I tell Stella. I already know she would worry about what I told him, so I just think it's easier to tell her I took care of it.

"That means you're on his radar! I guess you have the right to be 'Mr. Hotshot'." Stella teases me. This girl is always teasing me hahaha.

"Yup it sure does! Well I think on that note I'm done for today. I'm gonna go get undressed." I let Stella know.

"Okay, then we can go home, let you shower, and later tonight let's go to the bar as a goodbye to normal everyday life!" Stella exclaims in excitement with a dumb grin.

"Stella, you're an alcoholic." I tease Stella sarcastically.

"No I'm not an alcoholic *hmph*" Stella pouted.