Picture Perfect | Claude Giroux Philadelphia Flyers story |

First Day

"Just put the box over there Dex," I say and jerk my head in the direction of an unpainted room.

"Whatever you say, sis," Dex replies with a trace of attitude in his voice.

I brush the loose ends of my hair out of my face and sigh after I place a large box filled with plates in the kitchen. The new apartment was going to need a lot of decorating but I know my best friend Julie and I can tackle the demanding job. I walk over to a set of windows displaying the large cityscape of Philadelphia and open them in hopes to air out the stuffy apartment- I was already sweating like a pig in the early-September humidity.

"Hey Kat, I didn't know my room was bigger!" Julie yells from my bedroom, "Are you sure you're okay with giving me that room?"

I shake my head yes and half laugh, "You're kidding right? You have so much more stuff than I do," I say pointing at the surplus of boxes and suitcases already moved into her bedroom.

"If you say so," she chimes as she makes her way through my door and into the light purple colored walled living room. The sunlight hitting her tan skin makes the red scar that spreads across the left side of her body, down her arm, and up her neck more visible- our scars are almost identical but mine spreads up my face more. I try to shake the thoughts from my head as I shudder at the horrendous memory. We were happy to decide to move to Philadelphia together- we wanted a fresh new start and to forget about the past- we just had to get away.

"Hey, you okay Kat?" Kyle asks me, waking me from my daze. He wraps his arms around me lovingly and kisses my forehead.

"Yeah thanks," I smile.

"Cut it out- stop hangin' on my baby sister and help me with the rest of these boxes," Dex says from the entrance and Kyle complies. Even though Kyle and I have been dating for a couple of years, Dex still gets uncomfortable with any PDA I am partaking in.

After we finish unloading the boxes from the truck and moving van, the guys leave us and we sit in her room with the TV on, unpacking her mountain of boxes and suitcases.

"So have you heard back from the Philadelphia Flyers' organization yet?" Julie asks as she delves into a new box of random stuff.

"Not yet, they said they'd be calling soon enough to tell me if I got the job or not. It's so nerve wracking," I confess.

"You're going to get it," she chimes, "You're an amazing photographer Kat."

"Thanks but you never know Jules. I just don't want to get my hopes up for it and end up crushed," I laugh pathetically. I've been doing a ton of wedding photos, baby pictures, senior portraits and other event-type stuff since I graduated but my ultimate dream has always been working for the Flyers; Flyers hockey and photography- how could it get any better? Julie and I grew up together, both of our families shoulder deep in Philadelphia sports, and our favorite has always been Flyers hockey.

Julie and I order two large pizzas to be delivered to the apartment for an early dinner and start to unpack some of our kitchenware, filling our hallow cabinets with plates, bowls, mugs, and cups. Just after we begin to eat our pizza, I hear my phone ringing from the next room; I run to get it and gasp at the phone number- it was the Flyers' offices.

"Jules look!" I shout, running towards her showing her the number.

"Answer it!" she yells laughing at my freak out.

I swipe over on my phone to answer the call and nervousness takes over my body.

"Hello?" my voice squeaks.

"Hello, Ms. Katina Reilly?"

"Yes this is her!" I say a little too energetically.

"Hi! This is Kelly from the Flyers' offices. So we went over your resume and portfolio, and we love your work!" she says and I feel the weight of the world fall off my shoulders.