Picture Perfect | Claude Giroux Philadelphia Flyers story |

A Surprise

---Kat's POV

Come on! I can't be late!" I say into the phone to my brother and then hang up. He insisted on taking Jules and Kyle to the Flyer's Skatezone in Voohrees- he thought it'd be nice to see me work in action. He needed to follow me to the Skate Zone since he was so terrible with directions and they weren't going to stay as long as I was. I just had to show up to take pictures for twitter, Instagram and some more photo's for my own practice- Kelly, one of my bosses, and I thought it would be good before the season went into full throttle. Last week, I finally got my photo ID and some Flyers jackets/sweatshirts that only the staff wear so I could be easily spotted as a worker and not just a fan- I am so ecstatic there's not a strict uniform.

I make sure to grab my Flyer's half zip up sweater before running down to my car with Jules when my brother finally arrived- I wasn't going to put it on just yet since the summer heat was still present in the city. Thankfully a lot of the clothes for the job covers up the scar on my neck and arm. When we met up in the parking garage everyone was enthusiastic except for Kyle- I mean he wasn't totally bitter but I could tell he wasn't where he wanted to be, which dulls my mood but I try to push it aside. Isn't he happy for me? This is my dream job after all; the least he can do is put on a smile.

When we get there, I send them through the front doors while I go through the back hallways; it's a quicker and easier way to get to the players' benches. Butterflies take off in my stomach as I get closer to the players benches and I see some players circling the ice through the small windows of the push-through doors. The thought of Claude runs through my mind and my heart flutters wildly; this was the first time I was going to have to introduce myself to all of the players- this feels like the first day of freshman year of college all over again.

I push through the doors and the sound of skates gliding on the ice, pucks hitting the posts and boards, and yelling, laughing and talking between the players fill the icy, crisp air. I stand in front of the doors captivated, watching the players skate back and forth.

"Hello! Can I help you?" a man says animatedly, waking me from my daze.

"Hi! Yes, I'm the new photographer/Instagram account runner- I was just hired a couple weeks ago," I say excitedly- glad to meet assistant coach Laperriere.

"I thought I recognized you! Great to meet you," he says and sticks out his hand to shake mine, "I'm Ian Laperriere, the assistant coach, you can call me Ian. It's nice to meet you miss-" he adds, waiting for me to fill the pause with my name.

"Katina Reilly, you can call me Kat though if you want," I grin, "nice to meet you too Ian."

---Claude's POV

"Come on, you can't be this rusty Schenner," I chirp before we start to skate a couple slow laps around the ice. Soon, I hear some quiet chatter amongst the guys and see a few smiles flashed my way. It's not until I look up towards the bench when my confusion is finally cleared. I do a double take when I see her talking with Chieff and Laperriere.

"Kat? What is she doing here?" I murmur to myself just before I slam into the boards; all of the guys start chirping and laughing at me. Mase skates over as I start to get up, "I guess you saw her?" he asks letting out a laugh. Chief blows his whistle motioning for us to come over before I can reply to Steve.

Some of the guys tap and shove me playfully on our way over to the bench, still teasing me for making a fool out of myself in front of Kat. I take off a glove and run a hand through my disheveled waved hair in hopes of smoothing it out. Why was she here and talking to Chief for that matter?

"Alright guys, we've got a new member of the Flyers family here, Katina. Say "Hi Katina"" he says and motions at us and we all say "Hi Katina" in unison like children. "She is the new photographer for the team and runs a part of the social media for the organization. Listen up now," he adds and steps back, motioning to her to take the stage.