Friendship Week Day 1: First Impressions, Jack & Chowder
When Chris meets Jack Zimmermann, the first thing he thinks is, I thought he’d be taller.
It’s not like Jack Zimmermann is small, or anything—he’s a perfectly reasonable height for a hockey player! And everyone on the team looks tall next to Bitty or Lardo. But Nursey and Dex are both taller than Jack, which is just weird.
The second thing Chris thinks is, I don’t want to piss him off.
He’s pretty sure the other frogs feel the same way. Everyone else on the team jokes around with Jack, and Holster seems to actively try to annoy him, but Jack has a lot of… grit, or something. Something Chris does not want to see turned his way, at least not before he has a chance to suitably impress Jack with his hockey skills. Or hockey competence. Hockey decency? Anyway. Chris is going to try to not be annoying until he’s sure that Jack likes him. He’s not really sure how he’s going to determine that, but he’ll figure something out.
Their very first full-team meeting wraps up, and Coach Hall and Coach Murray go back into their office, and the other guys all charge out into the hallway talking about team lunch, and Chris is following them when Jack catches up to him and says, “Hey. Chowder, right?”
Chris nods slowly. “Yeah.” Then he worries that sounds unenthusiastic and rushes to add, “I’m still getting used to the nickname! But I’m sure it’ll only take a couple days.”
Jack shrugs. “I wouldn’t know. But I just wanted to let you know, I saw the tapes you sent in with your application, and they’re really good. We’ll be figuring out line-ups for a while, but you definitely have a shot at starting goalie.”
“Are you serious?” In the letter he’d gotten from John Johnson, the starting goalie who had graduated last spring, Johnson had said something like that, but the whole letter had been so weird that it had kind of slipped off of Chris’s radar. He’d been more concerned about all the references to narrative structure.
“I am.” Jack’s mouth pulls into a hint of a smile. “It’s nerve-wracking to join a new team, eh? It might take you some time to get your feet under you at practices because of that. So I just thought I’d let you know that you don’t have to worry too much if you make mistakes as you’re starting out. You already made the team, and you’re good.”
“Wow.” Chris grins—he can’t help himself. “Thanks, Jack!”
Jack nods. “Anytime, Chowder.” Ransom yells something about bacon at him from up ahead, and he jogs to catch up, which leaves Chris at the back of the group.
But he doesn’t mind. He’s got a good feeling about Samwell, and his first year, and this team. Being Chowder.
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