Confessions from a Ranger's Roommate

Teodora fished for her keys and unlocked the door. "DZ," she greeted cheerfully and Michael grinned up from the couch. "ESPN I take it? Is there a good game on?"

"Yeah. NFL. Your hometown's playing," he said. "They're playing the Vikings. They're winning."

"Nice!" She pumped her fist. Having grown up in Van Nuys and San Francisco, she naturally loved the Oakland Raiders and the 49ers. Michael was trying desperatly to get her to like New York but his odds were slim. "Vikings aren't doing to well I remember. Their coach sucks."

Michael nodded. "Yeah. Childress is gonna get fired any day now."
"And don't they have Brett Farve?" She asked in astonishment. "The old Packers star quarterback?" Shame. She abandoned the game to go into the kitchen, knowing Brian would be swinging by quickly. "You have Connecticut Whalers practice tonight?"

"Yeah. In an hour," Michael called back. "What about you? Shitload of homework like usual?"
At first when Michael had been sent down to the minors, she was worried for her roommate. He seemed frustrated but when she did her research, she noted that lots were sent down for a bit to the minors and brought back up for successful careers. "Light load that's already done," she said and moved swiftly to pack the ingredients in the bin she had pulled out. Rooming with a professional athlete that was always drooling and hovering after her cooking. "I'm carpooling over with Boyle to visit Derek Boogaard and have dinner at his place."

"Boogey?" Michael asked, clearly very pleased. "Nice! He'd love that! I'd go if I didn't have practice? Wait...are you gonna cook?"

She picked up the wooden spoon she had kept around to fend him off. "Back off if you know what's good for you!" Teodora cried and waved it at him.

"Aw, it's that like ravioli, wonton hybrid Afghan stuff you make!" He groaned with longing.

"Yes! I'm making mantu! If you don't back off you won't get any!" Teodora cried and he made a beeline back for the couch. "Geez. I'm the one that's two years younger and I don't freak out about food."A bit more serious, she checked over her food, determined not to forget anything. Derek Boogaard, the left winger enforcer for the Rangers had suffered a concussion and didn't seem to be doing to well recovering so she and Brian Boyle decided the best medicine would be for them to go have dinner at his place.
Now finished, she set the bin by the door and sat down next to Michael to watch the game.

Just as the game went to a commercial break, her phone rang. "It's not Brian," she said quickly and answered it. "Lina?" Michael scooped up the remote to silence the TV.
"Happy late birthday cousin!" She sang sweetly as if nothing was wrong. "I finally managed to send your birthday present! You should get it in the mail soon!"
Screw her birthday. "Lina. It's been three weeks," she warned. "It's not going to be my fault if the family finds out about you ditching grad school."
"Teodora you're such a worrywart. Anyways we managed to get polio vaccinations without the Taliban harassing us," Lina said, clearly thrilled with brushing with death.
"So is that what I should tell Auntie Z when she calls next?" Teodora asked. "Look. I'm not bashing you. You know that. Polio vaccinations need to be given out but when there's so much fighting and drug trafficking going on-,"
Suddenly there was a crinkling sound. "Teodora? Teodora, are you there?" Lina asked.
"I'm not stupid Lina, you have a candy wrapper and you're chickening out from talking with me!" Teodora snapped but her cousin hung up.

"Don't get me wrong. As weird as this situation is, this is fun..." she trailed off and bit her lip.
"I know," Michael said and squeezed the back of her neck in sympathy. At that moment, there was a repeating intercom buzzer from Brian being obnoxious.

Hopping up from her seat, she said, "Watch this." Going over to the intercom, she said, "Yo. Brian. Wanna know the most annoying sound in the world?"

"Mock," he replied back, catching on to the Dumb and Dumber reference.
"Yeah!" She laughed as they started the Dumb and Dumber Mockingbird song. "King."
"Yeah!"
Michael scoffed at the two of them. "You two are stupid. Ow!" He cried when she threw one of his running shoes at the back of his head.

Brian came up and punched Michael in the shoulder. "Torts liked your hit the other day." Good, Teodora thought as she pulled the lunch box containing the yogurt and meat for the mantu dish. "Ready?" He asked and socked Michael one more time.

"Save some for me! Remember you promised!" Michael cried as she shut the door.

Boys and their stomachs. Her Dad and little brother were no different. They went over to Derek's who opened the door with a big smile on his face. "I've been waiting for this all day," he said, following her like a puppy into his kitchen.

"Football game's on," she noted, seeing the TV on a different channel. "Your old state's football team."

Derek let out a long sigh. "I already know. Trust me. Your hometown team is killing me T," he said and patted her head as she set the dumpling steamer on the stove. "So."

"Uh, this is mantu. Afghan dish. Michael calls it the wonton version of ravioli which I guess is sorta true," she laughed and began to mix the meat and different spices. "Actually its pretty easy to make if you want some. Not bad for you either."

"T," he laughed, using his favorite nickname for her. "You know I never doubt your cooking. Like that corn husk stuff you made?"
She laughed. "Tamales you mean? Took me awhile to get that recipe right from my childhood."

As she glanced at the score, Brian said, "Yeah. I think the whole team would pass out with glee if you said you'd quit your medical stuff and took up cooking for the team full time." Derek brightened and nodded up and down with hopeful eyes.

"I don't need money!" She laughed. "Comes with having two doctor parents, old family money and getting scholarships for grades and the no birth family part." Derek must have not known that detail and cringed. She shrugged as he patted her head. "Don't worry," she assured him softly. "I'm fine. Suppose I don't know where my family came from but I love the Ansary's." Determined to change the subject, she pointed at the TV screen. "My team just scored."
"I'm done with the Vikings," he swore and threw his hands up in the air. "I know I say this every time but I'm so done with them."

Finally the dumplings were done and she let them steam, washing her hands clean. The boys started talking about other teams which Teodora listened to carefully. To her delight, she recognized one of the names they were discussing. "Hey! Steven Stamkos!"
"Yup!" Brian smiled, pleased she was catching up with hockey. "DZ played with him a lot. You and Steve Downie have a lot in common actually."
"Ah," she said. "So, you're talking about the top goal scorers?"
Both the boys nodded. "So, Steve Stamkos is one of the top scorers. The other is Sidney Crosby. What team does he play on."
Sidney Crosby, she snapped her fingers. He and that Alexander Ovechkin were always getting talked about. "Uh. He's playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Youngest captain. Center. That team won the Cup last year!" As the boys clapped, she pumped a fist in the air. Slowly but surely, she was catching on.

Finally the food was ready and it took the boys fell silent, scarfing down their plates. "Ugh. Teodora," Brian moaned as Derek finished his plate and settled back in his seat while patting his stomach. "Ugh. Please become a cook." She laughed as the boys got up to put the dishes in the dishwasher. Teodora got the Tupperware she had brought along and scooped Michael's portion into the bowl and set it in the fridge until they left.

When the door shut, her eyes couldn't help but wander along the counter. She saw the row of pills lined up and started to curiously read the names. Among those was a name that always made the back of her neck prickle up. Oxytocin. "Hey. You're careful with this stuff, right?" Teodora asked. "This is tough stuff."
"That's right," Derek said and settled in his seat, full and happy from the good food. "You'd know that, medical kid."
Hesitating, she considered things. Derek seemed very nonchalant about his drugs and this made her nervous, especially considering her past with Oxytocin. "Sure. But before that my foster parents were addicted to stuff like this."

"Foster parents?" Brian asked. "You were adopted though!"
"When I was eight. Thought I mentioned the whole foster bit," Teodora corrected him. "But before that, yeah, I was in the foster system." she paused and took a breath. "My foster brothers Manny and Jerome and I lived in a housing project in Van Nuys. Valerio Gardens apartments. Kinda a bad area."
Derek sat up a little with concern. "Were you safe?"
For once she was glad Michael had gotten sent down to the minors. “Not really. We were right on two different gang turfs. The Asian Boyz and Valerio Street," she admitted slowly. "They were rivals. Plus the Asian Boyz got into a huge gang war with the Wah Ching, a Chinese gang. There was a summer where things got bloody between those two."
"Teo," Derek tutted. "Did they hurt you kids?"
Picking her thumbnail, she replied, "Actually, no. They of all people babied us. Valerio girlfriends would cook tamales and stuff for us and hide tin foil covered paper plates by the bushes. This Asian Boyz member." Squinting, she recalled. "Tats I think his name was. I remember lots of tattoos on him. He always doted on us and asked us if we ate anything that day. Then I think one of gang leaders volunteered at a hospital if you can believe that and he probably stole ear drops for me and Jerome when we were sick. Valerios were the ones that told us to hightail it inside at dusk too."

"What about your foster parents?" Brian demanded.

"They did swing at us. But then again, they were high off of God knows what most of the time so actual hits weren't as often," she said and suddenly pointed at Brian. "This is not told to anyone else! Especially DZ! I already get it enough about my hearing aid." However Brian had his head buried in his hands and didn't reply. "BRIAN BOYLE!"

To Brian, Derek said, "Hey. It took a lot for T to tell us this. If she says don't tell DZ, don't tell him." To her, he reached over to squeeze her hand. "Poor kid. I'm so glad that you turned out to be this brainy sweet kid."

With that, the dinner trio ended on a bit of a depressing note. Teodora had to convince herself that this would help keep Derek straight just in case he veered into using it for more than pain, although both the boys would now be shooting her sad and sympathetic looks. Brian especially was distraught with her revelation and gave her a brotherly and protective hug when he dropped her off.

She walked upstairs to an empty apartment and settled down on her bed to text Jerome and Manny. Yeesh, she sent out a group text to the two of them. Just told the blackmailer roommate's teammate about our childhood. Boy flipped out.
Jerome and Manny had teased her relentlessly about her situation and immediately sent back replies.
Now you get what I go through with Lexy, Jerome texted her back. His girlfriend was a sweetheart bubbly girl from low crime rate New England. She's from a small, cozy town in Maine.
Lol Boyle's from Massacchusetts. Guess its near Boston but he was all twitchy and freaked out.
Wondered when you would tell the boys :) Manny texted back after five minutes. Take it you chickened out on that DZ guy.

"Course I'm not telling Michael," she scoffed and texted that back. Setting aside her phone, she reflected back on her past. Part of her wondered if anyone was still around in the neighborhood. Unfortunately she had a strong guess the Asian Boyz were either imprisoned or on the run after the retaliation war on the Wah Ching. "Wonder if Tats is still around," she murmured as settled into bed for the evening, not wanting to wait up for her roommate in case he sensed something was up when he asked about visiting Boogaard. Maybe someday, she would tell him but not now.

Notes