AAOOOSC! Mini Stories!

In the screen of a camera, the the main room of the Good Junior Hockey Players’ Society is shown. Standing face-to-face on each side of screen are two of the members: Kale Clague stands on the left with a slip of paper in his hand. On the right is Kailer Yamamoto, who also has a paper in his possession.

Then bounding into view in between the two power players from the bottom of the screen is the ebullient Jake Oettinger.

“Welcome to a brand new game…,” he exclaims into the camera. He then grows serious with a hint of playfulness, “...what I like to call…” He glances at Kailer and gives him a grin before facing the screen again. “...’Quickfire.’”

He continues speaking happily: “I got two of the GJHP members here.” He turns to Kale. “We’ve got Kale Clague.” He then whirls his head to Kailer. “And we’ve got Yamamoto Kailer.”

Kailer raises his free hand slightly in the air. “You uttered my name—”

“This is a game where there are three rules,” Jake proceeds telling to the camera. “:you can’t hesitate, you can’t pause, and most of all” —he drops his voice into a whisper and leans closer into the camera— “you can’t laugh.”

He then straightens up. “So boys, understood?” He rotates his head from side-to-side to peer at them with a large grin.

They just stare at him with looks of uncertainty.

Jake turns back to the camera. “Haha, quiz time starts now!” He then dips downward, becoming out of sight.

Kale peers at his paper and begins the game in a fast tone to avoid pausing: “Okay, first question: What year was the CHL founded?”

“1975.” Kailer reads from his own paper rapidly. “What are the three leagues the CHL is composed of?”

“WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. Were the three leagues founded in the same year as the CHL?”

“No. Which league is the oldest out of the three?”

“Uh—” Kale glances upward as he rackets his mind for an answer. “—OHL—”

Jake hops up into view for a split second and shouts: “Hesitation!” A spiked, white-coloured bubble with the black words “hesitation” pops into view beside him.

Kale couldn’t help himself but bust up in laughter. A small, red “x” appears on the bottom of his side of the screen, signifying his first mistake of the game.

Jake springs back into view and announces: “Laughter!”

The same bubble, this time with the word “laughter” appears beside him as he slips back out of the frame. A second small “x” is placed next to Kale’s single “x.”

“Haha, okay, okay—” Kale runs his fingers through his hair and peers down at his paper in an attempt to calm down. “Um, how many teams are in the CHL?”

“Sixty,” Kailer snaps. “When was the Memorial Cup first awarded?”

“Uh, 1975?”

Jake rises into view and shakes his head at the camera. “Wrong answer!”

A bubble with the words “wrong answer” is plastered next to the host as another “x” is added to Kale’s two “x”s.

He lowers himself back down and out of view.

Kale shakes his head at himself to attempt to recover from the error. “Ah, which league won the Memorial Cup the most?”

“WHL. What is the league age limit of playing in the CHL?”

“Sixteen—” Kale’s eyes light up in realization at the recent rule change. “No—!”

Jake leaps into the air and bellows, “hesitation!” as the bubble signifying the mistake pops up beside him.

“Fifteen, fifteen to twenty,” Kale spits out, saving himself and his growing row of “x”s. “Yeah, okay, who won the Memorial Cup most recently in 2017—” Disgust takes over his face. “—ugh...?”

Kailer lifts his eyebrows with eyes on the defenceman. “I feel your pain too.”

Jake slips back up into view and wags his pointer finger in the air. “Wrong answer!”

The “wrong answer” bubble grows into view next to the host.

Kailer gawks at the host as he is rewarded his first “x.” “I wasn't done, Oettinger! Seattle Thunderbirds.”

Jake silently sinks out of view.

With a huff, the small teenager turns back to his paper. “Where are the WHL headquarters located?”

“Calgary…,” Kale replies slowly with unsureness.

The top of Jake’s brown hair is spotted rising into view as Jake was about to call out Kale’s hesitation. It then slips back out of the camera frame.

“Name a famous NHL player from the CHL,” Kale continues on.

“John Tavares.”

Kale gawks at his competitor. “Jake Dog!” He peers down at the ground. “That's wrong!”

“No, it's not,” Jake is heard saying gently from out of view.

“It’s Drew Doughty.”

Jake then bounces into view and yells, “interruption!” with a bubble bearing the word “interruption” springing right next to him.

Another “x” is added to Kale’s collection of “x”s, five total.

“Ugh.” Kale rolls his eyes before looking back down at the paper. “Where are the CHL headquarters located?”

“Scarborough. Name another famous NHL player from the CHL.” Kailer peers up at Kale with raised eyebrows.

Kale smirks. “Drew Doughty.” He reads off from the paper: “What does ‘QMJHL’ stand for?”

Kailer peers up while slowly naming out the acronym. “Quebec...Major...Junior...Hockey League.” He looks back down at the paper. “What is the—”

Jake leaps into view and waves his hands in the air. “WHOA! Time’s up, boys!!!”

The two lower their papers and peer at the host.

Jake faces Kale with a small smile. “Who do you think the winner is, Kale?” He then pokes his chest. “It’s not you!”

Kale rolls his eyes with understanding.

Jake then spins around to face Kailer with the same mien. “Haha—” He wraps his arm around his shoulder, peering down at the smirk on the small skater’s face. “—but it’s not you either, it’s—”

Jake slips his arm off from him, leans over, and pulls up his bestest bestie from out below the camera’s view with his arms around his chest. “—Brett Howden, YAY!!!”

Brett throws his arms in the air with a look of victory. “Oh yeah, I won!” He lowers his arms and whirls around to face Kale, then shouts: “That’s right, guys!” He spins to Kailer and jabs his finger toward the ground. “That’s how you do it!!!” He then throws his hands into the air. “WOOOOOOO!!!”

The scene then cuts to solely Jake in the same location. The other three are now gone.

Jake speaks into the camera: “Thanks for tuning in. If you loved it, don’t come back! Because…” His face begins to crumble with sorrow. “...there won’t be another one…” He dips his head and lets out a whimper. “Awww…” He then shuffles out of the camera’s frame.


The End.

Notes