He doesn't smile. "You know, that article of yours? It fucked with our heads."
"That wasn't my intention?—"
"Wasn't it?" He leans back. "You wanted to expose problems. Mission accomplished. But you also made us question whether we're the bad guys. Made the freshmen scared to talk to us. Made everyone walk on eggshells." I don't like the way the words are coming out, his tone is not nice.
"Maybe walking on eggshells is better than perpetuating bad behavior."
"Maybe. Or maybe you made it harder for us to actually change things because now everyone's defensive." He stands. "Carter's trying, you know. Really trying. He implemented all those policies you mentioned in your article. The training, the accountability, the mental health check-ins. He fights with the coaching staff about it constantly."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because he won't. Because he's too proud to defend himself to you." Tyler heads toward the ice, then stops. "Also because Maya told me you're cool and Maya's a good judge of character. So maybe give him a fair shot. That's all."
He skates away before I can respond.
I sit there, processing, watching Carter run drills that are clearly designed to build teamwork and mutual respect, not just toughness. Maybe I did miss things. Maybe I was so focused on finding problems that I couldn't see solutions.
After practice, Carter skates over again.
"Survive?"
"Barely. My fingers might have frostbite."
"That's hockey." He pulls off his helmet, and his hair is damp with sweat despite the cold. "Want to grab coffee? Debrief the observation?"
"That's not usually part of the interview protocol."
"I'm adding it to the protocol. Coffee. My treat." He's already heading to the locker room. "Meet you outside in fifteen."
I should say no. I should maintain professional distance, but the words come out before I can stop them. "Okay. Fifteen minutes."
Why is being around him feeling so comfortable now?
***
We end up at a campus coffee shop I've never been to, one of the nicer ones that I usually avoid because it's too expensive.
Carter orders without looking at the menu. "Two medium lattes and two of those lemon scones."
"You don't know what I want." I tell him, wondering how he knows what coffee I like, because I know I’ve never mentioned it to him.
"You've had the same coffee order every morning for three years. Isla told me."
"Isla is a traitor." And I will be having words with her about it.
"Isla is helpful." He pays before I can argue and leads us to a corner table. "So. Thoughts on practice?"
I pull out my notebook. "It was... different from what I expected."
"Different how?"
"More constructive. Less toxic." I flip through my notes. "Tyler talked to me. Said you've been fighting with the coaching staff about culture changes."
"Tyler talks too much."
"Is it true?"
Carter's quiet for a moment, considering. "Yeah. It's true. Coach Davis is old school. Thinks toughness means breaking people down. I think toughness means building people up. We clash."
