The Old White Rhino - All-Star Voting

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

The Old White Rhino - All-Star Voting

 

 

"Вот, пожалуйста, мой пряный маленький ангелочек."

 

Aleksei lowered the ballot into the box thoughtfully, making sure it rested safely atop the ever-growing pile. Behind him GM's Beau Louth and Blake Campbell crossed their arms and tapped their feet impatiently, but said nothing. Most of the suits in the room had taken their time, surely that was necessary when twelve votes were allowed to be placed on any single ballot. There was an element of strategy to what they were doing. If a player deserved to be in, but their vote might knock out your candidate, it was for the best to only vote a single time in a given position; however, don't vote enough and you might be accused of vote manipulation, tampering, or unfair judgement - none of which were consequences any of the VHL's leaders wanted attached to their reputations. There was a balance to be walked when voting, and as with all things in this league, it became a game. And Aleksei intended to play.

 

Aleksei tapped the ballot box softly, sending his good thoughts to those he'd voted for, then looked up at the broker assigned to collecting and counting the ballots and gave him a quick wink before turning on a heel and walking away sharply. Louth and Campbell exchanged glances, shrugged, and submitted their selections in a much less ritualistic fashion. Something about those eastern Europeans made them take the weirdest things seriously, in a way that North American managers simply couldn't understand at times. The two men patted one another on the backs, shook hands, and went their separate ways. Both had planes to catch if they were to see to their respective teams' needs with the trade dealine looming. The two had no qualms with spending time with AGM's, but that White Rhino was a strange one and generally kept to himself, especially when it came to making leadership decisions.

 

At the end of the day, the boxes were collected, their contents kept under lock and key as they were transported to a large warehouse. There, more men in suits took posession of the ballots, undid the tedium of locks ensuring their security, and poured out the ballots. Counting begun. Each ballot was checked by three separate workers, and recorded on a board with votes tallied for each player fortunate to have their name listed. The counters were serious about their work, but had a good rapport and kept themselves amused as the day wore on. Finally, at the bottom of the pile, the first counter took up the last ballot and laughed, read out the single name aloud, then passed it down the line to his peers, who did the same, each taking a moment to giggle. Someone in their fervor for voting, whether by accident or incident, had selected a single name on the defenseman list and had foregone the remainder of their eleven votes. The third counter verified, then tallied up a single check next to a single player's name, and placed the ballot in the discard pile.

 

"Cinnamon Block"

 

518 Words

TPE for week ending December 15, 2019