The Diary of an Unintentional Puck Slut

Aug. 15, 2013

Dear Diary,

Pittsburgh is nicer than I thought it would be. Surprisingly I have unpacked my few belongings in record time. I supposed it’s because I am used to moving in and out of school each year, but it only took me a couple of hours to get settled into the Woodcomb’s guest bedroom. Pancake, however, is taking it a little harder than me. It has been three days and she won’t leave my room. But cats are like that, right? Besides she’s almost fifteen years old, she has the right to hide under my bed if she wants to. I’ve skated with the other ice girls twice already, but not at Consol. I’m looking forward to it, but I am really nervous about skating in an arena that big. Just thinking about how many people are going to be watching me makes me a little sick. Even when the Whitt was full at UNH there were never half as many people as there will be at a Penguins game. Tomorrow we will skate in Consol and the final cuts will be made. Kate said that Caeleigh, Ashlyn, and I are definitely at the top of the list, but they still have to cut four girls. That makes me kind of sad, but I haven’t really gotten to know many of the girls except for Caeleigh. She and I got coffee the other day and it turns out we have a lot in common. She was, however, jealous of my triple lutz.

One month until the Pens first pre-season game! I have been studying their roster trying to figure out who is who on the team. Being a New England girl I am an obligatory Bruins fan, but I was never into hockey until I went to college. Even then, I only followed UNH hockey and that was mostly because I hung out with the team a lot, being an ice girl and all. Carli told me Sidney Crosby is like the best player in the world and that I should find her (and myself) a hockey boyfriend. Not sure if I want to do that and risk losing my job. I don’t really want a boyfriend right now; I’m enjoying being single for the first time since I started going to college and I am loving it way more than I thought I would. I can’t believe I wasted my entire time at college on Cam. That’s a stupid name. Fits him well (jerk). I could have had so much fun at UNH if it weren’t for him. He is one of the main reasons I took this job, to get out of New Hampshire and away from him.

A new start in a new city, let’s hope I don’t mess this up.

I’m so excited for tomorrow!!!!

Sincerely,

Emme

____________________________________________________________________________

Aug. 19, 2013

Dear Diary,

I made the team! I am officially a Pittsburgh Penguins ice girl!!!!

Wow this is so exciting, I am actually shaking.

First of all, Consol Energy Center is much bigger than I thought it was. I have never been in a building that big before! I was trying very hard to not show that I was from a tiny rural New Hampshire town. Caeleigh and I stuck together so we wouldn’t get lost.

We each had to skate one routine and the list was alphabetical so I went last :( which only made me more nervous. There were a couple of delays, such as one girl having a panic attack on the ice and a zamboni malfunction, and that made it worse. I really just wanted to get it over with and leave because I was having whatever the opposite of claustrophobia was. (agoraphobia, thank you Wikipedia!)

By the time I actually got on the ice some of the players had arrived and were waiting to warm up, so I had a bit of an audience. I tried really hard not to look at them, but they were sitting on the bench near us and I couldn’t help but notice number 87 since he’s really the only Penguin I have heard of. Looking at him from center ice I caught his soft brown eyes and he smiled. He has a sort of goofy crooked grin and that made me smile a little, but I was still nervous as heck. As soon as Taylor Swift’s “Treacherous” started playing I began skating and tried to forget that half of the Penguins were watching me skate. I reminded myself that I had skated this routine at UNH several times in front of sellout crowds and that they were NHL hockey players not figure skating judges. I realized that as long as I didn’t fall on my ass they would have no idea how well or bad I skated.

That seemed to work because I nailed every jump and didn’t slip up once. When the song ended I was shocked to hear them cheering for me, I jokingly curtsied and then rushed back to my seat trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. As I sat next to Caeleigh she whispered “way to make the rest of us look bad Emme” and gestured to the players who were now on the ice warming up.

I looked up just in time to see 87 coming toward us. Shocked, I looked at Caeleigh and then back at him as he stopped in front of me. “That was really good” he said looking at me, and then noticed Caeleigh and added “you both were.” I managed to squeak “thanks” before he skated off. Caeleigh and I have been freaking out about it ever since, and probably will be for a while.

That was the highlight of my week until I got the call that I had made the ice girls! Caeleigh and I are going out tonight to celebrate! So excited!!!!!

Sincerely,

Emme

PS. Update on Pancake: She was sitting on my bed today, instead of under it, so there is some improvement.

Notes