----Meg’s POV----

“Hey Meg, we are all heading down to this local restaurant that kind of supports us big time. We always go there after games –win or lose- want to come?” Tray asked as he approached from the other side of the locker room.

“Yeah definitely! Sounds great!” I replied. Originally I had been really nervous to come to UND, not because I thought everyone would hate me – because I knew Tray would still talk to me at least – but because I’ve never been on a team that hasn’t doubted me at some point. Guys are always so skeptical at first and think it’s such an awful idea to have me on the team. Sometimes they even go out of their way to make sure I leave just as quickly as I had arrived and other times they become like big brothers to me and freak the hell out on guys from other teams who even dare to attempt to check me during a game. The only time I’ve ever known I wouldn’t be discriminated against for my gender was when I played in the Olympics nearly three years ago, because it was in the women’s league so we were all the same gender. However, even then I was anxious to meet the team because I was afraid that I would be discriminated against for not only being so young but also for never playing in a women’s league before but yet being the captain. Truth be told, I struggled so much during the Olympics because it was hard to remind myself of the difference in rules so that I didn’t give myself an unnecessary penalty.

I finished zipping my bag up and walked out of the locker room and started heading in the direction of my dorm. Tray had told me he would pick me up along with some of the other guys outside my dorm building in twenty minutes. This gave me just enough time to walk there, drop my stuff off, and fix myself up a bit.

Twenty minutes passed quickly and soon enough I was outside waiting for Tray to pull up. When he finally arrived I got into the car with him Greg and Todd. The ride wasn’t too long only about five minutes but too long to walk, especially in the dark, at night, as a girl. Some people thought that since I was a female hockey player I was fine and could hold myself off against things like rapists and scary people in the dark; truth was that off the ice I was just as much a girl as the next. When we pulled up I noticed there were a lot of townspeople there as well as some students and all my teammates. The overall feel of the restaurant was one of pride and tradition and it was extremely comforting and welcoming.

“Hey guys! Didn’t think you would make it!” Chris said as he clapped me on the back before going into one of those serious ‘bro’ handshakes with Todd. As we followed Chris over to where the rest of the team was we were all welcomed with a series of “congrats”, “nice job”, “thanks for making us proud” and all sorts of other compliments from the townspeople and students. We stayed out late before finally heading home around midnight. As soon I got back to my dorm I collapsed onto my bed. I was so worn out from today’s events you would think that I would sleep instantly. But only one thing kept going through my mind, nagging me awake, and when I finally fell asleep its what caused my mouth to curve upwards into a soft smile: This was such a great feeling; I was seriously going to love this season!

----Jon’s POV----

I woke up the next morning feeling ready and focused for the upcoming game. I went downstairs and had a light breakfast and some coffee before grabbing the keys to my mom’s car I was borrowing and heading out the door. I was completely in the zone for today’s game. This is how I always get on game day; single solid focus: winning. I arrived at the arena and walked in through the visiting team entrance. Most of the guys had come over from the hotel together so most of them were already here. As I walked into the locker room the guys were all relaxing having a conversation that went uninterrupted by my entrance. A couple guys glanced up and nodded their heads before going back into their discussion. I wasn’t really listening in until Kaner said “Hey Tazer you catch the UND, UVM game last night?”

“Oh yeah I watched it with my family. Any of you guys watch it?” I replied.

Sharpie spoke first, “Yeah that’s actually what we are all talking about. It’s amazing how good that girl on UND is.”

“Yeah and her record, apparently she’s been lucky enough to start every seaon off with a top notch game. Last night apparently isn’t even her best.” added Emery.

“How could that not be her best, she got a fucking hat trick and like twenty minutes of play!?” asked Kaner in disbelief.

“I don’t know but she’s definetly talented.” Seabs added in awe.

“She’s always been tough to play against” I added without really thinking. All eyes turned to me before Kaner piped, “You’ve played against her before?” I put the stick I had been taping down and sighed looking over at the boys before answering, “Yeah, two years back when I played for UND and she played for Rutgers. We only played each other twice during regular season and then we battled it out in the Frozen Four. Rutgers won.”

“I thought she was a freshman though?” asked Duncan.

“Didn’t you listen to the commentators before the game dude?” Sharpie asked while shaking his head. Duncan looked down and mumbled a quick “no”.

“Well they said that she’s been playing college hockey since her sophomore year in high school.” Sharpie said, filling in the blanks for Duncan.

“Tazer, what is she one to ten?” Kaner asked looking hopeful. “I don’t remember what she looks like. Now clear your mind and get focused we’ve got a game to win.” I snapped back at him. For some reason it bothered me a great deal to see that look in Kaner’s eyes about her. Woah, man are you crushing on her because she’s a hockey player? That’s a creepy change of pace, usually that’s the only reason why girls are into me, is that why she won’t leave my head? It has to be, you don’t even know her.

****

We ended up losing our game against Winnipeg 5-3 which made the flight back to Chicago a quiet one. Most of the guys tried to sleep. When we landed in Chicago Coach Q pulled me into his office before I could leave. He handed me a large yellow envelope and told me to wait until I got home to open it. I looked at him quizzically but his face revealed nothing. “Alright coach. See you tomorrow for practice.” He just nodded his response before heading back to his work on his computer screen. As I walked out the manila envelope’s contents seemed to become heavier the closer I got to my car and the closer I drove to home. When I finally pulled into my parking space in the parking garage at my apartment building I quickly turned my car off before grabbing my things and heading to the lobby. I stood in front of the elevator fidgeting, waiting for the doors to open. This letter was starting to weigh as much as a baby elephant. By the time the doors opened onto my floor I booked it to my door and fumbled over the keys in the lock a bit. When I finally got it open I threw my stuff down on the kitchen counter, sat down on one of the stools and ripped the manila envelope open. Turning it upside down to make sure everything came out.

Notes

Hey i hope you like the update! please comment ill try and update tomorrow before i leave for vacation. as always, please comment, subscribe and vote and you can also follow me on twitter @hockeygirl147471
lots of love!
-E