It's a Girl's Game

Jamie was able to get a good two hours of sleep before Sid came in to wake her up. The first hour was spent thinking of worst-case scenarios ranging from the team will love her to hate her and everything in between. Sidney came in to wake her at 4.
“So, how dressed up do I have to be?” she asked.
“Jeans and a nice shirt should be fine.”
“OK, thanks.”
“No problem.”
To say Jamie was nervous would be an understatement. She didn’t get nervous, it was something she lacked. Jamie didn’t even freak out when she met her idol, Teemu Selanne. The thing was, she only knew Sid and the other person didn’t even know she was coming. Some of the European players might know of her, that’s a plus in Jamie’s eyes.
The car ride was slow and seemed to drag on. All she wanted to do was get the awkward meeting out of the way. It wasn’t bad meeting Assat since a lot of the guys knew of her. The Finnish national team was OK, by then everyone knew about her. They seemed to accept the fact that she was a good hockey player.
“Hey, we’re here,” Sid said knocking Jamie out of her thoughts.
“OK. One question, how many people know I’m a girl?”
“Just me, Pascal, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.”
“OK.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure the team will love you. You know, once you embarrass a goalie.”
Most of the guys were in the restaurant when Sid and Jamie got there. None of them seemed to notice the two until Marc Andre Fleury spotted them and came over.
“He Sid, who’s the girl?”
“I’m Jamie Jokinen, the new player the Penguins signed.”
“But, you’re a girl. I could understand if you are a goalie, but aren’t you a forward?”
“Yes I am, but I know for a fact I can keep up with the guys.”
“Besides Flower,” Sid piped in, “ just last season she led Finland to a World Junior Championship over Sweden. Then led Finland to the World Championship final. I think she is good enough to play in the NHL.”
“Wow, so if you played in Juniors and Worlds, why didn’t you play on the men’s Olympic team?”
“Because the Finnish coach said and I quote ‘ the rest of the world is not ready to see a girl beat up on Canada and the United States.”
“Wow that’s harsh, “Sid said, “Come on lets go see the rest of the team.”
“Alright,” Jamie said smiling. If one could accept her then the rest should as well.

Notes