by Imogen Rose
We walked into the rink together and I looked around to see if anyone had noticed us come in. No one, by the look of things. The other players were busy on the ice, already warming up. The girls surrounded me for a group hug before I stepped on the ice and joined the skaters already circling around. I noticed some heads turning back to glance at me, stupid pink helmet! A tall body drew up next to mine and skated along beside me, it was Harry. He beckoned me to follow him and we skated over to the bleachers where Dr. Lee and two other men were sitting. Harry took his helmet off and spoke to the bigger of the two men. Bigger as in huge!
“Coach, this is my sister, Arizona.”
“Arizona, this is Coach Stanislaw, our assistant Coach Pickett, and you know Dr. Lee our Director and Manager.”
Dr. Lee smiled at me and said, ‘I am glad you came, Arizona, nice helmet!”
Coach Stanislaw said gruffly, “Not sure that the helmet is going to make any difference, no points for cuteness here. It’s nice to meet you, Arizona. Your brother is our star player. I’m expecting a lot from you, so get out there and show me what you can do.”
I smiled and thanked them for allowing me to try out. Harry pulled at my sleeve to follow him back to the ice to continue with the warm ups. I skated, shaking Harry off. I didn’t want anyone to think he was babysitting me. He skated right back up to me again and shrugged at me confused.
“Harry, I have to be seen to be able to skate on my own! Please don’t take it personally but let me do this,” I pleaded.
He nodded hesitantly but skated off.
I noticed Kellan skate up to him and practically push him over to the wall. I ignored them, concentrating on my skating, finding a stray puck and heading over to the goals for some shots. I approached the goal zeroing in on the puck with my stick and ramming it dead center into the goal. Then I zipped behind the goal to turn and repeated the goal shot. I kept going, perfect every time. When the whistle sounded, everyone skated over to the box where the coaches had taken up position. I hurried over.
“For those who are new, I am Coach Stanislaw and this is Coach Pickett our assistant, and Dr. Lee our Manager,” he said pointing to each man. “We know most of you from last year, but have quite a few new boys trying out. There are more of you here to tryout than we have positions, so it will be tough. We do have a couple of reserve positions available this year. This tryout will take place over four sessions, each two hours long. Missing a session is not an option. Consider yourself cut if you do. I’ve already picked our captain and assistant captains. You all know Harry, he needs no introduction. Our assistant captains this year are Kellan and Mike.”
Kellan and Mike both turned around to wave at us. I could feel Kellan making a point of not looking at me.
Coach Stanislaw continued, “Of course none of you can possibly have missed the pink helmet!”
Everyone, including Kellan, turned around and stared at me. Gee thanks, Coach!
He continued, “The pink helmet is Arizona, Harry’s kid sister. She has decided to tryout so let’s welcome her. Our first girl to tryout.”
Everyone mock cheered and clapped. I was ready to kill the coach. He had just made my job a hundred times more difficult.
“Ok, skate over to the center line to begin the drills,” he ordered.
I turned around as quickly as I could and sped over to the centerline as I put my mouth guard in. Drills are boring and routine, but they do keep you focused so I stopped thinking about everything else, including Kellan. I immersed myself in trying to keep up with these drills.
Coach Stanislaw must have watched MIRACLE about a million times. He was doing a good job of pretending that he was selecting the Olympic squad! We skated up and down the rink innumerable times doing dead stops and turns. We moved on to some skate pass-and-shoot drills, skating two by two towards the goal while passing the puck to one another and then shooting it into the goals. I was paired up with Kellan a few times and I could feel him glowering at me from under his helmet. He was beyond furious. Coach moved us on to “sprint pivot and shoots,” which I have done so many times before that I did them without thinking. Sprint to second cone, pivot and skate backwards to the first cone, do a cross over turn, sprint back to second cone, make a cross over turn and then pick up the puck on the blue line and shoot no deeper than the top of the circle. We repeated these drills again and again until I thought I was going to pass out. But pure adrenaline kept me going. There was no way I was giving up in front of this crowd. I kept skating up and down. This coach was truly a nut job. When he finally blew the whistle, we had been going at this for over two hours. I was exhausted.
“Well done today boys and PH.” I assumed that he meant me, pink helmet, ha-ha. With that the boys took off toward the locker room and I started heading to the bleachers where the girls were patiently waiting for me. I couldn’t believe they had stayed all this time. I felt a tap on my shoulders and turned around to Harry.
“Not bad, Shrimp! In fact, you were pretty awesome. I’m so proud of you. I think you’ve a really good shot of getting into the team.”
“Kellan didn’t look too happy.”
“You can’t really be surprised, you didn’t tell him. I can’t imagine why. Anyway, he’ll get over it. I’ve got to go and change out of this. I’ll see you at home. I’m leaving my kit here tonight; we have a team room reserved for us. I’ll put yours in there too if you want?”
“Thanks, but no. I’ll leave it in my Jeep for now. Will you tell me if the Coach says anything to you about me?
He nodded as he headed off to the locker room.
They girls greeted me excitedly.
Ali practically shrieked, “Arizona Darley! I can’t believe what we just saw. You are AWESOME! How did you learn that? It was amazing to watch, we couldn’t take our eyes of you. I just have no words!”
Ariele smiled at me slyly as Maria and Ali made a fuss.
“Thanks, girls! I’ll go and get changed. I’ll meet you back at school tomorrow. I’m wiped out and need a shower!”
“No kidding, you stink!” Maria confirmed.
Laughing, I waved at them and headed for the girl’s restroom. Maria was right, I truly stank. So I stripped off. I tried to dry the sweat off with paper towels but it was no good, bits of paper clung to my sticky skin. I needed to find another system, baby wipes usually worked. I must remember to get some. I also needed to pick up some Under Armour from the sports store. I changed back into my clothes, picked up the heavy bag and carried it out to the Jeep. I threw it in the back and went to get in.
“Not so fast, Shrimp,” said Kellan from behind me. I froze. I smelled awful. I just couldn’t let Kellan get a whiff of me!
“Hey, Kellan! You were awesome today! Congrats on getting chosen as an assistant, that’s cool.”
“Arizona, what was that all about? How did you learn to skate like that? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was scared of your reaction.”
“I am furious, not just with you but also with Harry. This is totally irresponsible. You can’t play with us, I won’t allow it.”
“You won’t allow it?” I laughed.
“No, I can’t have you getting hurt. No matter how good you are at skating. You were great but that’s not what hockey is about. I can’t take care of you every second of every game!”
I could feel fury building up inside me, “Don’t be ridiculous. I can take care of myself! I don’t need you or Harry to babysit me. Treat me like you would any other player.”
“I can’t!” He sighed exasperated.
“Why not? Didn’t you notice my rather excellent skills! Just wait till you see me in a scrimmage!”
Kellan looked at me curiously, “A scrimmage? When have you ever been in a scrimmage? Do you even know what it is?”
I looked into his eyes wondering if I could make him forget the scrimmage slip with a kiss. He looked even hotter when he was angry, his eyes were blazing making them appear even deeper. I could almost imagi
ne myself drowning in them. I was drowning in them. They drew me in, further and further, and I moved toward him reaching for his sleeve. I followed his sleeve up to his neck, put my hand around it and drew him in. I could feel is breath on my face. I hoped my smell wouldn’t cause him to faint, or even worse, hurl. I found his lips. We stood there in the parking lot totally immersed in each other, when we heard the raucous laughter of a crowd heading our way.
“Hey, Kellan, already laid claim to PH?” taunted one of them. I recognized them vaguely. They were boys from the tryouts, about eight of them.
“I’ve always had claim to Arizona so back off and play nice.”
“It’s up to you to babysit her then. We can try and play nice but our opponents won’t.”
“No reason for us to play nice either just because she’s Harry’s baby sister.”
I recognized the voice. It was Justin.
I looked over at him and snarled, “What’s your problem? Do you want me to floor you? I can take you out anytime.”
He laughed as he moved toward me and I picked up my stick, ready for action. I could feel Kellan’s arms surround me as he pulled me back. A body got in front of me blocking Justin – it was Harry. What a nuisance! I really could’ve taken care of this myself.
“Back off, Justin. Turn around and walk away now,” said my big brother furiously.
Justin growled under his breath and got up right to Harry’s face, “I will for now but she’d better watch out. Barbie should stick to cheer. We don’t want her on the team, she’ll be a nuisance.” He turned and beckoned the others to walk with him and they left heading over to their bikes.
Harry turned and asked, “Are you ok, Shrimp?”
I was furious, “Ok? No, I’m not ok! Why on earth would you do that, now they think I’m a wimpy girl! I could have totally taken that jerk. He can barely skate. I’ll show him tomorrow.” With that I jumped into the Jeep, slammed the door and sped off home.
I didn’t sleep much that night. I was way too annoyed. I should have been feeling good about myself. After all, I had performed exceedingly well and was proud of myself. Yet, I felt despondent. I had heard Harry come in and join the family fun downstairs. But I stayed upstairs and snuck down for a snack when everyone else had gone to bed. I had thought about calling Ariele, only she would understand. I really could take care of myself. Tomorrow was going to be hard, even more so if I didn’t have the support of Harry and Kellan. Support, not protection.
Why was Justin on my case? We’d played well together at Princeton, even been friends. So, why the aggravation now? I guess he had no recollection, or whatever, of me from before.
I must have fallen asleep briefly. Ella woke me. She burst into my room and jumped on to my bed. Arizona Stevens would have totally flipped and hit the little monkey but I turned around and smiled at her.
“Arizona, you played hockey?” she exclaimed.
“Cat’s out the bag?”
“What cat? Did you get a kitty?”
I laughed and tried to explain what the expression meant but very badly. I left her more confused than before.
She shrugged and said, “Oh, never mind the cat, tell me about the hockey? Mom and Dad just found out too. They’re in the kitchen waiting with Harry and Kellan.”
I looked at the clock. It was 6 AM! What was Kellan doing here at this time and why did they have to tell Mom and Rupert without discussing it with me first. I was annoyed (again) and slightly apprehensive. One thing was clear, I couldn’t head down in my pajamas. Time for the Munchkin to make herself useful.
“Ella, can you pick out some clothes for me to throw on while I take a quick shower.”
“Anything?”
“Something sensible!” I warned.
I ran into the shower as Ella busied herself in my closet. A two-minute shower this morning and I was out. Ella was sitting on my bed; her selection next to her, she smiled proudly at me.
“I said something sensible, Ella,” looking at her selection of a denim skirt and tank combination.”
“This is sensible and cute and you should wear it. Cute is going to help you downstairs. They seem a bit cross with you. Of course it’s not going to help with Mom and Dad, but it might with Kellan and Harry.”
Cross another one of those words that my mother had imported from England. It had become a regular in our household… someone was always cross!
“What are they annoyed about? I didn’t do anything wrong. I just tried out for hockey, nothing wrong with that.”
“Well, you should have told Mom and Dad about the hockey, but they’re not that angry about that. You did want to fight Justin though! Personally I think that’s super cool.”
I went over and hugged her, “You really are a little monkey. Ok, just for you, I’ll wear the outfit.”
“And put on some lip gloss,” she added.
“All right! Go on back down stairs. I’ll be down in ten minutes.”
I quickly got into the skirt and top. The skirt felt totally awkward, maybe I’d pack a pair of jeans to change into later. I smeared myself with lip gloss and brushed out my hair glancing at myself in the mirror. Wow, I did so not look like me! Way too pretty and fragile. Perhaps I should stick some Eyeblack on? I giggled at the thought of Ella’s reaction, maybe not!
I decided to walk into the kitchen with a cheery, “hello.” Best to take everyone by surprise, especially if I was walking into some kind of pathetic intervention. They all looked up surprised, it worked. I could feel Kellan looking me up and down, so I hurried over to table and sat down. Harry pushed a plate over to me and I started chewing on the bacon.
“So how’s everyone? You’re here early today, Kellan,” I said cheerfully.
Harry looked at me and said, “I know Ella came up and warned you, so you know what this is about.”
I looked over at him and shrugged challengingly.
“It’s mainly about Justin. What you did last night was just plain stupid.”
I exploded. No one gets to call me stupid.
“No, what you did last night was plain stooopid. You totally played into his hands. He wants everyone to think I am a girly girl who can’t take care of herself and he is dead wrong!”
Mom looked over at me thoughtfully, “I, all of us, can see your point, but have you forgotten that Justin has an issue with violence? It isn’t just because you’re our girl. I would be just as worried if Harry had done what you did last night. Justin has a big following and he is going to make it his business to get back at you.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I said offhandedly.
Harry sighed, “You can try Arizona, but he lost face last night and probably feels that he something to prove even if it’s picking on you, a girl. I wish he’d take it out on me. I’ll talk to him. We are worried and yes, Kellan is as well. We’re going to keep an eye on things at school today. Please stay with friends at all times. Maria is in all your classes so at least have her with you. We’ve called Robert to let him know the situation, so he’ll keep a watch, too. Don’t go to the restroom on your own, remember Simla is Justin’s girlfriend. Goodness knows what she is capable of. So, promise you’ll take care?”
I looked around at all of them. They looked seriously concerned.
“Perhaps it was a bit unthinking. I never realized it would cause you all this much worry. I can honestly look after myself but I’ll be careful. No need to babysit me every second of the day though.”
“Well, I need to head to work now, but I want to have some mother/daughter time with you and Ella. How about dinner, just the three of us tonight? I’ll take you out for pizza?” Mom suggested.
I heard Ella shriek with excitement, so I guess that was settled, dinner with Mom tonight. She picked up her stuff and Rupert walked out to the car with her and Ella, who did a few pretend karate chops at me before she left the room.
“See you at school boys.” I got up and left without looking at them, practically running to my Jeep. The boys were
at my heel.
“We’re riding in with you, Shrimp.”
UNBELIVABLE!
I looked at them incredulously, “You can’t be serious! You are really going to babysit me all day?”
“You forced us into this. We’re none too pleased about it either. I would rather ride my bike in,” said Harry.
“Well, there is no need for both of us to ride in the Jeep, it’s way too cramped anyway. I’ve got physics with Arizona this morning so why don’t you take the bike, Harry. I’ll ride in with Arizona and keep her out of trouble. You don’t mind, do you, Shrimp?” Kellan queried.
“I guess not. At least it doesn’t look like I’m arriving in with bodyguards then!”
Harry nodded and said that it was fine with him; he’d catch up with us at school.
I was relieved. I got into the car and waited for Kellan to get in. We drove off in silence, a very uncomfortable silence. Kellan was still obviously mad with me. We were half way to school when I couldn’t bear his icy demeanor any longer. I slammed on my brakes and stopped by the side of the road. I sat silently, staring straight ahead. I wasn’t going to be the first to talk. We sat like that for a few minutes until Kellan broke the silence.
“We’re going to be late, why did you stop?”
“Why are you so angry with me?”
“Arizona, I’m not really angry with you. I’m scared. Justin’s not someone to mess with. I’m frustrated with you not taking this seriously.”
I took his hand and pulled at his sleeve, “Kellan, I’ll be careful. I promise. I won’t start anything with him.”
“Thanks, Shrimp. Stay out of trouble. Hockey is going to be hard enough. Better get going!”
I unwillingly let go of his hand and restarted the Jeep. He reached over and rested his arm on the back of my seat, I felt warmly comforted. I looked over at him, hoping that he would reach over and kiss me. He looked at me, smiled and did not disappoint. It was brief and left me longing for more.
“Shrimp, when are you going to tell me what’s changed? Something is different and I need to know what. I have to tell Harry what’s going on between us too. He can’t find out from anyone else, not even you.”
