Ice in My Veins

  “Oh!” He puzzled over why I was at the rink and probably my reaction to him. “And the first place you thought to visit is a junior hockey arena? Not the CN Tower or downtown shops.” He seemed to find that odd.

  “Well, I am not like most girls. I don’t really like to shop.” I told him.

  He chuckled. He had the cutest laugh. Oh my God! Why was I so enticed by this boy? I had to stop thinking about how handsome he was. He would be running for the exits as soon as he found out that I played hockey. I noticed that my palms were starting to sweat. I wiped them on my jeans. I hoped he didn’t notice that. My head was spinning. I felt weak and nervous. This was out of character for me.

  “Tell me Chrissy, what brings you to Toronto?” He pushed for more information.

  I didn’t want to tell him the truth. He seemed to be moving closer to me with each question. I could feel this strange electricity between us. It was an unnerving feeling. I didn’t know what it meant. Should I be honest with him or not? Guys usually reacted badly to the fact that I played hockey.

  “I came up with my dad for a week.” I whispered looking down. I didn’t want to look him in the eye, it was like being caught in a tractor beam, slowly sucking me in.

  “I guess you live around here or something?” I speculated and hoped.

  If he did, and I made the team; then maybe I could get to know him. The thought made me smile. I wonder what he thought of me? I was so plain looking. My mother always told me I was beautiful, but when I looked at myself in the mirror all I saw was a plain average girl.

  “Actually, I only come here for the hockey season. I am from up North, Sudbury.” He explained.

  “Oh, you’re a player? I guess you play here for the Gophers then?” I asked curious now. Also suddenly embarrassed that I didn’t know this about him. I should have done my research before I came up to Canada. Maybe he didn’t know a girl was joining this years training camp? Great! The first guy that captivates me is my competition, or worse - my new teammate. Bad! Bad! Bad!

  “Yes, indeed. I come to the rink before camp just to think and re-focus. Camp starts tomorrow.” He smiled then offered, “You should come watch, it’s open to the public.”

  “Well, I guess I better get this over with.” I muttered under my breath, but he heard the comment. He looked at me strangely wondering I suppose, the reason for what I had muttered.

  I decided to take a chance and be honest. He would find out tomorrow, so why not get it over with. “I will be here tomorrow. I am trying out for the Gophers.”

  I looked down at my hands right after I said it. I was afraid of how he was going to react. It’s not like he could run away now. He would be there during camp. However, he could decide to give me a hard time about it.

  “Really? That’s cool. What position do you play?” He asked more curious and enthusiastically, which surprised me. He must be pulling my leg. No guy was ever happy to hear a girl was trying out for their team. He seemed almost joyful about it. I didn’t answer right away.

  “Hmm,” he muttered.

  His response to me trying out for the Gophers still had me off guard. “I play center, but apparently Killerman wants to try me as a winger.” I stuttered slightly. “What about you?”

  “I am a center. I float between the lines. Sometimes you have to spread out the scoring.” He winked. “This season, I will play first line and get much more power play time,” he noted.

  What a cocky shit! I smirked at his cockiness.

  “By the way; they call me (Red), on account of my last name being Reddrick.” His voice was charming, very masculine. This was bad!

  “Are you not weirded out that a girl is trying out for your team?” He was being to calm about this, I couldn’t help but ask him.

  “No, not at all. Hey if a girl is good enough for Killerman to invite, then she must have some talent. I am excited to see what you have to offer.” He smirked.

  Why did he have to look at me like that? He was definitely flirting with his eyes and smiles. I was sure of it. Why? There was no way someone as good looking as him, would ever be interested in someone like me.

  “I think I hold my own on the ice. Although I haven’t really had a chance to play with guys. I am a little nervous for camp. What’s it like?” I was dying to know. While I had him here, I might as well take advantage of the situation.

  “It’s tough, most players are worried about making it through camp every season. There is a lot of talent, and you never know. If you have a bad camp - it doesn’t matter that you’re a good player, that is no guarantee you make the team. Unless like me, you already signed a contract.”

  He was tooting his horn. Typical guy.

  “It’s a lot of skating, a ton of drills. You’re sore every night.” He grinned with sarcasm.

  “Wow! Looks like I have my work cut out for me then.” I scanned the rink again taking it all in trying to avoid looking into his eyes. I also was trying to brush off his remarks about how tough camp would be. I knew that was for my benefit. A kind of warning. I have a bad temper and didn’t want it to show. I bit down on my lower lip.

  “You know it gets pretty rough out there during camp. Lots of guys, and only so many spots on the roster,” he warned. “Many of the guys can’t take it. It’s lots of pressure. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

  “Hockey is a tough sport, it might be that those players just didn’t have what it takes.” I felt the blood rush to my face fueled by irritation. I knew what he was getting at. “I am confident in my abilities!” I snapped at him.

  “You’re a girl though, girls don’t usually take the kind of pain and punishment that this level of hockey players can dish out. At this level of hockey, the game is a lot faster and harder hitting than what you’d be used to. What do you play Tier 1?” He mocked. “Many of the guys here have been to NHL camps, or played in the World Juniors or other major competitions.”

  Now I was angry. “You guys!” I shook my head in disgust. “Just because I am a girl you think I don’t have strength, speed or skill.” I barked. “You’ll see tomorrow.”

  I got up to walk away and he grabbed my arm. I turned and growled at him “let go!” He let go and threw his arms up in the air.

  “I apologize Chrissy.” He stepped around me to stop me. “I truly meant no offense, even for me, a returning player, it gets pretty dicey, that’s all I was meaning.”

  “I can handle it.” I stomped away still annoyed with him, without looking back. I could hear him snickering behind me. Great! Why do I have such a chip on my shoulder. Alex was cute. Now he probably thinks I am some kind of a psychotic girl, in need of therapy. If I made the team, I would have to rectify that.

  When I got back to the hotel, Dad was waiting impatiently for me so we could go out to dinner. I brushed my hair out of the makeshift bun it was in. I threw it up into a ponytail. I was ready to go. We went to a nice restaurant to eat.

  “What did you do today?” Dad asked me with a mouthful of steak. It drove me crazy that he always talked with food in his mouth. One of my many pet peeves.

  “I went to check out the rink today.” I took a sip of my coke. “It’s huge, probably holds about 8000 people in there. Kind of intimidating,” I added. I intentionally did not tell him about my encounter with Alex. He would probably agree with the verbal diarrhea Alex was spewing.

  “We can leave if you want Christine. If you think it’s going to be to tough for you.” He tried to coax me. “You are a girl and those boys are probably going to get tough with you, try and make you quit.” He worried too much about me in all the wrong ways. I was tougher than he gave me credit for.

  “Dad, I’m going to be fine. You know I am tough - the more they throw at me, the tougher I get.” I assured him. “Besides if I can survive dealing with you and my lame brothers, I can survive anything right?” I snapped.

  I took another sip of my coke and started to feast on the rest of my steak. I was a steak and potatoes girl. Bring on the co
w, I’ll eat the whole damn thing.

  Dad shook his head. “Alright Christine. I won’t be going to watch you this week. I don’t think I can handle watching you take that kind of beating. I will make sure I have ice for after your camp every day. I am sure you will need it.” He mocked me. “Those boys are going get rough, trust me.”

  We didn’t talk much for the rest of the meal. I didn’t want to argue with him. This wouldn’t be any different to me. I was used to not having my friends or family around for my games and practices. It was probably for the best. Having my father in the stands might make me nervous.

  Challenges

  I showed up at the rink about fifteen minutes early. I was suppose to talk to Coach before the training camp started. I walked down the stairs to his office and knocked on the door. “Come in,” he called through the closed door.

  When he saw me he smiled warmly. “Oh Christine. I am glad you came early. I wanted to talk to you about the changing arrangements. For today, and the rest of camp, I thought it would be best to have you suit up in the visitor’s locker room. You will have full privacy in there.”

  He began shifting through papers on his desk and then continued. “I don’t know how this is going to go over with all the guys, it’s going to be a hard adjustment for them. They are teenage boys with raging hormones. I know that you are only sixteen, and if you have any concerns, or feel uncomfortable in any way come to me immediately. If you do happen to make the team, then we can all discuss this as a team. For now, for camp anyway - the boys will all be on their best behavior. I promise you this or they will be off the team. We try and teach our players respect and if they don’t learn to respect others, then that is the consequence they face.” He assured me, as he walked out from behind his desk.

  “Thanks Coach, I will be fine.” I tried to reassure him with a smile; he wasn’t buying it.

  “Don’t be nervous, you will be fine. Just remember that all those guys are in the same boat and as nervous as you out there,” he admitted.

  “I also want you to meet Mr. Allan Richmond from the CHL.” He motioned towards the man leaning against the wall. I hadn’t noticed him before this moment. Mr. Richmond reached out to shake my hand.

  “Nice to meet you Mr. Richmond.” I greeted.

  He smiled as he shook my hand. His smile was warm and inviting. It sent an instant calm through me. However, I still suspected he was there with an agenda.

  “Christine, I am here today, and will be throughout camp. Before a player is allowed to play in the CHL, they need approval from the League. This is standard practice. Nothing to worry about. I am hear to observe. As you probably realize it’s not common to have a girl playing in the CHL. We want to make sure that this situation will be handled appropriately. You won’t even notice me around.” He promised.

  I was pretty sure I would notice him lurking around the rink. Spying on me - making sure I could handle the situation, and that the guys could.

  I looked towards the coach. “You don’t need to hear all the politics behind this. I just wanted to introduce you both.” He assured me. “Now go ahead and suit up.”

  “Thanks. Do I just come out to the ice when I’m suited up?” I inquired.

  “Yes, see you out there in ten minutes,” he exclaimed as he walked away.

  I walked into the visitor’s locker room and looked around. It was big, had showers, exercise bikes, T.V., a stereo; and a huge chalk board. If the visitors change room was this nice, I bet the home locker room was awesome.

  I quickly suited up and went out to the ice. I wasn’t the first one out there. He was there also - the gorgeous guy, Alex, from yesterday.

  He skated over to me “Hey there Chrissy, How ya doing?” He smiled, then he nudged my shoulder as if we were the best of friends.

  It annoyed me. I wanted to smack the smile right off his face. He was acting like he hadn’t irritated the hell out of me yesterday with his comments. My blood was still boiling over from the conversation. He infuriated me.

  “Good, thanks Alex.” I said icily. I made sure to use his name, so he knew I remembered it. I skated away from him still enraged at him and started to warm up on the ice.

  He was watching me. I noticed right away out of the corner of my eye. How frustrating. What did he find so fascinating about me? What a jerk. I wanted to hate him, yet something was overriding that hatred.

  My first impression from ice level was WOW! It was so different looking up into the stands from the ice. The rink was huge. I got a chill. I started to feel more nervous then I ever had before. I knew everything was on the line for me now. I had to make the most of this opportunity.

  While I was down on the ice doing leg stretches one of the guys skated over to me. I bit my lip hesitantly. I was unsure if he was coming over to chirp me or not. The last thing I wanted at this moment was to get into it with another player. I had to keep my temper in check. That was something I was just learning to do. In the past, I had carried around a chip on my shoulder towards people who reacted badly to girls who play guys’ sports. I looked up at him guarded.

  “Chrissy?” He asked politely and took his glove off. He put his hand out for me to shake. “I am Moose, well, Kyle Schneider, the team captain.”

  I shook his hand and said, “nice to meet you”. He was pretty good looking as well. What was with these Canadian boys? They were hot. He was a big guy. Maybe about 6’3. He dropped down to the ice and started stretching beside me. He didn’t seem so bad. My guard went down immediately. I started to notice his warm chocolate eyes, the way his hair swooped down to one side, covering his left eye slightly. What was getting into me? Suddenly all I could think about was boys and how appealing they had become. I shook it off.

  “So, are you nervous at all?” He asked as he stretched. “I heard that you have never played with guys before.” He stated.

  Alex must have said something to him about our conversation. Big mouth! I glared over in Alex’s direction, he was still watching me.

  “I am nervous as to what I should expect from camp I guess. Not to worried about the guys, I do have brothers.” I laughed trying to mask my anger.

  He chuckled. “You sound like my sister, she plays hockey as well, for a girls team; she’s only twelve.”

  My guard shot back up again. At first I was about to snap at him for referring me to his twelve year old sister, but then I realized that he just meant she was stubborn. I was without question stubborn.

  He got up from stretching, and turned to me. “Well have a good camp, if you have any questions or concerns come see me alright.” He smiled sincerely, then skated away.

  I got up from stretching myself out and skated to the center of the ice, where Coach had called us all around.

  “I am only going to say this once.” Coach said with authority. “This year we have a girl at camp with us, as most of you have probably noticed.” He continued. “Her name is Christine, she goes by Chrissy. I expect you to treat her with the same respect you treat the other guys.” He seemed to make eye contact with two players in particular. They just nodded at him. “That being said, let’s start.”

  I heard murmurs from the other players. There were a few muffled comments about how it wasn’t cool for a girl to be there with them - the elite. There were also a few dirty comments about me being hot and bang-able. Guys, they always had sex on their minds.

  I heard one guy mumble, “kind of hard to wheel in a chick, if you have a girl like that cock blocking you. This is going to suck.”

  The guy he spoke to commented back. ”She’s hot, I wouldn’t mind hitting that.” He snickered.

  I sluffed the comments off. I ignored the stares. I couldn’t let things like that get to me. I was here for one thing only – HOCKEY! That’s all that was important.

  Coach started the practice. “I want Welsh and Chrissy to swing low from opposite sides of the ice, receive a pass from Moose in corner. Welsh and Chrissy attack opposite end – Moose chases, but stops at
blue-line. I will pass to Moose for the point shot. Welsh and Chrissy you guys curl up-ice and receive the pass from me to create a 2 vs 1.” He continued to explain in detail what he wanted each of us to do. He skated us hard for the next three hours. Mostly running drills. Testing us to see what we had to offer, and how much punishment we could take. Then he called us in to the center of the ice.

  “Alright, today was good. You guys worked hard out there.” He continued. “Tomorrow will be different. I want all of you here bright and early; 9:00 a.m. for equipment fitting and medicals, and then outside for fitness testing. Should be fun!” He chuckled. “Now all of you get out of here and get a good night sleep tonight.” He walked off the ice writing something down on his clipboard.

  Moose skated over to me and patted my back. “Wow, you impressed me out there Chrissy,” he complimented. “I wasn’t sure what to expect from you, but you certainly brought it.” His comments seemed truly sincere.

  “Thanks Moose, I can’t believe how hard it was for day one.” I admitted. I was feeling the pain. I knew that was the point of the coach working us so hard.

  “Don’t worry I think you’ll definitely make it past the first cut. Providing everything goes good for you tomorrow.” He smirked like he knew a secret. Odd!

  “What is tomorrow? Medicals?” I questioned. “What exactly do they make us do?”

  “Oh, it’s not a big deal, they weigh us all in, run a few tests, it’s really nothing. They just want to see what kind of shape we’re all in. Don’t worry about it,” he assured. “After you change, Coach wants to see you in his office.” He started to skate away “take ‘r easy,” he called from over his shoulder.

  Great, wonder what the coach wants. Maybe he was going to cut me right away. Maybe that was the secret Moose was hiding from me? He was the captain, maybe he knew something I didn’t? I quickly showered and changed into my street clothes.

  I walked to the coach’s office and noticed that in the room with him, were the rest of the assistant coaches and staff members. I suppose they were getting ready for tomorrow. There were a few lists of names on the dry board on the wall. The door was open. He motioned for me to come in. I did.