Fire & Ice - Chapter 2: Chapter 2

I laid in my bed for a while just breathing in my mom's scent that still lingered on my pillow. I played some music on my phone and ended up falling asleep for a while. When I woke up again it was to the door slamming shut and what sounded like a thud. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and got out of bed to see what the noise was about. Opening the door to my bedroom I looked out toward the front door and found Cassandra sitting in front of the door leaning her back against it.
"You okay?" I asked unsure if she wanted some help.
"Can you give me a hand?" Cassandra asked looking up from her lap.
I didn't say anything about her red rimed eyes or wet cheeks but walked over to her and held out my hand. She took it and I helped her to her feet. I rested my hand against her waist to make sure she was steady on her feet.
"You sure you're okay?" I asked not wanting to let go of the girl.
"I will be, do you want something for lunch?" Cassandra asked as she limped out of my hold to our little kitchen.
"Did you bring kitchen utensils? Because when I looked at the cabinets yesterday they were empty." I asked and watched Cassandra slowly move around the kitchen.
"Yea, my parents went overboard when I told them I wanted to dorm. They went out and bought a set of pots, pans and utensils. So we don't have much in the fridge so I was hoping that we could do food shopping together to get some stuff to keep here." Cassandra said and looked in the freezer.
"Sounds like a plan, once I get my hockey schedule we will be good to go." I said and watched as she pulled out a frozen pizza.
"This okay?" She asked.
"Yup that's fine Cassandra." Her name just rolling off my tongue.
"Ew no, Cassie is just fine. The only people who call me Cassandra are my parents." Cassie said put the pizza onto a pan and put it in the oven.
"You got it Cassie." I said. The new name made me smile as Cassie threw the pizza box into the garbage.
"So, you're a hockey player hun." Cassie asked and lowered herself into the chair across from me.
"Yup, here on scholarship to play for the women's team, speaking of, I have a team meeting in about an hour at the hockey house." I said.
"You must be pretty good then to be here on scholarship, division 1 team and all." Cassie said.
"I can handle my own. If my friend Travis was here he would go on and on about my high school stats." I said thinking of all the times Travis has done the very same in the past.
"He play for the men's team?" Cassie asked.
"Yea, he is going to be playing with your brother this year, but before that we played on our high school and travel team together." I said.
"You played on the guys team?" Cassie asked.
"Yup, there were never enough girls to make a league so I just played with the guys." I said.
Cassie hummed in acknowledgement and we chatted a bit more about ourselves while the pizza cooked. I found out that Cassie is legal studies major and is taking a minor in criminal justice. After graduation she wants to go to law school. Even though I'm really here to play hockey I'm a business major. It is a backup plan if playing hockey professionally doesn't work out.
We ate the pizza and chatted a bit more about our majors and school schedules just to see how much we would actually see each other in the dorm. Turns out our schedules are pretty in sync and we would be home most nights together. Well that will be until I get my hockey schedule which will most likely have late afternoon practices. As we finished up the last slices of pizza I cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for my meeting.
Just as I walked out the door I got a text from my mom saying she stopped for the night in Ohio. I smiled happy to know she is safe at a motel for the night as I walked to the hockey house to really meet my new team.
When I got there the door was closed but I just walked right in. I wasn't going to try knocking because I knew that nobody would come to answer it. Just as I was about to shut the door behind me it was forced opened again by our Coach, Jonah Decker.
"I was wondering if you got settled in alright. Come on, time to meet the team." Coach said and put his arm around my shoulders pulling me into the house.
We walked into the living room and found most of the team was already waiting for the meeting. I was going to go and find a seat when Coach pulled my arm and made me stand up with him. The girls called the rest of the stragglers into the living room and only three more girls showed up. Two of the girls were pulled up to stand with me in front of the group.
"I just wanted to start off with a welcome. For our freshman, I'm Coach Jonah Decker. I know we have only met a few times but now we are going to get to know each other a lot more than before. I want to welcome back our returning team and welcome our three freshmen joining the team. Since we got them up here now might as well go down the line. Stacey you can start." Coach said and took a step away from us.
"Alright, I'm Stacey Campbell. I play defense but don't let the blonde hair and tips fool you. I will run you over if you get in my way on the ice. I'm from St. Cloud, Minnesota and I was ranked #2 in my class for defense." Stacey said. Just looking at her from the first glance I would never expect her to say she plays defense.
"Okay, my turn, my name is Rebecca Martin, I play forward. I'm from Portland, Maine and I was ranked #3 overall in our recruitment class. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to play here or Ohio State but I'm happy with my choice." Rebecca said.
"Hi, I'm Mckenna Bertinelli, forward. I'm from Boston, Mass. This will be my first time playing on an all girls team so I might be a bit rough around the edges with the rule differences. But I know that I will make up for it on the ice." I offered up.
"All modest now but you were the #1 overall recruit last year McKenna, or should I say Mac Truck. As long as you keep putting up numbers like you did in high school nothing else matters. We are really excited to have you three on the team." One of the girls on the couch said.
"That is right, McKenna here was the #1 recruit last year, but that high school. Game pace is much faster here in college and the competition is tougher. I know that we have a few people who aren't living in the hockey house this year. Those girls raise their hands." Coach said.
There were eight girls who raised their hands. From the looks of it, it was mostly the upper classmen, Rebecca and myself.
"We tried to have the underclassmen stay in the house, with your exception McKenna because of your late decision. But from my understanding you are staying in Ogg Residence Hall correct?" Coach asked.
"I am." I answered.
"So am I." Rebecca said.
"Good so Assistant Coach Jackie Mayfield is going to hand out your schedules for September. When we get close to the end of the month we will hand out the new schedules. I will say that we ended last season on a good note and I'm looking forward to inject some new blood into the team as we are losing quite a few of you guys next year. I know you guys want a national championship before you graduate and this year we are in a great position to win.
"I'm not going take up too much more of your time, if you have any questions my phone number is on the packet along with the rest of the coaching staff. Our first team practice is tomorrow morning so please don't overdo it tonight at the men's house, otherwise you will pay for it as a team tomorrow." Coach Decker said.
Coach Jackie handed everyone their packets and when she was done, her and Coach Decker didn't stick around for much longer. Pulled us three freshman aside for a few minutes to make sure we had everything we needed so far on campus. Once we were all good they left us with the rest of the team. I went through the schedules and saw our first game is in two weeks. Practice is going to be intense over the first few days for sure. Going over the schedule it isn't too bad after we get through the first two weeks.
"So are you going to the men's house later?" Rebecca asked as I looked around the room at everyone getting to know each other.
"Yea, if I don't my friend will have my head." I said and turned to her. Rebecca looks to be my age. She is smaller in height but a has a good amount of muscle on her.
"Does this friend have a name?" Rebecca asked.
"Travis Reed." I answered.
"Now I know who to ask for all of you tricks on the ice." Rebecca said and chuckled.
I chuckled along with her and was pulled into conversation with our team captains, Megan and Toni. The two captains wanted to make it clear that just because I lived in a dorm, I would always have a place here in the house. Rebecca and I worked the room together getting to know our new teammates. It made it a bit easier to get to know some of these women with another newbie by my side.
After we met everyone in the room the captains ordered dinner for the team and we ate together. It was great to start building relationships with everyone on the team and when we were finished we all walked over to the men's house together. Our team captains walked right into the house and we all followed behind them. We all gathered around in the living room of the men's house and it didn't take long for the teams to intertwine. Travis came racing down the stairs and almost fell before he made it to the landing.
I chuckled as his eyes lit up when he found me. He pushed his way through the group and came over to me. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and took in the rest of the group. It looks like everyone already seemed to know each other, even the new plays.
"I managed to grab you a black cherry White Claw before they were all gone." Travis said and pulled out the can he mentioned along with one for himself.
"Thanks dude." I said and cracked open the can. As I took my first sip the team captains gathered in the middle of the living room and shushed all those who were talking.
"For those who don't know me I'm Chadwick Allegretti, Co-Captain of the men's team and I want to be the first to say that we are all going to have a great year!" Chad yelled to a crowd of cheers.
"That's right! Tonight we are just getting to know each other. We also wanted to let everyone know that we have open door policies between our houses." Megan said next.
"That open door policy applies to us captains. If anybody is having problems with anything our doors are always open no matter the time." Toni added.
"So tonight we are just going to get to know each other. There are some alcoholic beverages in the kitchen but I suggest taking it easy as tomorrow we start practicing." The other co-captain of the men's team said.
"Let's have a good night tonight!" Chad said and held up his beer.
We all raised our drinks and after we cheers we all broke off into different groups. I snuck away with Travis up to his room. He is sharing with one other guy and has a raised bed. Under it sat his desk and some cabinets for clothes.
"Did your mom really make your bed?" I asked and took a seat at his desk chair.
"You know how she is. I'm the baby so she does everything for me." Travis said and took a sip of his own White Claw.
That's true. When Travis' older brothers left the nest, Mama D went into overdrive to make sure that anything Travis wanted he got.
"How is your mom doing on the drive back?" Travis asked.
"She stopped for the night in Ohio and will finish the drive tomorrow. Since my roommate went home last night mom was able to stay in the dorm with me so she can splurge on a nicer motel tonight." I answered.
"Your roommate went home?" Travis asked.
"Yea, apparently she lives about an hour from campus. Oh and Chad is her older brother. Is he as much as a douche as he comes off as?" I asked.
"From the little I've talked to him, yes, better just to stay clear." Travis said.
Before either of us could say anything the door to his room opened and Rebecca, Chad and Megan were standing there.
"We've been looking for you guys, come on." Megan said and came into the room and pulled me out of the desk chair.
"What were you two doing here?" Chad asked and clapped Travis' back as we walked out of the room.
"Talking, McKenna and I played hockey together at home." Travis supplied as we made our way down the stairs.
"So this is the friend hum?" Rebecca asked as we walked back into the living room.
"He is the one." I answered and got pulled into a game of pong.
Once the rules were known, Rebecca and I played against Megan and another girl on the team. It didn't take long for the rest of my White Claw to disappear as the game went on. Travis managed to get me another as we played. Rebecca and I had really good game chemistry and we made quick work of the first team. When we won the first game Travis and his roommate Elliot stepped up to play us.
They weren't that bad of a team but Rebecca and I still cleaned up against them. Rebecca and I got to know each other a bit more while we played another game against our goalie Nicole and defensemen Lilly. I have a feeling we are going to work well together if coach puts us on the same line. After we won our third game in a row I thought now might be the time to make my way back to the dorm. We have an 9am practice tomorrow and I want to get some sleep tonight.
I made my rounds to say goodbye to my new teammates and Travis. He pulled me into a tight hug before letting me go. Just as I was saying goodbye to Megan, Rebecca came up behind me and said she was leaving too. I was happy to know I wouldn't have to walk back to the dorm by myself.
Rebecca and I left the house shortly after 9 and made it back to the dorm about 15 minutes later. As we got back to the dorm I found out that Rebecca's room is just down the hall from me. We made a plan to meet up tomorrow morning so we could walk to the rink together. But finally was able to close the door behind me and I sighed in the quietness in the apartment. I locked the door behind me and put my hockey schedule down on the kitchen table. I opened the fridge and found there was some food inside. I just grabbed a water bottle and turned around to look at the living room.
Everything was dark and Cassie's door was partially opened. I walked over to it and gentle knocked on the door and pushed it open a bit more to find my roommate slumped over on her bed with her eyes closed. A book was half opened in her hand and large reading glasses were askew on her nose. I put my water bottle down and walked into her room. Carefully I took the book from her hand and put it on her nightstand. Next I took her glasses off and place them down on her book. Once they were gone I pulled a blanket up to cover her body.
After she was settled I left her room and pulled the door shut behind me. I went about my nightly routine and got my gear ready to go tomorrow morning. Once it was all together I changed into some pajama's and got into bed. I'm excited to see what my first team practice will look like tomorrow.