Hockey Boys vs Hockey Girls

One

Marina Laswick as Kaelin Summers

Kaelin

Hockey.

One word. One sport. Simple.

But the farthest thing from.

"Kaelin!" A girl on my team yells. I can see the path of the puck in my head before I receive it. I will shoot towards the five-hole, where Hazel will tip the puck over the goalies blocker, and we will win. I swiftly fake a pass to my fellow defence man, then shoot the puck. It hits its mark on her stick, and flies upwards into the top right corner of the net, just above the goalie's blocker.

The crowd roars when the ref's arm goes down, signalling the goal. I grin and race over to Hazel, who to be honest looks slightly mystified at her success. I smash her into the boards in a tight hug. We showed those boys who is boss, as per usual. I might also add that they look pissed. They are slashing their sticks against the boards and net, accusing and blaming each other for being beat by a group of 'pathetic' girls.

More girls join our huddle until all seven of us, plus our coach, are in a group hug. Sometimes this is my favourite part of the game because we are all acknowledging the work that we all put in for moments like these. Granted, the stench could kill a grizzly bear, but since we all smell equally terrible, it does not seem to matter as much.

"Okay ladies, let's go." I say. They all murmur in agreement and skate off the ice. I shake hands with the referee and linesmen before following my teammates to the dressing rooms. Just as I reach the narrowest part of the hallway, my back is smashed against the wall as an arm pushes me against it. It is the captain of the opposing team we just beat, not looking too happy.

"Listen here." He growls and smashes me against the wall again. "You better watch your back from now on, Princess, because my boys are not going to take this lightly." He shoves me against the wall once more before stalking off. This wouldn't be the first time I've been threatened by a moody guy after losing a hockey game. They already hate to lose, but if you throw in a dash of sexism it takes them to a whole new level.

I rub the back of my head, feeling around for a bump. I am relieved to find out that my helmet was able to do its job in protecting me from a potential concussion. Satisfied with my lack of injury, I finish walking to the dressing room. The chatter of the girls gets louder the closer I get.

"That shot was amazing!" Ayden yells as she unlaces her skates. She has already removed her helmet, allowing her silky brunette braids freedom from her bandana. Ayden is a classic beauty, with sharp features and lovely deep brown eyes.

"Yes it was!" Hannah agrees, while taking her jersey off. Hannah is one of my best friends in the whole wide world. She has captivating blue eyes and equally beautiful dirty blonde hair. She does have a problem when it comes to drinking, though, but I try not to hound her about it. Her parents are involved with gangs and often mistreat her, leading her to seek out alcohol as a quick fix.

I blush a little at their praise and murmur out a quiet 'thank you'. Only my girls could make me feel shy like this. In most aspects of my life I am a loud, raging, slightly rude bitch. My mom always likes to say that I am not rude, just really sassy.

"Alright ladies, Tuesday night practice at six, be there. Nice shot Kaelin." My coach smiles. Usually she cannot make it to practice (the lady has six kids for crying out loud) so I lead the team. She is the kindest coaches I have ever had, always making sure that all of us are doing alright and that no one is in need of anything.