Portal - BK 1 Page 5

  The drive to school felt different, it was thrilling glancing over at my new hockey gear. With the Jeep parked and safely locked, I ran over to the gym. I was early. There was a lot of noise coming from the gym, I opened the door, and someone shouted, “They are over in the small gym!”

  So I walked passed the weight room and went to the small gym. The girls were congregated in one corner.

  “Hey, Arizona, glad you came! How are you feeling?” a pretty brunette asked as she came running up to me.

  “Better, but I’m going to sit this one out and cheer the cheerleaders!”

  Maria walked over to me, “You sure? You still look a bit flushed.”

  “I’m ok, really, and I do want to talk to you and Ali about something. Can we grab a pizza after the game?”

  “Sure!”

  “Ok, let’s get started girls!” I heard Ali shout. I looked over at her, she was glowing with excitement, I winked at her and she winked back happily. They got into formation and started with the sequence. I zoned out thinking about Thursday’s hockey tryout. There was no doubt that I was going to have to fight all the battles I had to overcome when I did this at Princeton.

  My cell phone startled me by coming to life with a sharp tone. Strange, it never rings; even Mom uses text. It was Simla. Oh no! I had totally forgotten about her. I vaguely remembered that I was supposed to be doing something for or with her tonight, I couldn’t remember what.

  “Hey, Simla, what’s up?”

  “You were going to give me a ride to Justin’s and do my trig homework….”

  I interrupted her whining, “Simla, I have a game on. Get your mother to drop you off here. She’s not going to say ‘no’ to that, and Justin can pick you up from here. I’ll meet you early before school and I’ll do your homework then.”

  What a pain, whatever happened to Simla? What was she doing here anyway?

  “Oh, never mind, I’ll have Justin pick me up, he’ll do my homework, too,” she said as she metaphorically slammed the phone down. I could feel her disappointment and anger. I would sort it out with her tomorrow.

  The game? Well, since I’m not into basketball at all, I didn’t pay much attention. I cheered for the cheerleaders, they were awesome. There was no way I could have done any of that. No amount of instinct could have helped me out.

  The Spartans won, madness ensued, the team rushed at me and I was up on someone’s shoulder. I felt like I was riding a crazed camel. Everyone was cheering. I threw my hands up in the air and tried to follow the cheering. The camel ride seemed to last an awfully long time, and I thought I would hurl on the camel’s head when I was finally lifted down. The camel turned out to be Robert, the team captain and Ali’s boyfriend. I hoped that this wouldn’t have any repercussions as Ali came bounding up to me. Her first triumph and she was on cloud nine. Robert scooped her up and they took off.

  “Arizona, do you want to ride to the party with me?” Maria asked.

  “Sure, Maria. That would be great. Can we get some pizza first? I need to talk to you and Ali, but she took off so I guess it’s just you and me.”

  “Oh, Ali is riding with us too. She probably just went to get changed. I’ll go and get changed too and meet you here in ten?”

  I nodded as she took off. I waited, pretending to talk on the cell phone so people would leave me alone. I was doing a good job having an imaginary altercation with my mom.

  A text beep sounded.

  When are you getting back home? (from my mother)

  Is 11 pm ok?

  Yes

  Thanks Mom

  That would give me a good excuse to leave the party early. Maria and Ali appeared. Ali was still glowing with excitement. I hugged her.

  “You did great, Ali! That’s the best I’ve ever seen the squad perform.”

  She beamed and we walked toward Maria’s car.

  “I’ll follow you guys in the Jeep. Mom wants me home early.”

  “Ok, Arizona. Shall we head to the pizza parlor at the mall?”

  Maria and Ali got into a red truck as I got into my Jeep and started the engine. I glanced fondly over at my new U+ before I followed the red truck out of the parking lot. We pulled into the strip mall with the sports shop I had visited earlier and parked right outside a small pizza place. We were the only customers. Since I had barely managed lunch, I was starving. We ordered a slice each and sat down in the corner. Maria and Ali looked at me curiously.

  “So what’s up, Arizona? It seemed serious,” Maria said as she took a big bite off her slice.

  “I’m thinking of giving up cheerleading.” I had decided to get straight to the point. Maria put her slice down and Ali just stared at me.

  Maria stuttered, “Cheerleading is our life, it’s what we do! You can’t give it up! Why would you even say such a thing?”

  “I want to give something else a try and cheerleading will clash with it.”

  “What?” Ali practically yelled at me.

  I hesitated and murmured, “Ice hockey.”

  They went silent and looked at each other with somber expressions. Then they burst into laughter amidst snorts and guffaws. Ali’s face was streaming with tears.

  “O-M-G, that’s the funniest thing ever! That’s why we love you so, you are hysterical but B-A-D! You really had us going there for a minute.”

  I took a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair.

  “Wait here a second, I have something to show you,” I said and then left to get my U+ from the Jeep. The girls were still laughing when I came back in, but stopped short when they saw my stick. Maria gave Ali a knowing smile.

  “Trying to impress Kellan? I thought something was up with you two in physics today. Suddenly interested in him? This isn’t the way to go though!” She teased.

  “No! Ali, Maria … I’m serious. I’m trying out on Thursday for the varsity team. It’s just something I have to do. Please try to understand. I’ll still hang with you guys and come to as many cheer meetings as I can.”

  They both looked at me in disbelief, “You can’t even skate well!” Ali murmured.

  I shrugged my shoulders, they could be right. “I just want to give it a try. Humor me, please?”

  They looked at me like I had just completely lost my mind. I guess in a way I had.

  “Will you come and watch me try out on Thursday?” I pleaded. This was going to be hard enough; I really needed their support.

  “I’ve even got a pink helmet, just for you,” I tempted.

  “They won’t let you, Arizona. It’s an all boys team,” said Maria. “Does Harry know?”

  I had no idea who she was referring to so I ignored it for now. Perhaps he was the coach?

  “I’ve checked the rules out. They’ll probably try to stop me, but they are legally bound to let me try out with the boys if they don’t have a girl’s team.”

  Ali looked thoughtful, “Does that mean that boys can try out for the cheer squad? Yikes!”

  “I thought something was up with you today,” said Maria. “Of course, we’ll support you in whatever you decide to do and we’ll be there to cheer you on Thursday. We were all planning to go anyway, weren’t we? If you haven’t told Harry yet, let’s keep this to ourselves for now and not spill at the party.”

  I nodded.

  “Let’s go, hockey girl,” she said as she grabbed my stick and walked out the door.

  I followed them to Robert’s house. We were late but we got a loud cheer. Ali went straight to Robert, kissed him and we didn’t see her again. Maria and I found some chairs by the pool and sat down. We sipped our drinks watching the others goof around. I wasn’t really in the mood since I didn’t know or at least remember any one here. I didn’t see any signs of Justin, Simla, Ariele or Kellan, which I was thankful for. Maria seemed a bit somber too.

  “What’s up, Maria? Not in a party mood?”

  She shook her head as a bunch of basketball players surrounded us.

  “Hi, Arizona, Maria! Where’s
Harry? I thought he’d come tonight,” said one of them.

  “He’s up in Vancouver at a captain’s camp. He’ll be back tomorrow,” replied Maria.

  “Cool,” said the boy, “Tell him ‘hi’ from me.”

  “We will, Ron. I think I’ll head off. You ready to go, Arizona?”

  I nodded. I had been ready to go before we had even arrived here. I guessed that Harry was Maria’s boyfriend and perhaps the hockey captain?

  “Yes, let’s go Maria, I bet you’ve missed Harry?”

  “Yes, it will be good to see him. I’m sure you and Ella have missed him too,” she said as we walked back to the car.

  I lay in bed mulling over my day. All in all it had been fairly successful. I had managed to squirm out of cheerleading and still managed to hold on to Ali and Maria. I felt strangely comfortable in this life and quite excited about what tomorrow would bring. It was clear that I belonged here, but I also belonged in Princeton with Dad. This didn’t make any sense. There were so many loose ends to look into: Rupert, Ariele, Simla, Justin, Ames–well, my whole life here.

  I awoke the next morning with my face soaking wet from Gertrude licks. She had been trying to get me up to let her out for her morning business. I slid my feet into my flip flops and walked her outside, catching a glimpse of Rupert roaring off on his Harley. Cool, I wondered if he would let me ride it.

  I had noticed that there was another bike in the garage. Maybe we could ride together? In fact, why not sneak in and have a go now? I went to the garage and peered at the other Harley. This was some bike, huge. I wasn’t sure that I was big enough to ride it or even strong enough to keep it upright. Running my fingers over the smooth metal, I pushed at the leather seat and then carefully mounted it. I put my hands on the handlebars and turned, closing my eyes, imagining roaring off with it.

  “Wrroooom, wrooooom, wroooom,” laughed a male voice.

  Yikes, busted! I turned around to make up some horribly lame excuse for Rupert but it wasn’t him. It was a boy, probably about the same age as me. He was about six feet tall, well-built, blue eyes and frost-tipped hair. He looked very familiar, but I couldn’t place him. I felt a strong urge to rush over and throw my arms around him but held back. He showed no such restraint though. He came striding over and bear hugged me as he lifted me off the bike.

  “Shrimp, you know to leave my bike alone!”

  His bike? Another one who thought it was ok to call me Shrimp. I turned to look at him, and with a strangely goofy voice replied, “Sorry!”

  “Come on, let’s go in and get some breakfast,” he said as he took my hand and led me inside to the kitchen where he started cracking eggs.

  “Come on, Shrimp, get the bacon, lazy!”

  I got up to get the bacon from the refrigerator and started loading it into the pan. Who was this? He was a total puzzle. What was I doing putting up with this! Just as I was about to run off, I heard Mom come into the kitchen.

  “Good morning, Arizona, Harry. Ella’s not feeling well, so I’m going to take some toast and juice up to her room for her. Harry, did you sleep well? You can unpack when you get back from school. Arizona, remember the rules… your bedroom is your responsibility, tidy it up.”

  Harry? Could this be the Harry? Maria’s boyfriend, what was he doing here?

  “Good Morning, Mom,” said Harry and planted one on her forehead. “Dad had to leave early. He said he would try to come home and have lunch with you and Ella at noon.”

  I was baffled, yet again! Why did he call my mom, Mom? By Dad, did he mean Rupert? I shook my head in disbelief. Of all the strange things going on, this was the last thing I could’ve been prepared for. Could this be my brother? If so, it must be a half brother. How could that be? It had been just Ella and me for years. Where did Harry come from? Was he adopted? I had so many questions, but no way to get immediate answers without appearing to be losing it, which I was. So, I went back to concentrating on the bacon, sizzling happily in the pan. Mom started loading a tray for Ella while Gertrude was jumping on me in a frenzy trying get to the bacon.

  “How was camp, Harry? Did you learn anything new?”

  “It was cool, Mom. There were a lot of college scouts at it. I had fun,” replied Harry happily.

  So, it was the same Harry: ice-hockey captain, Maria’s boyfriend… my brother? Wow!

  “Shrimp, is that bacon done yet?”

  I nodded and threw the bacon on to a plate and put it on the table. Harry had everything else under control. Mom left with Ella’s tray.

  “What’s up with Ella?” I asked Harry for something neutral to talk about.

  “She woke up with a tummy ache early this morning. Mom’s going to stay home with her. We’re having a family dinner at six. You don’t have cheer practice tonight, do you?”

  “No,” I murmured. I’d have to find a way to break the news to him. I was no longer his cheer sister. This was so insane… my brother?

  My mind wandered to hockey. How would I tell them all? I needed to test the ice. What if I just couldn’t skate, I didn’t want to have to embarrass myself. I needed some alone ice time to check out my skills before I shared my hockey news with the family.

  There was a loud wrooming sound coming from outside. Was Rupert back? I saw a black leather covered figure walk toward the patio doors. It didn’t look like Rupert. I looked down at my bunny pajamas in horror. I had felt oddly comfortable wearing them around Harry, but now I suddenly felt self conscious.

  “Ah, good,” said Harry and got up to get another plate.

  The door opened. I froze as the helmet came off and the face came into view. Hazel eyes stared right at me, smirked, and drawled, “Hello, Shrimp.”

  I was horrified. Kellan removed his leather jacket, threw it over the chair and sat down as Harry handed him some bacon and eggs. I tried not to look at him, but his very presence made me feel uncomfortable and all I wanted to do was flee. However, that would mean standing up and revealing the full bunny pajama spectacle. I could feel his eyes boring into me.

  “Cute bunnies,” he teased.

  That’s it! I stood up and fled from the room. I could see Harry shrugging his shoulders at Kellan who looked totally taken aback.

  I fled up the stairs, stopping by Ella’s room to check in on her. She was laying down looking miserable, poor thing. I brought over a couple of her J-14 magazines for her to look over to try to take her mind off things. I left her happily reading the Jonas Brother’s article and went back to my room, and sat and waited for Harry and Kellan to leave so I could go back down.

  After what seemed like a never-ending breakfast, I heard them go outside and roar off on their motorbikes. Phew! What was Kellan doing at the house? Harry and Kellan were obviously friends, I wondered if the breakfast thing was routine. I hoped not.

  I was running late for school now so I hurried to my Jeep. My hockey kit needed to be concealed, so I hid it under some boxes at the far end of the garage and then drove off to school. There was no sign of the boys as I entered the school. I made my way to the school office to find out who the hockey coach was. I had meant to look it up at home but had run out of time. Thankfully, there was a school manual on the table in the waiting area. I quickly looked it up. Dr. Lee, who was also my physics teacher, was listed under hockey. He had been away yesterday, but I assumed that he would be back today. I located his office on the school map, walked over and knocked on his door. No reply, so I took a sheet of paper from my bag and wrote him a note.

  Dr. Lee

  I would be most grateful if you could send a pass for me, so I can talk to you, it’s fairly urgent.

  I would have to get used to Darley for now, I thought to myself. Scratching out the name Stevens, I slid the note under his door. I bumped into Ali and Maria on the way to my locker and we went off to our first class together, biology.

  The rest of the day passed uneventfully. I concentrated on my lessons and tried to remember/recall as many faces as I could. I recalled Meg, in biolo
gy, another good friend. She was on the swim team and in three of my classes. Thankfully, I didn’t see Simla, Ariel or Kellan all day. Reprieve until tomorrow, when I’d have to deal with at least two of them in physics. I left school right after my last class, hurrying out before anyone could grab me for an after-school activity I wasn’t aware of. Once I was safely in my car, I got my iPhone out and located the nearest ice rink. It wasn’t far. I drove off to find it. I felt excited as soon as I saw the arena. With the Jeep parked, I checked the lot for familiar cars and motorbikes. No bikes, so I went inside. It was very quiet.

  “Hi, Arizona, haven’t seen you here for a while, how have you been?”

  I looked over at the lady. She was in her forties or fifties and she had a nice, friendly smile.

  I smiled at her and said, “Hi! I’m fine, just been busy with school. It’s nice and quiet today.”

  “Yes, no one really gets here until later. Are you here to skate? Did you bring your own or do you want to borrow a pair? How’s Harry?”

  “I didn’t plan ahead, so yes, I need to borrow some size eights. Harry’s good. He got back from camp yesterday. I haven’t had the chance to catch up with him yet.”

  “What about the Princess Ella?” she asked as she handed me a pair of figure skates.

  “She isn’t feeling well today so I’m not going to stay long. Thanks!”

  I took the skates and went through the door to the rink and sat down on the bleachers. I had obviously been here before, but it didn’t feel familiar. I put the skates on and walked over to the ice. There was only one kid on the ice having a private lesson with an instructor. They ignored me.

  Although I felt balanced, I just stood on the ice for a few moments to make sure. Then I put one skate in front of the other and pushed off, it seemed to come naturally. As I slid along the ice, I felt well grounded. So I tried a few back wards moves and stops, no issues. I felt fairly confident that my hockey skills were intact.

  Dr. Lee hadn’t sent for me today, which was probably for the best. I felt more confident talking to him now that I was sure of myself.