Page 1 of Eye of the Hurricane
Chapter 1
Katherine
“No one’s goingto take you seriously dressed like that.”
A deep voice echoes from beside me and I know when I turn my head, I’ll find some freshman who’s here for his first practice.
“Bite me,” I scoff, turning to face him.
Clearly, teaching your sons manners before sending them off to college is a lost art. At this rate, I’m not sure the art ever existed in the first place. The way men act sometimes, you’d think I was the first woman to ever pursue a career in sports.
You’d think I have on a clown costume the way he addressed me. I’ve got on a black dress, nothing crazy. I wear a dress every day and I’ve yet to have any issues with higher-ups. The players don’t tend to give me any issues either. When they do, it’salwaysa freshman.
“Just trying to be helpful,” says some guy I’ve never seen before.
I have no clue who this kid is. I’ve been with the team’s PR manager for a couple of years now. First as a shadow, nowas a paid intern. It’s safe to assume if I don’t recognize someone, they’re new.
“I dress like this every day. They seem to take me plenty seriously.” I push past the newbie and over to the coach, who’s currently off to one side watching practice.
“Coach Black? I was hoping I could talk to you for a second,” I announce from beside him. He tears his eyes from the rink and looks down at me. On skates, I’m easily over a foot shorter than him.
“Of course, what’s up?”
“Well… this is my last semester here. I’ll actually be done in just over a month,” I start, fidgeting with my nails. “When I’m done with school, Jacob said he would be putting in a good word for me with the PR team for the South Carolina Sea Dragons. I was… uh… hoping I might be able to get a good word from you as well?”
The stoic look on his face turns into a smile. “Of course! You’ve been great to have. Shooting for an NHL team straight out of college is quite the leap. I’m proud of you for trying.”
Hearing an adult tell me they’re proud of me is unfamiliar and honestly, a little strange for me. I thank him regardless, to be polite. I know deep down he comes from a good place, I’ve just never hadthosekind of people around.
“Thank you. It’s always been my dream. I just always assumed I would have to put in time with another college team or maybe even high school first. But Jacob said he has connections over there and asked me to try.”
“I think it’s amazing you’re shooting for the stars. I just hope you know it’s not a failure if you don’t get the position.”
I’m sure Coach Black knows me well enough by now to know that’s exactly what it will be for me. I don’t take failurewell, nor anything that looks or feels like it. I’ve given everything I have to this dream.
“I’ll be happy no matter where I end up.” It’s only a partial truth. I’ll be happy wherever I end up. I just know nothing will be as great as ending up with The Sea Dragons. The Sea Dragons are South Carolina’s NHL team. The team that I’ve dreamt of ending up with my entire life.
“The freshman aren’t giving you a hard time this year, are they?” Coach asks. I consider lying but there’s no point. He knows the answer. It’s the same every single year. Also, I have no reason to protect sexist little boys from learning their lesson.
“I got the classic ‘you’ll never be taken seriously dressed like that’ from Lockwood,” I laugh. Coach Black doesn’t laugh. Instead, his lips press into a firm line like a disappointed dad. His reaction puts a halt to my laughter.
“I’ll talk to him,” he assures me. I nod my head.
Two years ago, I would have begged Coach not to say anything. I was so hell-bent on keeping the peace, and not drawing attention to the fact that I’m a woman in a traditionally male field. Now, I know I deserve as much attention and respect as anyone else.
I also know that if I keep covering for them, they never learn that what they’re doing is wrong. If making myself uncomfortable helps protect another woman down the line from comments like this, I’ll speak up every time.
Practice wraps up quicker than normal. Coach doesn’t keep them too long for summer practices. On my way off the ice, the newbie, Lockwood, stops me.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I was just joking around,” he says.
I should probably leave it there. Take his apology andmove on with my life. And I would, except that he said he was joking. But no one laughed, not even him.
“Don’t come telling me you’re sorry just because Coach Black gave you a slap on the wrist,” I snap, pointing my finger at his face. His cheeks are beet red and he looks like he might either start crying or stomping his feet. He starts to cut me off, but I continue before he can. “I forgive you, only because I don’t care enough not to. Before you go looking down on women in spaces you don’t think they should be in, consider how much work it took.” I turn on my heel towards Jacob, our PR manager’s, office before Lockwood can say anything else to me.
I makemy way to Jacob’s office to find he’s not there, which almost always means he’s in the locker room talking to the players. I drop myself down on the couch in the corner and shoot Luna, my best friend, a message while I have a second of free time.
Katherine
