The Puck Bunny

One

I listened to the cicadas buzzing as I drove across the border from Pennsylvania to Ohio. It was a balmy summer evening, and my first destination was Toledo, OH for the night.

My mom wasn't overly thrilled with the idea of me driving myself from New York to Minnesota alone, but I had managed to convince her. I was only splitting up the trip because only an idiot would attempt to drive the whole almost 21-hour journey to Minnesota in one trip.

My mom also wasn't overly thrilled with the idea of me attending a school so far away, but also a school renowned for their hockey team. Many Minnesota Gophers had been to the Olympics following their college years and my mom knew hockey was the reason I had picked U of M. Matter of fact, we'd had several – and I do mean several – long and painstaking conversations over the deal I made when I was fifteen.

No hockey.

I was allowed to watch hockey games, and I did frequently, but I wasn't allowed to own any hockey gear or memorabilia, I wasn't allowed to date any hockey players and I certainly wasn't allowed to play. I had been a promising hockey player, playing ice in the winter season and field in the offseason. But it all changed and one day, my mom gave me the ultimatum.

I won't go into the details of it all, but one choice was figure skating. I knew it was the closest I would ever get to the rush of being on the ice. I'd just be in a tight dress and makeup, rather than my pads and gear. I agreed and made the promise over and over again when I got accepted to Minnesota. It was no joke either, she had people in that school that were going to keep an eye on me.

Of course, I didn't care because part of my deal with the head coach – Coach Roberts – was that I had access to the rink when practices weren't on, to keep up with my skating.

I was pretty good at skating actually; I even won a couple of prestige competitions when I was in high school. But I wasn't going to college just to figure skate. I wanted to make something of my life and the only other thing I enjoyed more than hockey and skating was writing. So here I was, travelling 20 hours away from home to go to college to be a writer while still being able to have my comfort of skating.

I made it to Toledo at around 7 in the evening. I'd been driving since just before lunch and had only stopped for gas and the bathroom. Before I'd even checked into my hotel room for the night, I was on the phone to my mom.

"I'm in Toledo" I said when she answered.

"Were you speeding?"

"No ma'am, roads weren't that busy"

"Okay, call me when you leave in the morning, and again when you get to Minnesota" She said, hanging up the phone.

I know how she must look and sound but to be honest, this was the way she was. And I knew she wasn't being rude, this was her odd way of showing concern, and love.

Although she did lecture me a lot before I'd left, I had to thank the heavens she wasn't overbearing and constantly breathing down my neck, like some parents can be, She may not exactly trust me but she's not keeping me in the nest, she knew enough to know I needed to go, and she has allowed it to happen. I knew there would be no surprise visits, no daily phone calls and no nagging. And I loved that about my mother, considering I'd been independent from birth.

Without another thought to my mom, I climbed out of my car and walked into the main reception of the place I'd booked to stay the night. And once I was in my room, despite the rumbling in my stomach, I went and showered to freshen up.

I'd always loved being in the shower. It was the one place I felt I could be by myself growing up, plus the warm water and a clean feeling on your body does wonders for anxious feelings.

Eventually I began to feel slightly light headed enough for me to realise I was hungrier than I was anything else, and that I should probably go get some food. I slipped back into my jean shorts from the day and threw on a Rangers jersey I hadn't worn in a long time.

I know my mom had always said 'no hockey memorabilia', but she couldn't have eyes on me in Toledo. Which is why I figured this was safe enough.

As I walked back to my hotel room, I remembered how much I hated summer. The unwelcome sticky feeling of body parts against one another, glistening with sweat made me want to gag. Minnesota was slightly cooler than New York, and the winters were what I looked forward to most. Because although indoor rinks are where I spend the majority of my time, nothing beats skating out on a fresh frozen lake. I wasn't 100% convinced I was going to find a frozen lake in the middle of Minneapolis, but stranger things have happened.

Once back in my room, I was reminded of something I despised as much as summer, falling asleep. Part of the reason I kept myself so busy with school, work and skating was so that I could fall asleep out of pure exhaustion. Having to lay there and actually try to fall asleep was something I hated. Although my casual 8-hour drive today did play into my body deciding it was too exhausted to fight it, and I thankfully fell asleep pretty quickly, only waking up to my alarm at 5 am the next morning.

I groaned as I found my phone and turned the damned alarm off. I could tell the sun was about to rise and I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Not just so I could get to Minnesota before 5 pm, but also so I could get as far away from New York as my mom agreed to let me and as soon as possible.

I needed to get to Minnesota by 5, because that was the cut-offs for the dorm move-in. Thank god for my organised personality, because I had applied for a single room not long after I'd gotten accepted. As in, the day the request form was made available. I'd sent everything through in an urgent email and simply stated I wasn't going to share a room, so they had better find somewhere for me. The lady at U of M had called me to say that mine was the first application sent in, so just because I'd amused her with my want to be on time, she had already put my name down and locked me in a single dorm room.

I also needed to get out of Toledo, before it got too hot to be here. Plus, I wanted to put as much distance between me and New York as I was allowed, and I wanted to do it ASAP.

So, with a 10-hour drive still ahead of me, I checked out of my hotel (thankful for the 24-hour reception) and was on the road by 5:30, on my way to Minnesota. I was more than relieved to find myself at the campus entrance at 3:45. After collecting my parking permit, finding a park, finding the orientation common and getting all the info I needed to move into my room, it was 4:30 and I was finally getting things upstairs.

I didn't have much stuff with me. I didn't have much stuff at all. Two boxes of books, a large suitcase of clothes and a few other homely bits and pieces would only take me two trips, three max. Once I was at my car, getting my first load of things together, a voice spoke.

"Need a hand?" It asked and I looked to find a guy standing by my car, watching me. He wore a Gophers hockey jersey, at least I think it was hockey, and the maroon material made his olive skin pop and brown eyes sparkle.

I quickly regained my composure and smiled at the guy.

"Sure, that'd be great."

"I'm Cooper, Tyler Cooper"

"Carter Pruitt, nice to meet you Tyler Cooper" 

Photo of Carter Pruitt