Chapter 1: Everything Has A Purpose
There were very few reasons Isabelle Bauer would wake up at 4:04am, and only one reason that she would do it twice a week: hockey practice. Rink time was expensive, and the earlier you practiced, the cheaper it was. That didn't mean she didn't have practice after school twice a week, too.
"I'm up, I'm up.." she muttered into the darkness, feeling around on her nightstand for her screaming alarm clock.
Isabelle was a pretty girl with golden-blond hair, green eyes, and an athletic body. She was 5 foot 6 inches, and close to 110lbs. She looked like a young, well-developed Reese Witherspoon.
Isabelle lazily wobbled across her room, still half-asleep, to her bathroom. She cringed at the brightness of the lights, but instantly felt awake after washing her face. She reaced for the towel, her eyes still closed. She heard a light knock on her bedroom door that made her jump a little.
"Belle, you awake?" It was her 19-year-old brother Vincent, home from college. Isabelle rushed to dry her face; any time with Vincent was a treasure. He was hardly home, always away at his fancy Ivy League school in New Jersey, Princeton. He was a busy man, and home a couple times of the year.
Isabelle got along the best with her older brother, mostly because they were so close in age. Her other siblings, all 6 of them, were under the age of 8. Vinny walked in her room wearing one of her hockey shirts and a pair of sweat pants. She smiled at him; she'd given him that shirt when he left last semester. It was awesome that he'd kept it.
"What's up?" she asked him, turning on the light in her bedroom. He sprawled out on her bed, yawning. Isabelle had no idea why he was awake at this outrageous time.
"Thought I'd get up early, come watch you practice." Vinny was known for his random, sweet gestures. He also knew the way to my heart: through hockey. Anytime I was mad at him, or in a bad mood, he'd start talking about hockey, or take me to a game when he was around. "I'm leaving today, remember? My flight leaves at two, so I thought I'd chill a little with you. Sleep on the plane, since you won't be around when I leave." Isabelle frowned, she'd forgotten Vinny was leaving today. It was September 5th, a Monday. Vinny started school on Wednesday.
"Sounds good. You don't have to go, though. It would have been easier if you had just gone to USF, UF, or FSU you know. A lot closer..." Isabelle joked, searching for her Nike slides. Vinny rolled his eyes and stood up.
"Those schools aren't Princeton, though." Vinny has dreamt of going to Princeton since' he was 9. "Catch you downstairs." He hugged me, kissed my hair,and went on his way. I sighed, shutting the door silently behind him. Vinny was her best friend, aside from Asher Roth.
Asher was 17, and he was a junior. They were on the same line for hockey; she was the center, he the right ring, and a boy named Dustin Carter was their left wing. Isabelle thought about hockey as she got ready, focusing on everything and nothing at the same time. She looked at the clock; it was 4:26, which meant that Asher would be here any minute. He was her ride to practice each morning; Vinny wasn't here to take her anymore, and with the birth of her twin brother and sister Michael and Juliet, her parents were not about to lose any more sleep for their 14 year old daughter. That didn't mean that they didn't support her, though. They just couldn't do it right now, and Asher was more than happy to offer. He had a crush on Isabelle; everyone knew it.
Isabelle grabbed her school bag and bound down the stairs, quietly as ever. Down there she got her cellphone off the kitchen counter, two granola bars, two Gatorade's, and Vinny grabbed her hockey bag. It weighed more than Isabelle. The siblings went out the kitchen door as quietly as they could, and they saw that Asher was already in the driveway. He smiled at them both as he got out of his Jeep. Isabelle smiled back, happy to see him, even though they'd spent the entire weekend together.
"Good to see you, Vinny." Asher greeted her brother like an old friend, reaching out to hug him. Vinny did the same; they were good friends. Asher threw Isabelle's gear bag in the back with his, and helped her get in the Jeep. Always the gentlemen.. Vinny planned on following them to the rink in their mothers car; a 2008 BMW that was her pride and joy, aside from her eight children.
Asher hopped into the Jeep, and pulled carefully out of the Bauer families' half-mile long driveway. He was weirdly quiet this morning.
"You okay, chief?" Isabelle asked, buckling her seat belt. He smiled weakly, shaking his head.
"I'm so hungry it hurts this morning." he laughed, his problem so simple. She smiled back and shook the granola bar in his face, and he smiled. "You always have my back, so thank you."
Asher had a problem eating; he never ate. It's not that he didn't like food, it's just that he honestly forgot to eat. Isabelle sat the two Gatorade's in the cup holders, and Asher smiled again. He could never thank her enough. He sincerely appreciated Isabelle, and the way she cared about him made him adore her even more.
He thought about how he'd had a crush on her since' middle school. He was in 8th grade when she was in 6th. He'd never met a girl so into hockey like she was. He liked that about her; she looked so girly sitting in his Jeep right now, her eyes sparkling, hair blowing in the wind - but in 20 minutes she'd suit up, and she'd play harder than half the guys on the team. She was something special.
The ride to the rink took 15 minutes or so; it was in Brandon. The rink was busy at 5am, with two teams practicing. One of those teams was ours.
The duo pulled into the parking lot, Vinny right behind them, and hopped out of the Jeep quickly. It was always a time crunch to get here.
Asher lifted the big gear bags out of the back, sitting them on the ground. Isabelle made sure to put her cellphone in her school bag, and then shut the door. Every morning she came to the rink in soffe shorts, a random t-shirt, and Nike slides; it was so typically Isabelle, looking like a bum.
As she grabbed her big Bauer bag and stick, Asher and Vinny began laughing.
"Honestly, Belle, that bag must weigh more than you. It's bigger than you too. So odd." he smiled, two steps behind her. They hurried into the locker room where other members of the team were already suiting-up. Among them was the youngest player on the team, second only to 14-year old Belle, Evan Dombrovski . He was fifteen years old, and our goaltender. He and I were good friends.
Each morning, Belle geared up beside Asher and a boy named Edward Knight. He played center, like her, for the 2nd line. They'd been friends for years; in fact, Edward was a good friend of her brother Vinny.
"Morning Princess," Caleb Rowland, a defensemen, said under his breath. He didn't like that Belle was 14 years old on a U17 team, or that she was on the 1st line. He didn't think she was anything special. Belle loathed him deeply.
"Good morning, Caleb!" she replied cheerily; the whole locker room went silent, and then Asher laughed. He wanted to teach Caleb a lesson, but he decided that he'd rather stay on the team. Caleb Rowland was not worth his headache.
Belle continued to her stall, and unzipped her bag. She pulled out a long-sleeved under armour shirt, and put it on over her t-shirt. She then, skillfully, took her t-shirt off from underneath the under armour shirt. Minutes later she was fully geared up, lacing her skates. Just then two of their coaches walked into the locker room.
The head coach was a man named Tyler Adams, a 24 year old school teacher who also happened to be one of her neighbors. The assistant coach was a man named William Adams, who was in his forties, and was the father of her friend and teammate, Samuel Adams.
The coach quickly ran over the plays on the whiteboard, glancing at the door. Two of our coaches were running late; the goaltending coach, Hunter Cooper, and our other assistant coach, Dalton Myers.
When Coach Myers arrived, it was straight onto the ice for the team. Isabelle put on her helmet and found her happy place, as some would call it. She belonged on the ice. She loved it, every single minute of it, and she wasn't going to let anyone like Caleb Rowland ruin that. She was a girl, yes, but she was also a hockey player. No gender discrimination needed. Isabelle was also going to rub it in Caleb's face when she got drafted into the NHL.
"I'm going to make it, no matter what." she whispered to herself as she exited the locker room. "Nobody can stop me."
