Free Portal by Imogen Rose Page A

Dr. Lee seemed to command attention and there were no whispers or chatting during class thankfully. We put our homework on an open folder on Dr. Lee’s desk on the way out.
    Kellan brushed past me on the way out the door and said, “Beat you at Guitar Hero later, Shrimp?”
    I could feel his breath on my neck and felt strangely drawn to him. I nodded thankfully and squeezed his arm. He was sweet to make an effort to make me feel better. On the way to the computer lab, I asked Maria if she had seen the new girl in class.
    “I didn’t notice, Arizona. You had my attention, the whole class’s attention!”
    I nodded embarrassed, “Yes, I’m sorry about that. I’ll have to apologize to Kellan, again.”
    “What on earth’s up with you two? Did you tell him about the hockey? Is he annoyed?”
    “I didn’t. Why would he be annoyed anyway?”
    She shrugged, “I guess he wouldn’t. I just don’t get it. There’s definitely something up with you two.”
    I shook my head in disagreement but she rolled her eyes.
    "Why does Dr. Lee want to see you?” she asked moving on.
    “Oh, I’m just going to ask him about trying out, forms and all that stuff.”
    “You could just get all that from Harry. Have you told him yet?” she asked.
    “No, but I will, soon. This evening maybe.”
    “Make sure you do. It won’t be pleasant if he finds out from anyone else. You can see that, can’t you?” she asked pointedly, obviously having lost all confidence in my judgment. I nodded and reassured her that I would take care of it.
    I wandered over to Dr. Lee’s office after computer lab and knocked at the door.
    “Come in,” sounded his surprisingly firm voice.
    I went in and waited for him to ask me to sit. Dr. Lee is a very serious looking man. I hadn’t seen him smile yet. He is about five foot ten inches tall and slender. He appeared very formal in his gray slacks, navy blazer and red bow tie. He was a bit intimidating really, which was kind of weird as I was sure I could flatten him if I had to.
    He waived me to a chair and asked, “Are you having any problems in physics, Arizona?”
    I took a deep breath, “No, I am actually here to talk to you about ice hockey. You’re the coach?”
    “I’m the director, not the coach. That would be Coach Stanislaw. Is there anything I can help you with?”
    So, he was not the coach. That made sense. Maybe it would be better to make up a pretend physics issue to discuss with him and wait with the hockey stuff until I found Coach Stanislaw.
    He continued, “Your brother is an amazing hockey player and we see a bright future for him in college hockey. I wasn’t aware that you had an interest in ice hockey, Arizona. My daughter plays hockey, for Princeton University now.”
    I was surprised to hear that he had a hockey-playing daughter.
    “Did she go to school here?” I asked with newfound respect for Dr. Lee.
    “She did,” he replied with pride.
    This was looking a bit more promising so I decided to throw myself into it.
    “I was hoping to tryout for the varsity team. I guess I just need some information about the times and any forms I have to fill out. Do I need to fill out a medical form?”
    He looked surprised, “Arizona, we don’t have a girl’s team. I wish we did. Tanya, my daughter, played for a local triple A team, The Mountain Cats. Have you heard of them?”
    I shook my head as he continued.
    “I know the coach fairly well and my wife was their manager for a few years. I’ll be happy to contact them for you,” he offered.
    That did sound mildly interesting, and perhaps I would look into that at some point. It would be fun playing with girls. However, at the moment the priority was getting onto the varsity team.
    “I understand that if there is no girl’s team available at the school, then the school is obliged to let me try out for whatever team is available. All boys or not,” I informed him firmly.
    “That’s true, Arizona,” he agreed. “It will be hard