The Hockey Lie

Chapter 2

TY

August 20

"You ready to go?" Dad asked me as we shut the back of my Silverado.

"Yup," I replied confidently.

"You sure you didn't forget anything?" Dad asked.

"No, Dad. I checked everything and then double checked. And then I triple checked because Mom started freaking out."

"Well, you can't blame her. Her first and only child is leaving for college. We're empty-nesters now," my dad said.

"Dad, I'm moving, like, twenty minutes away. I'll probably come home at least once a month," I assured him.

"I know, I know. She's just a little sad is all. Don't get me wrong, she's very proud of you, but she's emotional about the whole you going to college thing," Dad explained. "She'll be fine, Ty. Don't worry."

"Okay, I won't worry then," I sighed.

"When is Easton coming? I thought you said he was going to help us move you in."

"He's going to meet us at the college," I stated. "I suppose we should get going. He's going to meet us there in a half hour."

"Well, then I guess we should get going. I'll get your mother," Dad said before heading back into the house. I went and got into my truck as my parents came out of the house. They were going to follow me to the college in Dad's car since they wouldn't be staying at there like I was.

About twenty minutes later, we arrived at the University of Minnesota, my home for the next year, at least. I parked my truck, and my parents parked in the spot next to me. We headed to the Student Services building to check-in.

When we reached the Student Services building, I went over to the front desk to check-in. The lady sitting there told me a few things before handing me my dorm room key.

"You're in dorm room number 355 in Centennial Hall, if you didn't already know that," the lady at the desk said.

"Yup, I knew that already but thanks!" I replied with a smile.

"Have a good year!" the secretary called after me. "Oh, and dear, there are some football players over there that would be happy to bring your stuff up to your dorm room for you."

"Okay, thanks!" I said gratefully.

"All right, I'm in Centennial Hall, but we already knew this," I informed my parents.

"Where's that?" asked Mom.

"The east bank of campus, so pretty close to here," I replied. My phone started to buzz, and I answered, "Hey, Easton. Where are you?"

"I'm right outside the Student Services building. Where are you guys?" he asked in reply.

"Were in the Student Services building. We'll be right out."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes. Bye," he said.

"Bye," I replied for hanging up. I turned back to my parents. "I have to go talk to some football players quick. The lady at the front desk said that they'd load up all my stuff and bring it up to the room for us."

"Oh, well that's nice of them," commented Dad.

I went over to talk to the football players and ended up leading four of them out to my truck, my parents following behind us. Easton was already standing by my truck when we got there.

"This is all my stuff," I informed the football players, opening the tailgate of the pick-up.

"Okay, boys, load 'er up," shouted one of the older players. All at once, in an assembly line sort of fashion, the football players unloaded the contents of the back of my truck onto a big cart. Once they were done, the same player that had yelled before asked me, "Where is your dorm?"

"355 Centennial Hall," I replied.

"Okay, sounds good. You guys can follow behind us because we'll need your key to get into the dorm. Then we'll unload everything and be on our way," the football played informed me.

"Okay, thanks," I replied as he and his buddies began pushing the cart in the direction of Centennial Hall.

"Well, I guess you didn't really need me to come," laughed Easton. "I forgot that the football players usually help everyone move in."

"I'm just glad we don't have to carry everything ourselves now," I replied. "I'm going to be living on the third floor."

"Yeah, that would've been difficult. Well, I suppose we should follow them so they can unload everything into your room."

About twenty minutes later, everything was unloaded in my dorm room, my roommate nowhere to be found. I thanked the football players after they were done, and then they left to go help someone else move in.

"Well, it looks like you're pretty much moved in except for organization stuff," commented Dad as he looked around the room.

"Yup, pretty much," I replied. "Those football guys helped a lot. We'd probably still be unloading without their cart and them."

"True that," Easton added in.

"Well, I guess your mom and I can get going. Good luck this year, Ty, and don't forget to visit home every now and then," Dad said, stepping forward to hug me. I hugged him for a while and moved on to my mom.

"Bye, guys. I'll miss you," I said, hugging my mom.

"We'll miss you, too, Ty," Mom replied, tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine. You guys are only like twenty minutes away," I assured her.

"I know, I know. It's just not the same. I can't believe my baby's all grown up."

"I'll see you guys soon. I love you," I told them. I gave them both one last hug before they left my new dorm room, Mom leading.

Dad poked his head back in the room, gave Easton a stern look, and said, "Don't stay too long, now." I knew he was kidding though, because he looked at me and gave me a wink before leaving, this time for real.

"Do you want to stay a little while and help me organize?" I asked Easton.

"I suppose, but I'd better not stay too long," Easton joked.

"You know he was kidding, right?" I scoffed.

"Yes, I know he was kidding, Ty," Easton laughed.

"Just checking. Do you want to open that box over there and make one of the beds? Preferably the bottom bunk," I said, pointing at one of my boxes.

"Sure. Are you sure your roommate won't care which bed she gets?" he asked.

"I hope not, but if she does, I suppose I can move my sheets to the top bunk. Speaking of which, I wonder when my roommate will get here. I guess I didn't even check what her name was."

"Sounds like somebody's a little unprepared," Easton chuckled as he started to make my bed while I started putting my clothes into one of the two wardrobes.

"You know what, I've had a lot on my plate," I defended.

"Like what? Golfing with Cal?"

"Yes, golfing with Cal and keeping up with you is enough to tire a girl out. Not to mention that I've had to pack for college and keep myself in shape so I'm fit for hockey season."

"I suppose that does keep you pretty busy," Easton said, finally agreeing with me. "So when's your first hockey meeting?"

"September 10th. That's when everybody gets to meet each other and we pick our jersey numbers," I told him.

"Cool. What number are you going to pick?"

"55, I'm hoping. Well, as long as none of the upperclassmen take it. If not 55 then I think I'll go with 23."

"Why 55 or 23?" asked Easton. "I know you wore 55 in high school, but what's the reason?"

"Well, 55 was my dad's number when he played here. Not that he played here very long, but you know. It's a family thing," I explained as I continued organizing my stuff. "And 23 would be my second choice because it's my birthday. October 23rd."

"Oh, I see."

"Why did you choose 55?" I asked Easton.

"I don't know, I guess. There's no special reason why. 55 was the first number I ever got when I started playing hockey, and I've kept it throughout the years."

"Well, that's kind of boring," I teased.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know," Easton said.

"That's all right. Everyone has their own story for their jersey number. Some are just more personal than others."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Easton agreed.

When we first got to my dorm, I had left the door open, and the football players were back, only this time they were hauling someone else's stuff, my roommate's stuff, I presumed. The football guys unloaded everything quickly, and when they left I saw a family standing at the door. The family consisted of two parents, a girl that looked to be about my age, and a guy that looked like he was a high school freshman.

"Hey," I said, walking to the door to introduce myself. "I'm Tyra."

"I'm Stephanie, but you can call me Steph," the girl replied. "I guess I'm your roommate."

"Cool, I was wondering when you'd get here," I said.

"Yeah, we were running a little late. Matt over here decided that he needed to hog the bathroom for an hour so I couldn't get in there," she said pointedly, glaring at the boy.

"Sorry, I had to do my hair," he grumbled.

"Sounds like you, Easton," I laughed.

"Hey, I do not spend that much time on my hair," Easton protested.

"Oh, by the way, this is my boyfriend, Easton West," I introduced him to Steph and her family.

"Nice to meet you," Steph greeted, nodding at Easton.

"Well, it looks like everything's up here. We'll see you at Thanksgiving?" asked Steph's mom.

"Yup, I'm coming home for Thanksgiving," Steph replied. "I'll miss you guys." She hugged both of her parents and then her brother. They said a few more good-byes before they were gone.

"So, where are you from?" I asked.

"I'm from Spencer, Iowa," Steph replied.

"Wow, that's pretty far from here," I commented.

"Yeah," Steph agreed. "I'm totally okay with that, though. I kind of wanted to go to college far away from home so I could get a fresh start. It'll be... refreshing, I guess, going to school here. I'll get to meet a lot of new people and get to know a whole new city. Or two, I guess."

"Yeah, I'm from Blaine. That's like twenty minutes from here, but not many people that I knew well in my class are going here. Most of them went out-of-state," I said.

"Wow. I can't imagine going to a school so close to home. That was never really an option for me in my mind. I guess everyone has their own preferences."

"Yeah, my dad went to college here, and it's always been my dream school. I think it was meant to be for me to come here. Not to mention this punk is only like five minutes away from me now," I laughed, pointing at Easton.

"Hey, I am not a punk," protested Easton.

"Sure, whatever you say," I said, unconvinced.

"You guys are too cute!" Steph exclaimed.

"Ha, thanks," I laughed.

"Yeah, I guess we can get along and look cute sometimes. Tyra over here gets grumpy a lot," Easton teased. "And she's not very cute when she's grumpy." I punched his shoulder and he let out a yelp.

"I'll have you know, I'm very cute when I'm grumpy," I glared at him.

"Sure, whatever you say," Easton said nonchalantly. "Well, I suppose I'd better get going so you two can bond or whatever."

"Okay, I'll see you sometime soon, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, definitely. I'll text you when I get home," Easton told me. "Good luck with everything. Be safe. Don't do drugs. Go to class."

"Okay, Easton, I get it," I laughed, standing up to hug him. He gave me a quick kiss and a tight hug.

"I'll see you later. Love you," Easton said, looking into my dark blue eyes.

I looked back into his ocean blue ones and replied, "Love you, too. Good luck with your season this year."

"Thanks. Maybe you and Steph will want to come to a game this year," he suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," I agreed.

"Just let me know when and I'll get you guys tickets. Okay, I'll see you later. Bye," he said. Easton walked towards the door, looked back at me one last time, and gave a quick wave before finally leaving.

"You guys seem like you have a good relationship," Steph speculated.

"Yeah, we're pretty stable," I agreed.

"So what kind of game were you guys talking about?" Steph asked, confused.

"Oh, Easton is a hockey player. He plays for the Wild," I explained.

"The who?" asked Steph.

"The Minnesota Wild, you know, the NHL team?" I said, trying to get her to understand.

"Ohhhhhh that makes more sense, sorry. I don't pay any attention to hockey, or even sports in general, really. Well, except for volleyball. You could say I was pretty good back at my high school, but I'm not playing college volleyball. I mean, I could've, but all the schools I got offers from were pretty close to home. I never really had any desire to play college sports, anyway, so I guess it all worked out."

"I used to play hockey at Blaine," I said.

"Are you playing college hockey here?" asked Steph.

"No," I lied. "I was a pretty good player, but not that good."

"Oh, well I'm sure college will be fun for both of us anyway without sports."

"Yeah, I'm sure," I agreed.

"Do you want to go look around campus a while? Maybe we'll meet some new people," Steph suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," I replied. We headed out of our dorm, locking it behind us.

I knew that I shouldn't have lied to Steph about playing hockey at the U, but I wasn't sure if I could completely trust her to keep my secret yet. I decided that the fewer people that know, the better. Maybe if Steph proved herself that she was trustworthy, I would tell her, but until then, I was just going to have to try to cover myself the best that I could.