Who Do You Think You Are?
chapter six
Alyssa was speechless; nobody had ever dedicated a goal towards her. But she wasn’t going to let this change her impression of John. After all, he did call her a whore. She turned her attention back to the game, things were going well, Canada was winning 5 – 0. Then, PK skated up the side and then cut into the middle; he attempted to do a ‘spin-o-rama,’ but fanned on it. Pat wasn’t that happy with it.
“Soobie-doo, get that spin-o-rama out of your repertoire right now!!”
The team erupted into laughter, as PK’s face turned beet red. Let’s just say the next time PK had the puck, he passed it to John. The game ended in a 7 – 0 victory for Canada, the team were once again on the bus heading back to the hotel. PK and Alyssa were having a heated discussion.
“Ovechkin?” Alyssa shrieked, “Are you serious?”
“What? And like Crosby is much better?”
Alyssa laughed, “Uh…YAH! Crosby is SO much better, so Oveckin may be a pure goal scorer. But Crosby can do everything in between.”
PK stared at Alyssa, “There’s nothing I can say to convince you, is there?”
“Nope,” Alyssa said with a smile.
The next day was Christmas Eve and unfortunately, the team had to practice and couldn’t be with their families. The team rented out the dining hall and had a huge dinner, including turkey and all the trimmings. Christmas morning was a little different this year, as the boys decided to exchange Secret Santa presents. That’s when Alyssa spotted one with her name on it. She looked the team, giving them a questioning look, but the team looked just as confused.
Alyssa carefully unwrapped the present to reveal a framed picture. A picture of Sidney Crosby. An autographed picture of Sidney Crosby. Alyssa squealed in delightment.
Alyssa, I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. I know the boys really like having you with the team, push them hard. Hope you get the 5th gold. Love, Sidney Crosby
Alyssa squealed again, “I can’t believe this! Who did this?”
The team shrugged and then Evander nodded in the direction of John, who was attempting to look in every direction except Alyssa’s. Alyssa smiled and waited for the team to go back to their respective rooms. She pranced over to John, giving him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. A blush creeped onto John’s cheeks.
“Don’t think you’re out of the bad books yet,” Alyssa said, with a serious face. “But this does help. How did you get this?”
John smiled, “I met Sidney a few years back and well I heard you talking or rather arguing with PK. So I assumed that you were a Crosby fan. I called him up, told you about him and voila, an autographed picture. He says that he wants to meet the famous Alyssa too.”
Alyssa’s eyes grew wide, “The Sidney Crosby wants to meet me? I think I’m going to faint.”
John laughed, “Come on, we did to get to practice.”
Boxing Day came all too quickly, and the boys were buzzing in the dressing room. Their first game of the competition; against the Czech Republic, Alyssa was stressing. She was pacing back and forth in the dressing room, nervously running her hands through her hair. She looked over to Zack, “Tell my dad, I went for a walk to clear my head, okay?” Zack nodded.
Alyssa sneaked out of the dressing room and wandered throughout the arena, the game wasn’t starting for another 30 to 45 minutes, so it was relatively quiet. She felt her feet guide her, not really looking where she was going, until she stumbled upon a large group of boys playing soccer. Alyssa watched the group for awhile, and then one of the boys noticed her.
“Can we help you?”
Alyssa startled, didn’t respond at first. “Uh…I…Sorry. I’ll just, leave.”
“Wait! Aren’t you Pat Quinn’s daughter?”
“Yes…”
The boy walked over to Alyssa, “I’m Tyler Johnson.”
“Alyssa Quinn.”
Tyler laughed, “I know. So how did you manage to stumble across Team USA?”
Alyssa’s eyes grew wide; she was currently talking to the enemy. “Uh…sheer luck? We have a game soon and I needed to clear my head. And now, I’m lost.”
“Well, I can walk to you back. Only if you want,” Tyler said with a smile.
Alyssa stepped back and looked more closely at Tyler; short, light brown hair, with matching brown eyes and nice complexion. Plain and simple; he was cute.
“Sure,” Alyssa said shyly.
Tyler and Alyssa talked as he led her back to the dressing room. They learned they had similar interests; photography, reading and camping. Alyssa had promised that when Tyler and the Spokane Chiefs visited the Vancouver Giants that she would come and visit.
“Well, here we are. Safe and sound,” Tyler said, stopping in front of the dressing room door.
“Yah…” Alyssa said hesitantly.
“I was wondering, if I could get your number. Cause, I really had good time talking to you and –”
“You’re rambling,” Alyssa said, laughing, as she reached for her phone. They were finishing up swapping phone numbers, when someone opened the door. “Alyssa,” Pat growled. “Inside, now.”
Alyssa glared at her father, “Bye Tyler, nice meeting you. And I’ll talk to you later.”
Pat grabbed his daughter’s arm and pulled her into the dressing room, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I got lost, that’s what happened.”
“I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself.”
“Yes father, because the hormone raged teenagers out there are so much different from the ones in here,” she said, pointing towards the team getting ready.
“Alyssa, I’m not going to argue with you. The game’s about to begin, I couldn’t convince the council to let you sit on the bench. So your seat is right behind our bench.”
Alyssa nodded and turned on her heel, not saying a word to her father. The game was fantastic, Canada won by a landslide; 8 – 1. John scored 2 goals, Zack had one and even Ryan Ellis, the youngster got a goal. She went down to the dressing room to congratulate the team, when she was stopped by a reporter.
“Alyssa!”
Alyssa turned around to see James Cybulski, who she had met at CFB Petawawa. “Hey James!”
“So how do you think the team’s doing?”
“Great, all thanks to my notes.”
“Notes?”
“I do research for the team; I study the other team’s habits and find their weaknesses. Then I tell my father and then he talks with his coaching staff about they can do to exploit the weaknesses.”
“Good to know, I might do a special on you; The ‘Behind the Scenes’ people of Team Canada.”
Alyssa shook her head, “It’s a Team Canada secret. Why don’t you do a special on Tavares and Subban? They’ve been friends for like ever and their parents were friends before that.”
“That’s a good idea; I’ll talk to you later.”
Alyssa finally weaved her way into the dressing room; the whole team had huge smiles on their faces. She went to each stall, congratulating each player. She stumbled upon John’s stall, who was beaming.
“Hey John,” Alyssa said, quietly. “Nice goals.”
John was surprised, “Uh…thanks. What happened earlier with your dad?”
Alyssa’s face hardened, “Nothing.” She walked away to talk to the rest of the team, leaving a very confused John. She got to Evander who didn’t look very happy.
“You’re leading him on,” he said, bluntly.
Alyssa looked back to John, who looked dazed, “I know. I just don’t know what to say.”
“Tell him the truth.”
“But what if I don’t even know the truth?”
“Soobie-doo, get that spin-o-rama out of your repertoire right now!!”
The team erupted into laughter, as PK’s face turned beet red. Let’s just say the next time PK had the puck, he passed it to John. The game ended in a 7 – 0 victory for Canada, the team were once again on the bus heading back to the hotel. PK and Alyssa were having a heated discussion.
“Ovechkin?” Alyssa shrieked, “Are you serious?”
“What? And like Crosby is much better?”
Alyssa laughed, “Uh…YAH! Crosby is SO much better, so Oveckin may be a pure goal scorer. But Crosby can do everything in between.”
PK stared at Alyssa, “There’s nothing I can say to convince you, is there?”
“Nope,” Alyssa said with a smile.
The next day was Christmas Eve and unfortunately, the team had to practice and couldn’t be with their families. The team rented out the dining hall and had a huge dinner, including turkey and all the trimmings. Christmas morning was a little different this year, as the boys decided to exchange Secret Santa presents. That’s when Alyssa spotted one with her name on it. She looked the team, giving them a questioning look, but the team looked just as confused.
Alyssa carefully unwrapped the present to reveal a framed picture. A picture of Sidney Crosby. An autographed picture of Sidney Crosby. Alyssa squealed in delightment.
Alyssa, I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. I know the boys really like having you with the team, push them hard. Hope you get the 5th gold. Love, Sidney Crosby
Alyssa squealed again, “I can’t believe this! Who did this?”
The team shrugged and then Evander nodded in the direction of John, who was attempting to look in every direction except Alyssa’s. Alyssa smiled and waited for the team to go back to their respective rooms. She pranced over to John, giving him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek. A blush creeped onto John’s cheeks.
“Don’t think you’re out of the bad books yet,” Alyssa said, with a serious face. “But this does help. How did you get this?”
John smiled, “I met Sidney a few years back and well I heard you talking or rather arguing with PK. So I assumed that you were a Crosby fan. I called him up, told you about him and voila, an autographed picture. He says that he wants to meet the famous Alyssa too.”
Alyssa’s eyes grew wide, “The Sidney Crosby wants to meet me? I think I’m going to faint.”
John laughed, “Come on, we did to get to practice.”
Boxing Day came all too quickly, and the boys were buzzing in the dressing room. Their first game of the competition; against the Czech Republic, Alyssa was stressing. She was pacing back and forth in the dressing room, nervously running her hands through her hair. She looked over to Zack, “Tell my dad, I went for a walk to clear my head, okay?” Zack nodded.
Alyssa sneaked out of the dressing room and wandered throughout the arena, the game wasn’t starting for another 30 to 45 minutes, so it was relatively quiet. She felt her feet guide her, not really looking where she was going, until she stumbled upon a large group of boys playing soccer. Alyssa watched the group for awhile, and then one of the boys noticed her.
“Can we help you?”
Alyssa startled, didn’t respond at first. “Uh…I…Sorry. I’ll just, leave.”
“Wait! Aren’t you Pat Quinn’s daughter?”
“Yes…”
The boy walked over to Alyssa, “I’m Tyler Johnson.”
“Alyssa Quinn.”
Tyler laughed, “I know. So how did you manage to stumble across Team USA?”
Alyssa’s eyes grew wide; she was currently talking to the enemy. “Uh…sheer luck? We have a game soon and I needed to clear my head. And now, I’m lost.”
“Well, I can walk to you back. Only if you want,” Tyler said with a smile.
Alyssa stepped back and looked more closely at Tyler; short, light brown hair, with matching brown eyes and nice complexion. Plain and simple; he was cute.
“Sure,” Alyssa said shyly.
Tyler and Alyssa talked as he led her back to the dressing room. They learned they had similar interests; photography, reading and camping. Alyssa had promised that when Tyler and the Spokane Chiefs visited the Vancouver Giants that she would come and visit.
“Well, here we are. Safe and sound,” Tyler said, stopping in front of the dressing room door.
“Yah…” Alyssa said hesitantly.
“I was wondering, if I could get your number. Cause, I really had good time talking to you and –”
“You’re rambling,” Alyssa said, laughing, as she reached for her phone. They were finishing up swapping phone numbers, when someone opened the door. “Alyssa,” Pat growled. “Inside, now.”
Alyssa glared at her father, “Bye Tyler, nice meeting you. And I’ll talk to you later.”
Pat grabbed his daughter’s arm and pulled her into the dressing room, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I got lost, that’s what happened.”
“I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself.”
“Yes father, because the hormone raged teenagers out there are so much different from the ones in here,” she said, pointing towards the team getting ready.
“Alyssa, I’m not going to argue with you. The game’s about to begin, I couldn’t convince the council to let you sit on the bench. So your seat is right behind our bench.”
Alyssa nodded and turned on her heel, not saying a word to her father. The game was fantastic, Canada won by a landslide; 8 – 1. John scored 2 goals, Zack had one and even Ryan Ellis, the youngster got a goal. She went down to the dressing room to congratulate the team, when she was stopped by a reporter.
“Alyssa!”
Alyssa turned around to see James Cybulski, who she had met at CFB Petawawa. “Hey James!”
“So how do you think the team’s doing?”
“Great, all thanks to my notes.”
“Notes?”
“I do research for the team; I study the other team’s habits and find their weaknesses. Then I tell my father and then he talks with his coaching staff about they can do to exploit the weaknesses.”
“Good to know, I might do a special on you; The ‘Behind the Scenes’ people of Team Canada.”
Alyssa shook her head, “It’s a Team Canada secret. Why don’t you do a special on Tavares and Subban? They’ve been friends for like ever and their parents were friends before that.”
“That’s a good idea; I’ll talk to you later.”
Alyssa finally weaved her way into the dressing room; the whole team had huge smiles on their faces. She went to each stall, congratulating each player. She stumbled upon John’s stall, who was beaming.
“Hey John,” Alyssa said, quietly. “Nice goals.”
John was surprised, “Uh…thanks. What happened earlier with your dad?”
Alyssa’s face hardened, “Nothing.” She walked away to talk to the rest of the team, leaving a very confused John. She got to Evander who didn’t look very happy.
“You’re leading him on,” he said, bluntly.
Alyssa looked back to John, who looked dazed, “I know. I just don’t know what to say.”
“Tell him the truth.”
“But what if I don’t even know the truth?”