Big Changes
001:
Chapter One
“Congratulations, Mckayla!” my family yelled as I walked through the doors of my house.
I froze and blinked a few times, unsure of what was going on. I looked at my parents and saw the bright smile on their faces, saw my Aunt and Uncle and they were trying to control their two children. I looked at everyone confused and then closed the front door, placed my bag on the couch and took a deep breath.
“Whatchya doin’?” I asked as I looked at everyone to see them looking at me intently.
“Well, your Aunt Jena, Uncle Dylan, stopped by to say hi,” mom said and then walked forward and pulled out a paper, “And this came in the mail,” my eyes widened as I saw the long envelope and smiled brightly when I saw the ‘PITT’ logo in the corner, “We couldn’t help ourselves, we opened it! Congrats baby! You’re going to college!”
I squealed and jumped up and down and then grabbed the envelope, opened it up and started to read the paper. Tears of joy started to flow down my face as I was going to the college that I wanted to go to.
“Oh, I should call your Uncle and tell him that you’re heading his way,” dad said and I smiled and nodded his head, “Maybe you can stay with him and save me some money.”
“It’ll be her first year, Greg, she has to stay on campus,” mom said and my dad looked at her.
“But my brother is only a half hour away-“
“I want her on the campus!” mom said and he sighed and nodded his head.
“I have to stay in a dorm?” I asked and mom nodded her head and dad sighed, “Sorry daddy.”
“It’s all right baby, just make sure that you do well,” he said and I smiled and nodded my head.
“What are you going to be? Sophomore?” Uncle Dylan asked and I shook my head.
“I’ll be a Junior, I finished Freshman and Sophomore year at the community college,” I said and he nodded his head.
“Oh, Kay, why don’t you go and call your Uncle, I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear from you!” mom said and I smiled and nodded my head, “Make sure you tell him the good news!”
“Is he in Pittsburgh or Laval?” I asked.
“Probably Pittsburgh,” dad answered and I nodded my head and then said goodbye to my family and ran up the stairs towards my room.
I jumped onto my bed and squealed into my pillow excited at the fact that in six months I would be moving to Pittsburgh to attend college. I grabbed my cell phone and scrolled through the contacts until I saw my Uncle’s name.
The phone rang for a few seconds and I was excited to hear the happy French voice on the other line, “Hey, LaLe, how are you? What have you been up to?”
“Uncle P, I didn’t know if I would catch you. And you know I hate that nickname,” I whined and heard him chuckle. He’s been calling me Lale for almost fifteen years now, I don’t know why, and he doesn’t know why, but I can’t seem to get him to break it.
“I know, I’m just playing with you. I see that you’re getting better at French! We’ll have to keep working on your language the next time we meet,” he said and I rolled my eyes.
“You know that it’s not my language, he doesn’t really know that I’m learning it too.”
“That’s because my brother decided to raise you in America instead of Canada,” he scoffed and I giggled, “So, what’s new with my favorite niece? How are those classes? You take them at your Community College, right?”
“Yes I take them at school, and they’re going well, I have an ‘A’ in the class! A few ‘B’s in the others, but things are going well.”
“That’s awesome kid, you’ve always been a smart cookie,” he said and I smiled brightly.
”Are you busy now?”
“Not yet, I’m just in a hotel in Boston. We just got here a little while ago.”
“Ah, the famous Bruins, kick their ass!”
“Oh, I plan on it, don’t you worry! Oh hey, we’ll be in Florida next week, wanna come to a game?”
“OH MY GOD!!! Would I ever!!!” I said happily, not bother on translating it to French.
“All right, I’ll leave a ticket for you,” he said and I squealed.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“You’re welcome kid,” he chuckled, “Hey, I have to go, but I’ll see you next week!”
“All right! Bye Uncle P!”
“Bye kid!”
I hung up the phone with my Uncle and then laid back in my bed and smiled brightly. Realization hit me and I cursed at the fact that I forgot to tell him that I got accepted into Pitt, “Oh well, I’ll tell him in person next week.”
I smiled brightly and then grabbed my laptop on my desk and pulled up my Uncle’s schedule. He was just recently traded to the team, so I knew that he was getting use to everyone and everything, I was sure that his son and daughter were getting use to the move to Pittsburgh, having been there less than a month.
I was messing around on the laptop, looking at his new teammates when there was a knock on my door. I looked up and saw my mom walking in, “Hi mom.”
“Did you tell your Uncle the news?”
“No, we were talking and I sort of forgot,” I laughed and my mom smirked and shook her head, “He’ll be down here next week, invited me to a game!”
“Very nice,” she laughed and then sat on the edge of my bed, “I just wanted to let you know that these six months are going to go by fast, Mckayla. You have a lot on your plate and are going to be welcomed into the real world very soon and very fast.”
“I’ll be fine mom, I’m not scared,” I said and she smiled and placed her hand on my shoulder.
“You’re just growing up so fast,” she said and I sighed when she was tearing up a little, “You’re my little girl.”
“I am mom, and now you’re little girl is moving six states away, over a thousand miles, over a seventeen hour drive-“
“All right, I get it,” she said and I giggled, “You need to schedule your orientation, housing, scholarships, books, classes-“
“Mom! Calm down! It’ll be all right,” I said and she sighed and nodded her head, “I’ll get started right now.”
“All right,” she said and then kissed my head and then left the room.
I sighed and then started to make a list of things that I needed to do and then started to do them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
My name is Mckayla Dupuis, I was born in America; however my parents are originally from Canada. My father’s younger brother, Pascal, is my Uncle, who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I’m very close with my Uncle and sometimes, even though he’s married and has kids, we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble, because we like to have fun.
I graduated high school in Tampa Bay, Florida in 2006, and then continued my education at the local community college. I applied to a few Universities; however, when I was on a college road trip, my dad and I went to Pittsburgh and I fell in love. It’s a great success to have gotten into the number one college that I wanted.
Hockey’s been in my life since forever, my grandfather was Claude Dupuis, my Uncle is in the NHL, my father retired from the AHL after an injury. Some of my cousins played, and if it wasn’t for my lack of balance sometimes, I would have loved to play.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
My phone was going off and I ran for it and saw that it was my Uncle texting me and telling me that he was in Tampa Bay and heading towards the hotel that he and his teammates were staying at. I smiled brightly and ran for my keys and purse. I ran down the stays, practically bulldozing my dad over.
“Hey! Where are you going?!” my dad called as I headed towards the door.
“It’s Tuesday! Uncle P’s here!” I yelled happily as I ran out the door and headed over towards my jeep and jumped in. I squealed a little as my engine roared to life. My dad was in the front doorway waving towards me, I honked the horn and then backed out of the driveway and headed towards the city in the direction of my Uncle’s hotel.
By the time that I got there, my Uncle had texted me telling me that he was all situated and ready to have lunch with me. It took me about twenty minutes to get there, but when I found a parking spot, I called up my Uncle and met him inside at the lobby.
“Hey kid!” he called and I spun around and smiled brightly.
“Uncle P!” I yelled and ran towards him and hugged him tight, “I’ve missed you!”
“I missed you too kid!” he chuckled and kissed my head, “Come on, I’m starving.”
I giggled and nodded my head and then followed him further into the hotel. Uncle P lead me to the elevator and we rode it up to the eleventh floor.
“Is this where everyone’s hiding?” I asked and he chuckled and nodded his head.
We ended up eating in his bedroom, his teammate that he shared the room with was Chris Kunitz and I met him for about ten minutes and then he left to go with his team down for the team lunch. Uncle P ended up bringing his lunch back to the room and we ate and talked about what a lot of things. I decided that I was going to tell him about getting accepted into Pitt until after the game.
“All right kid, we have to get our nap in-“
“I get it,” I said and then stood up and watched the door open and Chris walked in, “Nice meeting you.”
“Nice meeting you too, see you after the game!” he said and I smiled and nodded my head.
“I’ll walk you out,” Uncle P said and I nodded my head.
“Congratulations, Mckayla!” my family yelled as I walked through the doors of my house.
I froze and blinked a few times, unsure of what was going on. I looked at my parents and saw the bright smile on their faces, saw my Aunt and Uncle and they were trying to control their two children. I looked at everyone confused and then closed the front door, placed my bag on the couch and took a deep breath.
“Whatchya doin’?” I asked as I looked at everyone to see them looking at me intently.
“Well, your Aunt Jena, Uncle Dylan, stopped by to say hi,” mom said and then walked forward and pulled out a paper, “And this came in the mail,” my eyes widened as I saw the long envelope and smiled brightly when I saw the ‘PITT’ logo in the corner, “We couldn’t help ourselves, we opened it! Congrats baby! You’re going to college!”
I squealed and jumped up and down and then grabbed the envelope, opened it up and started to read the paper. Tears of joy started to flow down my face as I was going to the college that I wanted to go to.
“Oh, I should call your Uncle and tell him that you’re heading his way,” dad said and I smiled and nodded his head, “Maybe you can stay with him and save me some money.”
“It’ll be her first year, Greg, she has to stay on campus,” mom said and my dad looked at her.
“But my brother is only a half hour away-“
“I want her on the campus!” mom said and he sighed and nodded his head.
“I have to stay in a dorm?” I asked and mom nodded her head and dad sighed, “Sorry daddy.”
“It’s all right baby, just make sure that you do well,” he said and I smiled and nodded my head.
“What are you going to be? Sophomore?” Uncle Dylan asked and I shook my head.
“I’ll be a Junior, I finished Freshman and Sophomore year at the community college,” I said and he nodded his head.
“Oh, Kay, why don’t you go and call your Uncle, I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear from you!” mom said and I smiled and nodded my head, “Make sure you tell him the good news!”
“Is he in Pittsburgh or Laval?” I asked.
“Probably Pittsburgh,” dad answered and I nodded my head and then said goodbye to my family and ran up the stairs towards my room.
I jumped onto my bed and squealed into my pillow excited at the fact that in six months I would be moving to Pittsburgh to attend college. I grabbed my cell phone and scrolled through the contacts until I saw my Uncle’s name.
The phone rang for a few seconds and I was excited to hear the happy French voice on the other line, “Hey, LaLe, how are you? What have you been up to?”
“Uncle P, I didn’t know if I would catch you. And you know I hate that nickname,” I whined and heard him chuckle. He’s been calling me Lale for almost fifteen years now, I don’t know why, and he doesn’t know why, but I can’t seem to get him to break it.
“I know, I’m just playing with you. I see that you’re getting better at French! We’ll have to keep working on your language the next time we meet,” he said and I rolled my eyes.
“You know that it’s not my language, he doesn’t really know that I’m learning it too.”
“That’s because my brother decided to raise you in America instead of Canada,” he scoffed and I giggled, “So, what’s new with my favorite niece? How are those classes? You take them at your Community College, right?”
“Yes I take them at school, and they’re going well, I have an ‘A’ in the class! A few ‘B’s in the others, but things are going well.”
“That’s awesome kid, you’ve always been a smart cookie,” he said and I smiled brightly.
”Are you busy now?”
“Not yet, I’m just in a hotel in Boston. We just got here a little while ago.”
“Ah, the famous Bruins, kick their ass!”
“Oh, I plan on it, don’t you worry! Oh hey, we’ll be in Florida next week, wanna come to a game?”
“OH MY GOD!!! Would I ever!!!” I said happily, not bother on translating it to French.
“All right, I’ll leave a ticket for you,” he said and I squealed.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“You’re welcome kid,” he chuckled, “Hey, I have to go, but I’ll see you next week!”
“All right! Bye Uncle P!”
“Bye kid!”
I hung up the phone with my Uncle and then laid back in my bed and smiled brightly. Realization hit me and I cursed at the fact that I forgot to tell him that I got accepted into Pitt, “Oh well, I’ll tell him in person next week.”
I smiled brightly and then grabbed my laptop on my desk and pulled up my Uncle’s schedule. He was just recently traded to the team, so I knew that he was getting use to everyone and everything, I was sure that his son and daughter were getting use to the move to Pittsburgh, having been there less than a month.
I was messing around on the laptop, looking at his new teammates when there was a knock on my door. I looked up and saw my mom walking in, “Hi mom.”
“Did you tell your Uncle the news?”
“No, we were talking and I sort of forgot,” I laughed and my mom smirked and shook her head, “He’ll be down here next week, invited me to a game!”
“Very nice,” she laughed and then sat on the edge of my bed, “I just wanted to let you know that these six months are going to go by fast, Mckayla. You have a lot on your plate and are going to be welcomed into the real world very soon and very fast.”
“I’ll be fine mom, I’m not scared,” I said and she smiled and placed her hand on my shoulder.
“You’re just growing up so fast,” she said and I sighed when she was tearing up a little, “You’re my little girl.”
“I am mom, and now you’re little girl is moving six states away, over a thousand miles, over a seventeen hour drive-“
“All right, I get it,” she said and I giggled, “You need to schedule your orientation, housing, scholarships, books, classes-“
“Mom! Calm down! It’ll be all right,” I said and she sighed and nodded her head, “I’ll get started right now.”
“All right,” she said and then kissed my head and then left the room.
I sighed and then started to make a list of things that I needed to do and then started to do them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
My name is Mckayla Dupuis, I was born in America; however my parents are originally from Canada. My father’s younger brother, Pascal, is my Uncle, who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I’m very close with my Uncle and sometimes, even though he’s married and has kids, we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble, because we like to have fun.
I graduated high school in Tampa Bay, Florida in 2006, and then continued my education at the local community college. I applied to a few Universities; however, when I was on a college road trip, my dad and I went to Pittsburgh and I fell in love. It’s a great success to have gotten into the number one college that I wanted.
Hockey’s been in my life since forever, my grandfather was Claude Dupuis, my Uncle is in the NHL, my father retired from the AHL after an injury. Some of my cousins played, and if it wasn’t for my lack of balance sometimes, I would have loved to play.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
My phone was going off and I ran for it and saw that it was my Uncle texting me and telling me that he was in Tampa Bay and heading towards the hotel that he and his teammates were staying at. I smiled brightly and ran for my keys and purse. I ran down the stays, practically bulldozing my dad over.
“Hey! Where are you going?!” my dad called as I headed towards the door.
“It’s Tuesday! Uncle P’s here!” I yelled happily as I ran out the door and headed over towards my jeep and jumped in. I squealed a little as my engine roared to life. My dad was in the front doorway waving towards me, I honked the horn and then backed out of the driveway and headed towards the city in the direction of my Uncle’s hotel.
By the time that I got there, my Uncle had texted me telling me that he was all situated and ready to have lunch with me. It took me about twenty minutes to get there, but when I found a parking spot, I called up my Uncle and met him inside at the lobby.
“Hey kid!” he called and I spun around and smiled brightly.
“Uncle P!” I yelled and ran towards him and hugged him tight, “I’ve missed you!”
“I missed you too kid!” he chuckled and kissed my head, “Come on, I’m starving.”
I giggled and nodded my head and then followed him further into the hotel. Uncle P lead me to the elevator and we rode it up to the eleventh floor.
“Is this where everyone’s hiding?” I asked and he chuckled and nodded his head.
We ended up eating in his bedroom, his teammate that he shared the room with was Chris Kunitz and I met him for about ten minutes and then he left to go with his team down for the team lunch. Uncle P ended up bringing his lunch back to the room and we ate and talked about what a lot of things. I decided that I was going to tell him about getting accepted into Pitt until after the game.
“All right kid, we have to get our nap in-“
“I get it,” I said and then stood up and watched the door open and Chris walked in, “Nice meeting you.”
“Nice meeting you too, see you after the game!” he said and I smiled and nodded my head.
“I’ll walk you out,” Uncle P said and I nodded my head.