I used to play hockey for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Well, I guess I still do, but as of right now, I do not. There is one very good reason why I currently do not, but I'll get to that at a later time. Let me first start at the very beginning. My name is Emily LaRue, and the very, very first thing I would like to tell you is that I was the first female ever to be picked in the NHL draft. My first team was the Carolina Hurricanes. That was where I met my first Staal brother.

"Hey, Em," called my mother from the bottom of the steps. She roused me from my sleep. I was exhausted from the day before, Christmas day. We had eagerly awaited the phone call that I would be accepted into the NHL, which had been my dream for about seven years. I had worked so hard, and I had heard somewhere that the deadline for the phone calls would be on Christmas Eve.

I rolled out of bed and my feet landed on the cold floor. I was dizzy from getting up so fast, and I stumbled into my desk. I made an aggravated sound, but obviously kept going toward the top of the steps.

"Yeah?" I said, yawning deeply.

"I wouldn't be yawning if I were you," she said, holding the phone in her hand toward me.

"Someone wishes the talk to you. I think you'll enjoy the call, if you ask me."

I took the phone from her hand and drowsily pressed it to my ear.

"Hello?" I mumbled groggily into the phone.

"Emily LaRue?" It was a man's voice, and he sounded very happy. I woke up a little more due to my interest as to why he was so excited.

"Yes, sir, that's me."

"Emily, I am pleased to inform you that you have been drafted into the National Hockey League tothe Carolina Hurricanes!"

I about fell flat over. My eyes got wide and I made immediate eye contact with my mother.

"Thank you so much!"

"No, thank you. They love your talent. Can you come down to Raleigh tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? I'll see what I can do. Thank you! Can I have your number to call you back?"

"Yes." He gave me his number.

"And your name, sir?"

"Jim Rutherford."

I hung up the phone and grinned widely at my mother.

"Hey, mom, guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm going to Carolina tomorrow. The 'Canes want me to play for them in the NHL."

For the first time in my life, I screamed like a teenage girl. I nearly tackled my mother in a hug. I was going to be living my dream by playing in the professional leagues!

There was a plane ticket available for tomorrow, and we bought it instantly. I began packing, shoving as many clothes into one suitcase as possible, putting my hockey gear into one duffel bag, and putting all of my toiletries in with it.

I woke up the next morning and my mom and dad, who was more than ecstatic for me, drove me to the airport.

"Now, don't get involved with these boys, Emily. You know how they can be."

"Dad, I'm one of them, now. I'll figure out soon enough how to handle myself."

"Just make sure you don't bring a Flyer, Redwing, or Cap home," he said, teasing.

I huffed at him sarcastically. "But dad," I said, pretending to whine. "It's ok. I don't like any of them, anyway."

"If you run into any trouble," my mother began.

"I'll get my friends to take care of it," I said. "But if it's beyond their control, I'll tell you first. I can't wait until I get to tell you the stories of the locker room and of all of the people we meet. Mom, Dad, I can't believe this is happening to me!"

We pulled into the airport and went to the departing flights. I got out and pulled out my two bags.

My mom and dad were waiting by the sidewalk as I rolled my heavy suitcase toward them. I set it down against the sidewalk and dropped my duffel right next to it.

Mom was crying. Dad was grinning ear to ear with tears pricking his eyes.

"Hey," I said, my voice cracking. I couldn't believe it. I was so excited and I was crying right in front of my parents. "I'll be back before you know it. I checked. The 'Canes' next game is against Pittsburgh. I'll come and see you if I can."

"OK," said my mom quietly. I hugged and kissed her, and did the same to my dad.

"I'll see you soon!" I said, picking up my bags and heading toward the doors to the airport. They waved and got back into the car quickly so I didn't see them sobbing. They loved me, and I was thankful for that. I had my life to live now, and it was going to be spent doing what I loved.

I checked my bags and was waiting on the plane, now. Only a few people recognized me from the media pictures and asked me for autographs. I was surprised how encouraging they were for me. It lifted me up to a higher level where I felt like I was ready to take on whatever the league and its players were going to throw at me.

As soon as I arrived in Raleigh, I was met by a tall blond who was surrounded by a few people, but seemed to be looking only for me. He grinned when he first set eyes on me, and my mouth fell open in an excited grin.

"Eric Staal," I said, half-running to meet him. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you." He opened up his arms to catch me in a hug.

"Emily LaRue. This really is a pleasure. I'm glad I could come pick you up." In my mind, I was relieved that he was there, but I also realized how cute he was. No wonder he was already married with children. My excitement radiated off my body.

He signed some autographs, and some people even asked for mine, and we headed to pick up my bags and to leave the airport.

"The team has already arranged for a place for you to stay until you get your bearings with you. I hope you like it."

He grabbed my bags and I saw how his muscles flexed under the weight.

"You travel light," he commented. "For a girl."

I smacked his arm lightly. "You don't get to complain. I didn't bring half as much as I wanted to."

"I'm not carrying anything when we travel," he said. He headed out to the car and threw my stuff in the back. His car, obviously, was really nice. I grinned to myself. I was getting driven to my own person apartment by the captain of the hockey team that I was currently part of. This is beyond surreal.

"How did you get used to this?" I asked him.

"What?" He turned to look at me as he pulled onto the highway.

"All of this fame. When did you actually calm down from the excitement of it all?" I relaxed back into the leather seat. "And the girls? What about all of those people throwing themselves at you?"

"Well, in regard to the fame, you live in it for a certain amount of time and it just becomes part of you. You just realize that you can do almost literally anything you want. It's a pretty amazing feeling to have that much power over your life. Your job dictates what time you have to yourself and where you live, of course, but the people love you. I haven't really met anyone who blatantly disliked me or my brothers, but I think that may be a special case because we are brothers. I wound anticipate that the people ho don't understand it will not like you too terribly much, but you just remember that in the long run, the minimum amount of people that like you are your teammates and the team's fans because that's how it runs in the NHL. You know that. You're loyal to your team until the end. Once you've picked one, you're hooked forever.

"As for the girls, and in your case. boys, you just be polite. If someone tries to touch you, ask them to stop, and if that doesn't work, run away. You'll probably out run them, anyway, and if they're respectful at all, they'll make signs or something. Sometimes, you can ignore them, but if they ask for an autograph or something, just be polite. I would never suggest touching them, like shoving them off you. They could sue. That would be ridiculous, but people can be strange in these days. Thankfully, people have backed off because I'm married, but there are still a few that are a little crazy." He chuckled to lighten the mood.

"Thanks," I said. He turned off the highway and I took in Raleigh in silence. It was a beautiful city. I was going to like it here.