Chapter 4: Student Protest
The next day, at twelve noon, Teddi, Maya, Lauren, and Sofi fearlessly set up their table out in the quad, right by the mess hall. The quad was the area where students opted to eat their lunch outside when the weather permitted, and it was also where the chess club, the student council, and the mathletes tended to favor sitting. It consisted of a large, grassy field, where a group of the girls' soccer players practiced kicking the ball back and forth, and stone-topped round tables, where the chess team all sat, discussing strategy. Last night, Teddi had printed out homemade flyers she'd made up herself that read: GIRL POWER – LET GIRLS PLAY HOCKEY and included pictures of herself, Maya, Lauren, and Sofi playing hockey with the Ducks. She'd created a printed petition that read: START A GIRLS' HOCKEY PROGRAM – IF YOU WANT TO PLAY, SIGN HERE, and her print-outs rested on the table in front of them, a rock weighing the papers down. With unwavering determination, they began engaging with their fellow students, spreading their message of gender equality and the need for a girls' hockey program.
Sofi stood in front of the table, passing out flyers. They'd even put some up around the school and left copies of their petition posted to the bulletin boards outside classrooms. To their delight, there were a couple of girls who seemed genuinely interested. A couple of sophomore girls who'd been forced into figure skating instead of hockey took the flyers, as did some girls from the soccer team, and when they did put their names down on the petition, they seemed grateful.
One of the softball team members, Melissa O'Shea, actually said, "I admire what you're doing. This school only started the softball team two years ago; it's time we got a girls' hockey team around here." The urgency of their initiative was clear.
Even Matilda White from the girls' soccer team put her name down, expressing her disdain that the school didn't seem to value young women, that even though there were options for female sports, they were still looked down upon if they weren't interested in dance, figure skating, or cheerleading, activities that were considered traditionally "girly." And Sara Furguson from the girls' swim team put her name down, saying she admired them sticking up for what they felt was unfair and that if girls' hockey were an option, she'd join. The positive responses were encouraging. So far, they had fifteen signatures, which was a lot more players than the average teen hockey team, but it was welcome, considering that the J.V. and Varsity ice hockey teams at Minnetonka Prep had a much larger roster list, consisting of people who were first line, second line, and third line. And they knew all the Ducks would also be putting their names down.
But that was only a few girls. A lot of the other students didn't take them seriously at all. When Donna Kentinsworth and her pack of Varsity cheerleaders saw them, they were greeted with sneers.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" Donna asked.
"Starting a girls' hockey team," said Teddi, leveling her eyes with Donna, only to be met with a chorus of condescending giggles from the cheerleaders.
"No, like, seriously!" sneered Donna's co-captain, Valerie Radley.
"Um, yeah, like, we're totally serious!" said Teddi, mimicking Valerie's valley-girl tone and nasally voice.
"I can't imagine why you'd wanna wear all that sweaty, gross hockey gear and throw yourselves around like a bunch of dudes!" said Jenna Hastings, pulling a disgusted look on her face. "That's so weird!"
"Well, that's because telling girls they should go dance in the ballet or be some cake-eating debutant is archaic," said Teddi, crossing her arms over her chest. "Women are just as capable as men to play hockey. Back in the Roman Empire, Roman women raised their children to be warriors and to be independent. The Greeks worshiped Athena as the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. And I may not be an active churchgoer these days, but I do know God wants women out there having their own businesses and being modern-day working women. This backward thinking of hockey only being for boys is obsolete; we've had professional women's hockey teams; the star center of the New Jersey Devils, Jack Hughes? His mother played ice hockey and lacrosse in college and was inducted into the University of New Hampshire Athletics Hall of Fame. One of our state senators, Connie Germaine, played ice hockey for Team USA in 1994 with Julie Banks."
"And, your point is?" Donna demanded, not seeming at all impressed by Teddi's knowledge.
"That this is the future and that women's sports need to be celebrated, and it starts at this level. If we don't play, college scouts won't even look in our direction," Teddi said angrily.
"I need to ask you, how long did those women's hockey teams last?" Donna asked.
"Like that matters," Sofi said coolly. "I hear that there's going to be a newly formed women's hockey league coming soon this season called the Professional Women's Hockey League. And Minnesota is going to be one of the states to have a team under that league."
"And the only reason why we haven't had consistent women's hockey teams has absolutely nothing to do with sexism, unlike this place, which comes up with excuse after excuse," added Maya.
"Yeah, it's because hockey is an expensive sport to fund," Lauren added.
"And last I checked, this place gets plenty of funding from the school board and the alumni group, who pour millions into here year after year after year," Teddi said.
"Well, even if you succeed, not enough girls will wanna join, and therefore, you won't be eligible to compete," Donna said in a tone that held false sympathy.
"And we've got fifteen signatures so far from girls who expressed interest," Teddi said, pointing to the first page of her petition, which was half-filled already.
Donna just laughed condescendingly. "Yeah, okay, well, good luck with that. You're gonna need it. Because you gotta get that petition past my mom. And my dad. And the entire school board. And they'll never go for it."
"We'll see about that. This is not over," Teddi said hotly as she watched Donna and her stuck-up friends walk away, giggling, the head cheerleader flicking her blonde ponytail.
Teddi shook her head. While part of her was glad that not every girl at this school felt the same way Donna and her brother did, it was still frustrating knowing they weren't being taken seriously. Nonetheless, she handed out flyer after flyer, encouraging people to sign her petition.
"Help start a girls' hockey program," she said as she watched the Ducks exit the mess hall.
"Hey," said Logan, hugging Teddi tightly. "How's it going?"
"We've got some signatures, mostly girls," said Sofi as Evan kissed her on the forehead.
"Well, don't mind if we put our names down," said Nick, grinning.
"Be our guests. If we get some signatures from boys, maybe that'll help strengthen our case," said Lauren, passing Nick the pen. One after another, their childhood guy friends signed their names on the paper, causing the number of signatures to accumulate. But as soon as Sam signed his name on the petition, heads turned in the quad as somebody posted the roster sheet for the boys' ice hockey team. The crowd of boys pushed their way through, hoping to get a look at the sheet. Despite feeling infuriated that the hockey team (so far) was a boys-only club, Teddi was curious to see the roster sheet. She and Logan walked together up to the sheet; they noticed several boys cursing out of frustration that they didn't make the cut.
"Whoa, whoa!" said Sam. "Third-line right wing? Man, that's a major diss!" Teddi watched as his dark cheeks turned the color of a beet.
"I'm on third-line?" Koobler looked particularly mad about this, and Teddi understood why; over the past couple of years, Koob had been working really, really hard to step up his game, so for him to practically be benched, along with Sam, that was a sting, without a doubt.
"Guys, look, I'm not even posted!" Billy pointed out.
"Yeah, you are. Your name's right here," pointed out Lauren. "William Banks, third-line goalie."
"For Varsity," said Maya, looking surprised.
Billy looked disgusted. "I made Varsity?"
Henry pointed out his position in dismay. "Third line left wing?" he deadpanned. Even though it was to be expected since he was younger than many of the boys who tried out, Teddi could tell it was still a sting for him; her little brother was a better puck-handler than most boys his age, and he was also a far better skater, much more advanced on the ice than everyone else in District Five. She sympathetically wound an arm around her little brother, hugging him closely.
"Ev, at least you're the first-line right center," said Sofi.
"Yeah, but what about the captain slot?" asked Evan.
"There is no captain listed, kid," said Spencer Vargas, the first-line left-center on the Varsity team. "It says 'to be determined.'" He shared a glance with his younger brother, Finley Vargas, who stood there in his baggy khakis, sweater vest, and tie and was declared a third-line left wing player on the J.V. team.
"Well, that means Dad's gonna push you all really hard; he's gonna want you to earn that title," Finley explained, his puberty-induced voice cracking.
"That means we've got a lot to prove," said Evan as he walked away, his arm draped around Sofi's shoulders. And as Teddi returned to her table where the petition lay, Finley Vargas, who looked strikingly similar to his older sister in almost every way, from the deep red of his hair to his greenish eyes, picked up the pen and put his name down.
"For the record, I think it's real cool you're doing this," he said.
Teddi smiled at him. "Thanks, Finley. It's nice knowing we've got some support from the boys around here."
Finley nodded blushingly and quickly went back into the mess hall.
"I'm sorry. But it just can't be done, ladies," said Dean Donald Kentinsworth, shaking his head.
"What do you mean, 'It just can't be done?'" Teddi demanded.
"There isn't enough interest from the female student body to form a girls' hockey program here at Minnetonka Preparatory . . ."
"'Not enough interest from the female student body' bull-crap!" Teddi ground out. She jammed her forefinger at the number of signatures that they had from girls. "A lot of the signatures we got were girls from the various sports teams around here! They'd play if they could!"
"And there's also the matter of funding and finding a coach," added Dean Melissa Kentinsworth.
"Oh really?" demanded Maya. "You have board members and people from the alumni group who keep giving you funding! This school is sponsored by PowerAde, which is why the ice rink is brand-new! You have the money!"
"By there not being a girls' team for hockey, this is a disaster," said Sofi. "That means when the time comes, college scouts won't even be able to see us play."
"Then what's your suggestion?" asked Donald, quirking an eyebrow.
"We've got one," said Lauren. "Either form a girls' team, or we want to try out for the boys' team."
"No, absolutely not!" said Melissa, shaking her head; she looked as though it absolutely alarmed her that girls wanted to play with boys. She shivered delicately, clutching her pearl necklace. "There's the matter of safety for you young ladies; girls shouldn't be playing with boys because of the unfair disadvantage."
"Unfair disadvantage?" demanded Sofi. "Really? You won't even form a girls' team to remedy that! Besides, when you wrote up our acceptance letters informing us that we got in on academic scholarship, you had to have watched our tapes from when we were with the Ducks! We've played with boys since Peewees! You know that we're good enough!"
Donald just glanced back at them condescendingly, seemingly resembling his children more and more. "I don't know if that's something I know."
"Come on, all we're asking for is just one shot," pleaded Teddi.
"But even if we give you that shot, girls aren't as fast as boys. Nor are they as strong. And that's not me talking. It's a scientific fact," Donald said. "Girls cannot be boys. It's as simple as that."
Teddi glared at him. "Oh really? If you think we aren't as strong as boys, well, who pushes the babies out? Who bleeds for five days out of the month without complaining? Those are scientific facts, too. I can guarantee you that you wouldn't last a day needing to live as a woman because the stuff that we go through daily makes us even stronger than men."
Her veins felt hot, as if someone had poured molten lava through them. Seeing these two deans of students talking down to them and suggesting that they were less than because they were young women, Teddi felt disgusted; she also couldn't believe Melissa Kentinsworth was so submissive to her husband like some lapdog nipping at his heels, begging for respect and approval from someone so chauvinistic. Clearly, Donald Kentinsworth didn't value girls who wanted to play sports traditionally made for boys, so Teddi could only imagine how he treated his own wife. When she looked at Melissa, she saw a broken woman, even though she was in a position of authority over the school.
Teddi could never recall her father ever treating her mother like that. It also made her think of her Uncle Guy, who stayed home with his children as a househusband while his wife went to work as a successful Minnesota senator. Even her Aunt Julie, who'd once been celebrated as an amazing female goaltender and had been part of why Team USA won the Junior Goodwill Games in 1994, could still skate with the best of them, and Billy had inherited all of her talents.
Donald glowered at her. "Watch your tone, young lady!" he snapped. "Now, I suggest you girls clear out and go back to your dormitories. I believe you have homework you must complete."
Teddi glared back. "Fine," she whispered, and together, she, Sofi, Lauren, and Maya left the office in a huff. As they left, they were quick to notice their flyers were graffitied with insults like NASTY BITCHES, FEMINAZIS GO HOME, DYKES, TWAT, BIMBO, and GIRLS BELONG IN THE KITCHEN. Teddi's face burned as she tore down the defaced posters, deciding that she hated this place even more than she already did. But before they could leave the main school building to take the shuttle back to the girls' dormitories, a bespectacled blond boy, followed by a frizzy-haired brunette with her hair tied up in twin buns, approached them; the boy had his cellphone out as well as a notepad and pen, and Teddi recognized them as two of the kids from the school paper, The Minnetonka Bugle.
"Hey, you're the girls from that Ducks team that just got accepted here, right?" the girl asked them.
"Yes," said Lauren. "What do you want?"
"We're Milton Ryerson and Maggie Halstead," the boy said. "We're from the school paper. Maggie's the editor-in-chief, and I'm head of the sports column and the sports commentator. We're looking for a topic to cover for the paper, and your petition for a girls' hockey program is creating quite a buzz around here. Would you mind sitting down with us and discussing it?"
The girls shared a glance with one another. If this could be a way for them to get their story out there and push further for the school to start a girls' hockey program at Minnetonka Prep, they guessed doing an interview for the school newspaper wouldn't be the worst thing. Plus, it could give them a chance to talk about their history of playing hockey with the boys in District Five.
"Sure," Teddi said. "When can we start?"
"Right now," said Maggie, gesturing for them to follow her and Milton to the journalism classroom.