Chapter 11: Girl Power Part 2
On Monday, it was a day-long fight for Teddi, Sofi, Maya, and Lauren. Their unwavering determination to convince the deans for a board meeting, a crucial step towards making girls' hockey a reality, was a shining example of their steadfast commitment. Despite the initial resistance from Donald and Melissa Kentinsworth, the girls' persistence eventually led them to relent. Teddi's firm resolve to reopen Hal Vargas's initial case from one year ago was a clear sign of their dedication. In fact, on Monday afternoon, she approached Vargas about it, telling him that she would gather up her family and reopen his case; the glowing smile on his face and the brightness in his eyes displayed a gratitude Teddi never thought he'd express to her.
That was why she stood with the boys on Junior Varsity after school on Tuesday afternoon in the board room, looking around at each alumni association member. Donald and Melissa stood at the podium, eying them critically as Teddi stood there with the copy of her petition, which had many girls' signatures, girls who were interested in playing hockey and girls who just wanted to see a more equal playing field in sports. She stood there in her best skirt and blouse, her back straight as she stood beside Coach Vargas and Katie Vargas, who wasn't wearing her cheer uniform but instead wore a knee-length skirt and a bright blue sweater.
After presenting their petition, the girls awaited the board's decision. Donald and Melissa broke the silence, their voices stiff. "Do we have a motion for reconsideration?" Melissa asked. The room fell silent, and then she turned to Teddi, saying, "I'm sorry, Miss Conway. But without a board member's vote and a second, the decision must stand. There won't be any beginning of a girls' hockey team." The disappointment was palpable, a heavy cloud in the room, but it only fueled their determination to fight for their cause.
Teddi glowered at Alec and Donna Jane Kentinsworth, who snickered fiercely. In a way, she was more than happy that Billy had asked Coach Vargas to let him back into the flock. It meant that J.V. would have a much more even advantage, and he would be a lot safer with his real friends, no longer needing to worry about being threatened and harassed by the Varsity team.
"Then you leave us no choice but for us to bring in our attorneys, and our witnesses," said Coach Vargas, shaking his head, and as soon as he said that, Alex Morrow, Adam Banks, and his wife, Julie, Ted Orion, and Connie Germaine entered the room; Connie wore her best pantsuit and heels while Alex wore a pencil skirt and blazer. Adam winked at Teddi, and Connie gave her goddaughter a gentle smile.
"Deans, members of the board, as council for Coach Vargas and the freshmen girls, Alexandra Morrow and I are here to set forth your legal options so that you can make the best decision possible for all parties concerned," said Adam.
"And Theodore Orion and I are here to offer our own professional opinions," added Connie.
"Um, Senator Germaine, Mr. Banks, this isn't a legal proceeding," Dean Donald said.
"Not yet," Adam said, "but I can assure you that it will be." He looked back at the deans evenly before saying, "Now, I understand that private schools do not need to abide by Title IX, the law that protects women and girls from discrimination on the basis of gender. However, only the following states are affected by this: Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Minnesota isn't listed under these states that do not need to abide by Title IX. Therefore, the refusal to start a girls' hockey program here at Minnetonka Preparatory Academy is an act of sex-based discrimination." Turning to Teddi, he said, "Do you mind?" He extended his hand for her petition, and Teddi handed it over to him. "The petition, initiated by Theodora Conway, Maya Kasper, Lauren Gibby, and Sofi Hanson-Bhatt, aims to establish a girls' hockey team, ensuring that girls have equal opportunities to play hockey. While you might say there isn't enough funding and interest from girls, the substantial financial contributions to the school and the number of signatures on the petition indicate that there is no justifiable reason to withhold funding for a girls' hockey program."
"Now, should you choose to continue this act of discrimination, Mr. Banks and I will slap you with an injunction," said Alex sternly, causing several board members to gasp. "We will take this matter to court for years and continue collecting damages until long after these young ladies have gone on to college."
"And we will win," Adam said. "And do you want to know why? Because I am very good. Now, you may be wondering: Aren't I a public defender? How would I sue you? That's true. I may not be a prosecutor, but I know plenty of others who are because I have the connections. And I am as good as I am because I had a great education at Eden Hall. And a huge part of that is because of this man right here." He pointed to Orion. "This man helped give it to me. And he's been advocating for more girls' and paraplegic hockey teams across the state of Minnesota ever since he retired from coaching high school hockey."
"And Julianne Banks and I played for the Ducks when I was at Eden Hall," Connie said. "When we played, there was only one option: co-ed. However, our being allowed to play hockey with the boys got us recognized by the best colleges in the state – suddenly, every college wanted us for the women's teams on a full academic scholarship to play hockey. And that only could've happened if we'd played at the high school level. Eden Hall gave those opportunities to us. And you're gonna give those same chances to these girls."
"And I also want to introduce you all to someone officially," Coach Vargas said. "Finley, come on out."
Heads turned in the direction of the double doors, and Finley Vargas stepped into the room. Except she wasn't wearing the baggy, boyish clothes she'd been wearing to disguise herself. Her breasts weren't taped down by medical tape, either; even with her short hair, she wore a beautiful, flowing, fingertip-length dress and a pair of flats, a bandana tied into her hair at the top of her head in a bow, acting as a headband. The board members all gasped in shock, their jaws dropping, and Teddi smiled widely at Finley.
"You had a girl playing on the boys' team for the past few weeks," said Coach Vargas. "And none of you even knew it."
"Vargas – what? How?" demanded Dean Donald Kentinsworth, looking infuriated.
"You wouldn't have allowed me to join otherwise," said Finley in her usual, girl-toned voice, causing the J.V. boys to gasp in surprise.
"And she's proven to be very good," Coach Vargas said warmly, smiling at his daughter, who blushed deeply as she looked down at her shoes, but Katie grinned softly.
"Give us all one good reason why we shouldn't consider expelling her or why we shouldn't fire you for insubordination and knowingly putting your daughter at risk, Coach Vargas," said one board member, Daryl Hutchinson, angrily, glowering at Vargas bitterly.
Teddi held her breath at this; did this mean the board would consider expelling her and the rest of the Ducks? But she felt herself sigh with relief when Vargas spoke up.
"Because she's shown you what she can do," Coach Vargas said, crossing his arms over his chest. "She's proven herself by playing with boys all her life. Their academic performance speaks for itself: Finley has been a straight-A student, Theodora excels in English comprehension, history, and art, and Maya has a strong aptitude for mathematics. You've got no cause to expel anybody."
"What about the stunts they pulled with the Varsity team, like the orange hair dye in their shampoo?" asked Donald, quirking an eyebrow sternly.
Julie glowered at him. Teddi could tell this this whole time that Julie had been holding her tongue. But now, she was having a hard time keeping her mouth shut. "I have a laundry list of things Varsity has done since these kids started school here," she said angrily.
"What did they do?" Donald asked, clearly playing stupid to try and protect Alec.
"Dean, I mean no disrespect," Julie said, her voice heated. "But orange dye in shampoo seems minor compared to the stuff Varsity has been doing." She turned to Teddi. "Teddi, give me your phone."
Teddi nodded, unlocking her phone before handing it over to Julie, who scrolled through Teddi's photo gallery for the pictures Teddi had taken of her defaced posters from a couple of weeks ago when Teddi first started her student protest for girls' hockey. Teddi was suddenly glad she thought to take photos rather than just tossing them in the garbage; she never realized it would come in handy until now.
Julie found the photos and passed Teddi's phone around to the board members, whose faces went white with shock. "Do you think that defacing these girls' posters with that kind of language is appropriate?"
"It was a stupid joke," snorted Alec. "I haven't done anything that I'm not sorry for."
"Oh, really? You threaten my son and beat him up after you attempt ditching the underclassmen during a dine-and-dash, and you're not sorry for that?" Julie demanded, her voice rising as she whipped around on Alec, her blue eyes looking like ice.
"Jules, relax," Adam whispered, leaning a hand on her shoulder while Coach Vargas stepped up. Julie angrily shoved Adam's hand away from her; clearly, there was no calming her down. Still, Adam gently wound his arm around her and kept her close to him, kissing her forehead while Teddi took her phone from Julie, stepping forward to grab her surrogate aunt's hand and squeezing it.
"Dean, to be fair, Mrs. Banks has every right to be upset," Vargas said calmly. "The orange dye in the shampoo was a reaction to the bullying they've been facing for weeks. I would say beating up a fellow student, humiliating the J.V. team by leaving them with a check that's over nine hundred dollars, and throwing their clothes in the shower is a lot worse than hair dye."
"Thank you, Coach Vargas," Adam said, smiling, but then he got serious again, addressing every board member with a stormy expression in his eyes. "Now, I know some of you may be snobbish enough to say that these girls have no place playing hockey. And I know some of you are probably more than happy to live in the past where there was no such thing as women's sports, where girls were told that the only possibilities they'd ever have were being housewives. Well, let me tell you; you are dead wrong. Constance Germaine became such a flourishing state senator because of the support of her husband, who decided to stay home and raise their children while she went to work." He smiled at Connie, who took over.
"These are remarkable young women with truly extraordinary talent," Connie said, gesturing to Teddi, Maya, Lauren, Sofi, Katie, and Finley, who all smiled back at her blushingly. "If you give them their fair shot, I can guarantee you they will succeed not only holding their own with the boys, but on a team of their own, as well."
Alex smiled back, adding, "These young ladies are our friends. And we know what they can do."
One of the board members, Fiona Shaw, raised her hand, saying, "You almost have me convinced. But there is only room for twenty-three hockey players on the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. Let's say we allow the girls to join in on the exhibition. Would these young men willingly give up their roster spots?"
That caused a series of murmurs to flood through the room. And it was true; with Teddi, Sofi, Lauren, Maya, Katie, and Finley, that would make the already-full roster over-filled, given that there were twenty-three boys on the team already now that Billy was pulled back into the flock, and Spencer Vargas was officially back on J.V., as he'd begged his father to let him get bumped down because he was sick and tired of playing on a team of bullies who looked down upon the underclassmen for having less money.
Teddi nearly felt her heart sink at this revelation, having not considered that part of it. But that was when Evan, the Johnson brothers, Logan, Andrew Mizrahi, and Spencer stepped forward, glancing at one another.
"They can have our spots," Evan said. He turned to Coach Vargas, saying, "It's what we can do for the team. And Teddi's just as good as I am. You won't even miss me."
"And Katie and Finley deserve this shot," Spencer said, smiling warmly at his twin sister and little sister. "I don't care if I lose my spot; I have two more chances after this year. As long as my sisters get to play, that's all I care about."
"And Maya and Lauren together are better than the two of us," said Codi, his brother George nodding in agreement.
"Are you guys sure?" Coach Vargas asked, stunned that the boys were willing to step down to make the roster open up by six slots. But Teddi could also see a hint of pride etching across his face at the team that he'd built, a team that was willing to make a sacrifice and rally behind the girls to give them a shot, a team that didn't care whether that Finley, Katie, Teddi, Sofi, Lauren, and Maya were girls, but instead cared about their talent because they were indeed the superior players and the true counterparts of Evan, Codi, George, Logan, Spencer, and Andrew.
"Yes," Logan said, winding an arm around Teddi. "Because they deserve it."
Coach Vargas nodded in approval, but Maya stepped forward and shook her head.
"Look, Adam, I appreciate you stepping in like this," she said. "But I don't want these people thinking they'll be doing us a favor by allowing me and my friends to play with the boys."
"Maya, let me handle this," Adam whispered.
"No," Maya said fiercely. "Look, Teddi, Sofi, Lauren, and I have worked too long and hard on the ice to just suddenly be offered roster spots as a charity case. I say this: If we can't beat these state champs in the J.V. versus Varsity exhibition match this Friday night, we don't deserve our own hockey team. Let's settle this fight on the ice where it belongs."
"How about I make it even better?" asked Sofi smugly. "We lose, the school's mascot name stays the same. But if we win –"
"The Barbarians die, and the Ducks fly!" grinned Lauren, high-fiving Maya.
Katie smiled, stepping forward. "Deans, I'm with them. I would be proud to call myself a Duck. And I'm sure I can also speak for most of the female student body."
The board members collectively sighed, and Marissa Radley, the board president, said, "I vote yes."
"As do I," added Hadley Sterling.
With that, all the board members raised their hands, and Melissa Kentinsworth stepped forward, saying, "I'm with them, too."
That was the last thing Teddi expected to see, given that Melissa seemed so blindly loyal to her husband and his archaic views on women's hockey. Still, watching Melissa step forward and say that she was with the board members on their decision, Teddi wondered when Melissa had seen the light and gotten a mind of her own. But it was welcome. She would take whatever little support they could get.
"Melissa!" gasped Donald, staring at his wife in shock.
"Maybe these girls have a point, Donald," Melissa said. "And all of the board members voted 'yes.' I say we let these girls play on Friday!"
The entire J.V. team erupted into applause, grinning widely as Teddi, Sofi, Lauren, Maya, Katie, and Finley gathered up, joining hands, and screaming, "GIRL POWER!" as they walked out of the board room together, their spirits high. As they left, Adam walked up to Teddi.
"Good job back there," he said, winking. "Now, I have some business I must get to in California. Call me if you need anything at all. I mean it."
"Thanks, Uncle Adam," Teddi said, feeling her eyes burn tearfully as she hugged Adam goodbye.
"No, I should be thanking you for being such a good friend to my son," Adam said gently, squeezing her shoulder before departing with his wife, who hugged Teddi goodbye before she embraced her son, who sank into her hold. Connie dropped a soft kiss on Teddi's forehead, and Ted hugged Coach Vargas goodbye.
"Are you coming to the game, Ted?" Teddi asked.
"You know I will be there," Ted said, grinning. But as he departed, the Varsity team, Donna Jane Kentinsworth, and her band of snobby cheerleaders approached them, wearing identical sneers on their faces.
"Well, congratulations. You ladies get to play, but only on technicality," Alec Kentinsworth snorted. "Well, guess what? When Varsity plays J.V. this Friday, you'll go crawling back into your hole, and we'll show the whole school what a joke you really are."
"You know we're gonna hurt you," laughed Stone stupidly.
"Well, I believe last time, you guys had an unfair advantage," Finley said, stepping up. "You had my brother."
"And you also had one of us," added Evan. "Banksy." He pointed at Billy, who smiled weakly in his direction.
"You can keep them," sneered Alec. "They never had the hearts of Barbarians anyway."
Teddi noticed how Billy's face fell when Alec said that. She glared at him until he and the rest of his goons walked away and said, "Don't worry, you guys. We'll get them. But that means we've got work to do."
"Then let's get to practice," Katie said fiercely. Together, the flock walked toward the ice rink, determined to start practicing immediately, knowing they were going to have to work hard all night long for the next week if they were going to be ready by Friday. As they walked along, Teddi noticed Billy still looking down on himself and falling back behind the others; she grabbed his hand, and Evan fell into step with them.
"You okay, man?" Evan asked, leaning a hand on their goalie's shoulder.
Billy nodded.
"Hey," Teddi said, bumping her shoulder with Billy's. "Don't listen to those jerks. Besides, who wants to be a Barbarian anyway?"
Billy smiled, laughing weakly as Evan threw an arm around his shoulders. No doubt, they were going to do this.
A/N:
I actually did look up laws surrounding Title IX and the private school system, and as it turns out, what Adam states to the deans and the school board is true: Minnesota private schools aren't exempt from Title IX protections, so therefore, Minnetonka Prep is technically committing acts of gender discrimination. Hence, if Adam chose to, he could've easily found a way to take them to court and sue them and collect a boatload of fines.