Going Places by Fran Hurcomb

Text copyright © 2008 Fran Hurcomb
    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.
    Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
    Hurcomb, Fran, 1949-
Going places / written by Fran Hurcomb.
    (Orca young readers)
ISBN 978-1-55469-019-0
    I. Title. II. Series.
    PS8565.U72G63   2008   jC813’.54   C2008-903059-1
    First published in the United States, 2008
Library of Congress Control Number : 2008928574
    Summary : Girls’ hockey has finally come to Fort Desperation,
Northwest Territories, along with vandalism,
a mystery and the possibility of a road trip.
    The author would like to acknowledge the support
of the Northwest Territories Arts Council.
    Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
    Cover artwork by Gary Alphonso
Author photo by Kathleen Smith
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Printed and bound in Canada.
    11 10 09 08 • 4 3 2 1

To all of the Hockey Girls
across the North.

Acknowledgments
    Thanks as always to Dave and Kathleen for being supportive and helpful with technical details. Thanks also to Ann Westlake for early editing and encouragement and Sarah Harvey of Orca Book Publishers for her skillful editing, which managed to be both educational and enjoyable.

Chapter One
    With four seconds left in the final game, Hayley Wickenheiser scored for Canada on an empty net, and that was it. Game over. Canada had beaten the United States 2–0 to win the Four Nations Cup.
    â€œWow,” said my mom, “what a game.”
    â€œYeah,” I replied, relaxing back into the couch in the corner of our café. “They are so good. How can they play like that?”
    Mom reached up and turned off the tv; then she settled down on her stool behind the counter. She’s the proud owner and proprietor of Casey’s Café, the only restaurant in all of beautiful Fort Desperation, Northwest Territories. Casey was my dad, whose dream the whole thing was, way back in the eighties.He died three years ago, and Mom decided to keep the place going. I am the number-one assistant, which means waitress, dishwasher and cleaning lady, when required.
    â€œYears of practice, Jess. Who knows? Maybe someday you’ll play for Team Canada.”
    I laughed. “Yeah, right. You know what I like best? I like the way they pass the puck around. Way more than in men’s hockey.”
    â€œI like that there’s no bodychecking,” added Mom. “I hate seeing men being pounded into the boards. This is much more civilized.”
    I leaned further back into the couch. “I wonder what it would be like to play girls’ hockey?” I said.
    â€œDo you think you’d like it?” asked Mom.
    â€œI don’t know, but sometimes I get