The Girl Next Door Chapter 1

The Girl Next Door

The story begins in August 2005, after Sidney Crosby was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The main character, Kate Hanson, is almost eighteen, and about to start her senior year at Sewickley Academy, a private school in Sewickley, PA. Her next door neighbor is Mario Lemieux, the great Penguins player/owner. After Crosby is drafted by the Penguins, Lemieux announces that Crosby will be staying with him and his family for the next year. Kate, of course, hears this (Nathalie Lemieux, Mario’s wife, had told her they would do this before it went public), and is excited, but does not think much of it. She’s been hanging out with guys ever since she was a little kid, because she plays ice hockey, and has played hockey with boys the whole time. Her brother, Neal, who is almost twenty-two, and about to start his senior year at Ohio State, is also excited about Sidney moving in next door. What happens with Kate, and the new kid next door? Read on to find out.
And yes, some things have been changed around to set the mood, and some names have been made up. And there’s some language. Remember, we’re dealing with hockey players here.

Chapter 1

“Katie?” a woman yelled up the stairs.
“Ya, mom?” Kate Hanson replied to her mom, Sarah, as she walked to the stairs.
“That was Nathalie on phone,” Sarah said. “She asked us over for dinner on Friday night. I told her yes. You can come, right?”
“Ya, I’m not doing anything,” Kate said back, walking downstairs. “What’s the occasion?”
“Well,” her mom started, “they want us to come over so we can meet Sidney Crosby. He gets into town on Thursday night, and they want him to meet some people his own age, not involved with the Penguins.”
“Count me in,” Kate said, a big smile across her face. “I’d love to meet him.”
“I figured,” Sarah replied, now smiling. “Neal will come too, I’m sure he wants to meet him.”
“Sure he will,” Kate stated. “He figured we’d meet him eventually, since he’s living next door for the next year.”
“Well, we’re going over at 5:30,” Sarah said, matter-of-factly, “so you can meet ‘The Next One’ then,” she added with a dramatic flair.
“Sounds great,” Kate said enthusiastically.
*****
“So Kate, do you wanna see Four Brothers on Friday night?” Kate’s friend Emily asked over the phone.
“Can’t,” Kate said. “Let’s go Saturday.”
“Why?” Emily asked, a little whiny. “I’ve been waiting for it to come out!”
“I’m going to the Lemieux’s for dinner,” Kate said.
“Why?” Emily asked.
“Because,” Kate said, a little exasperated, “my mom already told them we’d all be there to meet Sidney.”
“Sidney?!?!?” Emily screamed. “As in Sidney Crosby?!?!”
“That’s the one,” Kate replied, smiling. “He comes in on Thursday night, and the Lemieux’s want him to meet people his age that don’t play for the Pens.”
“That’s totally okay,” Emily said. “We’ll go Saturday night. We still on for going to the pool tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Kate answered, “but after 1:30. I work 8-1 tomorrow.”
“Not a problem,” Emily said. “I’ll just pick you up on my way.”
“Thanks,” Kate said. “See you then!”
*****
So, the next day, after Kate was done with work, she went to the pool with her friend, Emily. They met some of their friends there, and they just lay around the rest of the afternoon. They talked about how lucky Kate was to be meeting Sidney Crosby the next day, but Kate didn’t make a big deal out of it. He was her age, good-looking, and sure, he was an amazing hockey player, but he was still just a regular guy. She just acted like it wasn’t a big deal, because it wasn’t a big deal or anything. She met famous hockey players all the time because of Mario. Sidney Crosby would be just like the rest of them, or so she thought.
*****
“Katie?” her mom said, knocking on her door. “We’re going over in ten minutes.”
“Okay mom!” Kate said enthusiastically.
Nathalie had called back over today and said they were just going to have a cookout that night, and that they didn’t need to dress up or bring anything. So, Kate was wearing a light blue polo shirt, jean capris, and sandals. As she pulled her dark brown hair up into a loose ponytail, her brother knocked on the door.
“What?” Kate asked.
“You ready?” Neal asked, coming in to her room.
“Chill out,” Kate said, “we’ve still got a few minutes.”
“Aren’t you excited?” Neal said.
“Ya,” Kate replied, “but seriously, you’re almost twenty-two. Take a chill pill.”
“Whatever,” Neal said back.
Kate walked towards her door, and went downstairs, with Neal up ahead of her. Her parents were waiting in the kitchen with a bottle of wine for the Lemieux’s.
“Ready?” Kate’s dad Tom asked. Tom was an orthopedic surgeon, and he operated on a lot of pro athletes.
“Yep,” Kate and Neal replied together.
“Let’s go!” Sarah said.
So, they walked to the front door, left the house, and locked it. They headed out to the sidewalk, and took the very short walk to the Lemieux’s. The Lemieux’s had a fence around their property, along with a gate at the driveway. The gate was open, just waiting for the Hanson’s to come in. They walked up to the front door, and rang the bell. They heard a lock click, and the door opened.