I toss him a quick nod as my heart pumps outside of my chest.
My professor crosses his arms. “Ella, I didn’t want to say anything before class, but did you know that you are no longer registered?”
“I’m not?”
“No. It seems like you didn’t make the payment before the deadline, and you were automatically unenrolled in all of your classes.”
My heart drops.
I wrap my finger around my blonde curls, as I’m stunned speechless.
What am I going to do now?
“Uh, thank you for letting me kn–”
He cuts me off. “Ella, Student Accounts has been trying to reach you for months. This is what happens when you ignore your responsibility.”
Ignore my responsibility?
This is the first time I’m hearing about a problem at all, but I don’t tell him that. I just nod, and move fast out of class, trying not to think that this will most likely be the last time I step out of this room.
Chapter Sixteen
Dallas
I slam the front door of my Jeep and then grab my hockey bag from the back. I sling the strap over my shoulder to head straight to the ice rink.
“Good luck tonight, Dallas,” a feminine voice I don’t recognize greets me as I take a few steps from my car.
“If you need a good luck charm, I’ll be watching,” another flirty voice says with a wink.
I’m stopped at least ten times in the short walk to the ice rink. It’s not the first time, but each night since the interview with the reporter, more and more women show up for the games and seek me out. They show up early and stay late.
It’s gotten out of hand if I’m being honest.
Tonight is one of the biggest games of my college career so far, and I don’t need these types of distractions. We are playing our biggest rival, and they have the best record in the league. We have won every home game over the last two weeks. Away games are a different story, but I’ll take the W when we can.
The parking lot already has some fans present, some tailgating, some flirting with players as we arrive. There aren’t usually tailgaters or a welcome committee, but tonight is different. Some games, like tonight’s rival game, come with anextra buzz and some pregame fun. I keep my head down and head straight to the locker room.
A little later, we are warming up on the ice in front of a full house.
“I’ve got to do my warm-ups for the ladies,” Trevor croons as he hits the ice in full equipment, getting low to stretch.
A whistle hits my ears, and then a fan yells, “Dallas! Your turn!”
I drop my head, shaking it mostly to myself, as I skate to the other side of the ice.
It’s become a madhouse lately, especially since there’s speculation that my Cinderella attends every home game and never one on the road. The attention hasn’t died down, but yet, no sign of my BBUGirl.
I still have her phone, which is good and dead now since it’s an older phone, and I don’t own a phone charger that works. Even if I did, it’s locked anyway.
I also have her shoe. A pretty silver pump in size eight, which is the average shoe size for a woman. I looked it up. I guess she won’t be the only one who will fit in the heel, and I’ll never find her.
I’ve pretty much given up hope at this point.
The jumbotron lights up with fan features on the screen, most jumping up and down in excitement before switching to other things.
“Hey, uh, man,” Trevor says, skating up to me, his voice cautious.
