Offside!

by Diersch, Sandra

  “Hello Alecia. I haven’t seen you in ages,” he said.

  “That’s because Connor never invites me over now that he has a girlfriend,” she said, glancing slyly at her friend. Connor stuck his tongue out at her.

  “Around here we don’t mind so much. Keeps him out of our hair,” his father said. He stood beside Connor, one hand on his son’s shoulder. He kept looking at Alecia, talking casually, but very quickly his other hand shot out and snatched the pickle from Connor’s plate. It happened so fast, Connor didn’t even notice. Alecia grinned as Connor suddenly realized what had happened.

  “Get your hands off my food, old man!” he cried, covering the remains of his snack with his hands.

  “Watch who you are calling old, little boy.”

  Alecia sat quietly, enjoying the easy bantering between her friend and his dad. They seemed like such good friends, rather than just father and son.

  “Hey, did I tell you about the fishing trip me and Dad are taking in June? Kind of a Father’s Day/birthday type thing. Just the two of us for four days. Skipping out of school and everything,” Connor said. Alecia smiled as he described where they would be staying, what kind of fishing they would try. He positively glowed with excitement.

  Would her own father have taken Alecia fishing? Had he even liked to fish? An image of two people in a boat appeared before her. They were sitting in the middle of the lake with fishing rods in their hands and they looked happy. The sun was shining, it was very quiet. Alecia smiled to herself, enjoying the picture. Just her and her dad. Except, she realized suddenly, the man in the boat with her wasn’t Peter Sheffield. It was Jeremy. Alecia blinked and gazed around the kitchen. Connor and his dad were still talking about their plans. She sighed. She would never get to go fishing with her dad. She wouldn’t ever get to do anything with him.

  “I think I’ll get going, Connor,” she said abruptly, sliding from her stool. She put her dishes in the sink and left the kitchen. She was pulling on her boots when Connor came out and stood beside her.

  “Everything okay, Leesh?” he asked. She looked up at his concerned face and tried to smile.

  “Sure. Thanks for the snack and games. Next time I’ll beat you,” she said, trying to sound more normal. She opened the door, but stood for another second, struggling with the zipper on her jacket.

  Connor looked at her a little longer, not quite believing her, but then he shrugged. “No problem. Anytime. I get tired of being active sometimes — you know how it is.”

  “Yeah, that Laurie, she really keeps you hopping.” The two friends grinned at each other and then Alecia waved and headed off down the walkway.

  9

  More Trouble

  Alecia was still sitting at the dinner table Tuesday night when Jeremy came downstairs wearing his tracksuit, his whistle hanging from his neck. He frowned at her.

  “We have to go, Leesh,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Alecia agreed, but made no move to get up from the table. The knot in her stomach made her feel sick and she wondered if she was maybe getting the stomach flu. She hoped so.

  “Are you planning to get ready?” Jeremy asked, tossing his water bottle into his gym bag.

  “The thing is,” Alecia began, “I’m not feeling all that well. Maybe I should just stay home tonight.”

  “This not feeling well wouldn’t have anything to do with Lexi would it?”

  “I don’t know. My stomach hurts. I feel like I’m going to be sick.”

  “You’ll have a break Thursday,” he said. “I have to cancel practice. And I’ll have a talk with everyone at the start of practice, and maybe a private one with Lexi. But you can’t hide from the situation, Leesh. You have to face it.”

  “If I puke on the gym floor you have to clean it up,” Alecia reminded him.

  “Come with me. If you still feel like you’re going to be sick once we start practising, I’ll let you sit out.”

  “You’re a heartless man,” Alecia told him, pushing herself from the table.

  “So I’ve heard.”

  * * *

  The drills were hard that night — Jeremy worked them constantly, with little break in between. They did a lot of running and passing, a lot of blocking and checking. It was good, actually, Alecia decided, wiping her hand across her sweaty forehead. It was good to get her heart pounding and her adrenalin pumping. She could tell the others felt the same way. All of their frustrations and stresses were being pounded out on the gym floor. Even Lexi was working hard, paying close attention to the drills and not saying much to the other girls.

  It seemed as though the practice would be a good one, until about halfway through. Alecia wasn’t anywhere near the others when the trouble started. In fact she was across the gym working with Allison when the yelling started. Everyone in the room stopped and turned in the direction of the voices. Alecia glanced around but Jeremy didn’t seem to be in the room just then.

  “You stupid idiot!” Lexi cried. “Why don’t you pay attention to what is going on? You could have killed me!” She was screaming at Stacie, the ball held tight in her arms.

  Stacie’s face was red, every muscle in her body tensed. “Why don’t you keep your head up?” she asked.

  “I was paying attention. You think you can just do whatever the heck you want to. You and just about everyone else on this stupid team!”

  “What’s the problem here?” Laurie asked, joining the two players.

  “Mind your own business, Laurie,” Lexi said, turning her back on the captain. “This has nothing to do with you.”

  “This twit kicks the ball on net, then gets smacked in the back when I kick it out again. Now she’s saying I’m not paying attention. Who wasn’t paying attention, Alexandra?” Stacie said.

  “Stacie, come on, don’t make things worse,” Laurie said. “Lexi, you have to watch out for Stacie. She doesn’t like to smother the ball. She keeps it in play. Don’t turn your back on her.” Laurie spoke calmly, her tone appeasing. But Lexi didn’t buy it. She turned on Laurie, furious.

  “Don’t tell me what to do!” she cried. “You think all there is to being a captain is patting everyone on the back and telling them to be a good girl? You have to lead a team, not coddle them along. Who made you captain, anyway? Huh? Whoever it was needs to have their head examined!” Lexi cried as Jeremy swung the door open and came back inside.

  “What’s going on here, girls?” he asked, setting the cones on the floor. No one said anything and the only sound in the room was the heavy breathing.

  “This is the second practice in a row where there have been raised voices and angry faces. If no one is going to tell me why, then perhaps we’ll just knock off early tonight. We have a game Sunday, an important one, and if this is the attitude we’re taking into it, we’re going to lose.”

  “Sorry, Jeremy,” Stacie muttered. “It’ll be okay now.”

  “Lexi?” Jeremy asked, turning to look at the girl.

  “Whatever,” Lexi said, still scowling.

  “You girls better figure out a way to get along. This is getting silly,” Jeremy told them. He ended practice a few minutes later. Everyone was just as glad to be finished and the gym cleared quickly.

  * * *

  Laurie called Wednesday night. Alecia took the call in her mother’s bedroom, curled up on the bed in her usual fashion. Laurie got right to the point.

  “I’m calling to tell you I resign as captain. Would you tell Jeremy for me?” she asked.

  “What?” Alecia cried. “You can’t quit, Laurie! We need you.”

  “I’m sorry, Leesh,” Laurie said, sounding close to tears. “I can’t do it anymore. I can’t handle Lexi’s criticism. Maybe I am a bad captain. Stacie might be better. Or someone else. I’m not very good at fights.”

  “You can’t let Lexi win, Laurie!
That’s what she wants, for you to quit. Besides, there’s no one else to take over. You know Stacie would be a lousy captain. Please, Laurie, you can’t quit.”

  “I won’t quit, Leesh. I love soccer. I just don’t want to be captain anymore. Please, would you tell Jeremy for me? I know I should tell him myself, but I’m kind of chicken. I don’t want him to try and talk me out of it.”

  “Laurie, please don’t do anything just yet. We can work something out. I’ll talk to Jeremy, tell him he has to do something about Lexi.”

  “I’ve already decided, Leesh. Just promise me you’ll tell Jeremy.”

  Alecia clenched her jaw. She liked Laurie an awful lot, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for her to quit as captain. “I wish you’d rethink this, Laurie, but if you won’t you’re going to have to tell Jeremy yourself.”

  Laurie said nothing although Alecia could hear her breathing. After a long second she sighed. “I guess you’re right. I should do it myself. Is he there? Can you get him for me?” she asked.

  Alecia hung around outside Jeremy’s office while he talked to Laurie. Her stomach was all tied up in knots and she kept twisting her fingers around themselves. What would Jeremy do? Would he be able to convince her to change her mind? Alecia remembered the previous fall when Anne had called to tell Jeremy she quit. She hadn’t wanted to hear that information either.

  Eventually Jeremy hung up the phone and came to stand in the doorway. He gazed at Alecia, his eyes solemn behind their glasses. “This is getting ridiculous, Leesh,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Alecia agreed.

  “You girls have got to figure out a way of getting along. And now you have to figure out who will replace Laurie as captain.” He stared at her for another couple of seconds, then shook his head and went back in the office.

  Alecia watched him leave then went back to her room. She sat at her desk and stared at the books lying there. What would happen when her team found out that Lexi had chased away their popular captain? And who would replace Laurie? She shivered, though the room wasn’t all that cold, and wrapped her arms around herself. Everything was getting so complicated and ugly.

  * * *

  “Where’s Monica today?” Alecia asked Friday afternoon as she and Anne pushed through the heavy orange fire doors. It had been a long, tiring week. Alecia had tried to talk to Laurie again, but Laurie had kept to herself, obviously not wanting to talk. Alecia understood, but she was frustrated and upset. Alecia was afraid the whole team would collapse if something didn’t happen. Still, Jeremy seemed determined not to ask Lexi to leave. He insisted they all needed to figure out a way to get along. Alecia was glad the week was over, but Sunday’s game was looming closer and closer and she shuddered every time she thought of it.

  “Oh, some appointment or something,” Anne said, her voice low, distracted. They left the school grounds and headed along the sidewalk, walking slowly in the cool February afternoon. The sun had come out, but it had no warmth. Alecia couldn’t wait for spring. She was so tired of bulky sweaters and thick coats. She wanted to wear her pretty clothes again. She glanced at her friend, wondering what was up. Anne wasn’t usually so quiet and withdrawn.

  “What’s going on?” she asked finally, when Anne didn’t say anything. “Something happen at school today?”

  “Oh, Alecia,” Anne cried, wringing her hands together. “I’ve been trying to decide whether to say anything to you or not. I just don’t know what to do!”

  “Is it about Lexi and soccer?” Alecia asked. She had never seen Anne so upset. Her friend nodded miserably. “Well, you should probably tell me. I don’t know what else there could be to know, though. Laurie quitting was pretty bad.” Alecia had filled Anne in on her conversation with Laurie. Like Alecia, Anne couldn’t believe it had come to that. Now it looked like there was even more trouble.

  “After gym, when we were changing, I overheard a couple of girls talking,” Anne began, speaking slowly. “They were talking about the Burrards, Leesh. There is going to be a boycott this weekend.”

  “A boycott?” Alecia repeated, stupidly. Her brain was fuzzy and she was having difficulty concentrating on Anne’s words. “A boycott of what?”

  “The game, Alecia. The team is going to boycott the game against the Rocketeers. They are going to refuse to play with Lexi.” Anne looked as though she were ready to cry. Alecia stared at her.

  “How did they find out?” she asked finally.

  “I’m not sure, really,” Anne told her. “Somehow one of the girls I heard talking must have overheard it somewhere.”

  “Maybe it isn’t really true,” Alecia said, but she knew it was. She looked at Anne.

  “What are you going to do? They’re going to throw the game!” her friend said, touching her arm.

  “I know, Annie. What am I supposed to do? They didn’t want me to know, obviously. Maybe I should just pretend like I don’t know. Maybe that is the best thing.”

  “But if Jeremy knows ahead of time, maybe he can change their minds,” Anne suggested.

  Alecia felt as though everything that had happened in the last week, right from when Jeremy had asked to adopt her to this very second, was weighing down on her. Like Atlas, she was holding the weight of the world on her shoulders. And it was way, way too heavy.

  10

  Taking a Stand

  Dear Dad,

  Things are pretty terrible around here right now. One of the girls on our soccer team is really upsetting everyone else. She even made our captain quit. And now the rest of the girls want to boycott an important game this Sunday! I only found out because Anne overheard some girls at school talking about it and told me. They didn’t want me to know. Now I don’t know whether I should tell Jeremy or not. What would you do? Would you want to know? I don’t want to betray my teammates, but I don’t want to betray Jeremy either. He’s a great coach. I’m so confused. I wish things could just go back to the way they used to be before Lexi came. I don’t understand why she is so nasty all the time. Jeremy says there is probably a reason, but I don’t know what it is. I think she’s just like that. I wish you could help me. I really need you.

  Love, Alecia

  * * *

  Sunday morning was sunny and bright. Alecia woke up and lay in bed, her stomach churning. She had done nothing. Nothing at all. Just kept her mouth shut, telling herself she couldn’t make up her mind what to do. And now it was too late. Jeremy was downstairs in his coaching clothes, eating his toast and drinking a cup of coffee. He assumed there would be a team of players at the field waiting for him. Waiting to play.

  Alecia rolled over and stared at the wall. She hadn’t slept well the night before. She felt heavy and foggy. Could she pretend to be sick? Pretend that she couldn’t play? Not a chance. Jeremy always saw right through her. He’d never let her off. She got up and pulled on her uniform. The clothes hurt her skin. She braided her hair and scowled at herself in the mirror. She was a traitor no matter what she did. She couldn’t win, and for a second she really hated Stacie and the others for putting her in such an awkward position. It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She wasn’t the one tearing the team apart.

  “Let’s get it moving, Leesh!” Jeremy called up and Alecia went slowly down the stairs, her feet like lead weights at the ends of her legs. It was a good thing there wasn’t going to be a game today, she decided, since she could barely walk, let alone run.

  They arrived at the field, the same one as the week before, and Jeremy took his time getting the practice balls out of the car and over to their side of the field. Alecia followed along behind him slowly. There were girls already there, huddled together, watching Alecia and Jeremy make their way across the field. Alecia didn’t see Lexi, but that didn’t mean anything — she was usually late.

  “Morning, ladies,” Jeremy called out as he passed them, waving. Alecia stopped
at the outskirts of the group, unsure of herself.

  “Hey, Leesh,” Stacie said.

  “Talk them out of it, Leesh,” Nancy said, grabbing Alecia’s arm. “They figure it’s going to help. That it’s actually going to change things, instead of making them worse.”

  Alecia swallowed hard and decided to play dumb. “What are you talking about?” she whispered.

  “They’re not going to play!” Nancy cried, then lowered her voice. “They are going to tell Jeremy they won’t play in today’s game if he lets Lexi play. They’re going to boycott the game.”

  “We have to do this, Leesh,” Stacie said firmly, her eyes cold. “I know Jeremy’s your stepdad and everything, but we have to let him know how we feel.”

  Alecia was suddenly very angry. Angry at Lexi, for starting all this nonsense, but angry at Stacie, too, and the others who agreed with her. What did they think was going to happen?

  “He could quit, Stace,” she said, her voice shaking.

  “I doubt it. But we’ll take our chances, right girls?” Stacie asked, scanning the team. Just about every girl nodded in agreement. It seemed Nancy was a minority.

  “Here’s Laurie,” someone said.

  Stacie pulled Laurie aside and filled her in. Alecia saw Laurie go white as Stacie spoke and she shook her head hard, her black hair smacking her face.

  “No! Don’t you dare!” she cried, pushing away from Stacie to face the whole group. “That isn’t the way to do things. What happens if Jeremy folds the team? We are so close to our goal. Let’s just work it out.”

  “It’s too late for that, Laurie,” Stacie said. “Either Lexi goes, or we don’t play. Period.”

  “Here comes Jeremy,” Rianne said and the girls turned to face him. Alecia stood awkwardly, not sure where she belonged. Not sure what to do.

  Stacie did all the talking. She had obviously thought out ahead of time what she was going to say. Laurie stood with her head down, staring at the ground. Nancy had her arms crossed, her face tight with anger. Jeremy listened until Stacie had finished speaking.