by Alex Morgan
Emma and Jessi walked into the courtyard together and sat down next to us. The sun was shining, and it was nice and warm, a perfect day to eat outside.
“Kara told me it might snow in Connecticut today,” I told them. They had all met Kara when she’d come for a visit to watch the Kicks play in a rematch against Pinewood a couple of months before.
Zoe’s eyes lit up. “The hats! The scarves and boots! I love winter accessories, and I never get to wear them.”
Emma shivered. “Not me. I’m happy I live in a place where it’s warm. I get mad at my brothers when they turn the air-conditioning too high.”
“I think it would be fun to be in a snowstorm. I’d love to have a snowball fight,” Jessi added.
“It is fun, until you get plowed in the face with a snowball,” I told them. Everyone laughed, and I figured it was the perfect way to start the conversation, on a high note. “So thanks for coming! I know we haven’t all eaten lunch together in a while.”
Zoe and Emma both looked around nervously, like I was going to try to make them feel bad or something,
“Hey! It’s okay.” I held my hands up in the air, the I come in peace move I used a lot with Maisie. “Things changed when we tried out for the winter league. But we’ll always be friends. And friends should be able to talk about things, so I thought maybe we could do that today.”
Emma leaned back in her chair. “You know what? That’s a great idea, Devin. Do you mind if I say something first?”
“Please do,” I said, relieved that Emma at least seemed willing to talk right away.
“Thanks,” she said before she took a deep breath. She looked a little nervous. “I know you all were trying to be nice to me about not making the soccer league. And my ‘Emma Is Excellent’ day was so fun. I’m sorry I got mad when Steven and Cody showed up and you guys started talking about soccer. I just felt so left out.”
“We get it,” Jessi said as she smiled encouragingly at Emma. “I couldn’t even imagine if I didn’t make the team and you guys did. I don’t know if I’d be able to even watch soccer again.”
I shuddered, putting myself in Emma’s place. “That would totally stink.”
“So that’s why I’ve been hanging with the Tree Huggers,” Emma explained. “It just felt good to not have to be reminded of not making the team, you know?”
We all nodded. “It’s okay, but the Tree Huggers have to be your second-best friends, not your very best friends, okay?” Zoe said.
“Awwww, of course!” Emma launched herself across the table to hug Zoe, knocking over Zoe’s water bottle, which had the top off. We all screamed and scrambled to move our backpacks and notebooks out of the way of the rushing water. Emma began sheepishly mopping it up with some napkins.
“At least it’s just water, right?” she asked in her typical cheerful manner as we all cracked up.
After the water had been cleaned up, Emma stood up and insisted on an official group hug. “Let’s do one where I can’t do any damage!” she said, holding out her arms.
“Um, maybe we should see if the school has a padded room somewhere?” Jessi joked.
We all laughed as we had a big hug fest. When Emma untangled herself from our arms, she had a serious look on her face. “I want to make one thing clear. I don’t expect you guys not to talk about soccer at all around me. I want to be a good friend, the kind you can tell anything to. I want to support you. But I’m just asking you not to talk all soccer, all the time, okay?”
“Of course!” I said, and soon we were all hugging again.
After we sat back down, Zoe had something to say. “I hope you don’t mind if I eat lunch with the other Gators every now and then. We like to talk strategy and go over games.”
“And we do have Tree Hugger meetings sometimes during lunch,” Emma reminded us.
“Hey, we all should be able to have different interests and still be friends,” Jessi said. “We’d be totally boring if we all did and liked the exact same things all the time.”
“We should do something that’s just the four of us,” I suggested. “Or just the five of us, when Frida gets back.”
“It is so weird not having her around. I miss her,” Zoe said. “Especially in my English class. She used to put on all these funny accents whenever she had to read something out loud.”
At that moment all of our phones beeped at the same time. We looked—it was another group text from Frida.
“That girl is psychic!” Jessi remarked.
We opened the text to see a photo of a chili dog loaded with melted cheese and onions.
Can you believe what Brady eats for lunch? Frida asked.
“Oh my gosh, he must have terrible breath!” Zoe said.
“Never!” Emma said. “Brady’s breath is like . . . peppermints and rainbows and a fresh summer breeze.”
Jessi, Zoe, and I shook our heads.
“How would you know what Brady’s breath is like, anyway?” Jessi asked.
Emma sighed. “Someday I will. I know it.”
Frida’s text had given me an idea.
“Hey!” I said loudly. “Remember when we were talking about helping to raise money for Maisie’s school, so they could get the soccer program going? Maybe that’s something we could all do together—even Frida.”
Emma smiled. “That sounds like fun! I’m in!”
“Me too!” Jessi chimed in.
“And me!” Zoe added. “Even though Frida’s not around, we could ask her for ideas. We can text and video chat with her, so it will be like she’s a part of it too.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” I said.
“So let’s all brainstorm some ideas, and maybe we can get together this weekend to share them,” Jessi said. “How does that sound?”
“Perfect!” I said out loud. But inside I was thinking, Goal! One down, two to go.
I felt cheerful and relaxed before practice that day—a first for the winter league! Knowing that Emma, Zoe, Jessi, and I were all in this together, even if we weren’t all playing together, made me feel better than I had in a while. Which gave me the confidence to try yet another icebreaker at practice that afternoon.
After we had warmed up, again focusing on stretches to prevent injury, we ran a few drills before we divided up for a scrimmage. This time Coach Darby split us into teams.
“Amanda, I want you to start on goal,” she said. “Lauren, Sasha, and Kelly, you’re on defense. Midfield is Meg, Kristin, and Sarah. I want Devin and Jessi on the forward line. Got it?”
We nodded as Coach strode over to the other team to assign positions. I jumped up and down with excitement. I had been worried that since Coach Darby had praised me on defense, she would keep me there. But I was back as a striker!
“I am so happy Jamie isn’t on our team,” Jessi said as she glanced across the field, sticking out her tongue.
“Me too,” I said. “Which makes what I’m about to do a lot easier.”
Jessi looked at me quizzically as I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Hey, anyone want to do something fun to warm up?”
“Sure!” Jessi answered cheerfully right away, but everyone else looked around hesitantly, until Sarah, one of the Kicks, stepped up.
“Why not?” she said.
Everyone else shrugged. I heard an unenthusiastic “Okay” and a “Sure.”
It wasn’t a glowing response, but it was better than nothing. I seized the opportunity and barreled forward.
“I’ll start,” I said. “First, I’ll do a cartwheel.” I jumped and sprang off my hands to demonstrate.
“Then I’ll pick another person to do a cartwheel.” I looked around like I was deciding, but I already knew who it would be. “Jessi!” Jessi did a perfect cartwheel.
“Then Jessi picks someone,” I said, and Jessi called out, “Sarah!”<
br />
Sarah turned the cartwheel, but a little shakily. “I’m not the best at cartwheels,” she said, and laughed. Everyone started chatting as Sarah said, “Amanda.”
As Amanda did her cartwheel, I explained the rest of the warm-up. “If you get called more than once, you have to do an extra cartwheel. So if Jessi gets called again, she’ll have to do two cartwheels in a row. If she gets called a third time, then she’ll have to do three.”
Everyone watched their teammates attempting cartwheels. Some were a lot better than others. Kelly took a running start and then sprang off her hands, but her legs barely left the ground. “Did I do it?” she asked. “It felt like I did!”
Jessi shook her head. “Sorry to break it to you, but no,” she said as everyone, including Kelly, laughed. It was nice to see one of the most competitive players on the team loosen up and have a little fun.
We were having such a good time that I barely noticed the other team, but I looked over at one point and saw Jamie smirking at us. She elbowed Stephanie and jerked her chin in our direction, but Stephanie looked over and away again without responding to Jamie. I saw Jamie’s cheeks get red, and I couldn’t be sure but she looked a little embarrassed to me. It made me feel good that Stephanie didn’t join in on Jamie’s mocking of us. And if Jamie felt self-conscious in the process, oh well!
Coach Darby’s whistle blew, and we were on the field. We received the ball first, Courtney kicking it deep into our midfield. Sarah stopped it with her foot and began moving it down the left side, but Jamie and Stephanie charged for her. Stephanie stole it out from under Sarah and passed it to Jamie down the field. She started dribbling it toward the goal, and I figured she’d have a good shot. But then Kelly zoomed in front of her and kicked it away. It went out of bounds, and Jamie shot Kelly an irritated look.
“Go, Kelly!” I heard Lauren shout. That was a first. The Griffons usually played without a lot of talking. As the scrimmage went on, I noticed our communication was a lot better on the field, the best it had ever been. It seemed to be helping a lot.
At one point I had the ball but was surrounded by defense.
“Devin! Over here! Over here!” Kristin was running parallel to me, and there was a slight opening. I passed the ball to her, and she moved it down, finding an opening to pass it to Jessi, who kicked the ball right into the goal and over Courtney’s head.
At one point Jessi got the ball from Mirabelle and kicked it to me. I charged down the field and zeroed in on the goal. I was going to do this, and nothing could stop me! Until I felt a shove that sent my feet flying as I lost control of the ball. It was Jamie, who took the ball from me and moved it away from the goal.
I heard Coach Darby’s whistle blow. “Offsides!” she shouted. “And a yellow card for Jamie!”
Wow, finally, I thought. It looked like hearing from some of the parents had gotten to Coach Darby.
The next time Jamie had the ball, she found herself surrounded by our defense. She tried to elbow her way through, but Kelly and Lauren weren’t budging, so she was forced to kick the ball wildly across the field, hoping one of her teammates could get it.
I was all over it! I intercepted it and took off running straight down the middle of the field, so fast that the other team couldn’t catch me. When I was in striking distance of the goal, I kicked the ball hard and fast, trying for not too high and not too low. Courtney jumped up to catch it, but it only brushed her fingertips as it went into the goal.
Kristin, who was the closest player to me, ran over for a high five. “Way to go, Devin!” she said, and she actually smiled. Wow!
The play continued, with Mirabelle making a goal for the other team and Jessi making one more for our team. At the end, we were the winners, 3–1. There was a lot of high-fiving and smiling on our team. The vibe had shifted, even if it was just a little bit, and I was feeling pretty good—until Coach Darby walked over to me.
“Devin,” she said in her no-nonsense voice. “What did you have the girls doing before the game?”
Uh-oh. Was she going to be mad? Was this going to be like the socks all over again?
“W-well,” I stammered, full of nerves. “It was just an icebreaker to get us communicating.”
“Hmmmm,” Coach Darby said, deep in thought. “It looks like it helped with that, but it also really unnerved the other team when they were watching you. It gave you the competitive edge. I like that. Maybe we can try something like that at the next game.” She patted me on the shoulder. “Good job.”
I smiled, and then Kelly walked by.
“Great game, Devin,” she said.
That was the first time Kelly had said anything nice to me—or for that matter, anything at all. It looked like my icebreaker was helping with our teamwork issue after all.
I didn’t feel quite like I had made the second goal in my hat trick yet. But the goal was in my sights, and I now knew some of my teammates were ready to assist!
“Thanks for helping me out with this,” I said to Jessi, Emma, and Zoe on Friday afternoon. They had come to my house to help me teach Maisie how to play soccer.
“No problem,” said Zoe. “I’m just glad we could find a time when we could all be together.”
“It almost didn’t work out,” I told her. “Demolition Darby nearly stuck us with an extra practice today.”
Jessi cracked up. “Demolition Darby? That’s too good.”
I grinned. “Yeah, it’s perfect.”
“Is that what you call her?” Emma asked. “I’m starting to think it’s a good thing I didn’t make this league!”
Just then Mom pulled up in the driveway with Maisie and two of her friends, Kaylin and Juliet. Kaylin wore her dark hair in braids, and Juliet had short blond hair.
“Oh my gosh, it’s Maisie and a little Jessi and a little Zoe!” Emma said, and I realized that they did kind of look like younger versions of our friends. “Is there a little Emma in there too?”
Mom laughed. “No, just these three mini-Kicks.”
“Kaylin and Juliet want to play soccer too, so Mom said they could come,” Maisie said, as if she were expecting me to complain about it.
“That’s great!” I said. “The more players we have, the better the drills will be. Come on. We’re all set up in the backyard.”
“All set up” sounded much more impressive than it was. My friends had brought their soccer balls, and Dad had gotten us some cones when I’d told him we would need them for practice. But it would be enough to help Maisie learn soccer.
Jessi and I had been talking about the drills we remembered doing when we were kids, so we’d come up with a plan.
“Okay, let’s everybody get in a circle!” I said. “We’re going to play a game.”
Maisie put her hands on her hips. “I’m not here to play games. I’m here to learn soccer!”
I looked at Jessi and rolled my eyes, but it was Emma who straightened her out.
“Lighten up, mini-Devin!” she said. “Playing games is a great way to learn stuff.”
“Okay,” Maisie said. “But don’t call me mini-Devin!”
“Yes, please don’t!” I added.
We all formed a circle, and I launched into the game.
“Okay, this game is called I Can Do—Can You?” I began. “I’m going to do something, and then you guys have to copy me. Okay?”
Maisie and her friends nodded. I started by doing jumping jacks.
“I can do jumping jacks. Can you?” I asked.
“Of course!” Maisie yelled, and her friends giggled as they did their jumping jacks.
Then I nodded to Jessi, who took over. “I can hop on one foot. Can you?” And we all started hopping on one foot.
I hadn’t realized it when I was doing this as a kid, but when my coach back then had played this game with us, she’d been teaching us balance and movement. Afte
r Jessi, Emma, Zoe, and I all gave challenges, we let the girls challenge us.
“I can stand on my hands, can you?” asked Maisie, doing a perfect handstand.
“Um, I’m too tall to do a handstand,” Emma said, giving it her best try.
“If you can’t do it, we win!” Maisie said.
“Maisie, this isn’t about winning. It’s about having fun,” I said, rolling my eyes at Jessi again. I was starting to wonder if helping Maisie was such a good idea.
“Let’s play Hit the Cone!” Jessi shouted, and she made it sound like so much fun that the three little girls cheered.
We scattered the cones around the backyard and gave each girl a ball.
“When I say go, I want you to dribble the ball to a cone and then try to hit the cone with the ball,” said Jessi.
“That’s easy,” said Maisie.
“Go!” Jessi yelled.
The girls started dribbling the balls around the yard. They were so cute, all of them concentrating really hard. The balls kept getting away from them, like it had for me when I’d first been learning how to dribble.
“Short kicks!” I coached them. “And wait until you get close to the cone before you hit it.”
“Got one!” yelled Juliet (aka mini-Zoe), and I saw Maisie frown. I knew she had wanted to be the first to hit the cone.
Jessi caught the look too. “I hope she turns out to be a mini-Devin and not a mini-Jamie,” she said to me.
“I hope so too!” I said. “We’re going to have to do some good sportsmanship games with them or something.”
I was about to jump in and give the girls some dribbling tips when a voice rang across the backyard.
“Did you miss me?”
I whirled around and saw Frida giving Emma a huge hug! I had texted Frida about today but hadn’t heard back.
“Surprise!” Frida said when she saw me. “They let us off set early today, so I came right over.”
