by Nicole Shay
She nodded. “Yeah, if you have an open one.”
“Sure,” he gave her a grin. “Come with me.”
Olivia followed Julio to the open mini field, giving him a good look as she did so. He wasn’t much taller than her, but his looks definitely made up for it. So did his build. “Do you work out?” she asked out of nowhere.
“Why?” he asked, turning to face her. “You can tell?” he winked.
She giggled. “Maybe.”
“Thanks,” he laughed. “Yeah, I do.” He then stopped, signaling they had arrived. “Well, here you are.”
“Thank you,” Olivia said, dropping the ball in her hand to her feet.
“I’ll be in the front if you need anything,” he reminded her. “Have fun Ollie.”
Ollie? That was the first time he had called her anything besides Olivia. She quickly recovered and mumbled a quick “thank you” before dribbling around on the field.
Imogen woke up the next day feeling just as mentally and physically drained as the day before. The words of her coach and her teammates swirled around in her head the whole night becoming something even worse than a nightmare: reality. She got up and tried to do some stretches and breathing exercises that usually calm her down but it was no use. She still felt the anger and guilt flow through her. She decided there was no better way to get some of the unwanted feelings out other than to get back to a soccer ball and an empty net. She had heard of an indoor soccer gym that was about twenty minutes away. She decided she would give it a try for once, although indoor turf was nothing compared to grass.
She walked into the dome like building and gaped at the size of the place.
“Wow” she said aloud as she took it all in.
“First timer huh?” a low voice asked.
Imogen looked to see a darker set of brown eyes looking her way from behind the counter.
“Yeah, this place is awesome!” Imogen admitted, not expecting to be amazed as she was.
“Why haven’t I seen you around here before?” the guy asked curiously.
“I prefer the real thing, but I might have to start coming here more often” He’s pretty cute she thought as she flashed him a smile.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing that smile around here more often” He said returning a smile himself.
“I’m Imogen” she said with a blush as she shook the guy’s hand.
“Julio, you’re trusty man servant...anything you need...nets, cones, balls..I can hook you up!” He assured.
“Ah perfect, well I could use a net actually !” Imogen said already liking her new acquaintance.
Julio set up Imogen’s net across from the mini fields.
“Alright, let me know if you need anything else!” He said with another grin.
“Thanks, I’m good for now!”
“Well I’ll come check on you and that smile of yours in a bit” he said with a wink and a thumbs ups.
“-uh ok” Imogen laughed sure her face was red as a beet by now.
Olivia was minding her own business and messing around with her ball when she noticed a net going up across from her field and the others. Curiously, she stopped what she was doing and watched as Julio set it up. She couldn’t tell who was with him, just that it was a girl. Olivia frowned when the girl laughed, but she was too far to make out any words or facial details. She sighed. It should be her Julio was spending time with. She turned away from the scene and juggled the ball for a bit when a few minutes later, someone stepped onto her field.
“How are we doing in here?” Julio asked, a smile on his face.
She smiled, pleased he was with her now. “Good I guess,” Olivia shrugged. “What’s with the net over there?” The ball fell to the ground and Olivia trapped it under her foot, looking at Julio curiously.
“Oh, a newbie just came in so I set it up for her and got her going,” Julio brushed it off like it was no big deal.
“Oh that’s cool…” Olivia said absentmindedly. She wanted to know who that girl was. “Why didn’t you just bring her to the mini fields?”
“Please Olivia,” he laughed, walking towards her. “Mini fields is your turf for now.”
Olivia beamed. “Shut up.”
“Make me,” he challenged and Olivia had to stop herself from tripping of the ball.
“A quick one-on-one should do it,” she smirked.
“Oh, you’re on.”
Imogen started to do some warm up dribble and juggling exercises. She effortlessly took a few shots, her aim on point. Wondering where her new friend went off to she looked towards the front desk but didn’t see him. She looked across the way to see his hands on some girl’s hips as she tried to dribble a ball away from him. Imogen could tell it wasn’t a ‘just friends’ touch and she immediately felt a little jealous after the guy made her feel special. She took another shot, a bit angrier than before the ball bounced off the crossbar and flew towards the mini field where the two were.
Imogen contemplated going to retrieve it but reasoned she didn’t go to meet a boy but to play soccer. She shrugged it off and ran after the lost ball. She tried not to look at the two but couldn’t help but steal a glance at the last minute. She immediately recognized the pink pre-wrap on the girl’s tightly pulled back ponytail. She made a inaudible gagging noise as Olivia squealed from Julio tackling her to the ground.
“Julio!” Olivia screamed as she hit the ground.
Julio laughed, his hands still on Olivia’s hips. “Didn’t see that one coming, did you Olivia?”
“Jerk!” she pouted, hitting him on the arm.
Suddenly, there was a vibrating coming from Julio’s waist. He groaned. “They need me in the front.”
“Now?” Olivia frowned.
“Yes. I’ll be back to finish this, I promise,” he said, releasing his grip on the striker’s waist and lifting himself up. He flashed her a grin and then walked away, not even noticing Imogen on his way out.
Olivia was flustered from the sudden contact and evened her breathing as she slowly got up and retrieved her ball. Well, this is turning out to be a pretty good day she thought with a smile.
Seeing the smile on Olivia’s face gave Imogen even more reason to confront the girl. She mockingly laughed as she walked towards the girl “Too bad a ref isn’t around for you to bitch at for that tackle…” she snidely remarked.
At the sound of the voice Olivia froze.
CHAPTER 2
Olivia had heard the voice only yesterday on the field. Turning, she saw the girl she realized a second later was the newbie Julio was talking about...and her worst enemy. She gave her a glare. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Getting in some extra touches, you know staying on top of my game...Like you...Except when I say touches, I mean on the soccer ball not on the guy who works here..”
At Imogen’s words, the striker crossed her arms and scoffed. “Please, like you weren’t totally into him when you first walked in.”
“No, you can focus on him and I’ll focus on beating you and your team” Imogen spat back.
Olivia’s jaw clenched. “We’ll see about that, Sloane. You know, you do a lot of talk.”
“You better watch it Olivia, I can do a lot more than run my mouth, can you do anything other than whine and complain?”
“Can you do anything besides giving me bitchy comments every five seconds?” Olivia retorted.
Imogen let out a laugh and stared at the girl, just as Olivia looked like she was about to say something else, Imogen interjected “Oh that was six seconds...guess I can do more than you think I’m capable of..” she stated as she began to walk away. “It won’t be the last time that happens..” she added as she didn’t bother looking back at Olivia’s reaction.
Olivia was now biting the inside of her cheek. The fact she could go from giddy to completely angry thanks to Imogen was a total mystery to her. “Save the bullshit and let your feet do the talking on the field, Imogen!” she called after her. Granted, it wasn’t h
er best come back, but she was so pissed she couldn’t even think straight.
Imogen stopped in her tracks at Olivia’s comment. She was reaching a boiling point with the girl, as much as she should’ve kept walking she couldn’t stop herself from continuing the argument.
“You think I’m full of shit? You call yourself the captain but it’s pretty clear that Elaine is running the team...you wouldn’t even know the first thing about being a leader without her..” Imogen bit back. She herself felt the sting from her comment as she too struggled with identifying herself in the ‘captain’ position. Not that she would ever let Olivia know that..
Imogen had really done it now. Olivia’s whole body tensed up as the words came out of the other girl’s mouth. Her foot pushed down the ball as she tried very hard to stay under control. She got a faraway look, not even staring at Imogen anymore as she said, “They never tell you what it’s really like to be captain...that’s something you find out yourself when you’re on the field trying to get your team through a game.” She wasn’t being hostile anymore. Her voice was softer, more as if she was just musing to herself. Her voice could crack soon and she knew it, but she only prayed she could keep it together in front of the girl who would make a point to pick on her weaknesses.
The stern steadfastness of Imogen’s face began to soften as she took in the girl’s words. She expected another cutting retaliatory comeback but was shocked to hear Olivia’s confession. For once Imogen felt as if her and Olivia were seeing eye to eye on something other than hating each other. She let out an exhausted sigh before licking her lips to speak again.
“They never said it would be easy…..” she paused feeling strange having a civilized conversation with a girl she’s supposedly hated most of her life… “We’ll be alright..” Imogen finished as she resumed to walking away from the girl. It felt strange to walk away from Olivia feeling more connected rather than more disjointed. Imogen felt her body language shift as her head and shoulders were lower and her legs seemed to drag more as she suddenly felt much smaller. She could feel the insecurity of being the captain rising to the surface and she only hoped Olivia didn’t notice the change in her.
Olivia was just as equally as surprised when those words came out of Imogen’s mouth. It was probably the first time she’d heard the girl talk softly - usually it was shouting and snarkiness on her end. The words she said repeated over and over again in Olivia’s mind as she watched Imogen walk away. Something was different about her...about the both of them now, but she couldn’t put a finger on it. Feeling connected to Imogen in that way was strange, and she wasn’t sure what it meant.
It was the day after the game and Ornella was amped. Not because she was reeling from the intense game the night before, but because of a certain someone. She stupidly smiled at her phone as she read the ‘good morning’ message they sent her. She jumped in the shower and couldn’t help herself from belting out the latest Beyonce song using her shampoo bottle as the microphone, of course. She anxiously looked at the time, and was disappointed to see that she had to wait two more hours until she could meet up with her special someone. She felt the nerves run through her system as she stared at her closet wondering what to wear. This someone was cool, intense, and seemingly nothing like Ornella at all. That’s why she liked her so much.
After checking herself in the mirror a handful of times and finally deciding on whether to wear aviators or ray bands she got in her car to go meet her ‘someone’. To avoid any more nerves she rolled down her windows and blasted music to drown out her racing heartbeat and her rampant thoughts.
She pulled into the parking lot that they usually met at, halfway between their respective houses. She looked around and saw no sign of the familiar car. She ran her fingers through her hair and waited as patiently as she could for the other someone.
Minutes later, a car pulled up next to Ornella’s. After a pause, the person got out of the car and tapped gently on Ornella’s passenger window, a small smile on her face. When the window rolled down, she grinned. It was weird to see such a person with a grin. She was usually so serious when Ornella saw her. “Hey babe, are you going to let me in before everyone sees us or…?” She nervously glanced around, making sure no one was watching. It was hard being in a relationship like this, but she couldn’t help herself. It wasn’t like she meant to fall for Ornella. The small, freckled defender just unexpectedly fell into her life the way that she wasn’t supposed to.
Ornella was too preoccupied trying to give herself a ‘cool and calm’ look to notice the car pull up next to her. She jumped a little at the tap on her window, she turned and instantly melted at the smile on the girl. Just when she thought her heart couldn’t race any faster, the girl called her ‘babe’ causing Ornella to want to just curl up in a ball right then and there.
Ornella unlocked the passenger side door, almost forgetting that the two had to keep their relationship a secret . It wasn’t ideal at all, but every time Ornella began to doubt it, one look from the girl reaffirmed all of the negatives such as the distance, the secretiveness of it all, and the fact that they were supposedly rivals and had an obligation to hate each other.
“So where should we go today babe?” Ornella emphasized the ‘babe’ mocking the girl’s pet name, but showing an appreciation for it all at the same time.
The grin didn’t seem like it’d be leaving her face for awhile. Watching how her girlfriend was still so nervous and excited about all of this was the reason she’s stayed around so long. Anyone else, Elaine would’ve called it quits two weeks in - or just strictly made it a friends with benefits thing - but Ornella...she was different. Even this early in their relationship, she knew Ornella was the type of girl that was worth all this risk.
She thought for a moment before deciding, “Let’s get something to eat. I haven’t had lunch yet.”
“Oh! let’s go to this restaurant that just opened by my school, it’s-” Ornella stopped herself as a frown replaced her smile.
She sighed before continuing “I almost forgot...Karen works there..if she saw us together..well” Ornella finished knowing Elaine would get the idea without having to explain further.
“Ugh I hate this..” Ornella blurted out, a new frustration overcoming her.
Elaine sighed, running a hand through her hair as Ornella explained. She shook her head and looked at her girlfriend. “Hey,” she said, her index finger finding its place under Ornella’s chin, making her face the older girl. “We’re in this for a reason. It’s hard, but it’s worth it, okay? I hate this just as much as you, but that’s not going to stop me from seeing you, Nella. We’ll find somewhere else to go.”
“No wonder you’re parents called you ‘Elaine’” Ornella said, her smile returning as she turned her car engine on. “Okay we can go to that taco place outside of town!” she said .
Elaine laughed softly at Ornella’s comment. Leave it to the defender to make her giddy. “Good idea Nella,” she nodded in approval, pressing her back against her seat. As Ornella drove away from the lot she sighed. “You know, I was really worried about you yesterday. Players were flying everywhere.”
“You were?” Ornella asked surprised yet over the moon that Elaine not only noticed her but was worried as well. From the time that she knew Elaine, it was clear that when it was game time, her head was in the game no matter what. The fact that the girl was able to focus on worrying about Ornella while at the same time being the best keeper in the state gave Ornella an uncontrollable smile.
From a side glance Elaine could see she took the girl by surprise. Of course, nothing else really mattered to Elaine when it was game time, but when her girlfriend was on the pitch and some of her own defenders were being taken down, it worried her. Thankfully, nothing happened and Elaine was able to stay focused due to the fact Ornella wasn’t near her goal. “Duh,” she laughed. “but your captain needs to cool it, you know. Her smart ass comments need to be bit back.”
Ornella suddenly wished the
topic hadn’t come up at all. Imogen was not only her teammate and captain but was also one of her best friends. The last person she wanted to defend her against was Elaine.
“Hey...Imogen isn’t a bad person...she just has an issue with your captain” she paused unsure if it was the time or place to ask but she couldn’t stop herself once she started “Elaine.. why aren’t you the captain? That McBray girl just seems way in over her head”
After hearing about Imogen, Elaine shrugged. She didn’t know much about the girl so she let it go. She stayed silent for a moment after Ornella’s question and little comment after. “I need someone I can leave this team to when I graduate. There’s no one else that I trust to do that besides Ollie. She’s like my little sister, and I’m trying to teach her how to be a leader so she can do it on her own. She just needs to learn not to let everything get to her. It’s a weakness.”
“She has a lot to learn..” Ornella mumbled out, but instantly regretted it once she realized what she said and who she said it to. “..I mean, I’m sorry babe, that came out wrong..it’s just this whole rivalry thing..it’s getting old”.
Elaine shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I get it, Nella. I do. But the rivalry’s just so deep into our schools there’s really nothing we can do,” she explained. She leaned over, kissing the top of Ornella’s head. “Come on, let’s enjoy us today.”
Later that night, Olivia was invited by Maeve, Kerrie and Justine to go out to eat. Grateful for anything to get her mind off of the weird interaction with Imogen from earlier that day, she agreed and had Justine pick her up to take her to the restaurant. The striker stayed abnormally quiet on the way there.
“You okay?” Justine asked, giving her a quick side glance before her eyes returned to the road.
Olivia sighed. “Oh, yeah...a lot on my mind.”
“Is this about yesterday?” Justine guessed. “You know, we all have our days. None of us are mad at you about how you acted. If we were in the same position, we probably would’ve reacted similarly.”
