In the Zone

by Alex Morgan

  Cool, he answered, with a smiley face.

  I really hoped that Jessi and Cody would be cool and that we would all get along and have a fun day!

  • • •

  We met at the front gates, underneath a sign that said PINEWOOD ZOO AND PARK. There were large, wood paintings of some of the animals at the zoo, with a cutout where the animal’s face would be. You could stick your own face in it and take a picture.

  Jessi and I were horsing around, taking photos of each other, when Cody and Steven walked up.

  Now, if this had been like the days before Jessi had become friends with Sebastian, Cody would have run over and started joking around with us. But he seemed a little nervous as he strode toward us, no smile on his face.

  “Jessi, can we talk?” he said.

  Jessi had her head sticking out of the body of a penguin. “Um, okay, give me a second,” she said as she came out from behind it.

  Steven looked at me and smiled. “Hey, Devin,” he said.

  “Hey,” I smiled back, eager to tell him all about Goalie-Palooza, but it looked like Cody was going to say what was on his mind.

  “I guess, I’m just . . . wondering why you’ve been hanging out with Sebastian,” Cody told her.

  Jessi shrugged. “He’s nice. We’re just friends. Why, does it bother you?”

  Cody’s face grew flushed. “It does, and you know why, Jessi. Don’t make me say it.”

  “Say what?” Jessi asked.

  Cody shook his head in exasperation. “That I like you, like you like you. You know what I mean. And I thought you liked me liked me too.”

  “I did. I do. I . . . I don’t know!” Jessi cried out, frustrated. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.”

  She turned to me. “Devin, let’s go to the petting zoo,” she said, and then she grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me away.

  I glanced over my shoulder and gave Steven an apologetic look as Jessi hauled me off. Once we’d paid the admission and gotten through the gate, Jessi kept pulling me, past the owls and hawks and other large birds kept in large outdoor cages. We followed the winding path until we were at the petting zoo. A bunch of goats and sheep were behind a wooden fence. A woman sat at a table, selling plastic cups of food to feed the animals with.

  Jessi pulled out two dollars from the pocket of her jeans and got two cups, one for me and one for her. She glanced over her shoulder.

  “Good, they didn’t follow us,” she said, speaking for the first time since she’d had it out with Cody.

  She went up to the fence, and a large goat immediately put its front legs on the top post and began ramming its head into Jessi’s hand.

  Jessi laughed as she scooped out some of the food and put it into the palm of her hand. The goat began to eat hungrily.

  “Don’t be greedy!” she chided the goat.

  I spotted a little one in the corner and I called to it, trying to lure it over. It came over hesitantly, obviously nervous about maybe having to battle it out for the food with the bigger goats. I squatted down by the first slat of the fence, where there was room for the little goat to stick its head through. I placed some of the food on the palm of my hand, and it began gobbling it up, getting slobber all over my hand.

  “Ewwwwww!” I said, holding up my messy palm to show Jessi.

  “Don’t worry, Devin,” she called as she continued to feed the big goat, “they’ve got a hand-washing station.”

  I gave Jessi the rest of my food and then washed my hands really well in the outdoor sink. Then I spoke up.

  “So, I feel bad leaving Steven back there,” I said.

  “I know. I’m sorry,” Jessi said. “I just can’t deal with Cody right now. And I need some Devin time. Are you with me?”

  I nodded, and then I quickly texted Steven. Sorry. We’ll catch up to you later.

  K, he texted back, and I hoped he wasn’t upset.

  “Come on, Devin.” Jessi was pulling me once again. “Let’s go to the reptile house.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not a fan of snakes.”

  But in we went, and Jessi kept pointing out how cool the turtles, lizards, and snakes were. I shivered. They gave me the creeps, but Jessi seemed fascinated by everything we saw. I got the feeling she was avoiding talking about what had happened with Cody, but I didn’t push her. I was just really glad when we got back outside!

  We looked at the prairie dogs (which were really cute), and the next section in the zoo held some larger animals, like camels, alpacas, and ostriches. A lot of families were there, moms and dads pushing strollers, kids oohing and aahing over the animals. It was really adorable, but I was starting to get hungry.

  “Let’s go eat,” I said, and this time I pulled Jessi away from the penguin display and walked her over to the lake, where the concessions stands were.

  We both got plates of chicken fingers and french fries, and cups filled with lemonade, and brought them to a table overlooking the lake. A pair of swans was swimming in it. The whole scene was very peaceful and tranquil.

  I dipped a chicken finger into some honey mustard and looked at my friend, who seemed fascinated by her french fries. She wouldn’t make eye contact with me.

  I put down the chicken finger.

  “Okay, we need to talk about what happened,” I told Jessi, who was dipping a french fry into ketchup.

  Jessi groaned and put the french fry down on her plate, without taking a bite.

  “I know,” she said with a sigh, and then she put her head in her hands.

  “I know it was really awkward back there,” I told her. “But you can’t just run away from Cody. You guys need to figure this out.”

  “It’s just so confusing,” Jessi shared. “I did have a crush on Cody. Now I kind of have one on Sebastian. But even if I were allowed to have a boyfriend, I’m not sure if I want one right now.”

  I nodded. “That’s exactly how I feel. I have a crush on Steven, but right now I’d rather focus on soccer, schoolwork, and my friends.”

  “It’s just too complicated,” Jessi said. “I want to hang out with my friends too, and not worry about all this stuff. So what do I do now?”

  “Maybe it doesn’t have to be complicated,” I said. “Let’s hang out with our friends and have a good time. Why worry about all this other stuff? We should all be able to be friends. There’s plenty of time for everything else later.”

  “Yeah, but Cody obviously isn’t comfortable with that,” Jessi said.

  I shrugged. “Too bad for him then. It’s his decision if he wants to stay friends or not, Jessi. If he doesn’t, then that’s on him.”

  Jessi smiled. “You’re right, Devin. I’m not going to worry about it anymore.”

  We ate, between bites talking and joking. I felt a lot better, and I could tell that Jessi did too.

  So when Cody and Steven entered the picnic area and came over to our table, we were both in a better frame of mind to deal with the situation.

  “I, um, I want you to know something, Jessi,” Cody said, sitting down next to her. “I wish you liked me the way I like you. But if not, I guess it’s cool if we’re still friends.”

  “I’m glad you said that,” Jessi said. “Honestly, Cody, I’m not sure how I feel. So if we can be friends until I figure that out, that would be awesome.”

  “Sure,” Cody said, nodding. “So when you’re done eating, friend, do you want to check out the reptile house?”

  “We already went,” I replied. Then I shuddered. “Too many snakes!”

  “Then let’s check out the otters,” Steven suggested.

  “Yay!” Jessi cheered. “Otters are so cute!”

  “Much cuter than snakes,” I agreed.

  “I just need to finish my fries, though,” Jessi said.

  With a grin, Cody scooped up some fries from her plate and popped them into his mouth.

  “French fry thief!” Jessi yelled.

  Cody scooped up the rest and took off running. Jessi ran after him.
I cleaned up our trash and Steven and I took off after Cody and Jessi.

  “You’ll never see this french fry alive again!” Cody was saying, and Jessi was laughing was she chased him.

  Steven and I looked at each other and smiled.

  “I’m glad things are back to normal,” he said.

  “Me too!” I told him.

  The Kicks had a game against the Adams Atoms on Saturday. Emma would be back in front of the goal. Now that things were looking settled between Cody and Jessi, I was hoping all the Kicks would be in the zone for the game—the winning zone!

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Hey, it’s the girl who can fly!”

  We’d had a few Kicks practices over the break, and now it was Saturday and the Kicks were warming up on the field of the Adams Atoms. The game was about to start, and spectators were wandering onto the visitors’ side of the field. People were pointing at Emma, but this time nobody was laughing. Instead they were cheering her on.

  “Awesome dive!”

  “You fly like a superhero!”

  Emma was next to me as we did stretches and crunches on the field, and I knew the pink in her cheeks was from blushing and not from exertion.

  “Frida’s meme really blew up,” I remarked.

  Emma nodded. “It’s practically wiped out the memory of the old one.”

  “You’re welcome!” Frida called out, a few players down from us.

  “Thank you, Frida!” Emma called back. “You’re my superhero.”

  Coach Flores clapped her hands. “Okay, girls! Let’s get into the zone. We’re on the field soon.”

  We all moved to the sidelines, and I saw Emma start to put on her goalie gear.

  “Emma’s back on goal, everybody!” I announced to the team.

  Everyone cheered, and Zarine walked up and hugged her. “I’ll be able to play again next week,” she said. “I’m glad you’re back on goal. We need you there.”

  “You have got to come to Goalie-Palooza with me next year,” Emma told her. “It’s so much fun, and there are so many goalies there.”

  Zarine smiled. “I won’t miss it!”

  • • •

  Emma nodded. “Definitely!”

  Coach Flores clapped again. “All right, girls, here’s our starting lineup.”

  She put Emma on goal. Anjali, Frida, and Giselle were on defense. Grace and Taylor were in the midfield. And Megan, Jessi, and I were strikers.

  We took our places on the field. The Atoms wore bright red-and-yellow uniforms. My stomach did a little flip. We had played them in the fall during the regular season, and lost.

  Megan took her place for the kickoff in the center of the field, against a tall, blond Atom. The ref blew the whistle, and the Atom got the ball. Jessi zipped over and kicked it away from her before she could get more than ten feet.

  Megan and I flew down the field after Jessi. The Atoms defense was right on us. It seemed like there were six of them, but there were only three! Wherever we moved, somebody was blocking us. Jessi tried to pass to me, but one of the Atoms intercepted it and charged toward the Kicks goal.

  She made it past our midfielders. Then Anjali ran up to challenge her, but this Atom had some fancy footwork. She kept turning her back on Anjali, dribbling the ball in circles. Then she quickly darted left and tore past Anjali, speeding to the goal. Halfway there she sent the ball flying.

  Emma jumped up to catch it. The ball slipped through her fingers and bounced into the goal. She face-planted into the dirt.

  Uh-oh, I thought. Will she be okay? Will she give up?

  But Emma just jumped up and brushed the dirt off her shorts. She threw the ball back in and planted her hands on her knees, looking forward with determination on her face.

  That’s my Emma! I thought proudly. We were one goal down. But that didn’t mean we were out.

  Megan, Jessi, and I worked hard to get past the Atoms defense. We quickly figured out that if we kept passing, they couldn’t keep up with us. We got within goal range. I took a shot that the goalie blocked. The next time we got back there, Jessi took a shot, but didn’t score.

  She walked back to me, shaking her head. “I bet their goalie went to Goalie-Palooza too,” she said.

  The Atoms regained control of the ball and took it down to Emma again. A chest-height ball came screaming at her, but she bounced it away with her body. Then a huge grin came across her face.

  “That’s right, superhero!” I yelled.

  Maybe it was seeing Emma flawlessly block that goal, but new energy surged through me. Grace passed the ball to Megan. She passed it to Jessi, who passed it back to her. Then Megan passed it to me.

  I barreled past the defenders and took a shot as soon as I got into goal range. It was a long, smooth, high shot that soared over the goalie’s head and into the net, nearly grazing the top bar. The ref blew his whistle.

  We had scored! The game was tied 1–1, but right after that the ref called halftime.

  As I jogged back to the sidelines, I glanced at the visitors’ bleachers. Mom and Dad were there with Maisie. Emma’s whole family was there, and I saw Jessi’s mom too. Sebastian was in the stands with his sci-fi friend Isaac. And then I spotted Steven and Cody with some of the guys on the Kangaroos. Cody was holding a sign that read GO, KICKS!

  I nudged Jessi and pointed. “I know,” she said. “Pretty cute, right?”

  Coach Flores launched into a pep talk and praised us for getting past the Atoms defense.

  “Let’s try a new lineup for the next half,” she said. “Hailey, Zoe, and Brianna, you’re strikers. Anna and Olivia, you’re in the midfield. Sarah, Jade, and Gabriela, I want you on defense.”

  “Emma, are you okay to stay on goal?” Coach asked.

  Emma nodded. “No problem!” she said confidently.

  Sitting out wasn’t my favorite thing, but I knew that Hailey, Zoe, and Brianna would do great. And sometimes it was fun to sit on the bench, because you got to watch the game. Jessi, Frida, and I sat together. We cheered on our team and especially our friends Zoe and Emma.

  Having Zoe on offense was a smart move. She was small and zipped around like lightning, and the Atoms defense did not know what to do with her. She scored in the first few minutes of the half.

  “Go, Zoe!” we yelled.

  The score was Kicks 2, Atoms 1. But the Atoms recovered quickly. One of their players sent a long, high pass flying down the field. It was a pretty bold thing to do, but the tall Atoms striker was right on it and got control of the ball really quickly. Then she sent a ball zooming past Emma, and the score was tied 2–2.

  By this time the Atoms had figured out that they should put all their defense on Zoe. Which might have sounded like a smart idea, except that they underestimated Hailey and Brianna. Olivia got the ball to Brianna, who had a clear shot to the goal. She took it, but the Atoms goalie blocked it.

  Still, the Atoms focused their defense on Zoe. Hailey got control of the ball, and she and Brianna passed it downfield. Brianna took a low, speedy shot at the goal. The unprepared goalie didn’t get to it in time. We were up by one point again!

  There was less than a minute left in the game. I looked at Emma. Her eyes were laser-focused on the field. The Atoms took the ball toward the goal. The tall blond girl got control of the ball again. She took a shot from the very left side of the goal zone, sent it toward the goal at a weird angle.

  The ball was about three feet to Emma’s right. She jumped. She stretched out her arms, just like she had done at Goalie-Palooza.

  She caught the ball.

  “Eeeeeemmmmmaaaaaaa!” I was beside myself. I was screaming and jumping up and down.

  The game ended thirty seconds later. The Kicks had won, 3–2! All of us on the bench rushed onto the field to hug our teammates. Then we lined up to shake hands with the Atoms.

  When we got back to the sidelines, a bunch of people were there to congratulate the team. Steven and Cody and some of their friends, including Ciara. And also
Sebastian and Isaac.

  Grace, my co-captain, stood on the bench. “Great game, everybody! I call pizza celebration!”

  Everyone cheered—the Kicks and our fans—and some started heading toward the parking lot. Jessi looked at Cody and his friends, and Sebastian and Isaac. She walked up to them.

  “You guys want to come for pizza?” she asked.

  Cody raised an eyebrow. Sebastian looked confused.

  “ ‘You guys’ meaning . . . ,” Sebastian began.

  “Everybody,” Jessi said, looking at him, and then at Cody.

  Cody nodded, and Steven smiled at me, and then everyone was talking and heading off the field. It was all good.

  Emma was comfortable being back in the goal zone. Jessi was back in the no-drama zone. And me . . . I was glad that our team was in the victory zone. The Kicks record was now 3–1.

  The state championships were in our sights!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ALEX MORGAN became the youngest member of the US Women’s National Team in 2009 and competed in the 2011 FIFA World Cup. She was the first overall pick in the 2011 Women’s Professional Soccer draft and landed a spot on the US Olympic women’s soccer team in 2012. At the 2012 Olympic Games, held in London, Morgan won her first Olympic medal, a gold, with the American team. In 2015 she achieved her lifelong goal of winning the FIFA World Cup, in the most watched soccer match in US history. Morgan now plays for the Orlando Pride of Orlando, Florida, and for the Olympique Lyonnais in France.

  SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

  Simon & Schuster · New York

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  Also by Alex Morgan

  THE KICKS SERIES

  SAVING THE TEAM

  SABOTAGE SEASON

  WIN OR LOSE

  HAT TRICK

  SHAKEN UP

  SETTLE THE SCORE

  UNDER PRESSURE

  BREAKAWAY

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