“Yes!” Makena yelled as she struggled to get to her feet. The girls put their arms around one another and began to jump up and down in celebration.
Makena looked from face to face. Each of the girls was special to her in her own way. They shared not only experiences but also a special understanding of what it means to work together. Makena thought of them as her sisters. The kind of sister you choose. The kind that picks you up and wipes you off when you get tripped. The kind who always has your back. And, the kind that finally beats Leewood.
Makena and the Breakers were connected in a way that had nothing to do with DNA but everything to do with team.
They were the best kind of sisters: Soccer Sisters.
2
Makena closed her eyes and savored the last delicious bite of her burger.
“That may have been the greatest burger of my life,” she said with a sigh, wiping her face and sitting back in the booth.
After a game, Makena was so hungry that anything tasted great, but a burger with the works? Well, that was heaven on a plate.
The girls were crammed in a booth, upholding one of the team’s most important and treasured postgame traditions: eating.
Whenever they had an away game, they begged their parents to drive them to the diner closest to the field. Diners with ten-page menus made everyone happy. This weekend, it was the usual crew: Makena, Val, Jessie, Chloe, Ariana, Ella, and a surprise guest in the form of Coach Lily. Coach Lily was sitting with the parents at another table nearby.
“You going to finish that?” Jessie asked Makena, trying to steal her last french fry.
Makena playfully slapped her hand away. “Get your own fries. It’s not my fault you ordered a salad.”
Val laughed, then handed Jessie one of her own fries. “Jessie, when are you going to learn to eat real food?”
“Salad is real food,” Jessie said, waving a forkful of greens.
“Not after soccer games!” Val said with a laugh.
Chloe’s arm reached in like a snake and grabbed Makena’s last precious fry.
“You snooze, you lose,” Chloe joked.
“Hey!” Makena yelled halfheartedly.
Their waitress approached the table. “Can I clear any of this out of your way?” she asked.
“I am so stuffed,” Makena said, rubbing her belly and handing her plate to the waitress with a smile. The table looked like the remnants of a battlefield.
Suddenly, Ariana shouted, “Let’s get a sundae!”
“Oh yeah,” Makena replied, suddenly starving again. “With six spoons please. One for each of us.”
Coach Lily approached the table. She was a former college player, and Makena loved how she still moved like an athlete.
“Hey, girls. Again, great comeback today. It was good to finally keep it together against that team,” Lily said. There was nothing better than praise from their coach.
“So, girls, I got the schedule for next weekend. You are not going to believe who our first opponent is.”
Makena could feel her heart quicken. The girls looked at one another.
“Who?” Val asked immediately.
“Guess.”
“Larchmont?”
Lily shook her head.
“World Class Strikers?”
“Nope. Westside!”
“Westside!” Val blurted out.
Makena sat back, and several of the girls groaned. The Westside Wildcats were another one of their big rivals.
“Why the heck do we travel all the way to Philadelphia to play a team from nearby?”
“It’s a pretty big tournament, so all the big clubs go,” Lily said.
“Can you believe this?” Makena asked Chloe.
“No, but I can’t play anyway. I have a stupid recital,” Chloe said.
“You aren’t coming?” Makena asked. Tournaments were Makena’s absolute favorite thing. She loved staying in hotel rooms with her friends, going out to eat, slumber parties. All of it.
“But without Chloe and with Harper not coming, will we even have enough players?” Val asked.
Their coach answered, “I’ve asked a player to join us for the summer. She’ll be in Philly this weekend.”
Makena’s jaw dropped a little bit. A new player? New players sometimes came to the team but usually in the fall.
“You mean she’s joining the team?” Ariana asked, surprised.
“Yes. For the summer and possibly for the fall season. I think she’ll help us.”
“Where is she from?” Val asked.
“New Jersey. She’s on the New Jersey State Team as well.”
Whoa, Makena thought. New Jersey had some of the strongest teams in the country. Carli Lloyd was from New Jersey! This girl must be something special.
“She sounds awesome!” Makena exclaimed, excited to get the chance to play with someone like that, but the second she saw the look on Chloe’s face, Makena wished she could shove the words right back in her mouth.
“I gotta go,” Coach Lily said. “See you girls later.”
As she turned leave, their coach nearly knocked over the waitress, who was carrying an enormous ice cream sundae dripping with gobs of chocolate and whipped cream.
“Wow!” Coach Lily exclaimed with a glance at the treat. She waved good-bye with a final “Take it easy, girls!”
The six spoons barely hit the table before the girls attacked.
Makena enjoyed the ice cream but noticed Chloe was hardly eating.
“Chloe, I’m so bummed you can’t play this summer. Not even the second tournament?” she asked her friend.
Chloe shook her head. “I begged my parents, but they said no. I have too many performances.”
“That’s terrible,” Makena said. The summer tournaments wouldn’t be the same without Chloe, and Makena felt like she should say more, but she was distracted by a gob of flying hot fudge that landed with a thud on the table in front of her.
“Hey!” Makena cried. “The heck?”
She reached in with her spoon for a mouthful but was swatted away. She looked to her right and came face-to-face with Jessie wielding her spoon like a samurai.
Makena smirked and took up her weapon.
• • •
Even though they often couldn’t be at her games or tournaments, her parents did their best to support her obsession with soccer. She really wished her family was with her now in Philadelphia, but Makena’s dad Rory was chef and owner of a gourmet shop, and it was really hard for him to get away on weekends. Makena’s mother Stacey was an expert on butterflies and other insects, and Makena thought that made her mom both weird and kind of cool. But she was also super busy with her work. They kept promising they would eventually make it to one of the tournaments, but Makena had sort of gotten used to just being with her team.
Straightening out her blue-and-yellow Brookville Breakers uniform, Makena sized up the Westside team, who was stretching in a circle on the other side of the field. They looked as good as ever, she thought.
“Ready?” she asked Val, who was plopped on the ground beside her.
“You know I’m not,” Val said.
Makena sighed and watched with amusement as her BFF went through her sacred pregame checklist. Makena knew it by heart. First, Val double-knotted her laces. Then she meticulously tucked the tips into the sides of her shoes. (Val couldn’t stand it when her laces flopped around during a game.) Next, she fiddled with her shin guards, refolded her tube socks, and adjusted her headband. Several times.
“Ready now?” Makena asked, after the third headband adjustment.
“One last thing,” Val answered, checking her cleats for dirt. “OK, ready.”
“Finally!” Makena said, laughing and pulling Val to her feet, then dribbling quickly onto the field, making sharp moves to th
e left and right. Val was beside her in a second. Makena laid off a pass to the right without even looking. Val collected the ball and delivered it right back to Makena’s foot. Neither girl ever broke stride. Always in rhythm. That’s how it was between Mac and Val.
The two girls could not have looked more different though. Makena was tall, and Val was tiny. Makena was fair with Irish freckles and bright eyes that were a mix of green, blue, and yellow. Val was Mexican-American. Her skin was like cocoa, her hair was so black that in some lights it looked blue, and her big, brown eyes were steady and warm.
The two girls moved in tandem toward the rest of the Breakers, who were taking shots on goal.
“So what do you know about this new player?” Val asked Makena as they waited to take their turns.
“Not much,” Makena said, pushing the ball to her right and firing a shot toward the goal.
“All I know is she’s a midfielder. She’s from New Jersey. And she’s late,” Makena said. She scanned the field for an unfamiliar face but just saw her regular squad warming up. Ariana was in goal, Jessie was trying to do some juggling, and the rest of the girls were starting a game of keep-away. Makena felt a pang of sadness for Chloe. She knew she wanted to be on the field with her friends.
“What kind of player comes late to a tournament?” Val asked with an annoyed tone. “The game’s about to start.”
“That’s a good question,” Makena said, looking around. “I guess we’ll find out.”
“Breakers! Bring it in!”
Coach Lily held up her clipboard with the lineup. Lily ran them through their positions and told them the new player, a girl named Skylar, was running late. Makena was still annoyed, but once the referee blew his whistle, she was swept away by the magic of the game.
The only problem was today’s magic was more like a curse. It was one of those days when nothing was going their way. The ball wouldn’t go in no matter how many shots they took. It was like there was an invisible screen in front of the goal. The ball hit the side posts and bounced into the goalie’s hands. It sailed over the crossbar from impossible angles.
Bounce, bounce, bounce. Everywhere but into the back of the net.
Makena and the rest of her team were frustrated, and the game remained scoreless.
“Hey! I’m open!” a girl screamed. “Makena, give me the ball!”
It took a second for Makena to register that the person was calling to her. All her teammates just called her Mac. She passed the ball quickly, but her two-second delay was too much. Her pass was intercepted by a blur in black, and the ball went out of bounds.
“My bad,” Makena called, apologizing for the pass. She ran over to take the throw. The girl jogged over to talk to her.
“Hey, you’re Makena, right? I’m Skylar. I heard you’re really awesome. I’m playing right next to you. So, listen, I’m going to fake a run down the line but then go into the middle. You get me the ball, OK?”
Makena nodded, a little stunned. So this was her new teammate. She stared at Skylar’s face.
“OK?” Skylar asked again.
“Got it.” Makena nodded, waking up and hoping Skylar was just what the team needed to turn this game around.
Skylar had medium-length, spiky, dark hair that flapped like a bird’s wing when she ran. She wore a tattered black headband to keep the hair out of her eyes, which Makena thought made her look ultra-fierce. On one side of her head, her hair was cut super short and had a stripe dyed scarlet. To top it off, she had a temporary tattoo on her lower arm that said Glory, and she wore black stuff under her eyes like a football player.
Skylar ran straight at Makena, and Makena faked the throw, and when the defender moved forward, she launched the ball over Skylar’s head and into play.
Makena was psyched Skylar was on their side. She certainly wouldn’t want to have to play against her.
Val made a run down the line. Makena smiled.
“Skylar!” Val called, darting quickly across the grass.
Skylar sent a beautiful lofting pass over the defense. Val handled the high ball easily, bringing it down to her foot without losing speed. She took off toward the corner flags. Makena knew she was going to go for a cross.
A Westside defender ran out to meet Val. Val waited for the girl to get close, then pulled back her left foot like she was going for the cross. The fake worked. Val deftly dribbled around her to launch a cross. It was perfect, floating high above the defenders with enough backspin that Makena knew it would come down in front of the goal.
Makena moved forward, timing her jump.
Keeping her eyes glued on the ball, Makena launched herself into the air. A defender jumped with her, but Makena moved higher. The ball arrived; Makena flicked her head to the side. She felt it connect with the side of her head and heard the satisfying thump that sent it soaring toward the upper corner of the goal.
As she fell to the ground, she waited for the cheers to come. There was no way it hadn’t gone in. She hit the grass with a thud but heard only a whistle and the referee’s call.
“Corner kick!”
Corner kick? How could that be?
“What happened?” Makena stammered.
“Goalie tipped it out of bounds.” Skylar was shaking her head. “Unbelievable.”
Makena sprinted over to take the kick. She raised her hand to signal her teammates that she was ready. Skylar, Val, and Jessie all put their hands up in reply.
Lily had moved the whole team into offense. Makena drove the ball as hard as she could toward the goal. This wasn’t a long, loopy pass but a hard-driven knuckler. She was hoping for any kind of deflection. There were so many girls crowded in front of the goal it was hard to see what was happening. First, the ball careened into the mix and bounced off the thigh of a defender. Jessie ran forward and tried to tap it in. The ball ricocheted off another Westside Wildcat. It was like soccer pinball.
Finally, Skylar came pushing through the crowd and, with her knee, corralled the ball into the goal. Makena heard the whistle blow and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Breakers were finally ahead.
Before the restart, the girls gathered in a huddle of sweaty excitement. Makena was nervous. Soccer is fickle. Things can change very quickly, particularly when one side thinks they have already won. The Westside parents were pacing and quiet. Their coach, a tall lady with curly red hair, had a determined look on her face.
A Westside striker, a firecracker of a player, kicked off, and Val gave chase. Makena watched as Val forced the forward to pass the ball behind her, keeping the pressure on. Jessie moved to support Val.
“I’m open,” the Wildcat forward called.
The ball went rolling through the center of the field.
Makena pounced, collecting the pass easily and letting her momentum carry her forward. She touched the ball past one player and kept moving, always looking to make a pass or draw another defender to her. No one stepped up to challenge Makena for the ball, so she kept moving. She thought about a pass but knew the first rule of a good attacker: If you’re open in front of the goal…shoot!
Makena wasn’t going to miss this time. She moved to her left, ready to shoot—and felt her feet go out from under her. In a split second she went from about to score to a tangle on the ground, fighting to breathe. Someone had hit her from behind. The referee blew his whistle. He pointed to a spot on the ground just outside the box. Makena had been fouled. The Breakers would get a free kick.
Makena barely registered what was happening. She felt as if someone had stuck a vacuum cleaner tube in her mouth and sucked all the air out of her lungs. She couldn’t get a breath. Val rushed over.
“You OK? I think you got the wind knocked out of you,” she said. “Put your arms over your head and take a deep breath.”
Makena nodded and did what she was told. Slowly, her lungs started
to refill. She felt awful. Her side ached. Skylar came over and whispered to Makena, “Nice work. Way to get the foul. Stay down for a minute more. Groan or something.”
Makena still wasn’t able to speak and could only give Skylar a puzzled look in reply.
“Do you need a break?” the referee asked Makena.
She shook her head. Val helped her to her feet and waved off their coach.
“I’m fine,” she managed to croak. But she wasn’t. “You better take the kick, Val.”
Val grabbed the ball, lined up for the free kick, and waited for the referee’s whistle. Makena had lost track of time. Would this game ever end?
Makena heard the beep and watched as Val’s shot curled over Westside’s wall, past the keeper but over the goal and out of bounds. She had missed. Makena remained doubled over in pain.
Coach Lily called for a substitution.
“Mac!” she called. Makena shook her head. She was feeling better, she told herself.
“Let’s go, Coach,” the referee said. “In or out.”
The Westside goalie was ready to play. Their coach began to complain that Makena was wasting time. She tried to straighten up.
“Out,” Coach Lily said. “Now.”
Makena begrudgingly went to the sideline, and Jasmine came on in her place.
“Great playing, Mac,” Coach Lily said. “Get some water. Take it easy. You took quite a hit.”
Makena collapsed on the ground. Makena started to feel sick as she watched Westside come back. They moved down the field working as a team to string several beautiful passes together. A tall, thin winger, playing on the outside, took the ball all the way down to the corner flag. Makena struggled to get to her feet. She wanted to yell, “Stop her!” The words wouldn’t come. A feeling of dread joined the cramp in her side.
Jessie, the Breakers’ clutch defender, read Makena’s mind and came in at the last minute. She blocked the cross. Somehow the ball deflected off the winger and went out of bounds.
Breakers’ ball. Jasmine, the left midfielder, picked it up for the throw-in.
Out of Bounds Page 2