by Alex Morgan
I sat there, frozen in place. Then one of my soccer trophies from Connecticut launched off my bookshelf and almost hit me in the head! It landed with a thud next to me.
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and my Mom’s voice calling out my name. “Devin? Maisie? Are you girls okay?”
I was too afraid to move or even answer her. I thought the house was still shaking, until I realized it was me that was trembling from head to toe.
I took a deep breath to try to calm my nerves. I put a hand out and touched the wall. It was still. How could my entire house be moving one second and not the next?
Dad ran into my room and bent down to hug me.
“It’s okay, Devin. It’s over,” he said.
I slowly stood up. “So that was an earthquake?”
Dad nodded. “I don’t think it was a major one, though.”
Mom and Maisie came into my room.
“I got into my safe spot right away,” Maisie said proudly.
“I did too, but now I’m wondering how safe it was,” I said, and I pointed to the trophy on the floor. “That almost hit me on the head!”
Mom frowned. “I guess we have some more thinking to do about earthquakes,” she said.
“You’re right,” Dad agreed. “I need to go check the rest of the house. Are you sure you girls are okay?”
Maisie and I nodded.
“I actually have a test I’m supposed to be studying for,” I realized.
Mom kissed me on the forehead. “Okay, sweetie. I’m glad you’re okay.”
Mom, Dad, and Maisie left. I picked up the trophy, cleaned up the spilled bottle of water, and sat down at my desk. My laptop lid had shut during the earthquake.
When I opened it, I found Kara anxiously waiting for me.
“Devin, was that really an earthquake?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “That was totally weird. I think I’m still shaking.”
“Oh my gosh! So everyone’s okay? The house didn’t break or anything?” she asked.
I started to giggle nervously. “How does a house break?”
“You know what I mean!” Kara said, laughing with me. “Well, I’m so glad you’re okay. I can’t imagine what that must be like. It sounded pretty crazy over there!”
It had felt pretty crazy too. In fact, I was feeling a little too jarred to keep casually chatting with Kara. Assuring her I was all right, I signed off and then sat down to study for my World Civ test the next day.
We were learning about the Roman empire. Apparently the ancient Romans had had these big arenas where they used to watch gladiators fight each other and even battle it out with wild animals, like lions. And that had been their idea of fun! If you asked me, arenas without soccer were nothing much to brag about. I tried to focus, looking over my notes, where I had jokingly listed “no soccer” as one of the reasons for the decline of the Roman empire.
I flipped the pages of my textbook, trying to find the real answers, but my eyes couldn’t settle on what I was trying to read. I noticed that my hand was shaking like crazy as it rested on the page. I tried to ignore it and keep looking, but after a few minutes of staring at the page and not registering anything, I closed the book, sighing. I would just have to wing it. There was no point in studying, I knew. I couldn’t seem to quiet my mind. After all, I’d just experienced my first earthquake. How could you act like things were normal when your whole world had literally just shaken beneath you?
If this was what it really meant to be a “California girl,” I would be content moving back to Connecticut tomorrow!
Jessi was the first friend I saw in the hallway the next morning.
“So, some earthquake last night,” I said. “Were you guys okay?”
Jessi shrugged. “Yeah, it was a small one. No big deal.”
“Really?” I was surprised. “I don’t know. It kind of felt like a big deal to me.”
“Oh, wait, was that your first earthquake?” she asked, and I nodded. “Yeah, so I guess it was a big deal for you. Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”
“I hope so,” I said, but honestly I wasn’t sure. Having the house shake under my feet was not something I thought I could ever get used to.
I noticed that some other kids in the hallway were talking about the earthquake too, and I realized I was interested in hearing what they had to say. Almost everyone sounded like Jessi.
“It was a small one.”
“No big deal.”
And then lunchtime came around, and I was still feeling like the earthquake was a big deal.
I jabbed my fork into the grilled chicken salad my mom had packed for me. Jessi, Zoe, Emma, and Frida were all talking about soccer. Normally I would have joined in, but all I could think about was how scared I’d felt when my house had been shaking.
“So, you guys are playing the Gophers on Saturday, Devin?” Zoe asked.
When I heard my name, it brought me back to attention. I dropped my fork and forced a smile at Zoe.
“Yeah,” I said.
“I heard they haven’t won a game yet,” said Jessi.
“Aw, those poor little Gophers,” Emma said. “I remember how it felt when the Kicks never won a game. I hope they win one soon.”
“Well, I hope they don’t!” Jessi said. “At least not this Saturday, anyway.”
Zoe looked at me. “Hey, Devin, you’re really quiet. You okay?”
“I guess I’m still upset about that earthquake yesterday,” I admitted.
Jessi put her arm around me. “It was her first earthquake!”
“Was there an earthquake last night?” Frida asked, surprised. “I didn’t notice it.”
Emma nodded. “There was a small one. I think on the news they said it was a 3.9, so that’s practically nothing.”
Nothing? I felt the color drain from my face. If that was nothing, what would a stronger earthquake be like? I didn’t want to find out.
“My mom made me and my dad go outside afterward in case of aftershocks,” Jessi said. “So I was happy about it. It was a nice break from homework, and my dad and I got the soccer ball out and started playing.”
“Wait, my dad didn’t make us go outside,” I said. “What are aftershocks? Is that, like, when there’s another earthquake after the first one?”
“Yeah,” Jessi replied. “But I didn’t feel anything yesterday.”
I was starting to feel panicky. Why hadn’t Dad brought us outside? I tried to remember our earthquake training session. Had he said anything about aftershocks?
Then Emma changed the subject. “So I heard the Spartans won their last game,” she said, talking about one of the teams in the boys’ winter soccer league.
Frida looked at Jessi. “And I heard that Cody scored the game-winning goal,” she said.
“With an assist by Steven,” Jessi said, grinning at me.
Cody and Steven were friends of ours, and there was some crushing going on between me and Steven and between Cody and Jessi. My parents wouldn’t let me go out on dates (and neither would Jessi’s), but we were allowed to hang out at the mall and places like that.
And of course, we got to see them in school. Steven and I had World Civ and English together. Most days we got a chance to talk when we walked from one class to the other. A lot of our conversations were about soccer, because Steven was a fanatic like me.
“We really should go out and see one of their games,” Zoe suggested. “But with the winter league schedule, it’s hard to find the time.”
“Steven mentioned that he and Cody were going to try to come to the Griffons game this Saturday,” I said, and Jessi got a big smile on her face. “The Spartans are playing in the afternoon. I think it’s one of the first times our game schedules don’t conflict.”
“If Cody is in the stands, I’ll have to show him how it’s done,” Jessi said, her eyes gleaming. “Look for me to score a flawless hat trick at Saturday’s game.”
“I would love to score a hat trick in a gam
e,” said Zoe. “Do you really think you could?”
“If Coach keeps me in for more than a quarter, I bet I could,” Jessi said.
“Well, I hope you do,” I said. “I want to win this game! I think the Griffons have a good shot at being the winter league champions.”
“Wait a second,” Zoe said. “The Gators are a strong team. We’ve got our eye on the championship too.”
That was the weirdest thing about the winter league—that the Kicks didn’t get to stay together on the same team. Zoe and the Kicks former co-captain, Grace, played for the Gators, and I knew we were going to have to face them later in the season. I had thought about what it would be like to have Zoe on the opposing team, and to maybe even try to steal the ball from her. Like I said—weird!
“You guys have a great record so far,” I said, and then suddenly a loud boom filled the air. The floor under my feet began vibrating, and I felt a wave of panic wash over me. It was another earthquake!
I almost dove under the table, before I saw out of the corner of my eye one of the school’s custodians. He had been folding up one of the large lunch tables, and had dropped it. It had hit the floor and caused the loud bang and shaking I had felt.
“Devin?” I barely heard Jessi over the sound of the blood pumping through my ears.
“Um, what?” I asked, totally flustered.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “I don’t think you heard a word I said.”
“Yeah. No, I’m good,” I lied. I knew I could tell me friends anything, but thinking a falling table was an earthquake was pretty embarrassing! I didn’t want them to think I was losing it.
Just then the bell rang. I grabbed my bag and headed toward the doors, waving at Jessi, Zoe, Emma, and Frida as I darted out.
I noticed that my heart was still beating like crazy as I headed to my class. The earthquake might have been over, but I guess I was still feeling my own emotional aftershocks. Would I ever be able to shake them off?
I got to World Civ and slid into my seat just before the bell rang. Steven sat a few seats away from me. I nodded at him, and he smiled. He really had the most awesome smile.
Then the bell rang, and a girl came into the room, looking a little lost. I didn’t recognize her. She had curly brown hair and freckles on her cheeks, and her backpack looked heavy, like it held every book for every class.
Mr. Emmet, our teacher, looked up from the folder he was leafing through.
“You must be Hailey,” he said, smiling at her, and she gave him a relieved smile back.
“That’s me,” she said.
Mr. Emmet stood up. “Everyone, this is Hailey Kocek. It’s her first day here,” he said. Then he turned to Hailey. “You can take that empty seat in the third row. We’re having a test today, and you’re off the hook for that. While everyone’s taking the test, I’ll get you up to speed on what we’ve been learning.”
Hailey nodded. “Thanks,” she replied, and she took the empty seat, which happened to be right next to Steven. She smiled at him, and I noticed that he smiled right back.
“Okay, guys. Clear your desks. It’s test time,” Mr. Emmet said, and he began to hand out the tests.
I started to feel sweaty. I wasn’t a genius or anything, but I was a good student, and part of the reason was because I always studied. It was just like soccer practice. If I didn’t practice soccer, I’d be a bad soccer player. And if I didn’t study, I would probably fail a lot of tests.
But I hadn’t been able to concentrate on studying after the earthquake had hit. How was I going to pass this test?
Maybe you’ll know the answers, I thought hopefully, but as soon as I looked at the first question, I knew I was in trouble.
List three causes of the decline of the Roman empire.
I swear, the only thing that popped into my head was “no soccer,” the joke answer I had written in my notes. But of course I couldn’t write that down. I racked my brain, trying to remember.
Something about gladiators? I thought, but no, gladiators hadn’t caused the decline of the Roman empire, had they?
I started to panic. I felt like I was on the field surrounded by defenders, with no one in sight to pass to. I was out of moves.
I took a few deep breaths and stared at my paper. Mr. Emmet must have noticed that my pen wasn’t moving.
“Everything all right, Devin?” he asked, looking up from the book he was showing to Hailey.
“Um, yeah, fine,” I lied. What was I going to say? That I hadn’t studied because of the earthquake? The earthquake that didn’t seem to be a big deal to anybody except me?
So I took another deep breath and started writing. When Mom helped me study, she always encouraged me to look for the questions that I knew the answers to and start with them. So I filled in a few answers that I was pretty sure I got right. For the rest I made my best guess (another Mom strategy). But would it be enough to pass the test? I wasn’t sure.
And that would lead to another problem. In order to play on a soccer team, I had to get good grades. That was the rule of the school league, but Mom and Dad had always made it clear that it was their rule too, even though they knew I was a good student. How would I explain this failed test to them? How would an F affect my World Civ grade?
I looked at the clock and then frantically started trying to fill in the answers I had skipped. But I had only filled in a few when Mr. Emmet called out to the class.
“Time’s up. Please pass up your papers,” he said, and I sighed and put down my pen. As he collected the papers, I mentally tried to figure out my current class grade based on the work I’d done so far. If I failed this test, would I fail the class? But I’d gotten an 85 on my first project, and a 93 on the last quiz. . . .
Then the bell rang. I was looking forward to walking to English class with Steven. I knew he would probably say something funny or nice that would help me forget all about failing the test and freaking out about the earthquake.
But when I got up from my desk, Steven was not in his seat, waiting for me like he usually did. He and Hailey were walking out the door together!
I guess I could have caught up to them and introduced myself to Hailey. That was probably what I should have done. But instead I just stood there, confused.
Why was Steven walking with Hailey and not me? We always walked together. Always. This change made me feel strange.
I walked by myself to English class, and Steven noticed me as he took his seat.
“Oh, hey, Devin,” he said. “Have you met Hailey yet?”
“Yeah. I mean, not really. You know, just in our last class,” I said, not making any sense at all.
“Nice to meet you,” Hailey said in a perfectly nice way, but I was feeling flustered and awkward, and I quickly took my seat.
Jessi sat next to me in English. She had been chatting with Cody but stopped when I sat down, and she leaned over to me. “What’s up, Devin?” she said with a look of concern on her face. I guessed she could tell just by looking at me that something was wrong.
I was starting to whisper into her ear, when our English teacher said loudly, “Quiet! Books out. Turn to page ninety-six.”
I shrugged and mouthed “Talk to you later” as class began. Luckily, I didn’t have an English test to fail. But I was still rattled when the final bell rang, and we had to hustle to get to practice since it was now at Pinewood. I didn’t have a chance to talk with Jessi until we were dressed and warming up on the field.
“So what do you think?” I asked after I had told her the whole story about Hailey.
“Well, he’s probably just being nice because she’s new,” Jessi said. “That’s why you like him, right? Because he’s nice?” She bent her right knee and started doing lunges.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, but it still didn’t feel right. To be honest, nothing felt right. Between the earthquake, and failing the test, and Steven not walking with me to English, I was feeling pretty shaken up!
Then Coach blew h
er whistle, and we jogged out onto the field. I liked the feel of my feet pounding on the neatly trimmed grass. I fell into a rhythm as Coach had the team do some laps.
At least there’s one place where I don’t feel shaky, I thought. The soccer field!
On Saturday morning I jumped out of bed as soon as my alarm clock went off at seven a.m. On a school morning I’d have hit the snooze button and rolled over. But today was a game day, and every game day felt like Christmas morning. I had to admit, I hadn’t felt that way when I’d first joined the Griffons. But now that we were acting more like a team, I loved going to games again.
I hurried to get dressed in my pink, white, and blue Griffons uniform. I didn’t like it as much as my Kicks uniform, but it did have a cool emblem of a griffon on the front. A griffon was a mythical beast that was half lion, half eagle, which I thought was a pretty cool mascot for a soccer team. It was a combination of two swift and deadly predators.
Maybe that’s why most of the Griffons are so ruthless on the field, I mused as I pulled my hair into a ponytail. Some of our players were so aggressive during games that it was a wonder we didn’t get more penalties. The Kicks weren’t like that at all. Our mascot was a kangaroo, a cute, friendly animal that hopped around—but a kangaroo was also an amazingly strong kicker. Both teams were equally strong, I thought. But the style of play was really different on each team, and I thought I liked the Kicks style better.
I ran downstairs, where Mom had breakfast ready for me. We’d been trying out new carb-protein combinations before a game to see what gave me the most energy. This morning she’d made me a bowl of her homemade granola with low-fat milk and fresh blueberries, and two hard-boiled eggs.
“I’m eating the same breakfast as you,” Maisie announced as I sat down at the table. “I have a big practice today.”
“But you hate hard-boiled eggs!” I said.
Maisie took a big bite out of one of her eggs. “Not anymore.” She started to make a face, but then she gulped it down without complaining.
Then I realized something. “Maisie has a practice? Does that mean you won’t be at the game?” I asked Dad. He’d never missed any of my games. Once, he had a bad cold, but he came anyway, and I could hear him sneezing all the way out on the field!