by Alex Morgan
Jessi grinned. “Well, if you put it that way, I guess we’re all pretty awesome.”
Then the server brought our pizza, and the smell of pepperoni suddenly made me ravenous. We all dug into our pizza slices.
“Thanks so much for everything,” I said after my first bite. “It really helps to hear all this stuff.”
“Oh, we’re not anywhere near finished with you,” promised Emma. “Since you have helped all of us, it’s our turn to help you! Each of us has something special planned for you.”
“Oh no! More suspense? I can’t take it!” I joked.
“I’m up first,” Zoe said. “I’ll be at your house tomorrow after practice, Devin. Okay?”
I knew I had no choice. That was one thing all of my friends had in common. When they put their minds to something, they didn’t back down.
“Okay!” I replied.
When the doorbell rang the next afternoon, I raced from the kitchen, where I’d been having a snack after soccer practice. I could not wait to see what Zoe had planned for me!
I opened the door, and my friend stood there in her soccer practice clothes, a stylish messenger bag slung over her shoulders.
She saluted me. “Zoe Quinlan of the Devin Confidence Squad, reporting for duty!”
I laughed before I stood up straight and saluted her back. “Yes, sir!” I said, and we both cracked up.
“So, how’s your soccer mojo doing?” Zoe asked as we walked through my house to the sliding glass doors that led out into the backyard.
I sighed. “I’ve been holding back a lot, I guess. I’ve been doing a little better at practice, but I can’t seem to score a goal.”
Zoe’s face turned serious. “Remember how I used to be? I was so nervous on the field that I couldn’t concentrate, and it affected my playing. But you had confidence in me, Devin, and that helped. And when Frida showed me tips, they really clicked for me, and it worked!”
I shook my head in agreement. “You are a beast on the field now, Zoe!”
Zoe’s cheeks turned a little red under my praise. “I try my best. It’s such a relief not to be nervous out there anymore!”
She spotted the soccer ball in my yard. “I think I can help you relax when you play,” Zoe said. “You’ve just got to promise me that no matter how silly these things seem, you’ve got to commit and give them your all.”
I gulped. I didn’t like feeling silly or stupid. But at least Zoe and I were alone in the backyard. My mom was in her office, working, and Dad and Maisie were at her soccer practice. So there was no one around to point and laugh.
I took a deep breath. “Okay, Zoe. I’ll do what you say. I trust you!”
Zoe smiled. “Good! Now, the first thing you need to do”—she took off her bag, opened it, and took out a small bottle of orange juice—“is drink this.”
I felt my eyebrows arch as I looked at her questioningly. “Orange juice?” I sounded totally bewildered.
“It’s a trick Frida taught me,” Zoe shared. “It can help lower blood pressure and make you less anxious. It’s something actors who suffer from stage fright use to calm themselves down.”
“Okay, so drinking orange juice,” I said. “That’s not so bad. I thought you said I was going to have to do something silly.”
Zoe grinned. “That comes later,” she said. “Let’s just chill for a minute while you drink your juice.”
We relaxed on the grass, chatting about the day while I drank some of the orange juice. When it was about halfway finished, Zoe told me to lie on my back.
“Get comfortable,” she suggested. “You can leave your hands by your sides, or put them on your stomach, whatever feels best.”
I lay back on the grass and rested my hands lightly on my stomach. I looked up at the bright blue California sky. Fluffy white clouds were dotting it, and it looked so pretty that I began to relax right away.
“Now close your eyes,” Zoe said in her gentle voice. “Picture the rays of the sun coming into the top of your head. The warm light is gently moving through your head, easing any tension. It’s taking all your worries away. Feel it move through your eyes, your nose, your jaw. Notice any places that are tense. It’s okay. Just let the tension go.”
At first I felt really silly, lying out in my backyard and trying to picture sunlight washing through my body. I felt my leg twitch, and I nervously began to tap it, but Zoe’s voice was so melodic that I began to relax and not feel so self-conscious. In fact, as she kept talking about the light moving through my entire body, I felt like I might drift off to sleep.
When she finally ended at my feet, she said, “Picture all of the tension in your body draining out through the bottom of your feet. It’s gone, and you’re totally rested and peaceful.”
I breathed in and out, slowly and peacefully. I had never felt so relaxed in my life!
“Now picture yourself on the soccer field. You’re in the middle of a game. You’re surrounded by your teammates and your opponents. The ball is being passed to you.”
I tried to follow along, imagining myself at a game. It was tough to do. It was kind of hard for me to be creative or imaginative. So I tried instead to think about a real game. The last one where I’d played so terribly popped into my head. We were once again facing the Grizzlies. Kristin was passing the ball to me, and I was racing to receive it. I froze as I thought about what had really happened. In my eagerness I had overshot the defenders, which had led to me being offsides.
“Now, don’t think about yourself or your fear of making a mistake. Think of your true purpose on the field. To be part of a team and to contribute something valuable to that team. It’s not just about you. You’re part of this great machine. Everyone is doing their part. Don’t scare yourself with what might go wrong. Picture everything going right.”
In my imagination I was racing to get that pass. I looked around the field and spotted my teammates, saw how we were all working together, whether it was on defense, midfield, or, like me, as a forward. I slowed my pace and backed up, catching the ball with my foot instead of overshooting the Grizzlies’ defense. The defender came at me, ready to swipe the ball from me, but I maneuvered around her and saw a clear shot at the goal. I took the shot, and the ball landed squarely in the net, inches from the goalie’s outstretched fingers. This time the whistle blew to signify a goal, not to signify me being offsides. My teammates hugged me, and we cheered.
“I did it, Zoe!” I told her, my eyes still closed as I lay on the lawn. “I made the goal and I didn’t go offsides this time.”
“Awesome!” Zoe said. “Now, whenever you’re ready, you can open your eyes and sit up.”
I felt just like one of those clouds in the sky, light and fluffy. As I sat up, I stretched slowly.
“I think I feel too relaxed now, Zoe,” I shared with her. “It will be hard to play soccer like this.”
Zoe nodded. “It’s true. You don’t want to calm yourself too much before a game, because that nervous energy serves a purpose too. Try doing that exercise the night before a game, right before you go to bed. To get the adrenaline flowing again before we kick the ball around, we can try a stimulating breathing exercise.”
Zoe showed me how to do this rapid inhale and exhale. I had to keep my mouth closed and breathe through my nose. Instead of long, deep breaths, I took rapid, quick ones.
I tried, but my nose made a really weird snorting noise as I tried to mimic Zoe’s short breaths. My hand flew up to cover my nose. “I sound like a pig!” I laughed.
“Oink, oink!” Zoe joked. “That’s what it’s supposed to sound like! We’ll call this the Three Little Pigs breathing exercise. The goal is for three in-and-out breaths per second. But we’ll try it for only ten seconds the first time, before we go back to normal breathing.”
I tried it again, this time not feeling as self-conscious about how noisy my breathing was. Zoe and I did it together, taking the quick breaths for ten seconds before breathing normally. We repeated that two more
times, and I felt the energy surge through my body.
I jumped up to my feet. “I’m ready!”
“Let’s go!” Zoe said. “You attack. I’ll be the defender.”
I had the ball under my foot and started dribbling it back and forth with Zoe guarding me. I faked going to the right and instead used my left foot to take the ball to the side, away from Zoe. I dribbled it down the yard as she raced to keep up. All the anxiety I had been feeling drifted away. It was just me and the ball. I raced back down the field as Zoe chased after me. I was in the soccer flow again, and it felt so good.
For the first time in a week, I felt a little more like myself again. And it was all thanks to Zoe and the Kicks!
Things had gone great with Zoe, and she’d helped me relax so much that I thought for sure I’d get a good night’s sleep. It seemed like I might when I started dreaming about being on the soccer field, like I had visualized with Zoe. Everything was going smoothly. In my dream I had a huge smile on my face as I was about to make a goal, but then the field started shaking under my feet. The ball bounced away from me, so high that it launched into the sky. It became a tiny dot before disappearing completely. Coach Darby blew her whistle. “Devin! For losing the ball, you’re benched for the rest of the season.”
I woke up, my heart pounding. The thought of being benched for the season was a total nightmare! It took me a while before I could finally fall back asleep. Would I ever get a good night’s sleep again?
Even though I spent another day at school feeling half-awake (at least this time I didn’t fall asleep in class!), I got a burst of energy when I rode the bus home with Jessi. She had a surprise for me but wouldn’t say what she had in store. I couldn’t wait to find out what it was!
“Mmm-mnn,” she said, her lips shut tight. As soon as we had gotten onto the bus, she had pretended to zip her mouth together, lock it with an imaginary key, and throw the key over her shoulder.
“Come on. Give me a clue,” I whined in what was a very good impression of Maisie.
Jessi reached up to her lips and pretended to unlock them. “This is a real test of your patience,” she said, emphasizing the word “test.”
Hmmmm. Test. My World Civ makeup test was scheduled for this Monday, and I had to admit that I was a little nervous about it. But I suddenly realized I was about to get some help.
“You’re going to help me study for my test!” I shrieked.
A broad grin spread across Jessi’s face. “That’s right. I’ll never forget how you helped me with math. I just hope I’ll be half as good a study buddy as you were, Devin.”
I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. My brain had gone on the fritz when it came to ancient Rome, but now I had my very own gladiator to help me battle to victory!
When we got off the bus and walked to Jessi’s house, Mrs. Dukes was waiting for us at the door.
“I’ve got some study snacks all ready for you girls,” she said as she smiled. “Including Jessi’s favorite brain food—banana sushi!”
I couldn’t help but make a face. Bananas? And seaweed, rice, and fish? I had heard of some weird California food, but this was by far the strangest.
Jessi saw my face and laughed. “Don’t worry, Devin. It’s not real sushi.”
Mrs. Dukes laughed along with Jessi. “All I do is take some peanut butter and spread it on a whole wheat tortilla. Then I take the entire banana and roll it up. I slice it, and ta-da! Banana sushi!” she explained.
“Yum!” I said as my stomach growled. Lunch seemed like a long time ago. “Sounds delish!”
“Let’s go!” Jessi grabbed my arm and led me into her kitchen, where on the table was a plate with the banana sushi rolls, a big bowl of popcorn, and a pitcher of lemonade. “Thanks, Mom!”
“So, those gladiators did you in, huh, Devin?” Jessi asked as we spread our books and notebooks out on the table.
“It was a total slaughter,” I said, and moaned. “I didn’t stand a chance.”
“You’ve got me now. You don’t have to face the gladiators alone. Now let me see your notes.” She looked at them and raised an eyebrow. “No soccer is one of the things that led to the fall of the Roman empire?”
“It was just a joke!” I said defensively. Boy, did I regret writing that down!
Jessi shook her head, her braids swinging as she chuckled. “Of course you did. After all, you do have a soccer ball for a brain. Now let’s go over the real reasons. First, the empire grew too large to be easily managed. Think of it like the soccer field. Imagine it about five times bigger than it is now. Our midfielders would become exhausted running back and forth. You’d have a much bigger area to try to connect with passes. And our goal would be five times as big, giving our defenders an even bigger area to guard. It would be completely unmanageable.”
As Jessi talked, it all made sense. I liked how she related it back to soccer. I knew I’d easily remember it that way. We went over the other reasons for the Roman decline and started tackling some of the Romans’ contributions to the world that are still being used today. Like cement. Yep, the Romans invented that! Along with a lot of other things, which Jessi helped cram into my brain.
I was totally impressed with Jessi. She was so focused and helpful. “Wow,” I said as we took a break to munch on some popcorn and banana sushi, “you should be a teacher. You’re good! But I have to say I’m kind of surprised. I remember how you used to be more interested in watching The Real Teenagers of Beverly Hills than doing your homework.”
Jessi got a sheepish smile on her face. “Um, yeah. I totally still watch it! Now I have a study strategy. I DVR the show each week. For every hour of studying, I reward myself with fifteen minutes of RTOBH.” Jessi looked up at the clock. “In fact, we’ve been studying for an hour now. Want to take a reality TV show break?”
“I’d love to!” I said. I didn’t usually watch shows like that. They were fun to see with Jessi, though. Her commentary was hilarious.
Jessi grabbed the bowl of popcorn, and we headed to her living room to lounge on her big, comfy couch and watch some of the silly show.
“I’ll never forgive you for not inviting me to your birthday party, Taylor!” yelled a teenager named Addison with long, dark hair and makeup that looked like it had been painted on. (When I turned eighty, my mom still wouldn’t let me wear that much makeup!) She was arguing with a girl who looked a lot like her, thanks to the style of makeup and clothes, except that the other girl, Taylor, had long blond hair instead.
Addison bent over and picked up a small, fluffy white dog that was yapping at her feet. “And neither will Fifi!” she added dramatically. And at that exact moment, the dog stuck its tongue out.
Jessi and I rolled with laughter as Taylor glared at Addison and Fifi. “I don’t care about you or your little dog!” she shrieked. “You only want to come to my party because Nick will be there,” Taylor added smugly. “Nick likes me, not you. Get it through your head.”
Even though I thought it was the most ridiculous argument I had ever heard, I had to admit I was curious about what would happen next.
I wasn’t disappointed. Addison, still holding Fifi in one hand, used the other hand to push Taylor into the swimming pool they just happened to be arguing in front of. Taylor came up from under the water, sputtering and spitting out water before she started screaming.
“These girls are crazy! But they are entertaining,” Jessie said while turning off the TV. “Fifteen minutes are up. Time goes fast when you’re shoving people into pools!”
Mrs. Dukes walked into the living room, shaking her head. “That show,” she complained. “I don’t know what you see in it, Jessi.”
Jessi threw her arm around my shoulder. “It definitely makes me appreciate my friends more!”
“I’d never push you into a pool,” I said, then laughed. “Oops, wait. I already did. Remember that one time at Emma’s?”
We both started cracking up. Emma had a really fancy house (it was like
a mansion, really) with a huge pool with a slide and everything. Sometimes we could get really crazy when we were hanging out there. And when I had pushed Jessi in, she’d been wearing her bathing suit, not a fancy outfit with high-heeled sandals and full-on makeup like Taylor had been wearing.
“For that, Devin, I will not be inviting you to my birthday party,” Jessi said all dramatically like one of the girls on RTOBH.
“Then I’ll tell Cody that you’re secretly in love with your stuffed bear, Mr. Wiggles,” I said, playing along.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Jessi gasped. “I’ll get even with you, Devin Burke.” She grabbed a pillow off the couch and started swinging it at me, and before long we were having a huge pillow fight.
“Girls! Girls!” Mrs. Dukes had to yell to be heard over us laughing and carrying on. “Aren’t you supposed to be studying?”
We dropped the pillows but couldn’t stop giggling. “But, Mom, this is how gladiators used to battle it out. We are studying,” Jessi joked.
“How about you get in some more study time, then Devin can stay and have dinner with us?” Mrs. Dukes suggested.
“That would be great! Just let me check with my parents,” I told her.
Jessi grabbed me and started jumping up and down. “Stay for dinner! Stay for dinner!”
I called my mom and got the okay. Jessi cheered. “Too bad it’s a school night; otherwise you could sleep over,” she said. “But we’ll get more study time in at least. You’re going to ace that test!”
Who would have thought that a study session could be this much fun? I grabbed Jessi and gave her a big bear hug. “Thanks. You’re the best!” I said as she pretended to pass out from the strength of my embrace. I laughed, and she slipped onto the couch in a fake faint.
I was starting to believe that Kara’s chant had really worked. I was feeling better and better. After I retook my World Civ test on Monday and played at our next soccer game, I’d know for sure if my bad luck was gone!