by Alex Morgan
Frida had a point. My experience with flirting was zero. Anytime I talked to Steven, I didn’t have to think about hair flips or fake laughs. I was just myself.
“Okay,” I said reluctantly. “What can I do to make this work?”
“First of all, when you’re talking to the other boy, you have to laugh at everything he says,” Frida said with confidence.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because Steven will hear you laugh, and he’ll think that you think that the guy is awesome and funny,” Frida explained.
“But what if he isn’t?” I asked.
“Then laugh anyway,” Frida said. “This isn’t about the guy, remember? It’s about Steven.”
I nodded. “So, is that it?” I asked, hoping this lesson was over.
“That’s the most important part,” Frida said. “Give it a try with Steven and see what happens. It worked for Cassie and PJ.”
“In a movie,” I reminded her. “A TV movie.”
Frida didn’t get that I was criticizing where she’d gotten her advice. Or if she did get it, she acted like she didn’t. She was a great actress, after all.
“Exactly,” she said solemnly.
Thankfully, that was all the advice Frida had for me, and we spent the rest of lunch eating and talking about regular stuff in our normal voices.
“Let me know what happens,” Frida said when the bell rang, and I nodded, but I wasn’t sure if I had any intention of following her advice.
I figured I would maybe just try to walk to English with Steven and Hailey, and then my problem would be over. But when class was over, Steven didn’t even give me his usual smile or wave. He and Hailey kind of hurried out, and I didn’t race to catch up to them.
Then, when I sat down in English class, something weird happened. Finn Jackson, who was also in my science class, had a seat next to mine. He was a perfectly nice boy, and cute in his own way, kind of tall and lanky with light brown hair and green eyes.
Anyway, as soon as I sat down, Finn started talking to me! I gulped. Now it looked like I would have to try Frida’s advice.
“Hey, so did you read the chapter last night? Pretty crazy, right?” he asked.
“Um, yeah,” I replied, my voice coming out all squeaky as I tried to imitate Frida. When she talked like that, it sounded like tiny bells chiming. When I tried it, it sounded like a creaky door opening.
“Are you getting a cold?” Finn asked.
I cleared my throat. “Um, no,” I said lamely. Great. Some flirting. He thought I was sick instead.
During all this, Steven, whose seat was two rows in front of Finn’s, looked back at us. Maybe Frida was onto something.
Oh well, I thought. Here goes nothing!
I tossed my head way back to get ready for a really fabulous hair flip. I was so enthusiastic that I swung my head into the aisle, and I banged it straight into the backpack of a student who was walking to her desk.
“Ouch!” I said, rubbing my head. She must have been carrying bricks in that backpack, not books.
“Are you okay?” Finn asked.
“Yeah, fine,” I said, so embarrassed that I was hoping a giant hole would open up and suck me inside. Had Steven seen that? I didn’t even dare look at him, I felt like such an idiot. I tried to change the subject back to the book. “So, do you like the book so far?” I asked.
I was mentally preparing myself to laugh at Finn’s answer. So I wasn’t really listening when he replied.
“Yeah, it’s interesting. It was kind of sad when Sadie went missing, though.”
“Ha, ha, ha!” I laughed, way louder than I normally would.
I saw Finn looking at me like I had three heads. And then I realized my mistake.
“Did you think that was funny?” Finn asked.
“No, no!” I said quickly. “That was really upsetting, and I, um . . . I sometimes laugh when I’m upset.”
Finn nodded, and thankfully the bell rang. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Steven turning to face the front of the class. So he had seen the entire thing. I felt like melting into my seat.
Frida’s plan might have worked in Mall Mania. And maybe it would work for a good actor like Frida. But not for me. So my Steven problem was still unresolved. In fact, I felt like it was even worse now!
As I sat there totally mortified, my mind drifted over the previous week. The Devin Is Divine party. How all my friends had taken time to help me. I would live through this embarrassment. My friends would be there for me. After all, they’d helped me learn how to relax. To be confident. And to have faith in myself. I was thinking they’d cheer me up about this flirting fiasco. Then it slowly dawned on me. My friends had already helped me with this! If anything, Frida’s lesson had taught me there was no point pretending to be someone I wasn’t. I could only be myself. I knew exactly what to do.
As soon as the bell rang, I walked up to Steven’s desk, remembering to relax, be confident, and be myself.
“Hey, can I talk to you?” I asked.
“Sure,” Steven said, and I was relieved to see Hailey leave the classroom without waiting for him.
We walked out of the classroom together.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” I began. This was hard! “We used to always walk to English class together, and I kind of miss it. I guess I was wondering if there’s a reason why we don’t walk together anymore.”
Steven cringed, just a little bit. “Oh, man. I didn’t even think of that, Devin. I’m sorry. Hailey’s parents are good friends with my parents. My mom and dad made me promise that I would show Hailey around school until she got settled in and stuff. So I just started walking her to class—you know, as a friend. I should have asked you to come with us.”
That made a lot of sense. I wished I had talked to Steven about this right away. I could have saved myself a lot of needless worry. “No, that’s okay! I completely understand,” I said, relief washing over me.“Hailey seems nice.”
Steven nodded. “Yeah, and I think she’s going to try out for the Kicks next season. Maybe you could help her with that.”
I nodded. “Sure.”
Steven grinned. “She’ll be psyched. Everybody knows you’re one of the best players in the school.”
I blushed, and then we started talking about other stuff as we walked back to our lockers. Steven even made a point of walking me to my locker and then doubling back to go to his. So everything was back to normal!
“How did it go?” Frida asked, rushing up to me once Steven walked away.
“It’s all good,” I said.
“Aha! I knew it!” she cried triumphantly.
I didn’t bother to tell her that it was me being me that had worked things out with Steven, not me pretending to like someone else. She would have been too disappointed. And anyway, it was the push from Frida that had gotten me talking with Steven.
My confidence was getting stronger every day. Now I just had one more mountain to conquer—the next Griffons game!
I am on the field. Jessi passes to me. I take the pass and charge toward the goal. The goalie is waiting for me, a look of determination on her face. But I’m not afraid. I kick the ball hard and low to her right. She dives for it, but she’s not fast enough. I score, and the crowd goes wild!
I smiled as I drifted off to sleep Friday night, and for the first time in days I slept peacefully until morning. No dreams about clowns, or Steven and Hailey laughing at me, or Coach Darby benching me for the rest of the season. I woke up a half hour before I needed to and went downstairs, where I made myself a healthy breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, along with a yogurt and granola parfait and a big glass of calming orange juice. Mom smiled when she saw me in the kitchen.
“Wow, Devin. You’re up early!” she said.
“Well, big game day,” I reminded her. “And I slept great! You and Dad are going to be there, right?”
Mom nodded. “And Maisie. Her game isn’t until three. So your full cheering section will
be there.”
“Yes!” I cried, and then I bounded upstairs to get dressed. I was full of amazing energy!
I was changing into my uniform when I felt the floor move beneath my feet. The trophies on my shelf started to rattle. At first it didn’t register what was happening.
Then I heard Maisie yell, “Earthquake!” and our family training kicked in. I dashed into the doorway of my room. Seconds later the shaking and rattling stopped.
Dad ran out of the bathroom. “You guys okay?” he called out.
“Fine!” Maisie yelled, and I yelled “Good!” at the same time.
And you know what? I meant it! I didn’t know if I would ever completely get used to earthquakes. They were so weird, and came out of nowhere. But this one had ended quickly, and everyone was in one piece. I took a moment to gather myself, and then I went back into my room and finished getting dressed. There may have just been an earthquake, but as far as my confidence went, I was on solid ground.
The game that day was on the Galaxies’ home field in Davidson. As we warmed up, all of my teammates were talking about the quake. Jessi jogged up to me.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Not shaken.”
“Good!” she said. “I had a feeling you would be just fine.”
We warmed up and did our pregame cartwheels, and then Coach Darby called the first girls onto the field. She had Jamie and Mirabelle start at forward, and Jessi, Janet, Kelly, and Sarah in midfield—which meant I was benched.
Okay, it’s all good, I told myself. Coach might not have been starting me, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t play later. I took a deep breath to help myself keep calm. Coach Darby kept that lineup in for the first two quarters, and we ended the half at Griffons 2, Galaxies 3. I thought for sure she’d put me in when the third quarter came around, but instead she put Zarine at the goal and replaced Janet with Meg, and Kelly with Courtney. Still, no me.
I was starting to sweat. Would this be another game where I sat on the bench the whole time? I knew I hadn’t been playing my best, but I had really killed it at the last practice.
The third quarter ended with a goal by Jessi that tied up the game at 3–3.
“Devin! You’re in for Mirabelle!” Coach Darby called out.
I charged off the bench like a rocket and took my place on the field. My heart was pounding. This was it. My mojo was back, and I was ready to prove it to everyone in the stands.
The ref’s whistle blew, and the Galaxies had control of the ball. One of them charged down the left side of the field, right past Jessi, and passed to an open teammate midfield. That player passed it to another player, who pushed passed our defenders. Then she scored.
Griffons 3, Galaxies 4, and time was running out on the clock. But the Griffons had control of the ball. Jessi accepted a pass from Meg and then took it down the edge of the field. I dodged a defender and got open, and Jessi passed it to me. I dodged through another defender as I made for the goal. Right before I reached the penalty box, I kicked the ball over the goalie’s head.
Goal! Now the score was tied, 4–4. Jessi high-fived me as we headed back to our places on the field.
I could hear Dad, Mom, and Maisie cheering my name, but it sounded like they were miles away. I was hyper-focused on the game. Tying was good. Winning was better. And I had something to prove.
One of the Galaxies took the ball midfield. I ran up to her from the side, catching her off guard. She dribbled a little too loosely, and I got control of the wayward ball and headed down the field. Two Galaxies swarmed me, and I heard Jamie call out, “Devin! Over here!”
I found a hole between the two Galaxies and shot the ball downfield toward Jamie. She stopped the ball with her foot, but when she let go, the ball skidded away from her, and one of the Galaxies swooped in!
Courtney charged forward and stole the ball away from the Galaxy player. A cheer rose up from the Griffons fans in the stands. Courtney passed the ball to Jessi, who took it a few yards and then noticed three Galaxies charging for her.
“Devin!” she called out, and then she passed it to me.
What happened next happened superfast and in slow motion at the same time.
I took the pass and charged toward the goal. The goalie was waiting for me, a look of determination on her face. But I wasn’t afraid. I kicked the ball hard and low to her right. She dove for it, but she wasn’t fast enough. I scored, and the crowd went wild! It was just like I had imagined it!
Now the score was Griffons 5, Galaxies 4, and it stayed that way until time ran out on the clock.
“Nice work out there, Devin,” Coach Darby said. “That’s why I saved the best for last.”
I grinned at her as Jessi came up to me.
“You did it, Devin!” she cried. “You got your mojo back!”
“I absolutely did!” I said, and at that moment I knew that no matter what happened—whether it was being in an earthquake, or being benched, or anything else that might come up—I was not going to let it shake me!
PHOTO: M. STAHLSCHMIDT/SSP © 2015
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. The team beat Japan, 2–1, in a match watched live by nearly 80,300 fans—the largest soccer crowd in Olympics history. She now plays for the Portland Thorns FC of Portland, Oregon.
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Also by Alex Morgan
THE KICKS
Saving the Team
Sabotage Season
Win or Lose
Hat Trick
BREAKAWAY: BEYOND THE GOAL
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Full Fathom Five, LLC, and Alex Morgan
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Book design by Krista Vossen
Jacket illustration copyright © 2015 by Paula Franco
The text for this book is set in Berling.
0715 FFG
CIP data for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4814-5100-0
ISBN 978-1-4814-5102-4 (eBook)