Vee Caught Offside

by Andrea Montalbano

  “Yeah, it is. I thought I had torn my ACL, but I was lucky. It was a bad sprain, not a tear,” Vee said.

  “I hear about a lot of girls blowing out their knees,” Mark said sympathetically. “Boys, too.”

  “I know. It’s awful.” Then something dawned on her. “How did you know I hurt my knee last summer?”

  “Oh, my sister told me. She’s obsessed with your team. It’s, like, the only thing she wants to talk about.”

  “Really?” she asked. Vee was elated to hear this.

  “Yeah. I pretend not to listen, but I know what’s going on,” Mark said with a laugh. “And by the way, last I saw you, uh, like two hours ago, you had just scored the game-winner in an awesome game today. That’s not too awful a day, if you ask me.”

  Vee knew he must want to know how she went from glory to gutter in a matter of hours. She felt badly she hadn’t even asked about his practice. She sighed and tried to explain, “There’s just been some stuff going on with my team, off the field, that’s getting to me.”

  Mark nodded his understanding. “My whole basketball team fell apart this winter because a few parents got into an argument over something dumb. One minute, you’re a team and another minute, a disaster. It’s scary how fragile it can be sometimes.”

  They walked in silence toward town. Vee’s progress was slow, but Mark never complained or rushed her. He also didn’t seem to mind when Vee stayed quiet. She was grateful that he didn’t push her to explain more. Not that she could. Her emotions were as jumbled as a scattered deck of cards. Somehow talking to him was calming her down.

  They approached town. Vee went into observer mode. Observing herself this time. She realized that she felt perfectly at home with Mark. It was as if she knew he wasn’t going to judge her. Like she could talk to him about anything. Like he somehow already understood.

  “Have you ever had a friend that just changed on you? For no reason?” she blurted out.

  “Actually, yes. You know, Griffin, aka G-4?” Mark asked.

  “How could I not?” Vee said with a laugh. “He nearly took me out with his bike a few years ago.” A memory flashed. Vee had been walking down Main Street when G-4 nearly ran her over on his dirt bike. Instead of apologizing, he told her she didn’t belong in Brookville. Lily defended Vee and kicked a ball at G-4’s head, hitting a street sign across the street and getting into a mess of trouble.

  “Right. That thing with LJ. Well, he hardly talks to me anymore, either. We still play on the same teams, but we just don’t hang out anymore. You can’t really be best friends with everyone, I guess.”

  They walked for a few more minutes in comfortable silence.

  “Well, I turn here,” Mark said, gesturing to the school fields behind him. “Are you sure you are okay?”

  Vee knew she didn’t have to pretend. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said with a smile. “A little rest, a little ice, I’ll be good as new.”

  “I meant with the team stuff,” Mark said.

  “I’m trying to figure it out,” Vee answered. “Thanks for the hand. Uh, I mean the stick.”

  “Bubba and I are happy to help anytime,” Mark answered.

  Vee turned to go.

  “Uh, Vee?” Mark called to her. She turned slowly around.

  “Yeah?”

  “You’re not at all what I expected,” he said.

  Vee lifted her eyes to his. “You’re not what I expected, either. You’re actually pretty nice. For a Man City fan.”

  Mark laughed at that one, “I’ll see you around.”

  Vee waved and turned to go, but then Mark called her again.

  “Vee?” he said, stepping closer. “Hold on a minute.”

  “Yeah?” She asked, noticing the greenness of his eyes. Kind of like the ocean just offshore. Mark came closer, his arm reaching slowly behind her. Vee froze.

  Mark leaned in and his arm touched the back of her head. He bent over and whispered, “Hey, Man U girl. You have a giant pile of leaves and a huge stick in your hair.”

  Chapter 9.

  Vee was walking toward town, still picking twigs out of her hair, when she heard the familiar rumble. It sounded like a cross between a lawn mower and a hair drier, only not quite as powerful. Her dad’s clunker.

  Tomas pulled up alongside her.

  “M’ija.” He said with a sigh. M’ija was what he always called her. My daughter, it meant. It was a term of endearment, a sweet nickname, or as he said it now, an expression of exasperation.

  “Por favor, niña. Dónde estabas?” Tomas asked. Vee turned to the car. Of course he wanted to know where she had been. She was supposed to be at the restaurant right after the game. Hours ago.

  “Did Lily’s mom call you?” Vee asked, feeling guilty.

  “Si. Y Lily. Y Tabitha,” Tomas answered. He was only speaking to her in Spanish, which Vee knew meant he was very mad, very worried, or very tired.

  Tomas suddenly noticed there was a scrape on Vee’s hand. Her pants were covered in mud. She was shivering.

  “Que paso?? Cuéntame.”

  He wants to know what happened. Oh, everything, Papi, she thought.

  Suddenly, Vee was hit by a black wave of emotion. It was all too much.

  Dude. Dude. Dude. Too many feelings. Too many complications.

  Her leg hurt. She was cold. She was really, really tired.

  Vee longed for a simpler time. To be just a little girl and fold up into her father’s arms again.

  She started to cry.

  Tears welled up in her eyes. They streamed down her cheeks and she sobbed a giant, “Papi!”

  Vee didn’t often cry. They both knew that. Tomas’ anger immediately turned to concern and he pulled the car to the side, got out, and ran to embrace her.

  “No llores, hija mía, no llores,” Tomas said, stroking her hair, plucking out the last of the leaves. Vee allowed him to guide her to the car. The tears continued to flow. Tears for her bruised heart, for her splintered pride, and for her girlhood that was quickly becoming just a foggy memory.

  Tomas held her. He didn’t ask any questions. He stroked her head and kissed her tears. When finally she calmed down, he found an old t-shirt from the back seat and wiped her face. She shook her head and laughed a little. Her dad and his car full of random junk.

  “We should talk a little, no?” her father asked, gently. Vee nodded, getting into the front seat. Tomas put the car into drive and made a sharp U-turn. Away from town, but not toward home.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, confused.

  Tomas rolled his eyes, as if she should already know. “A los World’s Most Incredible Hot Dogs, por supuesto.”

  Now Vee really started to laugh. That fragile laugh after a good cry. Her father, the talented chef, food expert, Mexican by birth and blood, was obsessed with American hot dogs. He loved them. He loved the toppings. He loved to examine the casings. He had opinions on sauerkraut. He had conducted taste tests, then deemed World’s Most Incredible Hot Dogs in the Ridgeway Mall the best ever. The warmed, buttery buns were the deciding factor. Vee adored the way he always said “incredible” with an exaggerated Spanish accent, (En-cre-dee-bee-lay!) and the fact they always went there to eat when there were important family matters to discuss.

  The ride was short and silent. The mall was buzzing as Vee and Tomas walked toward the restroom so she could wash her hands. She told her father that her knee was feeling better. Still sore, but functioning well enough. They passed the electronics kiosk, a Gap, and then a small boutique that caught Vee’s eye. There were several girls her age loitering out front. She didn’t recognize them, but one was wearing a Brookville Track t-shirt, so she figured they must attend Lily’s school.

  Vee smiled at the girls, who were texting and oohing and ahhing over a pair of platform pumps. Vee’s pace slowed as she passed the shop. Vee’s usual wardrobe consisted of comfy leggings and soccer jerseys, but seeing the dress in Lily’s closet made her peer for a moment longer. Is this where s
he had come shopping? Without her?

  Vee meandered closer to the boutique, whose doors opened up to the mall with racks of dresses and tops right out front. She stopped to touch the fabric on a navy blue dress. It was covered in tiny pieces of shimmering silk cut outs shaped like butterflies. The fabric felt fancy and the butterflies floated on the dress as if in mid-air. The dress looked elegant and whimsical all at once, grown-up but not too old. Vee thought it was kind of in-between.

  Like her.

  “Te gusta?” Tomas asked. Vee had forgotten he was even there.

  “Yes,” Vee answered. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Vamos a comprarla!” Tomas said, happy to do anything to cheer up his daughter.

  Vee smiled, but shook her head. “No, gracias. Come on. Let’s go eat.”

  They found a quiet table in the back and Vee unloaded her troubles on her father as he loaded toppings on his three hot dogs.

  Yes, three.

  Traditional with sauerkraut with yellow mustard. The all-time favorite.

  With onions cooked in ketchup (the smell of this one made Vee want to hurl).

  A la Mexicano: his own creation. A foot-long, with hot sauce, raw onions, cilantro, and a touch of lime.

  Vee shook her head as mustard dribbled down her father’s chin.

  “Okay,” Tomas said, “Cuéntame todo.”

  He wanted to know everything. Vee told him about how annoyed she was that her teammates were so obsessed with the Snow Fairy Dance. She told him how Olivia had been being mean to her at practices and she had no idea why. She told him how she’d tried to talk to Lily, but feared Lily just didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She told him how she’d run to escape, fallen, and how Mark Gordon had helped her up and walked her to town.

  Tomas seemed relieved. At least nothing terrible had happened when she was running through town. He put down the onion hot dog and said, “Pero, what could anyone say that could upset you so much, mi amor?”

  Vee hesitated just a little. She felt the tears coming back.

  “Olivia said that they didn’t want me on the team any more. That Lily and Tabitha didn’t want to hurt my feelings, but that things had changed.”

  “But Vee, you know this is not true. Did you talk to LJ? She is … como tu hermana.” Tomas asked.

  “I tried, Papi.”

  “Did she say this, too?” Tomas asked with a shocked looked on his face.

  “No, she didn’t say it, but … “

  “But, nada. m’ija, you must have more faith in your friend. Y Tabitha también.”

  Vee hung her head a little bit. He was right. Why was she doubting her friends?

  “Papi… “ Vee continued. “We played against a team called El Fuego. They were Mexicanas, like me. They were so nice. They were really good, too. Some of them go to my school. A really cool girl named Gabriela.”

  “Ah, te llamó una Gabriela hoy,” Tomas said, holding a finger in the air, making the connection.

  “Gabriela called me today?” Vee asked.

  “Si. She invited you to play with her after school. In the gym.”

  Vee nodded. “I think they might start a school team.”

  “Bueno,” Tomas nodded, liking the sounds of Gabriela.

  “Papi, Olivia told me that I should go play with El Fuego.”

  “Cómo?” Tomas wanted to make sure he understood.

  “She told me that I didn’t belong on the Bombers anymore.”

  “Y porque?”

  Vee shrugged.

  Tomas pushed his final hot dog aside. He spoke slowly and carefully in English. “You must ask yourself why this girl has upset you so much, no?”

  Vee knew he was right. Tomas continued in Spanish.

  “I have always worried that this day might come. That you might want to play on a different team from Lily. That you might want to play in your own town. The Bombers are a wonderful team. Wonderful people. Maybe not this Olivia, though. It has always been your decision to play soccer. You are so talented. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to give it a try?”

  Vee shook her head. “But Papi, I am a Soccer Sister.”

  Tomas raised his eyebrows. “Maybe Gabriela is also a Soccer Sister. Una hermana nueva?”

  Chapter 10.

  Vee and geometry were not friends. At least, not at the moment. Tonight’s torture was equilateral, isosceles, and scalene triangles. Generally, Vee loved math, but on this evening she was having a hard time getting her thoughts together. Sitting alone at the big wooden table in the back of Katerina’s surrounded by books, she mindlessly tapped her pencil on the table. Tap. Tap. Tap.

  Okay, let me try this one more time, Vee thought. She refocused her eyes on the page and read aloud, “An equilateral triangle has three equal sides. An isosceles triangle has two equal sides, and a scalene triangle are all offside.”

  She copied it down and read it again. She took a closer look and groaned.

  “Offside!?” she shouted. “Equal sides, not offside! Ugh!!!” Vee threw her pencil across the room and then laughed a bit when it stuck in the recipe corkboard.

  The truth was, Vee could not get her mind off her team. She slammed her book shut in frustration. Her father had suggested she skip practice tonight to give her knee a rest. Vee didn’t resist. For the first time ever, she needed a break from her team so her head would clear. She’d called her coach to let him know she wasn’t going to be there.

  But now she was feeling adrift. She hadn’t played soccer all week, hadn’t talked to Lily. She missed her team, and she had to admit, she missed seeing Mark on the way to practice. Taking a break was for the birds. The truth was, her knee felt just fine. The ice and rest had done the trick.

  Vee was dying to play. Gabriela had called again, and Tomas convinced Vee to agree to go kick around in the gym after school tomorrow. Vee could tell her father was really worried about her. He wasn’t normally this involved. Initially, Vee was resistant to playing with the El Fuego girls. She felt a little guilty even considering it. But Tomas pointed out that it was just kicking around after school, and he reminded her that they were talking about starting a team at her school and would need her. Plus, Vee had to admit she liked Gabriela, and more than that, she really liked being wanted. Better than how she was feeling about the Bombers. Confused was putting it mildly.

  She wondered if Lily had practiced her penalty kicks? She hoped that Tabitha was working on her defense. Those long ballerina legs had a tendency to stab at the ball. She tried not to think about Olivia, and how happy she must be that Vee wasn’t there.

  Vee pushed her math book aside and picked up her English novel, The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. It was a reading assignment about a family in China before World War II, and Vee loved losing herself in this family epic. She was almost done and hoped that Wang Lun and O-Lan would distract her.

  “¿Cómo estás?” Tomas asked, sticking his head through the kitchen door. He had been checking on her every five minutes.

  “I’m fine, Papi,” she answered.

  For the next few minutes she lost herself in ancient Chinese traditions, rubbing her toes occasionally as she read about how girls in China had their feet bound. Tied up in bandages to keep them small and dainty. It sounded like torture. Ouch. No girl soccer playing in those days.

  The kitchen door opened again.

  “I’m still fine, Papi!” Vee said, without looking.

  “It’s me,” a voice said. Lily James came into the kitchen, plopping her backpack on the table. The entire surface shook.

  “Man, this thing weighs a ton,” Lily said with a sigh. “How’s the knee?”

  “Better,” Vee said. “It’s pretty much all better.”

  “Oh good, we are so totally going to need you this weekend. Chris found out who we are playing in the Indoor Championship and you will not believe it!”

  “Who?” Vee asked.

  “It’s a team called The Showoffs.”

  “Oh, come on. Seriously?”

&n
bsp; “Yep. Can you believe that?”

  Vee shook her head.

  “And it’s really just a winter select team made up from girls from …” Lily did a drum roll with her fingers on the table. Vee held her breath. “… Castle Creek.”

  “Noooooo!” Vee said. Castle Creek was the Bombers’ arch-nemesis. During the outdoor season, and at many tournaments, the two teams were constantly battling for first place.

  Lily nodded knowingly and said with a smile, “We need you, dude.”

  Vee was so happy to see her friend. She couldn’t wait to take on Castle Creek. She and Lily would make some magic up front and on defense Avery and Olivia would be solid…the thought trailed off in Vee’s mind.

  Olivia.

  “And then we have the dance later that night,” Lily said. “I hope I don’t scrape up my knee on the turf. I already have a good one from last week and my mom keeps chasing me around with honey. It’s, like, her new favorite thing.”

  Vee’s laugh was a little forced.

  She thought of the dance. Lily, Tabitha, and Olivia shopping. Vee had forgotten it was all happening this weekend. Oblivious, Lily lifted up her leg to show Vee the impressive turf burn on her right knee.

  “Nice one,” Vee commented. Then she noticed that Lily was wearing a bandana around her ankle. She pointed to it and asked, “Torn sock?”

  Lily smiled. “No, you couldn’t be there today so I wore a bandana. Tabitha did, too. It looks cool. We are thinking of wearing them to the dance!”

  Vee sighed. Instead of being flattered by the bandana, she was annoyed by the dance, “Is everyone still talking about this? Jeez. It feels like this dance is way more important than our team, lately.”

  Lily nodded. “Yeah, I can’t wait for it to be over. I’m so glad that I asked someone early. You should see how stressed out and obsessed everyone at school is. There are only a few more days. Olivia is the worst.”

  Vee had to admit she was happy to hear that one. “She didn’t find her secret date yet? She wouldn’t even tell me who she wanted to ask,” Vee said. “Like I care,”