Lucy’s “Perfect” Summer

by Rue, Nancy

  “You’re wearing blush,” Aunt Karen said.

  “Uh, no.”

  “That must be the sun too then. I bet you’re not using sunscreen.”

  “My coach makes me.” Lucy ran her finger down the page and glanced at her watch. Mr. Auggy was going to be there any minute.

  “You definitely haven’t improved your wardrobe — although I will say you’re getting a cute figure.”

  There was a pause. Lucy looked up to see surprise in Aunt Karen’s long comma eyebrows.

  “What? No, ‘Aunt Karen, stop it! I hate that!’?”

  “I don’t exactly hate it.” Lucy shrugged. “It’s just the way you are.”

  “All right, that’s it. Who are you, and what have you done with my niece?”

  “She’s just growing up, Karen,” Dad said from the doorway. “Luce, I heard Mr. Auggy pull up. You ready?”

  “Ready for what?” Aunt Karen said.

  “I’m taking a reading test,” Lucy said. “You can stay if you want.”

  Aunt Karen just stared at her. It was one of the few times Lucy had ever known her to be without any words.

  And that was good, because in spite of how brave she was acting, Lucy was nervous. This would be her first time reading out loud to Mr. Auggy. If she couldn’t do it like a seventh grader, maybe it wouldn’t matter what decision she made about which team to play with. That was one thing she was still afraid to ask Dad.

  While Aunt Karen made her usual big deal over Mr. Auggy — Veronica would say she was crushing on him — Lucy drank an entire glass of water and still felt dry as the desert itself. When Aunt Karen was finally convinced that Mr. Auggy did not want an iced latte, she and Dad sat in chairs away from the table, and Mr. Auggy pulled one up beside Lucy.

  “You going to read to me about soccer?” he said.

  Lucy shook her head. “I’m going to read from Esther. Is that okay?”

  “That is more than okay.” Mr. Auggy sat back in the chair. “Take your time, captain.”

  “Oh — one thing.” Lucy pulled Marmalade into her lap. Then she turned to the page.

  She read the story of Esther, how the vile Haman thought Mordecai would be put to death so he built gallows for him. How he thought the king was going to honor him, and how the king made Haman give the honor to Mordecai. And how after Esther bravely told the king the terrible things Haman planned for her people, he himself was hanged from the gallows he’d built.

  And how Esther didn’t go out and fight beside her people, but asked the king to allow them to fight for themselves.

  “ ‘For the Jews,’ ” Lucy read, “ ‘it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and ho — ’ Oh, the h is silent. ‘It was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor.’ ” She turned back a few of the delicate pages. “I want to read this one other part because it’s my favorite. Okay — ‘For if you remain silent at this time, relief and de-li-ver-ance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?’ ”

  When Lucy stopped, she wondered if everyone in the room had evaporated. There wasn’t a sound. Not even Aunt Karen spoke.

  Lucy didn’t look up from the page. “I messed up some words.”

  “So do I when I read the Bible. It isn’t the easiest piece of literature there is.” Mr. Auggy scooted his chair in some more and sat on the edge. “That isn’t the point anyway. What I’m looking for is whether you understand what you just read.”

  “You want me to explain it?” Lucy said.

  Mr. Auggy nodded.

  Lucy once again ran her finger down the page, the way Inez did. And folded her hands, like Inez did too. And then she knew something Inez knew — something that she’d been trying to show her all along.

  “It means if you’re going to grow up, you have to do things you don’t want to do sometimes because it’s right for other people, and maybe you’re the only one who can do it.”

  “Miss Lucy,” Mr. Auggy said in a husky voice, “you are officially a seventh grader.”

  Aunt Karen said, “Well, I’m impressed,” and Mr. Auggy smiled his small smile. But Lucy just looked down at the Book of Esther through a blur of tears.

  “What’s going on, Luce?” Dad said.

  “She’s about to cry,” Aunt Karen said. “Now, how did you know that?”

  “Luce?”

  “I know what I have to do now,” Lucy said in a thick voice.

  “About the game tomorrow?” Mr. Auggy said.

  “Yeah.” She swallowed a big knot. “And — about Aunt Karen.”

  “What about me?”

  Dad was nodding. His unseeing eyes had tears in them too, as if he saw Lucy very, very clearly.

  “We’ll talk later,” he said. “Right now, I think Lucy has some calls to make.”

  Most of the Dreams weren’t happy with what Lucy had to say on the phone. Gabe said, “We got me and the J-man, so what’s the big deal?” But Veronica cried, and Carla Rosa said, “Guess what? We’ll lose now,” and Dusty didn’t say much at all.

  Only J.J. seemed to get it — maybe because she talked to him in person, since he didn’t have a phone. Or maybe because he knew about that “having to do things you didn’t want to do because it was right for other people” thing.

  After all, he had Januarie.

  “I know you guys will be fine without me,” Lucy said as they sat on her front steps, watching the Sunday sunset.

  “No, we won’t.”

  “That doesn’t help me, J.J.”

  “It’s worse for you, though.”

  Lucy peered at him through the dimming light. “Why?”

  “You have to play against your own team.”

  “That doesn’t help me either!”

  “You gotta try to win,” J.J. said.

  Lucy looked down at her hands.

  “You gotta.”

  “I know.” She sighed hard. “Sometimes I don’t want to grow up, J.J.”

  “Too late.”

  “Huh?”

  J.J. looked at his hands too. “I think you already did it.”

  “Hey, I just thought of something.”

  Lucy looked at Sarah-of-the-long-ponytail, who was crouched next to her in the circle the Select Team had made around Coach Neely.

  Coach Neely glanced at her watch. “What’s that, Sarah? We only have a few more minutes.”

  “You used to be on the Los Suenos team, right?” Sarah said to Lucy.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “So you know stuff about them — you know, like, who’s a weak defender and who not to pass to — ”

  “There will be none of that.”

  Lucy saw she wasn’t the only one who stared at Coach Neely like she’d just had a personality transplant.

  “There has been enough of that kind of thing here at camp,” Coach Neely said. She pulled her sunglasses down her nose and scanned them all with her blue eyes. Lucy had never seen her really look at them before, not like that, not like she really saw them. “We’re here to play clean, fair soccer. No ‘flopping.’ No ‘spies from the other team.’ All I want you to do is get out there and show that you can work as a team.”

  So that was what that meeting all the coaches had to go to that morning with Hawke was all about. Taylor and Sarah had been sure it was an engagement party for Coach Neely and Coach Seth.

  But right now, Coach Neely didn’t look all fluttery and giggly like somebody’s fiancée. She looked like a real coach.

  “I know Rianna turned out to be the opposite of Fair Play,” she said. “But I want you to remember what she did bring to the table.”

  “What table?” Patricia muttered.

  “ ‘Play fair. Play to win, but accept defeat with dignity. Observe the laws of the game. Denounce those who attempt to discredit our sport. Use soccer to make a better world.’ ”

  Lucy felt her chest puff out. Kayla looked a little taller. Patri
cia stopped muttering. Waverly actually smiled.

  “Now — one question before we go out and warm up.” Coach Neely pushed her sunglasses back up her nose. “Who is going to be our team captain?”

  “You aren’t gonna pick?” Taylor said.

  “You’re the ones who are going to be out there listening to her. It should be somebody you respect.”

  Huh. Mr. Auggy was right. She really was a hands-off coach.

  “Lucy.” Kayla pointed a small finger at her. “I think it should be Lucy.”

  Taylor snorted. “Who else?”

  “Team?” Coach Neely said.

  Everyone nodded — Bella hardest of all. Lucy swallowed a huge lump in her throat.

  “Good choice.” Coach Neely stood up. “Then let’s go play some soccer, ladies.”

  It helped to know that Inez and Mora and Dad — who took the afternoon off — and even Aunt Karen were all in the stands. She said if she was going to be a “soccer mom” starting in September, she needed to get started. Having them all up there, and imagining that Mom was with them, made it easier to stand in the center circle with one of the two refs and face Dusty, the Dreams’ new captain. Easier, but still hard.

  Because Dusty looked as if she would rather hug Lucy than try to snag the ball from her once the whistle was blown. And the rest of the Los Suenos team was spread outside the circle staring at her like they were trying to figure out who she was now. She still wasn’t sure she knew.

  “Ready?” the ref said.

  Dusty just looked at Lucy. Lucy nodded.

  “Then let’s play a game.”

  It felt more like a dribbling drill than a game at first. Lucy got the ball immediately and took off toward the Los Suenos goal with no one on her. She could almost hear Coach Neely saying, Take as much of the field as the defenders will give you.

  A glance behind told her the Dreams’ team was guarding all her other players, which meant she couldn’t pass. But she could drive all the way to the goal and maybe take a shot on — Carla Rosa? She was the goalie?

  This was way too easy, and Lucy felt a pang of guilt — until a lanky black-haired figure was suddenly in front of her, one long J.J.-leg ready to capture the ball.

  “To me, Lucy!” someone called out.

  Patricia had actually opened her mouth to speak, from far down the field. Lucy executed an instep pass that lofted the ball — just the way Coach Neely had taught them. Patricia took it out of the air with her foot and volleyed it right into the goal.

  A cheer went up from the crowd, but Lucy couldn’t bring herself to join them.

  The Select Team scored again before the half, which was really only a quarter since they weren’t playing a full game. Still, both sides were sweaty and panting at the break. The Dreams’ faces were dragging the ground as they gathered around Seth. From what Lucy could tell, he wasn’t doing much to lift them.

  “They’re actually pretty good at defense,” little Kayla said in the Select Team’s huddle.

  Taylor snorted. “Not their goalie. But, yeah, we should have scored a lot more on them.” She darted her dark eyes to Lucy. “No offense.”

  “Besides, it isn’t much of a challenge,” Sarah said, “Especially not for Bella. She’s mostly just standing down there at our goal by herself.”

  Bella just shrugged.

  “I almost wish this was over,” Taylor said.

  Waverly gave a somber nod. “Yeah, I kinda feel sorry for them.”

  “Don’t.”

  All eyes went to Lucy.

  “Don’t feel sorry for them — they don’t want that.” Lucy glanced at Coach Neely, who just nodded at her. “This is not telling any secrets or anything, but they’ve only been playing soccer — period — for six months. They’ve only been in two real games. They just want to play because they like it.”

  Sarah flipped her ponytail “Yeah, but they’re not trying to get the ODP to invite them to try out like we are. We can’t really show our skill against a team that doesn’t play for real, and that’s all the ODP people want to see. ”

  “Maybe that’s not all,” Coach Neely said. “Maybe there’s something else you need to show them.”

  Taylor snorted. “That we can slaughter another team without gloating?”

  Hawke blew his horn for the second half.

  “Try to learn something from your opponents,” Coach Neely said.

  “Like what?” Patricia muttered as the team trailed Lucy back to the field. “Just play because you like it?”

  Lucy stopped inside the center circle and looked back at her — at the whole Select Team, who could shield and turn and fake, who knew when to dribble and when to pass and when to shoot — and who all looked like it was right up there with getting a tetanus shot.

  She turned to Dusty, standing before her, still with a trace of the dream in her eyes — even with a goalie who couldn’t catch a ball to save her life and a wing who was too busy deciding which boy to flirt with and a couple of midfielders whose sharpest skill was chewing toothpicks. She and her team still dreamed, even when their field was ruined and their best player was taken away.

  The ref set the ball on the ground. “Are we ready?”

  “Let’s just play because we like it,” Lucy said.

  “Do what?” the ref said, with the whistle already between his teeth.

  “Have fun!!!!!” Lucy said again — and again, until every exclamation point showed up on every face on the field. Every face.

  “Now we’re ready,” Lucy said.

  The ref blew the whistle almost before the last syllable was out of Lucy’s mouth.

  With a lit-up grin, Dusty kicked the ball out of the circle straight to Gabe. “Eat our dust, Bolillo!” she said.

  “In your dreams!” Lucy said back, and took off after her.

  For the first time since the game started, the ball stayed on the Select Team’s end of the field for longer than about ten seconds. Emanuel got the ball to the kid Lucy figured was Zen, who did some kind of weird-fancy fake around Kayla and made her giggle.

  Veronica called, “To me, Zennie” and trapped the ball he snapped to her. Of course, she took her time trying to set up a shot, and Waverly stole it from her, but Gabe wasn’t having it. He got the ball away and sent it rolling to J.J., who went into a slider — and almost got it past Bella. She was down on her knee in a flash, and she gave him a big ol’ smile as she kicked the ball far down the field.

  “Sorry!” Lucy heard Bella say before she took off again for midfield.

  “No problem,” J.J. said back.

  Lucy felt herself grinning. This was the soccer she loved.

  Back on the Los Suenos end, Dusty was running beside Patricia as she dribbled. Only Oscar stood between her and the goal.

  “Wall!” Lucy shouted to her as she came even with her on the other side of the field.

  Patricia passed the ball off to her and ran around Oscar. He would follow the ball — that was just Oscar — and Lucy could pass it back to Patricia for another score. But to Lucy’s surprise, Oscar spit out his toothpick and stayed on Patricia, grinning wide and saying something that got a big ol’ guffaw out of her.

  Which left Lucy with the ball, and a chance to score. And not just a chance — a sure thing. With the rest of the Dreams guarded, Lucy checked out Carla Rosa. She was far over to the right, watching Oscar and Patricia instead of the ball. All Lucy had to do was aim for the left edge and she was in.

  Lucy dribbled closer and set up for an instep shot. And then, suddenly, there was Carla Rosa, throwing herself at the ball, arms out as if she were coming in for a landing. It smacked into her chest and bounced off and out of the goal box.

  “Way to go, C.R.!” Gabe shouted.

  Lucy was so caught off guard she almost forgot to go for the rebound.

  “Behind you!” Taylor said.

  Lucy made a heel pass. Gabe was right there to capture it from her. Kayla swooped in like the “smokin’ defender” she was, laughte
r bubbling over happy calls of, “To me, Kayla!” and “Man on!”

  The “man on” was Emanuel, who got the ball back down the field to J.J. With one of his best dust-blowing sliders, he sneaked the ball past Bella. Lucy didn’t know which team cheered louder.

  The whistle blew to end the game. Select girls and Dream kids were in a puppy pile in the middle of the field, when Lucy heard a voice boom, “Lucy Rooney!”

  J.J. got her to the top of the heap, and Hawke pulled her out.

  “Got something for you and your dad to sign,” he said as he ushered her toward the bleachers.

  “What?” Lucy said.

  “Your application to officially try out for ODP.”

  Lucy stopped just short of the still-cheering bleachers and stared up at him. “They want to see me?”

  “I’ve already seen you.” Hawke’s eyes were twinkling. “I’m the ODP rep, Lucy.”

  Lucy could only stare at him.

  “I knew your skills were there the first day I saw you,” he said. He looked out at the pile still laughing and shouting in the middle of the field. “But today I found out what I really needed to know.” Hawke’s bright, sharp eyes came back to her. “Your tryout is in September.”

  Dear God:

  Why It’s Okay That This Isn’t the Perfect Summer

  She stopped and rearranged the two cats on her lap. Lolli muttered at Marmalade under her breath, Patricia style, but the orange kitty hunkered down. This was like reading, and that was his job. Lucy picked up her pen again:

  1. I still have to take a standardized reading test if I want to be in regular classes when middle school starts — with Dusty and Veronica and Gabe. But Mr. Auggy says I’ll pass, no problem, and that I can probably help J.J. too. I don’t know about him holding a cat though.

  2. Now that soccer camp is over, Januarie is back to hanging out with us. But she isn’t as annoying as she used to be. Maybe that’s because her team won the junior championship. She was a pretty good goalie for them. She yelped like a Chihuahua at anybody that tried to score a point.

  3. The Girls’ Select Team didn’t win our championship. The Boys’ team beat us by one goal. But the whole Los Suenos Dreams Team AND the Girls’ Select Team got VIP awards for showing the camp what real sportsmanship is. Huh. All we did was have fun.