by Alex Morgan
“Grace!” I called. I was wide open.
Grace was dribbling and staring at Megan, who could not shake the Eagles player who was covering her. One of the Eagles covering Grace kicked it away from her, but because I was near, I intercepted it.
Still open, I tore down the field. When I got into goal range, I kicked the ball toward the goal, not thinking about strategy or faking out the goalie—I just wanted that ball to go in.
My heart skipped a beat as the ball struck the goalie’s fingertips, but she didn’t catch it, and it bounced into the goal right behind her.
I had scored! The game was tied at 1–1, and that was how the game ended—in a tie, because there were no tiebreakers during regular season play, only in the play-offs.
The Kicks and the Eagles lined up and slapped hands, but neither team did it with much energy. Besides being hot, we all knew that a tie game was not much better than losing. You didn’t get the agony of defeat, but you didn’t get the thrill of victory, either. And a tie would hurt the Kicks’ place in the standings.
Coach Flores was her usual cheerful self as we gathered together before she dismissed the team.
“Conditions were tough today, girls, and you all played your best,” she said. “You should be proud of that. I’ll see you at practice tomorrow.”
“Who wants to try out the new ice cream place in Kentville?” Anna called out.
“That sounds good to me!” Emma said. “Can we all meet there?”
As Emma was talking, I saw the eighth-grade girls walking away without answering.
“Looks like it will be a seventh-grade thing,” I said.
Mom and Dad dropped me off at Get the Scoop, the new ice cream shop in downtown Kentville. Actually, they had intended to drop me off, but Maisie kept whining, “Why can’t I get ice cream too?” So they came in with us, but thankfully they took their orders to go and left me with my Kicks friends. The seven of us sat together—me, Jessi, Emma, Zoe, Frida, Anna, and Sarah. I couldn’t help noticing that Emma and Zoe weren’t sitting next to each other like they usually did.
“So, what’s up with the eighth graders?” Frida wanted to know as we dug into our ice cream.
“Grace is mad at me,” I admitted, and then I had to fill the others in on how I had helped the Roses. “I don’t know what to do. I like Sasha, and I’d like to hang out with her again, but I don’t want to be disloyal to the Kicks.”
“I don’t think you’re being disloyal,” Emma said. “You’re just trying to help them.”
Zoe shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “It is a little weird, but I know you’re loyal to the Kicks, Devin.”
I sighed. “That’s what Jessi said.” Jessi nodded in agreement.
“I think they’re right,” Frida said. “You’re always talking about being focused, Devin. You should focus on the Kicks.”
“Do whatever you want,” Anna chimed in.
“Yeah,” Sarah agreed. “Don’t worry about Grace. She’ll get over it.”
I dipped my spoon into my cup of banana ice cream, no closer to an answer than I had been the day before. Then Emma changed the subject.
“I have to get home soon, because tonight is the big night!” she announced.
“What big night?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Seriously, Devin? I’ve been talking about it all week. It’s the Brady McCoy concert!”
I was sure that Emma had been talking about it all week, and I was equally sure that I had tuned her out.
“Mom got two tickets months ago, one for me and one for Zoe,” Emma continued. “I could barely sleep last night, I was so excited! And I still need to decide which T-shirt I’m wearing, my Mall Mania T-shirt or the one from his first concert tour.”
Zoe didn’t say anything as she ate her mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate sprinkles.
“Anyway, I’m leaning toward the Mall Mania shirt because it’s sparkly,” Emma said, and then she started telling Zoe how she had looked up images of the stage design online for the concert, and she described it in detail. “It starts off with a cityscape of Los Angeles, and lots of lights, and then later in the show the whole stage looks like a snow mountain peak because Brady loves to ski. . . .”
Zoe didn’t say another word the whole rest of the time.
My dad picked up both me and Jessi so that we could bring her home, and I finally got a chance to talk to Jessi about it.
“What do you think is up between Emma and Zoe?” I asked. “It’s like they’re not fighting, but they’re not talking to each other either. It’s pretty obvious that Zoe doesn’t want to go to that concert. Why doesn’t she just say so?”
“I know. It’s weird,” Jessi agreed. “But I’m not sure how to help them.”
“Me neither,” I said. “I just hope they can work it out.”
“I bet they will,” Jessi said.
My phone beeped with another text from Sasha.
U there?
I went with my gut. Yeah, what’s up?
Helping Sasha felt right. Freezing out Sasha didn’t. If Grace and the other eighth graders had a problem with that, I would deal with it.
We beat the Panthers today! Sasha texted me.
“The Roses beat the Panthers today!” I told Jessi, the shock evident in my voice.
The Pinewood Panthers were one of the best teams in our division. They had beaten the Kicks once last fall. It was hard to believe that the Roses had turned things around so quickly, but I guess they had. And maybe the heat and the stomach bug going around had hurt the Panthers, too.
Jessi’s eyes grew wide. “Wow. Seriously? That’s hard to believe.”
“That’s what Sasha just texted,” I said.
Congrats! I replied.
We’re coming for you! Sasha texted back, and I knew she was teasing. But I also knew that Grace would not have taken it that way.
Good luck! I replied, and that was the end of our chat.
I sighed with relief. Sasha hadn’t asked me for any more help, so my problem with the eighth graders was solved for now.
Chapter Nine
“We have to go back to that ice cream place again,” Jessi remarked as we walked to our lunch table the next day in school. “I am obsessed with their salted caramel swirl.”
I made a face. “Not a fan of the salty ice cream,” I said. “But the banana was awesome.”
We sat down and were unpacking our lunches when Emma walked up. Actually, she stomped up, with an angry look on her face. She slammed her lunchbox onto the table.
“Emma, what is wrong?” I asked.
“Zoe,” she replied. “I am so mad at her!”
Just then Zoe approached, and Emma glared at her. Zoe put her head down and started to walk to a different table. Emma ran up to her and blocked her path.
“Where were you last night?” Emma asked. “You said your sister Jayne was dropping you off at the concert. But you never showed up!”
Zoe had three older sisters: Jayne, Yvette, and Opal. Jayne had her own car and drove Zoe around sometimes.
“I tried to tell you I didn’t want to go, but you wouldn’t listen,” Zoe protested.
“But you were excited when my mom got us the tickets!” Emma countered.
Emma was talking really loudly, and some of the kids sitting nearby had stopped talking to listen.
“That was months ago,” Zoe said. “I don’t care about him anymore. I told you that.”
Emma folded her arms across her chest. “So where did you go? When I called your house looking for you, your mom thought you were with me.”
“That’s exactly why I should be mad at you,” Zoe said. “My mom freaked out when you called. Now I’m grounded for a month!”
“You still haven’t told me where you went,” Emma said.
“That’s none of your business,” Zoe replied.
Emma’s face turned red. “None of my business?” Her voice was a shrill shriek.
Jessi jumped u
p. “Time to intervene,” she said, and I followed her lead. She walked up to Zoe and pulled her away, and I grabbed Emma by the arm and pulled her back to the table.
“I can’t believe her!” Emma said. “We’re supposed to be best friends, and she ditches me. And when I ask her why, she says it’s none of my business.”
“Yeah, that’s rough,” I agreed.
Emma looked at me. “So you’re on my side, then, Devin? You know I’m right.”
I panicked. I didn’t know what to say to Emma, because I thought Zoe had a point too. She’d been trying to tell Emma for a while now that she wasn’t into Brady McCoy. I’d heard her start many times.
“Well . . . ,” I began, but then I was interrupted by a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Grace and Megan.
“Devin, did you know that the Roses beat the Panthers yesterday?” Grace asked.
I felt my face flush. “Well . . .” That was becoming my favorite word.
“We thought so,” Megan said. “Thanks a lot.”
“Thanks for what?” I asked. “It’s not like I was on the field with them!”
But they both turned and walked away without another word. I sat down and put my face in my hands, groaning.
“Is that about the Sasha thing?” Emma asked, but right then Jessi came back and slid into her seat.
“Okay, so I found out where Zoe was last night,” Jessi said.
“Nice. She tells you, but she won’t tell me,” Emma said.
Jessi ignored her. “So, she went to a concert with some kids from the art club.” She nodded over to Zoe and the table she was sitting at, with some of the art club kids. I recognized Jasmine, a girl with a dark pink streak in her brown hair, and Arthur, a quiet boy who always wore all black.
When I turned back to our table, I saw that Frida had her phone pointed at me, and I realized she had been quiet this whole time.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“This lunch period is a jackpot of emotions,” she replied. “I’m recording everyone’s facial expressions so that I can practice them. You guys have been doing some great ones. Anger, surprise, disbelief, rejection, fear . . .”
Jessi answered Frida with a look—a look that told her to put the phone down, and Frida did.
“What concert could be better than a Brady McCoy concert?” Emma wondered.
“A concert at a small all-ages club in Victorton,” Jessi replied. “For some band I’ve never heard of.”
“I still don’t get it,” Emma said. “Why didn’t she tell her mom where she was going? Why did she lie and say she was with me?”
“No idea,” Jessi said.
“Unless maybe her mom didn’t want her to go to an all-ages club in Victorton,” I guessed. I knew my mom wouldn’t. Usually teenagers and college kids went to those clubs.
“Well, whatever the reason, now she’s in big trouble,” Jessi said.
“Poor Zoe,” Frida said.
“Ha! Are you kidding?” Emma blurted out. “She disappointed me, and she lied to her mom. She deserves to be in big trouble. I thought you would understand that, Frida.”
Frida held up both her hands. “All right, calm down. But there’s two sides to every story, you know.”
“There is only one side to this story, and it’s my side,” Emma said stubbornly.
I felt a knot forming in my stomach. I did not want to have to choose between Emma and Zoe. I did not want to have to choose between helping Sasha and staying friendly with Grace. I felt stuck in the middle of everything, and it wasn’t a good place to be.
Then Jessi brilliantly changed the subject.
“Emma, what’s in your lunchbox today? Did your mom pack those spicy noodles again?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” Emma replied. “And the cucumber salad.”
Jessi held up a banana and wiggled it. “Maybe we can work out a trade.”
“For a banana? Are you kidding?” Emma asked, and then we were all joking and laughing and everything was back to normal. Except that Emma and Zoe weren’t speaking to each other, and Grace was still mad. Ugh!
Chapter Ten
Soccer practice that afternoon started off badly and just got worse.
“We’re going to learn a new drill today,” Coach Flores told us after we had warmed up. “It’s a little complicated but it’s fun, and I think it will improve our shooting and passing. Follow me out onto the field, and I’ll show you.”
Coach Flores jogged onto the field, and we followed her. I saw Grace and Megan roll their eyes.
“You gonna share this drill with the Roses, Devin?” Grace asked me.
I sighed. “Come on. It’s not like that!”
But they ignored me and jogged ahead. I looked at Jessi next to me, who had heard the whole thing.
“I do not understand what they are so upset about,” I said.
Jessi shrugged. “I’m sure it will blow over.”
I was happy to see Hailey, Brianna, Taylor and Olivia there. At least they didn’t seem mad at me!
“Are you feeling better?” I asked them.
Hailey nodded. “It was one of those twenty-four hour things. I feel fine again, but my mom has it now. She is miserable!”
Olivia said, “Jade, Gabriela and Alandra are still feeling awful. They weren’t in school today.”
Jessi covered her mouth and nose with her hands. “I don’t want to catch it!”
“If you haven’t yet, you’re probably safe,” Hailey told her.
Coach had set up four cones in a square—two cones ten feet apart on the edge of the penalty box in front of the goal, and two more cones ten feet behind them. She had Zoe, Emma, Taylor, and Anjali stand by the four cones. Emma stood by the cone on the left side closest to the goal, and Anjali stood by the right cone closest to the goal. Taylor stood by the cone diagonally across from Anjali, and Zoe stood by the cone diagonally across from Emma.
“Seventh graders, line up behind Zoe,” Coach instructed. “Eight graders, line up behind Taylor.”
I lined up behind Zoe with Jessi, Frida, Brianna, Hailey, Anna, Sarah, and Olivia.
“This is a diagonal drill,” Coach explained. “Zoe is in position number one, so she will go first. She’s going to pass the ball diagonally to Emma, who’s in position number four.” Coach walked from Zoe to Emma, demonstrating.
“Then Zoe will run forward, and Emma will pass it to her, and Zoe will kick it into the goal,” Coach went on. “Zoe moves to position four, Emma retrieves the ball and passes it to Taylor in position two. Then Emma moves to the back of the eighth grade line and Taylor passes the ball diagonally to Anjali. And then we keep going. Got it?”
Believe it or not, we did get it. It might have sounded confusing, but it was easy to figure out when Coach demonstrated on the field.
“All right, Zoe. Let’s begin,” Coach said.
Zoe nodded and passed the ball smoothly to Emma. Then Zoe ran toward the goal. Emma passed it to her, but she kicked the ball so hard that it whizzed past Zoe and out of bounds.
“Jeez, Emma, calm down!” Zoe called out, annoyed, chasing after the ball.
“You calm down!” Emma shot back.
“Zoe, just dribble the ball back and make the goal!” Coach called out.
Zoe obeyed, and then she and Emma crossed paths as Zoe took Emma’s place by the cone. I saw Zoe say something to Emma, but I couldn’t hear it. Then Emma scowled and stomped all the way to the back of the eighth-grade line.
I looked at Jessi and raised my eyebrows.
“This is not good,” I whispered.
“No, it isn’t,” Jessi agreed.
The drill continued, and even though some of us were confused about where to go or where to pass the ball, we quickly got the hang of it after a few rounds. We kept going until everybody had had a chance in all four positions. At one point Zoe had to pass the ball to Emma again. She aimed a precise, perfect pass that rolled right in front of Emma’s feet.
“That’s
how you do it,” Zoe said, loud enough for Emma to hear. Emma glared at her and kicked the ball into the goal so hard that it bounced off the net and flew back onto the field. Zoe chased after it, shaking her head.
When we finished the drill, Coach split us up for a scrimmage.
“Let’s do seventh grade versus eighth grade, just for fun,” she said.
“Oh boy,” I muttered under my breath. Of all the times for Coach Flores to split us up by grade, I had a feeling this was not a good idea. And I was right.
Grace and the eighth graders got into a huddle before the scrimmage started, and when they came out of it, they were super high-energy, which turned into their becoming totally aggro on the field. They were on top of the ball like peanut butter on jelly. I could barely get near it.
It didn’t help that Emma and Zoe took their argument onto the field. Emma stopped a goal by Giselle, and Zoe was clear for a pass, but Emma passed it to Hailey, who was guarded by two eighth graders, Jade and Taylor.
“Emma, I was free!” Zoe yelled.
“Don’t tell me how to play!” Emma yelled back, and while she was distracted, Jade sent a ball whizzing past her ear into the net.
The seventh graders lost the scrimmage 4–0, and Grace and the eighth graders looked pretty pleased with themselves. Coach Flores, on the other hand, sensed that something was up.
“Good job, eighth grade,” she said. “I love the energy you had on the field. I’d love to see you use that against the Tigers on Saturday.”
Grace and Megan high-fived.
Then Coach turned to me and my team. “Seventh grade, you guys were not as focused as you should be,” she said, looking right at Emma and Zoe. “We all need to work together as a team if we’re going to succeed.”
She looked back at the eighth graders now. “All of us.”
“Yes, Coach!” we all said, and I hoped that everyone meant it.
When I got home from practice, I showered and then had a video chat with Kara before dinner. When her face popped up on the screen, I saw that she was sitting at her kitchen table with piles of papers around her.
“Bad time?” I asked her.
“It’s okay,” she said with a yawn. “I’ve been studying for my science test for the past two hours. I could use a break! How was practice?”