Choosing Sides
Page 8
“No, but that would be fun,” Frida said.
“Could you please take us home?” I asked. “We’ve got a big game tomorrow.”
Then everyone got quiet, because we were all thinking the same thing. We hoped we were going to have a game the next day! Who knew what Coach Flores was going to do?
Chapter Fifteen
I got up extra early on Saturday morning—I think it was because I was so nervous. I went on a morning run, took a shower, and then ate a bowl of oatmeal, even though it was a warm, sunny morning. I loved the energy burst I got from oatmeal on the morning of a game, and it didn’t totally fill me up.
Then I got dressed for the game. I put on a pair of new blue-and-white-striped socks and slipped my lucky pink headband into my hair before running back downstairs. Mom, Dad, and Maisie were all wearing blue T-shirts.
“Everybody’s coming?” I asked.
“Yes, the stars have aligned,” Mom replied. “Your three biggest fans can all be there!”
“I’m her smallest fan,” Maisie quipped.
Mom hugged her. “Yes, but you’re growing fast, Maisie.”
I was happy that everyone was coming, but I was also a little worried. I still had no idea what Coach Flores might do, after Grace and the others had gotten caught the night before. I kept checking my phone for a group text announcing that the Kicks had been disqualified from the league, but nothing came.
“Devin, are you okay?” Dad asked. “You don’t seem to have your usual game-day bounce.”
I hesitated. I still hadn’t told them anything that had happened the night before at the Roses field, but it wasn’t like me to keep things from my parents.
“I’ll tell you on the way,” I said.
The mood in the car got pretty serious as I told the story of how I had tried to stop Grace and some of the other eighth graders from spraying the roses blue.
“Devin, Coach Doyle was right—you should have told Coach Flores. Or me or your dad,” Mom said.
“I know,” I said. “I just didn’t want Grace to get in trouble.”
“But she did anyway,” Dad pointed out. “Remember that the next time you have to make a decision like this.”
“I’m also not happy that you went to the Roses field at night without telling us,” Mom said.
“Well, I told you that Jayne was driving us home,” I said. “We just made a stop on the way.”
Mom frowned. “Hmph! We’ll talk about this more after the game.”
I sat back in the seat and closed my eyes, grateful that Maisie had her headphones on. I knew she would have had a lot of obnoxious things to say about my situation.
We pulled into the parking lot by the field, and when I got out of the car, Mom hugged me, to my surprise. Then, still holding me by the arms, she pulled away from me and looked into my eyes.
“Devin, I’m very proud of you for trying to do the right thing,” she said. “And I know that you’re at an age when you’re feeling your wings, and wanting to make your own decisions. Just remember that Dad and I are always here to help you make the best possible decisions that you can.”
“I will,” I promised.
She let go of me. “Now, go out there and win that game!”
I jogged out to the field, but Dad was right—I didn’t have my usual bounce. And then when I saw Grace in jeans and a T-shirt instead of her uniform, I felt absolutely deflated. Something was definitely going on.
“Devin, can I talk to you?” she asked.
“Sure,” I said.
Grace took a deep breath. “Listen,” she began. “I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have given you such a hard time for helping Sasha. And I’m glad you tried to stop us last night. You were right. So, thanks.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “But what happened to you guys? Are you off the team?”
Grace shook her head. “No, just suspended for one game. Coach Doyle and Coach Flores agreed that was fair.”
I let out a huge sigh. “Whoa. I’m so glad. I mean, it stinks that you’re suspended for a game. But I’m glad you’re still on the team.”
The other Kicks were starting to enter the field. I could see a few girls whispering and talking. Word must have gotten around about what had happened.
“Megan, Gabriela, Jade, and Anjali are all going to be in the stands today, cheering everybody else on,” Grace said. “I asked Coach if I could talk to the team first and explain things, and she said yes.”
I imagined having to face the whole team and admit that I had made a huge mistake. “That won’t be easy.”
“Yeah, but I’m a co-captain,” she said. “So, you know, I’ve got to do it.”
I nodded, because I understood exactly what she meant.
“I’m sorry I didn’t realize how bad things were between you and Ashley of the Roses,” I said. “She doesn’t seem very nice.”
“She’s not, but I let her get to me, and that’s my own fault,” Grace replied. “You probably know this already, Devin, but I’m very competitive. Soccer is my life. I don’t want to just do this for fun. I want to do it when I’m out of school. I want to go pro.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too,” I admitted.
“Yeah, but it’s been messing with my head,” Grace said. “I thought that in order to go pro, I always had to be on a winning team. That helps, but that’s not all of it. I need to always play my best. And I can’t let dumb insults get to me. I almost ruined everything, just because it bugs me when Ashley calls me ‘Gross’ instead of ‘Grace.’ ”
“Yeah, when she goes low, you gotta go high,” I said, and she smiled. “And also, you are on a winning team. And we’re going to keep winning.”
“I know you can do it today,” Grace said. “Even without the five of us. We did great that day when everybody was sick.”
Then she looked around. “I guess I’d better do this.”
I followed her over to Coach Flores, and the coach called the team together.
“Team, I have some news,” Coach said. “Grace, Megan, Jade, Anjali, and Gabriela are suspended from today’s game. And Grace is going to tell you why.”
I could see a tiny bit of fear in Grace’s eyes, but she stepped forward and explained everything that had happened the night before. Everybody started whispering.
“I let this team down, and I’m sorry,” Grace said. “And today you’ll be playing five players short, and that’s my fault. But I know you can beat the Panthers without us. You can do it if you remember that we’re a team. We’re all on the same side.”
Grace smiled at me, and I smiled back.
“Now, Devin, it’s time for a sock swap!” Grace said.
“Right!” I replied. “Everybody in a circle!”
We ran and sat down in the grass and took off our cleats. Jessi sat next to me, and I passed her my blue-and-white-striped sock.
“Well, that worked out okay, I guess,” she remarked.
“Yeah,” I agreed, and then I looked across the circle, where Zoe and Emma were cracking up.
“Pickles, Emma? Seriously? I can’t go out there wearing a pickle sock!” Zoe complained, giggling.
“Of course you can! Pickles are good luck!” Emma replied.
“Says who?” Zoe asked.
“Says . . . I don’t know. But it’s true!” Emma said. “Anyway, who doesn’t like pickles?”
“I guess it all worked out okay,” I said, tying my shoe, “except for one thing.”
“What’s that?” Jessi asked.
“We haven’t beaten the Panthers yet!” I jumped up. “Kicks, huddle!”
We got into a circle, and each one of us put our right hand in the middle.
“Gooooooooo, Kicks!”
About the Author
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. In 2015 she achieved her lifelong goal of winning the FIFA World Cup, in the most watched soccer match in US history. Morgan now plays for the Orlando Pride of Orlando, Florida, and for the Olympique Lyonnais in France.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Alex-Morgan
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster, New York
Also by Alex Morgan
The Kicks Series
Saving the Team
Sabotage Season
Win or Lose
Hat Trick
Shaken Up
Settle the Score
Under Pressure
In the zone
Breakaway
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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.
Text copyright © 2018 by Full Fathom Five, LLC, and Alex Morgan
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2018 by Paula Franco
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Morgan, Alex (Alexandra Patricia), 1989- author.
Title: Choosing sides / Alex Morgan.
Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2018] Series: The Kicks | Summary: Devin has to deal with some contention between members of her team, the Kicks, and hostility toward their rivals, the Roses.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017051750 | ISBN 9781481481564 (hardcover) ISBN 9781481481571 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781481481588 (ebook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Soccer—Fiction. | Conduct of life—Fiction. Friendship—Fiction. | Middle schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.M818 Cho 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017051750