Settle the Score
Page 9
“Inside I was completely freaking out,” Frida admitted. “But I pulled it together and pretended like nothing was wrong. When I saw Star, I made a joke about what good taste she had, and we both laughed. But what could have been a disaster turned out to be a total blessing.”
“How?” Jessi asked.
“Let’s face it. This is my first movie, and I’m not really well known,” Frida said. “So the chances of my picture making it into a magazine or onto the web weren’t that great. But Star is a famous pop singer . . .” As Frida trailed off, Zoe gasped.
“Who Wore It Best!” she cried. “You made it into Who Wore It Best!”
Jessi and I looked at each other in confusion. We didn’t know what a Who Wore It Best was. Before we could ask, Frida continued her story.
Frida smiled as she nodded. “It gets even better.” She pointed to the big-screen television hanging on her living room wall. She had it hooked up to her laptop, and pictures of the premiere were flashing on it. Some were from a celebrity news site.
Pictures of a smiling Brady McCoy flashed by, then a photo of Star Evans, followed by a photo of Brady and Star together. Emma booed loudly when she saw that one, and we all laughed.
Then a side-by-side photo came onto the screen of Star and Frida. They were both wearing the same colorful, striped dress. The caption said Who Wore It Best? There was a star on Frida’s photo with the words “She Did!” on it.
“You wore it best! You wore it best!” Zoe, usually the quiet one, started yelling and jumping up and down in her excitement for Frida.
“And it’s all thanks to you, Zoe,” Frida said. “The fashion experts liked how I styled the dress better. You helped me pick out the perfect shoes, and you’re the one who told me to wear my hair down, not in an updo. The article on the website said that my long, flowing hair complimented the playful vibe of the dress.”
“So Who Wore It Best is a thing where, if two people are wearing the same outfit, the magazine picks the person who looks best in it?” I asked.
Frida and Zoe nodded. “Yes, and Frida rocked it out!” Zoe said.
“Star looked pretty too,” I said. I felt happy for Frida, but part of me thought it was kind of mean.
“She did,” Frida admitted. “But even if Star had won, I still would have gotten my name out there! So there’s really no losing.”
I shook my head. There were some things about the whole celebrity thing that I would never understand. Maybe one day if I became a famous soccer player, I’d make it into the Who Scored It Best column. Now, that was more my style!
“Congratulations, Frida!” Emma said.
“Thanks! You guys should get something to eat,” Frida told us. “The movie is going to start soon, so fill up a plate and grab a seat.”
There was a sun porch attached to the living room, set up with tables filled with snacks. As we filled our plates with mall munchies, Cody, Steven, and Hailey got in line behind us.
Hailey looked right at me and Jessi. “Hey, guys!”she said cheerfully. “Congratulations on taking the winter league championship!”
Jessi and I smiled. “Thanks!” we both said. But I felt a little flutter from the butterflies in my stomach. I glanced at Zoe. Would she be upset?
Zoe was smiling too. “The Gators tried our best to stop that from happening!” she said.
I realized I was holding my breath, so I exhaled before I laughed. “The Gators didn’t make it easy for us, that’s for sure!” I said, feeling relieved that Zoe was comfortable enough to joke about our competition.
“They sure didn’t!” said a voice behind me, and I turned to see Coach Flores standing there. I almost didn’t recognize her, because she had her hair in a cute bun and she was wearing a blue dress, and I think I’d only seen her in sweats and Kicks T-shirts.
“Coach Flores!” Emma shrieked, and then there was a whole bunch of screaming as every member of the Kicks in the room ran up to greet her.
Finally we calmed down, and after we got our food, Frida began to flash the lights on and off. “The movie is about to begin. Find your seats!” she announced.
I sat between Jessi and Zoe as the lights turned off and the movie came on. The opening credits played, and a photo of Frida flashed onto the screen. Frida Rivera as Cassidy, the caption read. We all started clapping and cheering. Frida took a bow.
It was still hard for me to believe that I had a friend who was a movie star. But even better, I had an amazing group of friends and family, movie stars or not. I had learned a lot from playing in the winter league, including how to be more confident and assertive on the field. I’d realized I could survive a bad game and bounce back, stronger than ever. And win or lose, I was always surrounded by the best friends anyone could ask for, and my supportive family. I felt so incredibly lucky.
And it was about to get even better. Soon I’d be playing with the Kicks again!
PHOTO: M. STAHLSCHMIDT/SSP © 2012
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.
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Also in Alex Morgan’s The Kicks series
Saving the Team
Sabotage Season
Win or Lose
Hat Trick
Shaken Up
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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 © 2016 by Full Fathom Five, LLC, and Alex Morgan
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The text for this book was set in Berling.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Morgan, Alex (Alexandra Patricia), 1989– author.
Title: Settle the score / Alex Morgan.
Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2016] | Series: The Kicks ; [6] | Summary: Playing on different teams during winter league soccer tests the friendship of a cl
ose-knit group of twelve-year-old girls.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015026691| ISBN 9781481451048 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781481451062 (ebook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Soccer—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Sports & Recreation / Soccer. | JUVENILE FICTION / Girls & Women. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship. Classification: LCC PZ7.M818 Se 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015026691