During our first dribbling run, I’m surprised when I don’t trip or kick the ball too far out in front of me. The ball stays at a comfortable distance and I tap tap it all the way to the cones and back without making an ass out of myself.
“
Well done, Megan,” Coach calls out. A smile spreads across my face. That’s not something I’ve heard too often on the field.
The next drill is a passing one and I’m paired with a new girl. She wasn’t on the team last year, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her around.
“
Dude, what’s your name?” she asks.
I want to tell her it’s definitely not “dude.” “Megan, but most people call me Meg.”
“
Cool, I’m Andi,” she says, all four-feet-something of her. She’s this tiny little pixy thing. She has her hair tied up in a high pony and it sprays out in every which direction from the top of her head.
“
Nice color.” I tug at the ends of my hair.
She reaches for her own. “Oh, thanks. I like to have fun with it. I change the color all the time.” The last inch of her hair is colored pink. It’s cute. The look works for her.
“
We’re up.” We both meet at the starting line as the girls before us pass the ball to each other and then it ends up at my feet. The whistle blows and now it’s our turn.
We take turns passing the ball back and forth. Around the cones and back, we’re flawless. Pretty impressive.
“
Meggie,” Shelly asks. “Have you been practicing? You’re killing it out there.” She was on my team last year and is fully aware my sudden success is not the norm.
“
Not really. I just feel a lot more comfortable. You’re doing pretty awesome too.”
After what seemed like ten thousand bleacher laps and five hundred drills, our first day of tryouts is over. I don’t feel that bad. I’m giddy, really. I can’t believe how well I played. Keesh spotted me score a goal, and I could hear her screaming my name from the other field.
“
Dude, I’m beat. That was grueling.” Andi plops her stuff beside me and sits.
“
Tell me about it,” I say. “So, are you new? Is this your first year trying out?”
“
Yeah, I’m new to soccer and new to the school,” she says, unlacing her cleats.
“
Really? Where’re you from?” Aww. Freeing my feet has never felt so good. Now if I can just get rid of these damn shin guards.
“
Boston.”
Oh my gosh. “Boston? Really? My mom would love you. She’s an obsessive New Kids fan. Have you ever heard of them?”
“
That’s a silly question. Of course I have. My mom is crazy about them. They should meet.”
“
Totally. So what brings you to California?” Little by little, my body is starting to feel like normal.
“
My mom got a new job so here we are.”
“
You don’t sound like I’d expect. You know, that aww in your words. It’s not there.” I think of the countless interviews I’ve seen and how Joey Joe sounds. I pictured all Bostonians speaking like him.
“
Dude, no. I don’t sound like that.” She giggles. “I grew up in Arizona and moved to Boston for a few years, where they thought
I
sounded funny.” She points to herself. “So I never got that accent.”
“
Bummer, that would’ve been cool,” I tell her, completely meaning it. “Have you met a lot of people here? Who do you hang out with?”
She crinkles her nose at me. “I haven’t really met anyone yet. This is my second week and you’re the first person who has been friendly.”
“
Really?” I can’t believe that. We always talk to new people. That sucks. A new state, a new school, and no new friends after two weeks. “Let me introduce you to my friends. We’re in an interesting group. Here comes one of them now.”
Keesh towers over us, smiling. “Meg, you were on fire, baby. Have you been practicing behind my back?” She cracks herself up. She looks at Andi and says, “Hey.”
I introduce the girls. “She’s from Boston. Just started here. And no, asshole, I haven’t been practicing.”
“
Are you sure you wanna hang with us and take this abuse?” She points her thumb in my direction. We all chuckle. “Wait, did you say Boston? Our moms are gonna flip.”
“
Is your mom a Blockhead too?” Andi asks.
“
Oh my, you speak the language too?” Keesh looks stunned. She turns to me and I smile. “Are you guys ready to go? I’m starving.”
I get to my feet and am surprised when my legs don’t feel like they’re going to explode.
“
My legs are killing me. I’m going to call my mom to pick me up,” Andi says, walking slowly.
“
I feel pretty good for the first day. I was expecting to have to crawl home,” I tell them.
“
Did you do anything different?” she asks, still taking baby steps.
“
I’ve been drinking gallons of water for the last month.”
Keesh laughs. “It’s a secret sore muscle remedy from her college boyfriend.”
I shoot her a nasty look. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Andi smiles. “Dude, you have a boyfriend in college?”
Keesh cracks up some more. “Yeah, she does. And a high school boyfriend too.” She jabs me in the side with her elbow.
“
Stop,” I tell Keesh. “Andi, I don’t have a boyfriend. Neither does Keesh. Or our other friend Steph. We’re all having a blast being single this year.”
“
Liar,” Keesh teases.
“
Dude, what about?” Andi asks. “The boyfriends?” She emphasizes the plural. “Or having a blast being single?”
“
Both,” Keesh and I mutter together.
Sixteen
“
Dude, you should text Andi and tell her to sit with us,” Keesh says, making fun of the new girl. She did say “dude” more than anyone I’ve ever known.
I take out my phone and invite her to have lunch with us. I thought about her last night. I even told my mom about her being from Boston. Just like I imagined, she smiled from ear to ear at the thought of meeting a fellow Blockhead, and one straight from Beantown was just icing on the cake.
“
She’s on her way,” I tell the girls.
“
I can’t believe she hasn’t met anyone in two weeks,” Steph says. “She sounds cool enough.”
Here she comes. She’s a tiny little thing dressed super cute with skinny jeans and a turquoise peasant top. The color looks great against her light skin and brings out her blue eyes. She’s just so cute, like I can scoop her up and put her in my pocket.
“
Hey, Andi, thanks for eating with us,” I say. “Take a seat. Pull up some grass.” I pat a spot next to me.
“
No. Thank
you
.” She drops her messenger bag and plops down. “Dude, if I had to eat another day in that cafeteria by myself, I was going to buy a bus ticket back to Boston. I felt like such a lame-o.”
“
You’re funny,” Steph says, watching her dramatic entrance.
“
Hi, you must be Steph,” Andi says, leaning over on all fours and then sticking out a hand. “So happy to meet you.”
Steph looks at me with a curious smile, then takes her hand. “Nice to meet you too.”
“
Looks like you get to meet the boys.” Keesh nods in the direction of Josh and Travis, who are making their way toward us looking like goofballs smacking each other and trying to dodge each other’s punches.
“
You know him?” Andi says with a dreamy sigh.
“
Who?” We all blurt out.
“
The tall one with the most gorgeous messy sandy blond hair. He’s …”
“
Hey, ladies,” Josh says, sitting down next to Keesh and snagging some of her nachos, all in one swift motion.
“
Why, hello there.” Travis sits next to Andi. “Who’s our new friend?” He smiles at her, and she practically melts right there. Her awkward smile is almost embarrassing. She is definitely smitten with my boy. Our boy.
I introduce Andi to the guys and they throw a million questions at her.
“
So you like it here so far?” Travis asks.
“
Now that I’ve made a few friends, it’s much better.” She smiles at him, all doe-eyed. I don’t know what’s cuter. The way she looks at Trav or the way he doesn’t even notice. He’s totally sweet with her and he has no clue she’s lost her marbles just looking at him.
Travis jumps to his feet and then moves to sit next to me. “I heard tryouts went really well. I’m proud of you.” He tosses his arm around me and hauls me in for a squeeze.
“
Yeah, it was great. I just hope I can keep it up. Coulda been a fluke,” I say with a shrug.
“
Let’s go, Trav.” Josh stands, then bends down to get another chip from Keesh. She swats his hand away.
Trav squats next to me. “You’re gonna kick ass again today.” He plants a kiss on the side of my head. “See you in sixth.”
Keesh licks some cheese off her fingers and then points to the guys walking away. “Did you see that, Andi? That was Meggie’s high school boyfriend.”
The happy-go-lucky look on Andi’s face vanishes.
We’ll have to do something about that.
After two weeks of grueling tryouts, the list goes up today. I’m pretty sure my name will be on it. I’ll be one of the few upperclassmen on junior varsity, but that’s okay. I’m playing well this year, so I’ll get a lot of playing time. Plus, it’s cool to be part of the team. I love away games and the bus rides home. We’re always loud, singing and dancing the entire way.
As Keesh, Andi, and I make our way out of the locker room, I’m happy I finished our last tryout on a good note. I played well. We’re on our way to the equipment room to find out the results when I get a text.
Good luck. Text me when you hear the news. Miss u. See u soon.
Gosh, I miss Alex too. I can’t wait to see him tomorrow. He’ll be home for Thanksgiving and we’ve made plans to spend some time together. He wants to kick it with the group as much as he wants to see me. I send him a quick text to let him know I’m on my way to find out now.
Keesh pushes her way through a bunch of girls to get to the front. She already knows she’s made the varsity team, but I know she’s dying to get a look for me.
She turns around and there’s a crazy look of shock or horror on her face. Oh shit, I didn’t make the team. I don’t move any further. If I didn’t make it, I’ll wait until everyone leaves to peek at the list without my name on it.
Andi must not notice the look on Keesh’s face because she pushes forward too.
When Keesh finally reaches me, I smile. “That bad, huh? Oh well.”
“
Oh, Meggie, I’m sorry.” She wraps her arms around me and shakes me back and forth. “You didn’t make JV this year.”
I get a little choked up. “No worries, Keesh. At least I don’t have to run bleachers or do suicides anymore.”
She stops swaying me, puts her hands on my shoulders, and looks me in the eye. “Sorry to disappoint you, Megster, but those days aren’t over. They’re gonna get worse. You made varsity!” She yells the last part so loud I almost don’t realize what she said.
“
Are you fucking kidding me?” I ask, in complete shock.
“
Megan, watch your mouth.” I look over at my coach and she winks at me. This can’t be true. I free myself from Keesh’s grip and make my way to the list.
On my way there, I hear Andi shout back to us, “Dude, I made the JV team.” She beams with giddiness, and I’m happy for her. But right now, there’s just something I have to do.
With my index finger to the paper, I scroll down the list. Sure enough. There it is. Megan Miller listed under
Carver High School Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team
.
Holy shitballs.
I did it.
As soon as I get outside and far enough away from the chatter, I call Alex.
“
Hey,” he answers his phone. “This must be good news.”
“
Better than good,” I squeal. “I made the team.”
I can almost see him smile through the phone. “I knew you would. Congrats.”
“
Wait. There’s more,” I tell him. “I made the varsity team, babe.”
“
Wow, Meggie, that’s awesome. We’re gonna have to celebrate. I can’t wait to congratulate you in person.”
“
Neither can I.” I’m so excited my teeth chatter. “Hey, I gotta go. I just wanted to call you first with the good news.”
“
I’m glad you did. Call me tonight. We can make some definite plans. I’ll be back in the early afternoon.”