Diego, our teammate who’s always ready to go at it at a moment’s notice, jogs towards us. “What did Dresden want?”
“He was just asking if we were ready for a loss,” I tell him.
He swears and spits. “Not ours.”
“That’s what I told him.” They clap me on the back and get ready to get started. I resist the urge to look up into the stands one more time.Focus. There will be plenty of time to catch up with her later.I decide right then and there that I’ll be riding home with them tonight. There’s no way I’m riding the bus back to school when my mate will be taking the same route with three other males in the car and me not present. I feel my anger surge, and I don’t even bother tamping it down. I’ll use it in this game. Since we won the coin toss and chose to take the kick-off, we start with the ball. As soon as my feet touch the ball, everything falls away except the ball, my teammates, and the field. And then I play the sport I was born to play.
Chapter 9
Tessa
I scream with the hundreds of fans as the game gets started. Usually, soccer games start excitedly and then kind of dull down a little bit. Usually, everybody will take their seats and watch and wait for something to happen. Not tonight. Tonight, the guys are on fire; and leading the way is none other than number seven, our striker. Slater has already had a few looks at the goal. Nothing’s come of it yet, but you can feel the excitement and tension in the air. It’s inevitable. Sure enough, less than five minutes in, Slater scores with a high kick that sails just over their goalkeeper’s reach. I’m already standing, and I join Evie in screaming. The only thing that would make this better would be if it were a home game because we’re pretty outnumbered in the stands. But I don’t let that deter me from cheering my loudest.
It’s a lot of back and forth after that, but we keep them out of the net. When the buzzer goes off for halftime, we’re still ahead by one. And almost bigger than that, we haven’t let Dresden score a single goal. He's come close a few times, but we’ve kept him out. Ben’s having a great game and has had several incredible saves. I watch as the team leaves the field, and I finally take a breath. “That was a great first half,” I tell Quint.
“Yeah, it was. Our boy is playing pretty good tonight.”
I eye him critically. “He always plays good.”
Quint grins slowly. “Right. Of course.”
I give him a look to let him know how strange I think he’s being before turning to Evie. “Bathroom break?”
“Oh, yes please.”
“I didn’t realize how long these periods were; I’m dying since you won’t let us leave once it starts.”
I shrug. “I don’t want to miss any of it.” It’s not just soccer, either. I never like leaving when play is happening on the field or the court. I don’t want to miss a single thing.
“We’re heading to the bathroom,” Evie tells Zane.
“I’ll go with you.” Evie doesn’t bat an eye, and I let him pass. His broad shoulders make the work of passing through the crowd much easier. It takes a little bit, but we finally make it to the bathroom. Thankfully, it’s not too long of a line.
“So, what do you think?” I ask Evie. I know she hasn’t watched much soccer, if any.
“Well, it’s not football; that’s for sure.”
I elbow her. “That’s just because a certain somebody plays football.”
“Well, yeah; but,” she turns to me. “I’m sorry, but soccer is so boring.”
My mouth opens in shock. “Boring? Were you watching the same game as I was?”
“Tessa, I’m pretty sure nobody enjoys games nearly as much as you do.”
“Well, guilty as charged, I guess.”
She finishes drying her hands and turns to me. “I heard what Quint was asking you in the car. I’ve thought that before as well. Have you ever considered a career in sports announcing or something before? You’re so good at it.”
I laugh. “I’m good at what? Watching sports? I’m pretty sure that’s not a career.”
“No, but you do so much more than just watch. You know stats, numbers, players, and so much more than that. I just feel like you’re really gifted, Tess. You should do something with it.”
I smile. “Thanks, Evie; but history is in my family. It’s in my blood.”
“Yeah, but does it excite you the way sports does?”
“History? Excite me the way sports does? No. Nothing does.”
