Chapter One- After Practice
The sky blue jersey that hung from my shoulders was dusty and caked with sweat. My chest burned, and the strands of hair that had strayed from my ponytail clung to the sides of my face. I heaved, leaning over like I was going to puke.
"Good run, Smith." I felt a rough pat on my back, where the number seven lay stitched in the cheap fabric. I swallowed, reaching for the water bottle that lay on the grass.
"Thanks, Nat." I managed, looking up at the tall, tanned girl that smiled and passed me. I unscrewed the cap, hastily raising the bottle to my lips. The sweet water flowed down my searing throat, and I savoured it. The rest of the team gathered in the center of the field, where I jogged just after I put my bottle down.
Coach Miles stood with his clipboard, a blue pen tucked behind his right ear. He was a teacher and touch football coach in our school, Tallpine Middle, probably in his late thirties. He made a few marks on the board, talking to himself as we gathered.
Coach wore a light blue golf shirt, which matched our uniforms almost perfectly. His flourescent orange whistle hung on his Denver broncos lanyard, which was ever used too much around here. His hair was brown, cut short like the stubbly beard that lay on his chin. He looked up at us, and smiled a little.
"Alright, good practice girls." He spoke in his gruff voice. I listened to the entire team heave from the tough practice. As he began, my friend Sophia Cayne came and sat down beside me. She took a quick guzzle from her water bottle, and pulled out her long blond hair.
"Tired?" I asked her, smiling.
She frowned. "Hey, I'm not a runner," She protested in a low voice.
"Not arguing." I replied, wiping sweat from my face. "And you're not alone, either."
She laughed a little, and we both looked back up at Coach.
"Before you leave, I'm going to hand out the June schedules. Same rules apply, alright? You miss more than three practices, you're off the team. Got it?" Coach barked.
"Yes, Coach." The team replied in unison. He pulled a thick stack of papers with the june calender printed in black ink on one side. He slowly began handing them out, starting with Sophia and I. I grabbed my sheet, looking it over quickly.
"Damn..." I muttered. "Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays?"
Sophia sat back, rolling her eyes. "We're not NFL players..."
I stretched out my arms, already feeling sore. Coach went back to the middle of the circle.
"Okay, so I guess that's it. Make sure you guys are ready for Tuesday. We're running laps around the school, so dress accordingly. It's supposed to be hot so bring lots of water. We'll run some drills afterwards." He said in one single breath. The team groaned and coach smiled. "It will be worth it, trust me."
Our quarter back, Natalie Lareton stood up. "Bring it in, Jays!" She called in a strong voice. Well all stood up, sticking our hands in the center of the circle.
"Bluejays on three!" She yelled.
"One, Two, Three..." We raised our hands. "Bluejays!" Everyone called with strength.
"Break!" Coach barked and I turned and walked towards the school.
I jogged up beside a group of girls which had pooled together near the nets, which were the soccer posts we sort of had to settle for. I grabbed the crossbar, hanging off of it and swinging a couple of times.
"Hitting the showers?" I asked, and Nat nodded.
"Yep," She replied. I let go and my feet hit the ground. Twins Willow and Jordan Maxwell grabbed their bags from the edge of the field.
"Wait up!" They called, as Natalie, Sophia and I made our way to the doors. I listened to my cleats click on the cracked pavement. I grabbed the chain links that divided the yard and the field, throwing my leg over the upper bar. I sat up on the edge of the fence, and leapt down on the grass. Natalie managed to stand up, before jumping off after me.
"Do the guys have soccer practice now?" She glanced at me as I stood up. I walked beside her, across worn down yard and past the old swing set.
"Yeah, I think so..." I pondered. "What time is it?"
Willow chimed in from behind. "Four thirty!" She called and I heard her land.
"They're probably finishing now." I replied. Nat groaned.
"What?" I asked. "Still mad at Chase?" I nudged her.
"You got it." She rolled her eyes. "What a jerk. Says I shouldn't be Q.B for our team."
Sophia chuckled. "Who else would suit?"
She shrugged. "He told me the girls shouldn't have teams at all."
I frowned. "So you punched him, right?" I asked.
She shrugged. "No. Guys like him don't exactly know when they're crossing the line." She muttered. "Either that, or he just doesn't care."
Sophia spat on the grass distastefully.
"You know I could beat him up easy before puberty hit." I raised a fist.
Sophia laughed. "Then all those friggin' guys got all ripped."
"Just wait until high school." I muttered, followed by a heavy sigh.
We came to the entrance, and I grasped the handle with my sweaty palm. I yanked open the creaky metal fire door, and took a breath of a cheap yet satisfying air conditioning. The air was stale inside, and smelled like sweaty teenagers. I grabbed my backpack, which lay on the bench beside our home room.
We took the usual left turn to the change rooms, down the hall next to the gym. A few guys lingered in the hall, near their change room, while the rest of their laughs echoed from the hallway behind us.
Callum Weaver smiled when he saw me, his black hair still wet. I wondered if it was from sweat or the shower.
"Have fun?" He asked, in his usual kind voice. This guy had had a massive crush on me since grade six, but he was also one of my best friends. I laughed.
"Well as much fun as you can have with coach miles." I replied.
"Has he given you the 'miss three practices' speech yet?" He asked. I chuckled.
"Yup. After every practice." I rolled my eyes.
We both laughed and Sophia nudged me. Willow, Jordan and Nat had already made their way into the change rooms. I looked back and Callum before a walked off.
"Sorry, I've got to go shower." I managed. "Snapchat you later?"
He smiled. "Alrighty,"
I turned and followed my friends into the change room, where the rest of the team had already gathered. The place reeked, even more than the hallway, but I'd basically got used to it.
"Late, are we?" Maggie Roster, one of the grade nines inquired.
Sophia smiled. "Nah, I was just waiting for Alex here... out in the hall wheeling and dealing with that Callum kid."
"Right." She laughed, fixing her wavy brown hair. I rolled my eyes and shoved the rather scrawny Sophia Cayne. She yelped, mockingly.
"I don't like him you weirdo." I frowned.
Sophia raised her hands. "Woah, woah, calm you self down... I was kidding."
I shook my head and took down my dull brown ponytail. My hair was thick and fell in waves around my freckly face. I slumped back on the bench beside Natalie, and pulled off my jersey.
I stuffed the sweaty thing in my bag, and unlaced my cleats quickly. I kicked them off, and they landed somewhere in the center of the room. I tore off the sweaty black socks and held them before Natalie's face. She squealed.
"Alex!" She slapped me. "How would you feel!"
She grabbed her socks from her bag and threw them at me. I cringed and shook one off my shoulder.
"To the shower, it is." I pulled open the cheap curtain, taking off the remains of what I had on. I pressed the timed button, and the cloudy stream of luke warm water fell downwards over my sunburnt skin. I washed my hair, covering my body in the watered down school soap. Once I'd washed it all off, I stood under the tap for the remainder of my turn. You learn to savour the extra thirty seconds of shower time, with a team like mine.
I pulled the curtain open and grabbed a towel. My teeth chattered as soon as I hit the cold air.
I sat down on the bench and Willow went to take her turn in the shower. It usually took a while, as there were only three in each change room. I dried off and pulled on a black Adidas T-shirt, complete with white stripes down the sleeves and sides. I put on a fresh pair of beige cargo shorts and put my still-wet hair up, completing it with my signature electric green headband. I put the remains of my gear in my back and slung one strap over my shoulder.
"Walking home?" I asked Sophia and Natalie.
"Yeah." Nat replied. "Soph's sleeping over tonight, though." She began. "Wanna come?"
I pondered. "I don't think I'm busy. I'll stop home, okay?"
Sophia picked up her own bag. "Cool."
I pulled on my proud Tallpine Jays cap, walking out the door behind them.