Star Struck
Guys are so overrated.
Written by Ct Infinity
Prologue
Nicole's sweat poured onto the field, making the plastic turf shiny and almost pretty when the sun shone on it. She couldn't focus on the ground, though; she had a game to win. It was the last two minutes and all they needed was one more goal to cream Harlem Monkeys. She focused on instead the socks on the field, scanning for familiar cleats that matched with her light blue socks. "Pass it!" the crowd screamed. "Shut up," she thought back. She dribbled carefully, dodging two defenders. "Get open!" she screamed to her teammates. It didn't matter, though. She had already analyzed the field, memorized everyone's positions and where they would run to intercept the soccer ball. She finally swooped past the last defender, and-
The crowd roared with approval as the goalie flew into the air but missed. Arianna, eyes shining, raced over and put Nicole on her shoulders. "Nikki! Nikki! Nikki!" their voices died in the night, and her day of stardom passed by like a dream.
"Hey," she said tiredly as she stumbled into her best friend Tianna's house. "Heyy!" she exclaimed, running from her laptop and racing to hug her. "Ew," she said, pulling away. "You stink!" Nicole laughed. Tianna's face, she noticed, was worry-free and smile wrinkles replaced the usual stress ones. Her eyes were shining, the dark brown more piercing than ever. She was jumpy, rocking back and forth on her heels. Something big had happened. Something good. And she could tell by the fact that it was senior year and a stack of envelopes piled on top of her counter. "Ti?" she whispered softly, afraid a sudden movement would cause Tianna to burst open her excitement like a popped balloon.
She nodded. "I got it." Nicole's eyes widened. "Ohmygod," "I got it!" Tianna's voice rose into a crying pitch. "Nikel, I got it, oh my god, I got it!" She wrapped her arms around Nicole, jumping up and down. Nicole jumped with her. "Harvard offered it. HARVARD!" Nicole screamed with joy and another round of hug-jump-screams erupted before Tianna finally let go. "What about you?" Nicole scanned the counter. Her mailing address was Tianna's, so it had to be there somewhere. She ruffled through the thick pile, blinking in surprise as she held up an envelope. It was official, with a cream-like color and thick, fancy letters that said "To the residence of Ms. Nicole Zimple". Tianna, eyes shining, stared at Nicole as she ripped open the envelope with her bare hands and held her breath.
She scanned the letter and exhaled, looking at Tianna. Her eyes were hopeful and still sparkling from her amazing achievement. She looked at me questioningly. "Well?" Her heart sank as she shook my head.
Envelope after envelope they ripped together, scanning the letters and crossing our fingers and toes. At the last reject letter, they stared dejectedly at the table. Tianna reached for Nicole's hands, and they looked at each other. For the first time in the world, they would be separated.