Nightmares, and Soccer balls
There was a flash of lightning followed by the tell tale clap of thunder as the storm worsened. Soon there would be hail the size of volleyballs pelting at the city streets. Faster than a blink of the eye, a bolt of lightning strayed over to a power line, which quickly ignited. Flames rapidly spread across the town until it was fogged up with a thick, suffocating layer of smoke. Everyone was either running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, or huddled in sheltered corners whimpering. People were in a state of panic.
Everyone that is, except for Thalassa. She had been through this scene many times before.
It had monopolized her dreams at night ever since she could remember. After witnessing this chaos time and time again, Thalassa wasn't affected in the least. Yet if this didn't affect her, why did she jolt awake each night with fresh, salty tears streaming down her cheeks?
Early one morning after a particularly painful episode, Thalassa went out to practice her shooting techniques. Since it was her last year of Junior High, she wanted to impress the head coach to the point of amazement. Thalassa already had secured her position as captain of the soccer team, but she kept in mind that if she skipped her daily routine, it could ruin her chances of a scholarship when it came to college.
"Hey Thallie babe!" Cried out a familiar voice. "My grandmother could execute a scissor kick better than that!"
"I'd like to see you try one!" replied Thalassa. "Oh, and by the way, Chadwicke, I'd prefer if you wouldn't add the babe onto my name. Thallie is just fine!"
"OK Thallie babe!" Chad called as he stopped in front of Thalassa's yard. Thalassa turned sharply and glared at him. He got the drift and started running, but with only a few quick strides, Thalassa had tackled him to the ground.
"Whoa, whoa! Thalassa don't kill the poor guy!" Shouted yet another voice coming from the street. Thalassa looked up, with her glossy brown hair catching the sun so that it looked almost bronze. Claudia looked down at the two of them, Chad still squirming to get up, and started giggling. She fell to the ground in a complete laugh attack while Thalassa finally gave in and let Chad stand up.
"That was pathetic!" Logan called from across the street. "I bet I could take you!"
"Yeah?" Asked Thalassa jokingly. "Ya want some o'this? Bring it on!" Logan just smiled and shook his head as he headed over to Chad.
"Yo wassup ma homie?" He said as he and Chad did some weird handshake that Thalassa figured guys must be born knowing. The foursome headed off down the street meeting up with some other peers as they went along.
After a long day of boring classes, Thalassa raced off to the soccer field with Claudia, so that they could get some shots in before practice. Upon arriving at the field, they noticed two other girls on their team, Kasmira and Alizx.
"Hey how about some good ol' keep-away?" Thalassa challenged as she jogged over to them. "Two on two, up to 8. Winners take all."
"Sheesh Thalassa! Do you always have to be so competitive?" Asked Kasmira. Thalassa just grinned and ran off with the ball.
"Is that legal?" Alixz questioned, as Thalassa didn't show a sign of turning around. Kasmira and Claudia shrugged before they all went sprinting after Thalassa.
Two hours later, Kasmira, Claudia, Alixz, and Thalassa were walking home from practice, looking as though they had just been through battle. Not one of them wasn't covered in dirt, and scratched from the elbows down, yet they were all smiling.
"Did you see that awesome slide tackle I gave LiLi?" Thalassa asked, with a boasting tone in her voice.
"Yeah that was so cool!" Agreed Kasmira. "LiLi so deserved that after all those snide remarks she was giving you!"
"Thalassa, I just know that you're going to make varsity next year! You're so good at soccer!"
"What do you mean only mentioning soccer?" Claudia put in. "She's good at EVERYTHING!"
"Anyways," Thalassa said, as she blushed a deep crimson. "Are you guys going to Jenny's sleepover tonight?"
They all looked at each other, and started to laugh. Jenny had been following them around since the first grade, and could never take the hint that they didn't like her. She always seemed to try to fit in too much, and she seemed really pathetic when she was sad, so they usually ended up giving in, and going over to her house about once every two weeks. It wasn't that she was too "unpopular" for them, she was just really mean, and obnoxious.
"Omigosh I have the BEST plan!" Claudia exclaimed after a few moments of silence. "How about we bring our own entertainment rather than watch Disney movies while we're there? We could, I don't know, wear really nice clothes and do makeovers or something." Claudia's goal in like was to become a makeup artist for Hollywood starts, so she always jumped at the chance to give someone a makeover.
"Are you saying that I'm not pretty enough for ya? Huh?" asked Thalassa, pretending to be hurt.
"No! Of course not! It's not that you're not pretty enough as it is-"
"What are you talking about?" Someone asked from behind them. "Thalassa is beautiful!" All four girls turned around to see their friend Zac, who apparently had been following them the whole way. He blushed, and then said in his own defense, "Well, that is, according to everyone else she's beautiful. Yeah, that's it! I wasn't the one who said that originally, I heard it from someone else! Honest!"
Thalassa smiled, and replied. "Zac, you are too much! Well, tell whoever told whoever you heard it from, that I say thanks!" Zac grinned, and jogged away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kasmira, Alixz, and Claudia all burst into giggles.
"You guys are so immature!" Thalassa exclaimed. "Well, here's my road! See ya later tonight!"
"DON'T FORGET TO WEAR FORMAL CLOTHES!" yelled Claudia after Thalassa's retreating form.
"SO LONG, FAREWELL, SYANARA, AU REVOIR, ADIOS! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Thalassa hollered back in response.
"That girl is too much!" Laughed Kasmira, as they split up to go their separate ways.
There was a flash of lightning followed by the tell tale clap of thunder as the storm worsened. Soon there would be hail the size of volleyballs pelting at the city streets. Faster than a blink of the eye, a bolt of lightning strayed over to a power line, which quickly ignited. Flames rapidly spread across the town until it was fogged up with a thick, suffocating layer of smoke. Everyone was either running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, or huddled in sheltered corners whimpering. People were in a state of panic.
Everyone that is, except for Thalassa. She had been through this scene many times before.
It had monopolized her dreams at night ever since she could remember. After witnessing this chaos time and time again, Thalassa wasn't affected in the least. Yet if this didn't affect her, why did she jolt awake each night with fresh, salty tears streaming down her cheeks?
Early one morning after a particularly painful episode, Thalassa went out to practice her shooting techniques. Since it was her last year of Junior High, she wanted to impress the head coach to the point of amazement. Thalassa already had secured her position as captain of the soccer team, but she kept in mind that if she skipped her daily routine, it could ruin her chances of a scholarship when it came to college.
"Hey Thallie babe!" Cried out a familiar voice. "My grandmother could execute a scissor kick better than that!"
"I'd like to see you try one!" replied Thalassa. "Oh, and by the way, Chadwicke, I'd prefer if you wouldn't add the babe onto my name. Thallie is just fine!"
"OK Thallie babe!" Chad called as he stopped in front of Thalassa's yard. Thalassa turned sharply and glared at him. He got the drift and started running, but with only a few quick strides, Thalassa had tackled him to the ground.
"Whoa, whoa! Thalassa don't kill the poor guy!" Shouted yet another voice coming from the street. Thalassa looked up, with her glossy brown hair catching the sun so that it looked almost bronze. Claudia looked down at the two of them, Chad still squirming to get up, and started giggling. She fell to the ground in a complete laugh attack while Thalassa finally gave in and let Chad stand up.
"That was pathetic!" Logan called from across the street. "I bet I could take you!"
"Yeah?" Asked Thalassa jokingly. "Ya want some o'this? Bring it on!" Logan just smiled and shook his head as he headed over to Chad.
"Yo wassup ma homie?" He said as he and Chad did some weird handshake that Thalassa figured guys must be born knowing. The foursome headed off down the street meeting up with some other peers as they went along.
After a long day of boring classes, Thalassa raced off to the soccer field with Claudia, so that they could get some shots in before practice. Upon arriving at the field, they noticed two other girls on their team, Kasmira and Alizx.
"Hey how about some good ol' keep-away?" Thalassa challenged as she jogged over to them. "Two on two, up to 8. Winners take all."
"Sheesh Thalassa! Do you always have to be so competitive?" Asked Kasmira. Thalassa just grinned and ran off with the ball.
"Is that legal?" Alixz questioned, as Thalassa didn't show a sign of turning around. Kasmira and Claudia shrugged before they all went sprinting after Thalassa.
Two hours later, Kasmira, Claudia, Alixz, and Thalassa were walking home from practice, looking as though they had just been through battle. Not one of them wasn't covered in dirt, and scratched from the elbows down, yet they were all smiling.
"Did you see that awesome slide tackle I gave LiLi?" Thalassa asked, with a boasting tone in her voice.
"Yeah that was so cool!" Agreed Kasmira. "LiLi so deserved that after all those snide remarks she was giving you!"
"Thalassa, I just know that you're going to make varsity next year! You're so good at soccer!"
"What do you mean only mentioning soccer?" Claudia put in. "She's good at EVERYTHING!"
"Anyways," Thalassa said, as she blushed a deep crimson. "Are you guys going to Jenny's sleepover tonight?"
They all looked at each other, and started to laugh. Jenny had been following them around since the first grade, and could never take the hint that they didn't like her. She always seemed to try to fit in too much, and she seemed really pathetic when she was sad, so they usually ended up giving in, and going over to her house about once every two weeks. It wasn't that she was too "unpopular" for them, she was just really mean, and obnoxious.
"Omigosh I have the BEST plan!" Claudia exclaimed after a few moments of silence. "How about we bring our own entertainment rather than watch Disney movies while we're there? We could, I don't know, wear really nice clothes and do makeovers or something." Claudia's goal in like was to become a makeup artist for Hollywood starts, so she always jumped at the chance to give someone a makeover.
"Are you saying that I'm not pretty enough for ya? Huh?" asked Thalassa, pretending to be hurt.
"No! Of course not! It's not that you're not pretty enough as it is-"
"What are you talking about?" Someone asked from behind them. "Thalassa is beautiful!" All four girls turned around to see their friend Zac, who apparently had been following them the whole way. He blushed, and then said in his own defense, "Well, that is, according to everyone else she's beautiful. Yeah, that's it! I wasn't the one who said that originally, I heard it from someone else! Honest!"
Thalassa smiled, and replied. "Zac, you are too much! Well, tell whoever told whoever you heard it from, that I say thanks!" Zac grinned, and jogged away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kasmira, Alixz, and Claudia all burst into giggles.
"You guys are so immature!" Thalassa exclaimed. "Well, here's my road! See ya later tonight!"
"DON'T FORGET TO WEAR FORMAL CLOTHES!" yelled Claudia after Thalassa's retreating form.
"SO LONG, FAREWELL, SYANARA, AU REVOIR, ADIOS! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Thalassa hollered back in response.
"That girl is too much!" Laughed Kasmira, as they split up to go their separate ways.