Chapter 1-Tryouts
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz. "What the hell..." Anna sleepily rolled over in her bed to see that her phone alarm was ringing for her to get up. "If Harry defeated Voldemort, you can get your ass up and get your clothes on," read the message that always accompanied her alarms. "Well Harry did die before he did that," she mumbled. But she knew that she had to get up. Today was important day. Today was a very important day. Anna was trying out for college's softball team. She had just graduated high school and enrolled to The University of Arendelle. For these sort of things, Anna would be bubbly and upbeat about meeting new people and trying out for a new team, but this was college. This was the big leagues in softball. She was extremely nervous. And she was even more nervous about the girls on the team. It's not that they weren't nice people, but Anna was nervous because she didn't know what they were going to say when word finally spread around the tryout that she was gay.
She came out to her cousin, Rapunzel Müller, a junior at Arendelle U, and long-time friend, Kristoff Bjorgman, an incoming freshman, a few months before. She didn't entirely mind that Rapunzel was set on telling every living thing she found that her favorite cousin was a product of rainbows, but Anna was now more nervous than ever about this since this was going to be a whole new start for her in college. "But hey," she thought, "might as well show people who I really am and not hide."
Setting her feet firmly on the floor, Anna stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She looked at the clock. 7:12...she was ahead of schedule. "That's a first," Anna thought. Rapunzel was picking her up for the tryout around 7:30. Anna got up and looked through her drawers for a pair of softball pants and a tee shirt. She chose black pants and a Arendelle U shirt, so she could sell herself even more with some school apparel.
After she was done getting primped and ready for the long day ahead of her, she walked down the stairs of her house and into the kitchen. Her mom was sitting at the kitchen table, doing a Sudoku puzzle. She looked up from her game to see Anna rummaging through the pantry. "And what exactly do you think you're doing, Anna?" her mother inquired. Anna looked back at her with an emotionless face and replied, "I'm getting snacks for the day. Remember, I have softball tryouts." Her mother huffed, rolled her eyes, and when back to her game. "One day, you're gonna learn to respect me, you understand?" she stated. "Yeah, as soon as you start respecting me as your daughter," Anna retorted.
Anna and her mother never got along. Especially not after the divorce. Anna's parents divorced when she was fifteen. Her father had lost the custody battle because her mother made the outrageous claim of her father mentally abusing her and Anna. But Anna's father was a hard-working, respectable man who loved his family. He was Anna's real-life superhero. Every Saturday after the trial, her and her superhero would go out to have a day to themselves. Occasionally buy things at the mall, go to the movies, or go to the park. But they always ended the day the same way: chocolate ice cream at Vanellope's Sweet Factory. One Saturday, Anna was waiting at the Arendelle Mall for three hours for her father. He didn't send a text, call her, nothing. She had thought he forgot about their "Secret Saturdays". She thought it wouldn't hurt to wait a few extra minutes. He never came.
As Anna walked home, she heard sirens coming down the road. Whizzing past her were two ambulances, several police cars, and a fire truck. She decided to follow where the cars were going. It was almost like she was pulled to their final destination. Anna came upon a scene of three cars smashed together. Four people were off to the side, holding each other and crying. The firemen were attending to one car, trying to get the driver side door open. "Get the jaws!" one of them yelled. One man hurried over to the truck and brought out the Jaws of Life. The fireman pried open the door and Anna saw the outline of a man slumped in the seat. A man that she was waiting for that entire day. "DADDY!" she screamed. She ran to the car, but was held back by one of the police men. She struggled against him, trying to get to her father, her superhero. Anna finally gave up and slumped against the police man, crying. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Since that incident, Anna never took kindly to her mother. She never desired to be around her more than she had to, and Anna guessed the same applied in her mother's circumstance. She hung out with Rapunzel, Kristoff, and Rapunzel's boyfriend, Eugene Fitzherbert, as much as humanly possible.
Speaking of her cousin, Rapunzel should be arriving soon. So Anna got her snacks, put them in her softball bag, and went outside to wait for her. Anna practically heard Rapunzel's car coming down the road about a mile away. She was blasting Iggy Azalea's "Fancy", and Anna couldn't help but smile. "That's Punz for ya," she thought. Pulling up to the house, Rapunzel rolled down the window of her teal Mini Cooper and yelled, "Get in loser! We're gonna be late!" "I believe the correct quote is 'Get in loser! We're going shopping,'" Anna replied, setting her stuff in the trunk. "We can go shopping later, Anna. And please, the 'Mean Girls' references can't start this early," Rapunzel laughed.
It took them about twenty minutes to get to the softball field from Anna's house. When they got there, Anna felt sick. Not terminally ill, but nervous sick. "Hey kid," Rapunzel said, putting her hand on Anna's neck. "You're gonna be just fine. You're one of the best outfielders I've ever seen play the game. You're gonna be some tough competition, let me tell you." Anna smiled at her cousin's nice words. "So who do I have to worry about?" Anna asked.
"Well, we lost our starting right fielder last year, so there's a big hole in our outfield. Let's see... There's Snow and Tink in left, Pocahontas and Ariel in center... Tink can pretty much play anywhere out in the outfield, so you keep your eye on her. And I don't know if there's any other new girls trying out, but I'm a hundred percent sure that you're gonna kill it Anna," Rapunzel said. Anna immediately felt a bit better. "So do I have to watch out for this coach? Like is she kinda crazy?" Anna asked. "No, Coach Calhoun is pretty chill," Rapunzel replied, then her face somewhat fell. "But I do have to warn you about our captain."
"What's so bad about your team captain? You kinda dramatize things a little too much Punz."
"Do not."
"Oh you so do!"
"Fine! I won't tell you about the captain, you'll just have to find out for yourself!"
"Whatever!"
They laughed at each other for a while then climbed out of the car. Gathering their bags together, they set off for the field. "Punzie!" a girl yelled from the field. "Aurora!" Rapunzel yelled back, a smile plastered on her face. She ran down the hill and leaped into the girl's arms, leaving Anna walking alone. "It's okay, Anna. She obviously has friends here. She's a junior for God's sake," Anna thought to herself. She felt a little intimidated by these college girls all already having their little groups of friends. She hoped that they would welcome her unconditionally.
Anna caught up to Rapunzel and her friend, Aurora. "Oh God! Sorry Anna, didn't mean to leave you behind," Rapunzel said breathlessly. "Aurora, this is my cousin, Anna. Anna, this is one of our catchers, Aurora Koch." "It's very nice to meet you Anna! Punzie here has told us so much about you!" Aurora said, shaking Anna's hand. "Oh I hope all good things then, " Anna laughed. "Of course! You sound like you'd fit in well here," Aurora reassured her. "I'm gonna go put my stuff down. I'll let you girls talk for a bit," Rapunzel said as she walked away, leaving Anna and Aurora alone.
"I just want to let you know, Punzie has told me that you're a little nervous about some of the girls thinking differently of you because, well, because that you're gay," Aurora started. Anna's jaw dropped. She was expecting something like this but five minutes into meeting a new person... She was not ready for this conversation this early in the morning. "Hey, don't you worry kido. Some of our girls are gay! We're very tolerant here. But if anyone gives you any shit, you come to us. We'll straighten them out," Aurora said with a wink. Anna grinned and replied, "Did you... Did you just make a pun?" Aurora giggled and said, "Oh I think you're really gonna fit in well here."
She walked Anna into the dugout. The smell of Gatorade and Barbeque Sunflower seeds permeated the air. There were about eight people in the dugout, including Anna, Aurora, and Rapunzel. "Let me introduce you to everyone," Aurora said. She led them to a group of five girls, all of them laughing at a story a short blonde was telling. "Sorry to interrupt ladies, but there's a new girl trying out for the team," Aurora addressed them. They all turned to look at Anna, and Anna immediately felt her cheeks color. "This is Anna, Punzie's cousin," Aurora continued. At this, their faces lit up. "Oh so you're the famous cousin!" the short blonde burst out. "I'm Tinker Bell, very nice to finally meet you!" she said. "Tinker Bell?" Anna blurted without thinking. "Oh God, I'm sorry. I'm awkward. I sometimes don't have a filter, well, I usually don't have a filter. But Tinker Bell is a great name, I've just never heard it before."
"That's because her real name is Talia. Talia Oslon," said a black haired girl. "Oh shut up Snow! You're parents named you after fucking precipitation!" Tink retorted. Anna couldn't hold back her laugh. "Yep. My name is Snow White. Come at me little fairy!" Snow chided. The group couldn't stop laughing because of the look on Tink's face. "If I'm a fairy, then Ariel, you must be a fucking mermaid!" Tink exclaimed. "Oh don't drag me into this Tink!" said a redheaded girl. "Ariel is a swimmer too," Aurora whispered to Anna. "And this is just a taste of what our team is like," said a girl with brunette hair back in a ponytail with a blue ribbon. "That's Belle Martin," Aurora whispered again. "Thanks," Anna whispered back. "Yeah it's all fun and games until the 'Snow Queen' shows up," Tink grumbled. "Tink, seriously, if she heard what you said-" "What would she do to me? Really, she can't do anything to me unless she wants this team to totally crumble under her like a fucking chocolate chip cookie in milk," Tink ranted.
"Oh is the Snow Queen another name for your coach or something?" Anna piped in. The girls turned to look at her. "Punz didn't tell her," Ariel gasped, as if it was some big scandal. "Tell me what?" Anna questioned. She was starting to get nervous all over again. "Okay kid, I'll tell you," Tink spoke. "Maybe it's not the best coming from you Tink," Belle warned. "I'll tell her," Aurora took over. "So Anna, you know how every team has a captain, right?" Anna nodded. She wasn't stupid. "Okay, well, our team captain is somewhat of a... well, a dictator." "Minus the 'tator'," Tink chimed in.
Aurora rolled her eyes and continued. "She needs everything to go according to plan. If someone steps one inch out of line, they're done. She's literally insane." Anna gulped. She could not believe what she was hearing about this team captain. It was too much to handle. "But there are really good things about her. Like if someone picks on one of us, she won't stand for it. She treats us like we're her family," Belle piped up. "You're only saying that because she fucked you really good in a broom closet last year," Tink sassed. "Jesus, Tink, really? In front of a freshman?" Snow scolded. Tink just shrugged her shoulders.
The group went back to their mindless banter, but Anna couldn't shake off the feeling of dread she had about this team captain. What if she missed a few fly balls? What if she tripped when she was running? What if... All of these scenarios inevitably giving Anna even more stress. Did she really have sex with Belle in a closet? Was she...like Anna?
More girls started to show up. Anna happened to catch a few new names; Tiana, Jasmine, Pocahontas. "What awesome names these girls have! And all I got is Anna. Just Anna," she thought to herself. Five minutes to eight, the coach walked in the dugout. "Good morning ladies!" the coach roared. Everyone sat down on the bench, waiting for the coach to continue. Anna was sandwiched between Tink and Aurora. "Today is the start to your school year. Isn't that great to hear?" she joked. Some of the girls laughed, while Anna was still looking around for this "Snow Queen". Coach Calhoun kept droning on about how to just have fun and have a good time today, and not to stress today. "Yeah, easier said than done, coach," Anna thought.
"Alright girls, now let me introduce you to our team captain, Junior Elsa Johansson," the coach finished. "This is the 'Queen', kid," Tink whispered to Anna. Anna looked at Tink with nervous eyes. Tink just smiled at her and bumped her side. "You'll be fine, kid. You'll be fine," she promised. With that, Anna look toward the direction of where Coach Calhoun was. The coach was replaced with a girl. A girl with beautiful white blonde hair, long legs, enchanting blue eyes, and stunning pale skin. Anna felt her mouth go dry. She thought she was looking at a goddess.
"Well, what are you waiting for," the captain snarled to the girls on the bench. "Get out on that field and show me what you're made of."