Root grinned at Sameen from across the court and waved. They'd been hanging out for a couple weeks now, but Sameen still acted weird at school, like she was afraid people would know that they were friends. Root loved to tease her about it. It wasn't like Sameen couldn't beat everyone up anyway.
They were on opposite volleyball teams today, but Root wasn't worried. Since they'd become friends, Sameen did her best to avoid hitting the ball to Root. There had been a few accidents, but Root was getting better at dodging.
"When did you and Shaw become friends?" Joss asked, tying her shoe.
"Oh, very recently," Root responded, bouncing on her toes. "She's actually a lot of fun."
"Fun?" Zoe asked, smirking. "I mean, she plays soccer like a beast, but I don't think 'Sameen' and 'fun' have ever been used in the same sentence before."
Root shrugged, unbothered. "You guys have to talk to her about something she likes, like…fighting or…cars."
Zoe and Joss laughed and got ready to play. Root looked across the court and met Sameen's eyes, sticking her tongue out. Rolling her eyes, Sameen spiked the ball, starting the game.
For most of the game, Root hung back in her corner and watched. Sameen always looked so focused when she played sports, her eyebrows drawn down. Root hadn't been to a soccer game yet, but maybe she'd go on Friday. She and Sameen could get ice cream afterwards or something. Maybe they'd invite Zoe and Joss along.
Root watched Sameen dive for the ball and felt her stomach flutter. She'd never seen anyone as strong as Sameen before. Well, never seen a girl as strong as Sameen. The other day, they'd been exploring the woods outside of town and came across a river. Sameen had carried both their bikes across, lifting them over her head, one in each hand.
Root wasn't sure how she felt about it, but she'd definitely made Sameen flex so she could take a picture. She was determined to get Sameen to make it her profile picture, but, so far, that was an argument she was losing.
She shook her head, focusing on the present. She could see Coach Silva motioning for her to join the game. Holding her arms out like she was participating, Root sighed. Across the court, Sameen ran for the ball, but that jackass Lambert shoved her aside and spiked the ball.
It headed straight for Root and she hesitated, unsure of which way to dodge. The ball struck her right in the face, knocking her onto her back.
"Ow," Root groaned, her hands clasping her nose. The metallic taste in her mouth told her she was bleeding.
"Let me see," Sameen demanded, appearing at her side. Root felt her lightly clasp Root's wrists and let Sameen pull her hands down. "Oh," she hissed, "That's definitely broken."
Root looked at Sameen, her eyes filling with tears. Coach Silva tried to pull Sameen away, but Sameen didn't budge, just glared up at the coach.
"Ok," Coach Silva said, holding her hands up defensively, "just take her to the nurse's office."
Sameen nodded and pulled Root up, peering closely at her nose. Root swallowed, avoiding Sameen's eyes as she tried to get herself under control. She felt Sameen take her hand, leading her away.
They walked out of the gymnasium in silence, Sameen holding Root's hand a little too tightly. When they got to the hallway, Sameen stopped them and turned to face Root.
"I'm sorry."
Root frowned, confused. "What?"
"Tilt your head back," Sameen ordered, lifting Root's chin with her hand. "Lambert surprised me."
"Oh, uh," Root shrugged, trying to look at Sameen with her head tilted back. Sameen was just below her range of vision. "Not your fault."
"It won't happen again." Sameen said, voice flat. She pulled on Root's hand again, starting towards the nurse's office again.
Root smiled despite the pain.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Ok, tell me again what position Sameen plays?" Root ask Lionel, idly picking at the bandage on her nose.
"She's the left forward," Lionel replied, exasperated. "She shoulda given you a lesson before letting you come to the game."
Root shrugged. "She tried, but I'm not really a sport person."
"Clearly." Lionel rolled his eyes.
John smiled at Root from Lionel's other side. He didn't talk much, but Root like him. He always held the door open for her when they hung out and he and Sameen seemed to have a bond. John was on the school's Lacrosse team, not that Root really knew what Lacrosse was.
Root watched Sameen deftly avoid an elbow to the stomach. She was running across the field with the ball, her attention divided between the ball and the players in front of her. It was a thrill to watch, Root discovered. Sameen was a force to be reckoned with.
Root stopped picking at her bandage and tucked her hands into her sleeves. She was going back to the doctor tomorrow to get her bandage removed. Her nose had been broken a few days ago by Lambert and Sameen had used it as an excuse to beat him up. Lambert had even apologized to her.
Mostly, Root was glad that it'd given her an excuse not to play volleyball for the rest of the week. She'd been able to watch Sameen play without worrying about significant injury. Maybe Root should actually listen the next time Sameen talked about sports, especially if she was going to start coming to games.
"Here we go!" Lionel yelled, jumping to his feet.
Root stood up, watching Sameen dodge around a large girl. Sameen was close to the other team's net, looking around. She ran across the front of the goal, stopping suddenly and kicking the ball into the large open space the goalie had left.
"Go Sameen!" Root cheered, waving her hands above her head. Joss ran up to Sameen, tackling her to the ground. The rest of the girls' soccer team piled on. Sameen had scored the winning goal.
"So, did they win the championship?" Root asked Lionel as they started to follow the crowd down the bleachers.
Lionel gave her a weird look. "No. This was the bi-district match. They have to win six more games to get to the championship and then they have to win that game, too."
"Oh, well, they're good enough, right?"
Lionel and John chuckled and lead the way out of the stadium. They'd taken the bus to the next town over to watch the game. Bishop wasn't big enough to host a soccer game, so they had all their games at the Texas A&M stadium in Kingsville.
"Bishop has never even made it to the championships before," John said.
"Or regionals."
"Or semi-regionals."
"Honestly," Lionel mused, "I don't think they've qualified for bi-district before. I read up on all their sports when I moved here. I think this might be the best Bishop has ever done."
"Thanks to Sameen?" Root asked, feeling proud. "Wow, maybe this is the year they go all the way!"
She pulled out her phone to send Sameen a text, but heard her name being called. Looking up, she saw Sameen running towards them, still in her uniform, the bright gold making her skin glow. Root smiled her sweaty face.
"Hey," Sameen panted, stopping in front of her and hiking her bag higher on her shoulder, "Did you see me score the goal?"
"Yeah!" Root went to hug her, but decided against it. "Sorry," she winced, "You're just really sweaty."
"It's ok," Sameen swallowed, still trying to catch her breath. "Wanna come to Dairy Queen with us?"
Root thought about the three dollars in her wallet and slumped with disappointment. "I can't."
Sameen frowned and Root immediately felt bad for ruining the mood. Sameen glared at John and he stepped forward.
"I'm buying, so you have no excuse," he said, smiling at Root. "Mom gave us money for dinner since she couldn't make it."
Root felt her stomach tighten, but nodded. She hated having to let her friends buy her food, but she wanted to be there for Sameen and if John's mom gave him money for her anyway, then it'd be rude to turn it down. She noticed Sameen watching her with her typical unreadable expression and smiled, determined to be cheerful.
"Don't glare at me, Sameen! I'm coming! Here, let me take your bag."
Sameen backed up, clutching the straps and shaking her head. Root moved forward to follow her, arms out stretched.
"Sameen, you just played a game, let me help you!" Root whined, mirroring Sameen as she kept moving away. "Sameen!"
Sameen turned and ran away, forcing Root to chase after her. "You can carry it, if you can catch me!"
"Sameen!" Root yelled. "Come on!"
She could hear John and Lionel laughing as Sameen faked left and ran to the right. Why was this always so difficult?
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"So, I told him 'Did you really think we weren't going to talk to each other? Seriously?" Joss said, her eyebrows raised. "John, you're cute, but you're really dumb."
The girls laughed at the uncomfortable expression on John's face. Root looked at Sameen right as she shoved the last quarter of her cheeseburger in her mouth. Sameen tried to close her lips around the bite, but failed, her cheeks puffing out like a squirrel. After a moment, she gave up and just started chewing with her mouth still slightly open.
Sameen caught Root looking and flushed. Laughing, Root pulled a couple napkins from the holder next to her and passed them over.
"Why do you always do this to yourself?" she asked, affectionately.
Sameen just shrugged and wiped her hands on the napkin. She turned to listen to Zoe.
"…John just can't handle strong women." Zoe was saying, nudging John with her shoulder. "Isn't that right, Sameen?"
Sameen nodded, swallowing enough to close her mouth. "Mm-hmm."
"You're supposed to be on my side," John whined. "I bought us dinner."
"Technically," Lionel spoke up, "Your mom bought us dinner."
John turned to Lionel, looking hurt. "Et tu, Lionel?"
"Your siblings are fickle, John," Root joked, resting her head on her hand. "I'm on your side, though. I could teach you how to respect women."
"Yeah," Joss laughed around her straw, "Root's good with women. She won over our Sameen here."
Root heard Sameen choke and looked at her, smug. She'd won Sameen over surprisingly fast. Root had been nervous about spending time with her, but she really enjoyed it. She only hoped she and Sameen would keep growing closer. Although, right now, Sameen looked like she wanted to throw Root out the window.
"I'm just joking," Joss rolled her eyes at Sameen's glare. "Calm down, Crabby."
"So…" Root started, changing the subject, "Lionel tells me you guys haven't won a tri-district game before."
"Bi-district," Sameen corrected her, quietly.
"Oh, sorry, Bi-district." Root reached for Sameen's milkshake and pulled it towards her, taking a sip.
"Bishop does not have a stellar record when it comes to sports, no," Zoe confirmed. "We're going to go far this season, though. I can feel it!"
Sameen snatched the milkshake back from Root, scowling. Root watched her pull the straw out, push the milkshake clinging to the bottom back into the glass and toss the straw over her shoulder. She reached over Root to pull a new straw out of the holder and "accidentally" hit Root in the face with the straw.
"Very mature," Root laughed, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. She turned her attention back to the group. "Were you and Joss on the team last year?"
"Nope," Joss said, popping the 'p,' "They usually don't let freshman on the team. Miss Shaw here is an exception."
"So, it's not just Sameen that's improving the team's odds. It's all three of you!"
The girls nodded, grinning. Root felt Sameen knock her knee against Root's and looked down, but Sameen's knees were straight in front of her. Root shrugged and went back to eating her French fries.
It was nice to be out with friends on a Friday night. Even when Hanna was still living in Bishop, Root hadn't gone out a lot. She and Hanna just had a lot of sleepovers on the weekend or hung out at the library. Root couldn't afford to go out all the time, but Sameen was always down to do anything. They didn't have to spend money to have fun.
Root yawned, all the excitement wearing her out. Sameen leaned over to talk to her.
"You're sleeping over tonight, right?" she asked.
Root nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, I dropped my bag at your house when I met up with your brothers."
"Cool," Sameen said, straightening up again. She pushed away from the table, prompting the rest of the group to stand up, too.
"You guys having a sleepover?" Joss asked. "Can we sleep over, too?"
Sameen stiffened and turned to Root. She shook her head, obviously signaling that she didn't want them to sleep over. Root smiled, reassuringly and looked at the other girls.
"Of course, you can sleep over!"
"Yay!" the girls cheered, heading out of the Dairy Queen, John and Lionel trailing behind.
Root reached out to put her hands on Sameen's shoulders and turned her around, forcing her to march to the door. "Come on, Sameen. It'll be good for you!"
"Not likely," Sameen growled.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Sameen scowled as Zoe pulled out yet another bottle of nail polish. How could one person possible own so many colors? How could so many colors exist? Sameen turned her attention back to the TV screen, hoping that if she ignored them, the other girls would stop bothering her.
"Come on, Sameen," Joss said, mouth full of popcorn, "which color do you want?"
"None of them," she scowled.
Root laughed, spinning slowly in Sameen's desk chair. "You could just do black like me."
"No, I think she'd look good in a dark red," Zoe argued, holding a bottle up to Sameen's hand. "How about this one?"
Sameen glanced down, reluctant to admit that it was actually a nice color and she wouldn't be completely upset if her nails were painted. She glanced at Root's face, freezing when she saw it drawn into a pout. Root's lip was shaking and her eyes were wide.
Sameen rolled her eyes and yanked the bottle from Zoe's hand. "Fine. Whatever."
The three girls cheered. Joss moved onto the bed, leaving more room for Zoe to paint Sameen's nails on the floor. Zoe took the bottle back from Sameen and pulled her hand towards her.
They'd already watched four movies, eaten about three pizzas, and all taken showers. Sameen was very grateful that her sleepovers with Root weren't this exciting. While she had to admit she was having fun, she wasn't sure she could do this every weekend. Normally, she and Root would just watch X-Files and talk, but this was fun, too.
"So, Root and Sameen," Joss said, letting her head hang over the edge of the bed, peering at them upside down, "do you two have crushes on anyone at school?"
Sameen glanced at Root, who had turned red. "Do you?" she asked, surprised. Root hadn't mentioned anything about a crush.
"Uh, no," Root said, pulling her feet up onto the chair. "Not really."
"Me neither," Sameen said, watching Zoe paint her nails. "I mean, Tomas is kind of cute, but I don't really like him."
"You and Tomas would make a hot couple," Zoe commented, moving to Sameen's other hand. "He's got that bad boy thing going on."
"You like bad boys, Sameen?" Joss sat up, looking at her phone. "You into the leather jacket thing?"
Sameen shrugged. "I don't know." She glanced at Root who was picking at her nail polish. She was going to ruin them if she did that and Sameen was not going to fix them for her. "Let's talk about something else."
She saw Zoe and Joss exchange a glance and frowned. This was the problem with having girl friends - they were so nosy. Sameen waited until Zoe finished her last finger and pulled her hand away.
"I'm tired."
Zoe and Joss whined, but they started packing up their things, making room for the queen-sized air mattress Mrs. Reese had dug up for them. Root helped Sameen lay it out and blow it up. A few minutes later, the lights were out, the TV was off and everyone had climbed into their beds.
Sameen looked at Root in the dark and tried to see if she was still awake. When the group had been discussing sleeping arrangements, Sameen had demanded that Root share the bed with her. She had just gotten used to the way Root slept; she wasn't going to let anyone else throw her off.
"Root?" Sameen whispered.
"Yeah?" Root replied, turning over to face Sameen. She reached out with her hand.
Sameen took it and put it on her face, so Root would know where to look. She let go of Root's hand and let her pull it away.
"What's up?" Root asked, speaking quietly so the other girls wouldn't hear.
"I don't have a crush on Tomas."
Root was silent for a moment and Sameen thought she might have fallen asleep. She heard Root draw a breath.
"Ok, Sameen."
Root didn't say anything else, so Shaw just nodded into the darkness and turned onto her back. A minute later, she heard Root turn over again. Root always liked to sleep on her right side.
Sameen smiled to herself and closed her eyes.