Fitting In

Chapter 5 - World Cup

There were two other girls on the team. Now, I'm all for girl power, but these two girls took it to a whole new extreme. They had matching T-shirts that said 'Girls Can Too' in sparkling letters. It wouldn't have been that bad, except they were awful. I don't think they had ever played before, but they were acting like they were professionals.

"Did you see that shot?"

"Yeah, the velocity was killer."

"It must be boy's leg muscles. That's why their better shots than us."

"Yeah, they have better legs."

"It doesn't matter though because our talent can be used elsewhere."

"Yeah, like in another position."

"We should get matching water bottles. You know, those really cute ones. We can add our names and our numbers."

"Yeah, and we should get headbands too!"

At this point I was next in line to shoot. I backed up a few steps, looked Liam in the eyes, and nicely curved the ball into the top corner. Liem leaped into the air with his arm stretched out, but there are some shots that are impossible to stop. This was one of them. I smiled as I ran to collect my ball. There is nothing like a goal to start out the practice.

I could hear the wispers around me. I'm guessing they didn't expect much from me because of Pinky and Dinky over there. This was best case scenario. If I could empress everyone on day one, then maybe I could be a real part of the team by game day.

I watched as a few more boys kicked. I was also sizing them up; trying to get a sense of who passed to who and how good the team as a whole was. We didn't look too bad.

When it was Connor's turn he looked right at me and winked. Little butterflies fluttered around in my stomach, but I played it cool and just raised my eyebrows.

He stepped back a few paces.

He looked straight at Liam and smiled.

Then he ran up and kicked the ball on the right side, giving it a smooth arc that landed in the top far corner of the net.

I quickly shut my open mouth, but he had already seen my reaction. He had perfectly recreated my shot.

Curving the ball is one of the hardest shots you can make. It takes practice and skill. Half of the time mine didn't work out. Sure, I could count on myself to get close, but to recreate someone else's shot? On the first try? I would think it was a fluke, but nobody else seemed surprised. Coach wasn't kidding when she said he was good.

The rest of practice went smoothly. I was definitely one of the better players, but I definitely wasn't the best.

The boys were surprisingly funny and they made me feel like part of the team. Pinky and Dinky (which is what I'm calling them now because it fits them) however did not seem to like me. They couldn't keep my name out of their mouth. Is it really that surprising that a girl can actually play?

"Yeah, like, Who does she think she is?"

"She's probably using enhancing drugs."

"Yeah, like caffeine for legs."

"Maybe she's secretly a boy."

"Yeah! Wait, but she looks like a girl, and why would she pretend to be a girl?"

"Because girls are awesome. Plus, it could be a secret disguise. I hope she doesn't talk to us. She could not pull off one of these shirts."

I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath. "Nobody could pull off one of those things."