Madison's Journey

Part 1: Madison's POV

'Come on day. Don't end. Please don't end.' I think sitting in my last class of the day. 'How did I end up here? I'm fifteen, I should be wishing for the end of the day. I should want to be running out of this building as fast as I can to hang out with my friends.'

I let out a quiet sigh and lay my head down on my desk, 'Who am I kidding like I have any of those. What I need is to get out of here and go for a run, but all practices have been canceled due to storms. I shouldn't be surprised it's been raining all day.'

I resist the urge to bang my head against the table, 'Why can't there be indoor practice?' But there is no track and no soccer.

Every day after school, in the spring, I go straight to track and then to soccer. All of my teammates think I'm crazy for doing two sports in one season, but the longer I stay away from my current placement the better it is for me.

A few days after I was born my mother left me outside of a fire station. I was later told that she hadn't even given me a name. That the firemen named me. Ever since then I have been in and out of foster and group homes. I even did eight months in juvie when I was thirteen.

Now I'm in a foster home with my foster mom and my foster dad as well as their twin biological sons who are sixteen. I also know that going straight home means that I will have to walk back in the same storm that caused practices to get canceled. Mike and Ben would never let me go home with them. Nobody at school even knows that I live in their house.

To everyone else, I am a nobody foster kid who doesn't belong in such a prestigious school. I wear a second-hand uniform and am at the school on a scholarship for sports, which is another reason that I play so many for the school. They also don't think that I belong at this school because I am not exactly what you would call smart. Most of this stems from the fact that I can't read.

I mean don't get me wrong I can read simple things, but not very well and not very fast. Because I moved around so much already in my life I have never received a consistent education. At this point, I have gotten pretty good at hiding the fact that I can't read by using the voice-to-text feature on my school laptop for all school work. If I have to do a paper worksheet I scan the text into the computer so it can read it to me then I do my answers and submit them digitally. There is a lot of auto-correct involved.

I have a lot of missing work for my classes as well because of how time-consuming this can be, and most of the time after practice and practice number two I don't feel up to doing any of it.

"Ms. Madison, Ms. Madision!" My head shoots up from my desk. "Are your musings somehow more important than World War I's effects on the world economy?"

I shake my head as fast as I can. "Verbal response please."

My eyes widen, "Uh-uh n-n-no Mrs-s B-Burns"

"What was that you freak? Speak up, we can't hear you." A boy calls from the other side of the room.

I shift my head down but manage to keep my head off my desk for the last half hour of the day.

Once end-of-day announcements finally start, not even God has the power to settle the class down. I barely manage to hear my name being called asking me to go to the athletic director's office. 'If this is about my grades I may just find myself on a bridge.' I let out another sigh, 'At least it's a delay in going back.'

I head down to the first floor of the building to empty my locker for the weekend. 'The last thing I need is to forget anything.'

I know that if I don't bring everything with me I will get moved to a new placement or will need something that's here to finish my homework and my grades are already low enough.

If I don't have at least a C in all of my classes then I'm not eligible for sports and then they could take my scholarship away. The last thing I need is to move schools again. This is why I take all of the lowest level classes I can take as a freshman.

Pre-Algebra, Biology, World History, English I, Gym, Study Hall, and Theology. Which is so stupid, but it is a religious-based school so everyone has to take it even if they aren't religious. Spoiler alert I'm not.

As the student body heads out into the rain rushing home or to hang out with their friends, I slowly make my way across the courtyard to the AD's office. When I arrive I knock on the door and wait to be invited in.

"Madison come in," Mr. Brown welcomes. I walk into the office and see someone else behind Mr Brown's desk. It takes me a second to realize who I've come face to face with. 'WHAT. THE. HELL.'

"I'm sure you know who this is."

I nod. "You-you're J-Jill Elis-s, th-th-the head coach-ch of th-the US W-women's N-na-national S-s-soccer T-team." I say as fast as I can.

Jill lets out a small laugh. "That I am. And you are Madison Young, a 15-year-old athletic sensation. You play football and run cross country in the fall, basketball in the winter, and soccer and track in the spring. Yet you don't play on any club teams despite, from what I've heard has been, numerous offers. Why is that?"

"I-I uh, I mov-ve around a-a-lot-t. Not-t-t r-really in a-any one pl-place l-long enough f-f-for someth-th-thing l-like th-that-t."

"I see, so you wouldn't be against coming to the next US Women's National Team camp in May?" I looked at the woman like she had spoken another language.

"Wh-wh-what-t?"

Jill lets out a small laugh. "I want you to come to the next camp. I am calling you up to the team. From what I hear you are the best of the best for your age. Our team is the best of the best, I think you could gain a lot of experience. So what do you say? Should I schedule your flight?"

I nod my head, "Y-y-yes, y-yes th-thank y-y-you."

"Well, then I can't wait to see you there."