little love

3

maddie

im sitting in one of my favorite classes, AP calculus (a weird choice i know, but hey i'm good at math,) trying to figure out a complex problem. we have a sub today, so we are just working independently. i feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around to roll my eyes at my best friend, lily.

"happy birthday!" she whispers sliding an envelope with my name on it across the table.

"lil... what did you do!?" i grab it and start to open it.

"hey it's nothing major ... you've just been looking a little tired lately. can't have you dozing off on the soccer field... i need my best center back!"

"really you didn't have to lil!" i smile putting the starbucks card into my back pack.

"of course i did, mads it's your birthday" she whispers as i turn back around to keep working on my calc home work.

lily and i had been playing soccer together since we were little. she was our teams goalie and i was our starting center back. between us, we ran a hell of a defense. we hadn't been scored on once this season. Lily and i were the only 2 freshman to make varsity last year and were both starters this year.

i used to fight lily when she tried to give me gifts, but her dad is some ceo or something and she knows how hard i work to make some money. she knows i won't take outright donations from her, but she can't stop herself when gifts are socially acceptable... like my birthday.

the bell rings and lily and i grab our stuff and start to head out to the field house to get ready for soccer. lily is rambling on about something but i can't really seem to focus on what she's saying. i'm too busy thinking through my plan for tomorrow.

"earth to maddie?" i hear lily say as she waves her hand in front of my face. "are you okay?"

"sorry sorry just thinking"

"are you-" lily starts to say before she's cut off

"bishop! matthews! let's move!" coach calls

lily and i both go red and run out to join the rest of the team for practice.

i love soccer. i always have. i don't even really have to think, just go by instinct. at the end of practice we always scrimmage. we are playing hard when a striker slips past my teammate. lily makes a great save but the ball ends up right back in the feet of another striker. she starts to line up her shot as lily tries to get in position. i run as hard as i can and slide knocking the ball out of bounds. they'll get a corner kick, but hey. lily is great at saving set pieces.

"nice one bishop!" i hear coach nick shout and clap. i smile over at the side line as i get up and see coach talking to someone i don't recognize. the man nods his head approvingly. i shrug it off and get back in the game. maybe they're finally hiring a new assistant coach since coach meyer retired.