Anybody but Me (DISCONTINUED)

8: Please tell me you're joking

I dribble the ball between my feet. "Amanda!" I hear someone call, and I shoot the ball towards the voice.

This is the first game of the season, and we're winning 3-2. The game ends in just a few minutes, and I'm determined not to let our lead slip through. The way to keep up our score? Communication.

I look over and see our striker, Chelsea, being tailed by two defenders from the other team, and they're rapidly gaining on her. "Chelsea!" I shout, and the ball flies towards me. See, this is how a real team should play. I easily trap the ball between my feet and continue sprinting down the field.

However, the defence is crazy fast, and I'm being swarmed already. I clear the ball, sending it in the air, in the direction of our left mid Tiffany. She jumps up, and her head connects with the ball. It soars through the air, and goes straight into the top right corner with the other teams goalie missing by inches. The whistle blows, signalling that the game is over. The new score? 4-2. We won by 2 points.

We line up to shake hands. I notice how one of the particularly fast defenders refuses to shake anyone's hand, scowling at all of us like we killed a puppy or something.

"Good game!" I call teasingly at the defender while grinning like a madman, and she scowls even more.

"Don't antagonize! They've already lost by enough." A voice calls, pulling an arm around my shoulder.

"Okay, okay, okay, I get it Jace!" I wave him off, still grinning.

"Well, that was a good game. I really liked Emma's goal." Landon compliments.

Emma faked kicking the ball as hard as she can into the right, and as the goalie's instincts kicked in, he dived to the right just as Emma softly bunted it into the left. By the time the goalie realized that he lunged in the wrong direction, the ball was already in the net.

"I know, it was genius!" I exclaim at the same time as Blake. "Jinx!" We call in unison. I frown, and then try again.

"Double jinx!" We're still in sync.

"Triple jinx!"

"Quadruple jinx!"

"Inf-"

"Okay, okay, we get it!" Hannah complains. "I've had enough of jinxing for today."

"But I wanted a free soda!" I whine, jutting out my bottom lip and giving Hannah the best puppy dog face I can muster.

"Okay, I'll just buy you a soda and we'll call it quits. Okay? Okay." Camden finishes.

"Deal." Blake agrees, walking away.

"That was a really good first game. Have you ever played soccer before?" Brooke asks me, changing the subject.

"Uh...kind of?" I reply.

The only sport I actually played professionally was cheerleading, and that's not even a sport. It's more of an activity. But, my brother used to play soccer and I practised with him all the time, so I know a lot of basic moves.

"I used to help a friend practice for soccer, so I know a lot of moves." I explain. That's about as true as I can get without revealing my identity.

Christie's eyes light up. "Oh! I used to do that before with volleyball, but then my friend moved away so I couldn't help her anymore."

"Well, can we go now? It's not like there's anything left to do here, plus Blake still needs to buy Amanda a soda." Landon asks.

"Uh, Blake might not be ready for a while." Jace points out, pointing at something over my shoulder. I see Blake talking to Chelsea, while Chelsea blushes and flirts back.