What The Heart Desires

10.

TENBY IRWIN
FRIDAY MARCH 3
3:06PM

I had texted dad earlier that I would be late because I had "Book Club" but it wasnt really book club. It was soccer tryouts.

We all went out and met in the gym.

There were about 10 of us wanting to try out, but only half of us would make it on the team. There were already 7 people on the team from last year, including Crivvy, so she has been giving me pointers and tips all week. She has a soccer goal at her house, so I've been getting in lots of practice. One day last week though, I got too tired, and had to take a break. I am really hoping that doesn't happen today.

Coach Claire made us all run 3 laps around the gym to get us all warmed up. Easy Peasy. Then we did some stretches, and got started on drills. I kept my ball right at my feet the entire time. Then, we had to go head to head with someone from the team. Crivvy and I went against each other, and I got another goal! I even stole the ball right from under her. It was amazing.

After that, we practiced a bit of passing. I loved soccer. It was a lot of fun.

By the end of it, I was hot, sweaty, and out of breath. We all got to sit down and have some water while coach went over who made the team.

"Alright so, already on the team we have
Elaya Johnson
Avery Mills
Gracie Reignhorn
Bonnie Thomason
Crivvlynn Hallden
Reese Georgeson
And
Finley Cleveland"

"As you all know, we can only have 12 per team and since we have 7 members already, we can only choose 5 out of the 10 of you."

I take a big breath.

"So, the 5 new members of our team are
Jazzy Williams
Penelope Naughts
Laycen Peters
Sienna Allen
And
Tenby Irwin"

I jump up out of my seat in excitement and run up to Crivvy and give her a big hug.

Crivvy's mom comes and takes me home.

"Hey Ten! How was book club? What did you read?" Dad asks me as I walk in the door. I didn't expect him to be home yet.

"Oh.. It was good. We read.. uh... To kill a mockingbird.. yeah.."

"Hmm.. interesting choice." He says, stirring a pot on the stove.

"I didn't pick it" I laugh

"What are you doing home so early? I thought you worked later on Fridays." I ask

"I just had some paperwork to do, so Cal took me home after his shift and we worked on it together for a bit. I almost was going to pick you up from school, but you had book club." He explains

"Yeah. Book club is going to be on Mondays and Thursdays after school." I say

"Oh.. not Fridays?"

"Nope.. just Mondays and Thursdays." I say, feeling myself get nervous by the second.

"So, what's for dinner?" I ask suddenly, putting my backpack down.

"Tomato soup and grilled cheese. Mike might join us. Go ahead and get started on your homework before he gets here." Dad says

I waste no time grabbing my homework folder and running up the stairs.

The weekend goes by pretty fast, and just as soon as I know it, its Monday.

The day of my first ever soccer practice

3:38

"Tenby, here is your soccer shirt, wear that with plain black shorts. You'll need to get some long socks, shin guards, cleats, and your own soccer ball to bring to every practice and every game." Coach says. I make eye contact with Crivvy. We have this almost telepathic conversation. I know I can count on her to take me to get those.

"Okay Ladies, gather around. We have our first game this week on Saturday. You can invite whoever and however many people you want. We're going against the Adelaide Penguins. So bring your A game everyone." Coach says

We start on some drills, and passes, then coach splits us up, and we do our own mini game.

'Tenby, How are you at being goalie?" Coach asks

"I've never tried, but I'd be up for it"

"Go ahead and be goalie this next round. I want to see how you do."

I walk up to the goal and turn around. This was a whole new perspective. And I was allowed to use my hands.

I caught every single ball. Apart from one, which slipped right past me.

"Great job, Tenby! I think I'll have you be goalie at the second half of the game if you want?" Coach asks

I nod and smile, taking a sip of my water, feeling my heart pounding. I sit down in the turf for a brief moment, trying to catch my breath.

After practice, I text dad to let him know I'm going to Crivvy's house. But really, we took the bus to the mall to get some things for soccer. I picked up a few pairs of long socks, in white and in navy blue, our school colors. I got some black shorts, and a pair of black sweats for cold mornings. I also got a black and blue pair of cleats to match my blue soccer shirt, and shin guards. I picked out a purple and white soccer ball. All this added up to be over $100. I only had $80 left in my backpack, and $50 of it was for emergencies only. I knew dad would be pissed if I used it, especially for a non emergency, but I had no choice. Crivvy loaned me $20, and I promised I would pay her back. I would just have to do some chores around the house for dad.

Once I got home, luckily, no one was there, so I took all my new soccer stuff and shoved it in the back of my closet before anyone saw.

I really hope this soccer thing works out. I really love it, but I don't know if I can pull it off without dad or any of my uncles knowing about it.