Dream Catcher Dreams

Nakita

Nakita

“So this is it……” I said as I looked around the deserted bus stop at the edge of the reservation.

“Everything will be fine, Kita,” Jacob said as he chuckled at my pacing.

I sighed and replied, “But, what if……”

“No buts!,” Jacob cut me off.

I rolled my eyes and sighed once more.

“Here comes your ride, Miss Hummingbird,” Jacob noticed as we saw dust flying up from the red clay road.

Nervous shivers went up and down my spine as the bus neared closer and closer.

“Well, I guess this is really it,” I spoke quietly as I picked my duffle bag up off the old rickety bench.

“Everything‘s going to be fine, Kita.”

“I hope so,” I replied as I turned to stare into my best friend’s eyes.

As the bus pulled to a stop in front of us, I threw my arms around Jacob’s neck and squeezed him with all my might. “Take care of them,” I whispered in his ear as I pulled away.

He nodded his head once in understanding, and answered, “I will.”

The bus driver made a grumbling complaint, so I hugged Jacob hurriedly one last time and quickly boarded the long white bus. As the bus was pulling away from the bus stop, I looked out the window and saw Jacob waving at me. “Bye,” I mouthed to him as I waved in response. Reading my lips, Jacob’s smile widened, and he mouthed “Bye” as well.

After he was out of my sight, I sighed and tried to get comfortable for the ride to the Four Corners. As the bus lightly bumped along the long, dusty dirt roads of the rez, I closed my eyes and slowly drifted into a light slumber.

The next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes quickly, and saw the impatient eyes of the bus driver staring down at me.

“Here‘s your stop. The Four Corners,” he replied as he nodded his head.

I stood up and glimpsed out the window, noticing that true to his word, we were at the Four Corners. I also happened to notice that there were no other people on the bus anymore. “I must have been the last stop,” I thought with a shrug.

As I climbed off the bus into the bright sunlight, I slung my duffle bag over my shoulder. “Ashagoteh,” I said as I looked back to the bus driver. He nodded his head in reply, and shut the bus doors and he slowly pulled away.

When I turned back around to look at my new surroundings, I saw a huge field that I assumed we would be using for practice, a building that looked like a weight room, and roughly about fifteen cabins. After taking in what was my new home for the next few months, I took a deep breath, and walked to the building that had a huge sign that said “Lacrosse Legacy League” with Western Arrows Lacrosse” wrote in smaller letters underneath it.

As I knocked on the dark brown door, I heard a deep voice rumble, “Come in!”

I closed my eyes for a moment before I finally walked in.

Before I could even say anything, the man who was sitting behind a large desk stood up and walked in front of me. “Nakita Hummingbird! It‘s nice to finally meet you. I‘ve heard nothing but good about you, girl. I‘m the head coach Spotted Eagle.”

My eyes went wide with shock at his praises, and I finally managed to choke out, “Ummm….. Aheeiyeh…..”

He’s deep voice rumbled as he chuckled at my answer, and said with a big smile, “You don‘t have to be formal with me, little one.”

I looked up at him and let a smile slowly slip onto my face.

“How did you know who I was?,” I asked curiously.

He chuckled once more, and replied, “Well, lets just say that you‘re not exactly like the rest of the team.”

I cocked my head to the side in confusion, and wondered aloud, “What do you mean?”

“You‘re the only girl.”

His words didn’t register in my mind right away as I stared at him dumfounded.

“Ummm…. What?”

“You‘re the only girl, Hummingbird.”

“So out of a team of twenty, I‘m the only girl?” I asked trying to register his words.

“Yeah,” he replied as he walked back around his desk to sit down.

“Does the rest of the team know?”

“No,” he replied honestly.

“And what if they don‘t want to play on a team with a girl?,” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

Coached Spotted Eagle gave me a bright smile, and replied. “Give them hell, Hummingbird. And make them want you on the team.”

At his words, a smile graced my features, and right away I had a plan ready.

“Has any of the other players got here yet, Coach?”

“Yeah, you were the last player. Why?” he asked with a confused tone.

“Are we going to have a practice today? Or at least something to get to know each other?” I asked not answering his question.

Coach Spotted Eagle looked down at his watch and replied, “Me and the rest of the coaches were planning on having the team do a little get-to-know-you activity. Why?”

I smirked, and responded, “I don‘t want them to know I‘m a girl.”

“Why not?”

“If they know I‘m a girl, they‘ll automatically think I won’t be able to keep up with them. If they think I’m just one of the guys, they’ll give me a better shot,” I replied like it was obvious.

The coach’s eyebrows rose in understanding as he smirked as well. “Sure thing, Hummingbird. But you‘re going to have to do something with all that hair. Some of the guys have long hair, but nowhere near as long as yours,” he added as he motioned to my calf-length braid.

I nodded, and whispered, “Won‘t be a problem.”

The coach held his hand up for a high five, and I met him half way.

“You can change in the bathroom over there, Hummingbird. I‘ll go get the rest of the team and the other coaches and get a practice started,” the coach said as he motioned to the left of the room.

As I sat my duffle bag down, the coach handed me a white jersey that had my name and a number three on the back as well as a helmet. “This will be your practice jersey. Our game jerseys are red.”

I took the helmet and jerseys as he walked out of the office to get the other players.

After I put on my practice jersey, cleats, and shorts, I took my hair out of its braid and pulled it into a pony tail. Then I wrapped it up in a ball and tied it with another hair bow. When I put my helmet on, I looked at my reflection in the mirror to make sure that I didn’t have any stray hairs hanging. After I was sure I was good, I smiled at myself, and walked out of the bathroom and towards the field where I knew the rest of the team would be waiting.

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Hey ya'll! :) Okay, so a few Apache words are used in this chapter. Ashagoteh is an informal way of saying thank you and Aheeiyeh is a formal way of saying thank you.