Even Our Angels Looked Surprised

Chapter 4

August 2009

It was raining in Frankfurt again. Ali loved the sound the raindrops made against the roof. She was trying to multitask again. And, as usual, she was failing. She wanted to check the list to see who had been called up for next month’s camp, but she was also fixing lunch, and the result was almost disastrous.

Using all her patience, she finished preparing her meal before turning her laptop back on. Few surprises appeared on the list. But then, on her second time skimming over the names, she saw Ashlyn Harris. It had been years since they met, but she did not have any trouble remembering the girl. She could not decide if she thought it would be fun or odd when they met again.
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September 2009

Ashlyn knew she was bouncing her knee too much. Finally Tobin glanced over at her. “Dude. Chill.”

Her friend’s grin helped her relax a little. She was so glad she was flying out with Tobin. Of course, this was all normal for Tobin now. No one on their team would have been even half as humble as Tobin had about coming back to campus after a gold medal summer. Having the girl there with her helped immensely.

Ashlyn had done the national team thing before, but not on this level, and it was so different to have her first full call-up. She was a confused mess of dueling confidence and nerves. To train with Solo, Barnhart, Wambach… it didn’t get better than that. She was looking forward to seeing HAO and Lori. Ali Krieger was going to be there too, but she had been doing her dead level best not to think about that particular fact.

The call had been so unexpected that she hadn’t completely adjusted to the idea just yet. She leaned back in her seat and tried to concentrate on the conversation she’d had with Whitney just a few days before. She’d worked hard and fought through so much. This was the kind of success she’d been working for, so there was no reason to doubt it now.
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As always, getting into camp was a reunion. She had already seen almost everyone, but Ali still ended up collecting hugs when she met her team in the hotel conference room for their first meeting.

“Krieger!” Tobin Heath ran over and wrapped her into an embrace. Ali hadn’t seen Tobin yet, and it felt good to be greeted by the girl’s carefree grin. Still caught in the girl’s embrace, Ali noticed they were being watched.

Ashlyn’s hair was darker than she remembered. The girl was sitting down with her feet resting on the table in front of her. She gave a small wave, which it took some effort extracting one of her arms for Ali to return.

Most of the seats in the room were already taken, so when Tobin released her Ali followed her to the back where they sat by Ashlyn. Ali started to say something as she sat down, but she was interrupted when Pinoe plopped into the last remaining seat on the row. They were rooming together, and the girl immediately picked up on a conversation they’d been having earlier.

The meeting went by pretty quickly, and afterward the room shifted as everyone tried to catch up on their friends’ lives. Tobin and Ashlyn were joined by HAO and Lori Chalupny, a little UNC powwow. After talking to Hope and Carli for a bit, Ali headed toward the elevator. At first she thought she’d be making the ride up alone, but then she saw Tobin and Ashlyn coming down the hall, and she held the door.

Tobin was saying something about finding Cheney, and right before they reached the elevator she turned around.

Ashlyn thanked her as she walked into the elevator. Ali leaned back against the other side of the elevator, suddenly wishing the doors would hurry up and close so they could get moving. She didn’t understand her restlessness though.