wasps burn in the sun, sweltering warm in the afternoon. everything floats into the heat. the soccer goal's net swings in the wind and the ball deflates flat.
"good game, mari," everardo pats my back. i roll my eyes. good game my ass.
a good game is not losing 3-1, and being the only one to score a point for your team. a good game is winning 3-1.
"yeah, great game." i grab my backpack and duffle bag and we walk towards his truck.
as usual, everardo drops me off at home and walks me to the door, greets mamá and papi. we say goodbye and he leaves and i wait and stare at his 2012 chevy silverado until i don't see its tail lights anymore to close the door.
má and pá stare with smirks on their faces and i stare at their faces and i realize why they're making those smug expressions.
"ay, Dios mio ¡solo es un amigo!" má raises her eyebrows and winks at me. "ay si cómo no" pá just chuckles at má's remark.
"vete a bañar porque andas bien sudada y ya casi vamos a comer," má tells me.
"fine, pero solo me baño por la comida." i ran to my room before má threw her chanclas at me.
after i showered i started to work on my u.s history homework. i facetimed my best friend nia for the answers because u.s. history isn't my best subject.
once i'd finished my homework i facetimed nia again. we gossiped and talked about our crushes and how our days went until má called me to the kitchen to eat dinner.
we ate tinga con tostadas and spoke about our days.
"¿como te fue hoy?" pá asked me.
"bien, pero lo único que no paso bien fue en el partido. ¡perdimos y yo fui la única que echó un gol! ¡la única niña!" i yelled. i was angry again. i'd never lost a game before today, thanks to half our team's lackluster performance.
má stared at me, dismayed and disapproving. i tried to concentrate on dessert, warm sopaipillas covered in azúcar and honey, but my appetite wore away. i couldn't stand it when she was mad at me.
"cuantas veces te he dicho que ¡no jueges fútbol con esos chamacos!"
"pero má ellos son mis amigos--"
"amigos ni que nada. ¿ sabes lo que te pueden hacer?"
"no me hacen nada yo los conozco desde el kinder--"
"no me importa. ya no te quiero ver jugando fútbol. es un juego para hombres no para mujeres"
"ya déjala en paz. si ella quiere jugar el soccer déjala. las mujeres también pueden jugar. así que no digas nada." pá interrupted. i smiled at him. he always knew how to calm má.
when i finished cleaning up the kitchen and dining room, i brushed my teeth and braided my hair, going to my room to charge my phone and then climb into bed. i looked up at the ceiling and stared at my Alex Morgan poster and imagined myself being her, playing in the stadiums against the international teams and winning the fifa world cup and la concacaf and la copa américa.
"un día," i whispered to myself, "un día..."
i went to sleep and dreamed of meeting messi and him being honored to meet me, female fifa cup world champion.
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YES HELLO I AM YESSENIA I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS I KNOW IT SUCKS BUT I'M TRYING. THE PIC IS MELISSA CALMA AND THAT'S HOW MARI LOOKS LIKE.
