Soccer tryouts were the only thing on Leo's mind the next two days. Well, that's not entirely true. The math test he didn't study for was his last lesson yesterday. He spent most of the time trying to catch Noah's eyes, seeing if he can somehow give him a hint on the exam. Noah tried his best, signaling with his hands and mouthing words whenever they can, but the teachers were already familiar with them, and switched Noah from his usual seat next to Leo to a seat in the front row, which proved 'helping' to be much more difficult.
Leo rushed to the lockers the second the last bell rang and changed into his soccer clothes. Well Noah's extra soccer clothes. Noah suggested he borrow them for tryouts. Secretly, Noah didn't mind if Leo kept them. He wanted to feel as if he had helped Leo.
Leo was still a few minutes early for tryouts. He sat on the bench, shaking his leg. It was a nervous habit. Then someone came onto the field. Leo squinted his eyes, the sun was blinding him, and he was not sure who it is, but the dark hair and figure give him a clue.
He decided to do the only reasonable thing to make sure.
"Hey Bella!" he yelled, then hid behind a nearby wall, waiting to catch a glimpse of the girl's face.
It was Bella. Phew.
"Hey Leo," she replied, less than enthusiastically.
Silence.
"So, soccer, huh?" she glanced at this attire.
"Yup..."
In attempt to end this awkward moment, Leo (idiotically) blurted out:
"Can you kick?"
"Excuse me?"
"Can you kick a ball?"
"Can I kick your balls?" Bella retorted.
Leo took a step back. "I wouldn't like to find out. Sorry, I just didn't know you played soccer."
A small smile was tugging on Bella's lips. "I don't. I just wanted to see you nervous. I swim."
'How someone can enjoy and willingly go swimming, I will never know,' thought Leo.
Just then, people started to gather on the field, and the coach started talking.
"So, today we have around... thirty of you here?" he said, looking around. "Only eleven of you are going to make the team. Two will be selected for reserves."
"Well, I better get going," Bella whispered. "Wish Noah good luck for me!" she paused for a second, deciding what to say, then nodded and said "and of course, good luck to you too." Then she half jogged off the field, leaving Leo with a half smile on his face.
"Today we're going to be testing you (mainly) on your passing and positioning, your shooting, and your team play," the Coach continued. "Only the tryouts for both boys and girls' soccer teams are held together. The rest of the trainings will be held separately. Results will be out next week. Good luck to everyone."
Leo was pretty confident with how he did. Caleb was too, and in Leo's opinion he should be. Noah didn't seem worried about the results, although Leo secretly thought Noah seemed a bit distracted during tryouts.
But, surprise, surprise; guess which one of them didn't make the team? That's right; Leo. For some reason, every time Leo pictured the results, he imagined either the three of them making the team, or none of them, and he was expecting the first option. It never crossed his mind that he would be the only one rejected.
Leo skimmed through the sheets again, hoping that he somehow overlooked his name. This time, he found it.
As first reserve.
Leo frowned. He allowed himself to be disappointed for a few minutes, then reminded himself of how lucky he was to be living this life; that this was nothing compared to the bigger scheme of things. He kept repeating this to himself until he felt he believed it, but he remained in a funky mood, staring at his feet with every step he took. Suddenly, he bumped into something hard. "Oh, sorry," he muttered, before realizing it was a wall. He shook his head and continued walking, until he bump into something again. 'Ha! not going to say sorry this time,' he thought, praising himself for my wisdom, at least until he heard an "Ouch!" and realized that the something was actually a someone; Bella, who was looking frantic, but had deep blushed cheeks, its dimples put on display. "Sorry!" Leo said, kneeling over to pick up the book she dropped.
"Don't worry about it," the ghost of a smile still on her face.
"So, Leo, did you make the team?"
"Actually, no" he said, forcing a small, tight lipped smile, "what about you and the... swimming team?"
Bella didn't look sorry for Leo, which was what he was hoping for. Leo wanted to get that out of the way. "Yeah, I made the team," she smiled, her dimples making a second appearance, "I didn't believe it at first."
"Why not? I'm sure you 'kicked balls.'"
Bella crossed her eyebrows in confusion, then realization dawned on her and she laughed, "well, I got to get to class. Bye Leo!"
*
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YOU ARE READING
Red, Yellow, and Blue
Mystery / Thriller(Was: Identity) When Leo begins to adapt to his surroundings, he begins to notice strange things about himself. Will his best friends, Noah and Bella stand by his side, or is everything not as it seems?
