Hall of Infamy

I've been standing with the crowd for years. The familiar stomping and yelling never did faze me. All those times I stood on the sidelines wearing the famous jersey with the number 12 and the name Lavoie plastered on the back. It doesn't seem any different from the high school games, Gabriel made it pretty straight forward that he'd be playing for college. Now he's the man of the match. As the game enters it's ninety two minute mark, I can feel the perspiration and stress from the air and people behind me. The home team, the one I'm cheering for, is leading the game 2-1.

My brother is the famed goalie, one of the best in the state. His arms are stretched wide and his feet bouncing up and down. He starts yelling at his team, noticeable by their stained white jerseys. I could be home, rewatching tv shows, but I'm here to support my brother.

"The goalie's so cute." A girl behind me giggles.

"You can see his green eyes from here." Her friend joins in. My head starts to hurt as they continue talking about my brother. I contemplated shouting at them but that would be frowned upon. So I tried my best ignoring their high pitched voices. It's true though. His eyes are so green, you could see him from afar. Unfortunately, my eyes are the same color.

Suddenly I join the crowd and rise up as an opposing blue jersey dashes its way across the field. Kole Mathias is getting past our defenders and makes his way towards the goal. The only thing standing between him and a goal is my brother. I lean back, hit with a nostalgic feeling as I remember when they used to play together, not against. The best goalie and the amazing striker.

Kole takes his shot and I have to admit, my heart stopped. The ball did a perfect curve but before it could hit the corner of the goal, a pair of gloved hands smacks it out. A roar erupts from the crowd and I know that our team has won first game of the year. Even if it's just a friendly game, the competition was fierce. The coach celebrates, the crowd is cheering, and I'm making my way near the field where I can meet the team. I stop a few feet before the grass, refusing to place my new converse on it.

"Sophie! Over here!" A woman with a tape recorder approached me.

"How'd you feel about the game? Especially your brother's last minute save?" She eagerly chatters. I'm glad there's only one reporter. I remember after one game, dozens of them came up to me and I had a panic attack. It was during championships. But the reporter stands at a safe and comfortable distance.

"Both teams were amazing," I say. "They've got really talented players. And if it weren't for my brother, we'd have a tied game right now."

"What about Kole Mathias?" She fires back. "He sure gave them a hard time. Didn't he go to the same high school as you and Gabe?"

Don't say the wrong answer Soph, don't say anything.

"Yeah, he used to play on the school's team," I reply, trying to make it obvious that I'm finished.

"Thank you, Ms. Lavoie."

I turn around, looking for my brother. He's on the field congratulating all the other players with his dark brown hair glistening with sweat. Kole starts to come up with his hand outstretched.

"Don't make a scene, Gabe," I whisper quietly to myself.

With a reluctant hand and a straight face, the goalie softly shakes Kole's hand. Gabriel hurriedly walks toward me and I hope no one's noticed the interaction. I grip the bottom of my shirt to stop them from shaking and focus on the large crowd. As Gabriel comes up to give me a hug, I sneak a glance towards Kole where he's looking at us and he gives me a small smile.

I regret not smiling back.

My brother and his team went to the dressing rooms to clean up and go home. What used to be giant crowd is now replaced by empty stands. There are few people having small conversations so I sit on the bench staring at the field, or more like glaring at it. The warm summer nights were coming to an end and I started to regret not bringing any jackets. Then again, I'll just steal Gabriel's.