Insomnia

Chapter 7: The Lighthouse

Thor was right behind me on my way out to practice. Like right behind, so close he felt like a shadow. I slowed down for a minute to walk beside him, but when he glared at me with his little black eyes I decided it probably wasn't worth the effort. I jogged the rest of the way to the field.

"That's fun. You got to hang with Thor," Finn said with a chuckle when I stopped beside him and Thor ran past us to the bag of soccer balls near the goalpost. "You guys do anything new, or did he follow the normal routine and act like he wanted to put you in a blender?"

"Pretty much the usual. Though this time he mixed things up a bit and hinted about a pitch fork and a set of steak knives."

Finn laughed. "No actual threats this time?"

"No actual conversation."

"Sounds about right." Finn nodded as he adjusted his shin guard.

I took a deep breath and relaxed my muscles. Soccer was my primary escape. On the field, I could be normal. Adrenaline kicked in and kept me awake. Muscle memory made everything fluid and easy. It didn't feel like my mind and body were at war when I played. I didn't have to think.

We were the first ones on the field, but most of the girls' team was heading out the doors toward us. I strained to find Mia and spotted her coming out last. All the other girls were talking and laughing, but Mia was alone—until Addie jogged over from the side of the field and walked with her.

Great. Just what I needed—them to become best friends. Within a few minutes everyone was on the field, and they were all looking at me. I groaned. Jeff seemed to be late to everything. The coaches weren't even on time.

"Okay, let's start with some laps: three around the field, and then five sprints from goal to goal."

Everyone started running and I caught up with Mia near the front of the group. "Did I hear right that they appointed you team captain . . . as a sophomore? Did you come from some kind of top-secret Olympic training school?"

"Probably." She laughed and then grimaced. "But I think it had more to do with Jeff coming in and telling them to make me captain. I wish he wouldn't do that." A couple of girls from the team last year pushed past Mia and she stumbled into me. Before I could even try to help, she caught her balance and kept going, her chin high and her jaw clenched. "He's really not doing me any favors." 

"Yeah, I can see that." We ran another lap in silence before I couldn't stop myself from asking, "So, what was the name of this Olympic training school? I feel like I should check it out." 

She smiled but kept her eyes on the ground and didn't respond. 

"Sorry if I'm getting too personal. I'm just curious—" 

"No worries." Mia sprinted away before I could finish my sentence. I cursed under my breath. The last thing I wanted was to scare her off. Not before I could learn what I needed to know about her: why her dreams were so unique, if she had any odd pre-bedtime rituals I should know about. Admittedly awkward questions, but it didn't matter. She wouldn't even give up what high school she used to go to. The girl was a vault. 

By the time everyone finished running sprints, the coaches and Jeff had shown up. Jeff paired each of our starters with two girls and had them run drills while we gave them tips and feedback. He put me with two sophomores I vaguely remembered from junior high, Kim and Christina. 

They both had played in city leagues for fun but never competitively. I taught them a few of my best trapping tricks and then had them try to pass the ball back and forth as they dribbled past me without my stealing it. They got it past me the first two times until I learned their moves; then I took it three in a row.