didn’t sleep at all in the morning,” Warren added suggestively.
I thought Lizzie would verbally slap him a witty comeback but she just giggled like they were sharing a private joke that wasn’t really so private.
“What are we going to do to kill the time?” Warren looked like he was asking Lizzie, but he then turned to Hawkins as if waiting for a response. “We still have six hours until the show.”
I knew from past experience that when the band had too much time on their hands that they would go biking, skateboarding, or chase each other around in the venue’s golf carts. So it didn’t take long before we spotted Harlow kicking a soccer ball around on the lawn of the amphitheater with a few other members from the crew, since even they had time to kill.
“Hey, Joie, come play with us!” Riley beckoned me with a wave of his hand.
“I’m on Joie’s team!” Lizzie called dibs on me right away. “I’m not in the mood to sweat,” she added under her breath.
“We’ll flip a coin for her then,” Riley offered, like I was an object to barter over.
Hawkins turned to me with a pleasantly surprised look on his face. “I didn’t know that you played soccer?”
“Yeah, she’s good…like Mia Hamm good,” Lizzie answered for me as we crossed the lawn. “She almost took our high school team all the way to states.”
“I’m not Mia Hamm good,” I made it clear to Hawkins.
“Whatever,” Lizzie rolled her eyes. “You’ll see what I mean.”
“No pressure or anything,” I sighed to myself.
Though it was strange how my nerves disappeared when I actually joined the game. I loved the thrill of playing soccer. It required so much from my body, like stamina and skill, that it kept my interest. I had to be physically tough enough to block and defend the ball with my body, but I also had to be skilled and quick enough with my footwork to move around the other players.
The crew wasn’t playing an official game; more like a group of guys kicking a ball around. Still, it wasn’t long before Warren - and my shoulders and hips - were knocking into each other side by side as we fought for possession of the ball. Warren, who was less experienced, tried to take off, but the momentum of the ball got away from him. I quickly sprinted ahead knowing that I just had to outrun him to gain possession of the ball. All those cigarettes must have finally caught up to him because I easily beat him to the ball.
As I swiftly continued toward Blakely, the tall thick African American drummer who was acting as goalie, I noticed a gaping hole to his left where a lawn chair was set to mark one of the goalposts. Soon the ball was sailing through the air and Blakely didn’t have enough time to adjust his body as the ball zipped past him for a goal.
“Yes!!!!!” Riley shouted, and for a second I thought he was going to pull off his t-shirt and fall to the ground on his knees in celebration.
“ I’m nothing like Mia Hamm ,” Hawkins said mockingly as he placed his hands on his hips and took a second to catch his breath causing me to laugh.
“Can we flip again?” Lizzie gasped from further down the field.
“No way in hell,” Riley sang.
We continued to play the game well into the afternoon, but it didn’t take long until I realized I needed to play down my skills because it was meant to be a friendly game of soccer, not a death match. So I found myself passing the ball off to Riley or Harlow when we neared the goal, but Riley quickly chucked that ball back over to me. When I ‘accidentally’ missed the goal, Riley threw me a dirty look.
“What?” I shrugged innocently enough.
“You’re throwing the game for your boyfriend.”
“No, I’m throwing the game,” I kept my voice down low for only him to hear, “Because we’re so far ahead in points that were practically playing football .”
“ So ? This is the only manly thing Harlow and I’ve got going for us.”
“Yeah, watching me
I thought Lizzie would verbally slap him a witty comeback but she just giggled like they were sharing a private joke that wasn’t really so private.
“What are we going to do to kill the time?” Warren looked like he was asking Lizzie, but he then turned to Hawkins as if waiting for a response. “We still have six hours until the show.”
I knew from past experience that when the band had too much time on their hands that they would go biking, skateboarding, or chase each other around in the venue’s golf carts. So it didn’t take long before we spotted Harlow kicking a soccer ball around on the lawn of the amphitheater with a few other members from the crew, since even they had time to kill.
“Hey, Joie, come play with us!” Riley beckoned me with a wave of his hand.
“I’m on Joie’s team!” Lizzie called dibs on me right away. “I’m not in the mood to sweat,” she added under her breath.
“We’ll flip a coin for her then,” Riley offered, like I was an object to barter over.
Hawkins turned to me with a pleasantly surprised look on his face. “I didn’t know that you played soccer?”
“Yeah, she’s good…like Mia Hamm good,” Lizzie answered for me as we crossed the lawn. “She almost took our high school team all the way to states.”
“I’m not Mia Hamm good,” I made it clear to Hawkins.
“Whatever,” Lizzie rolled her eyes. “You’ll see what I mean.”
“No pressure or anything,” I sighed to myself.
Though it was strange how my nerves disappeared when I actually joined the game. I loved the thrill of playing soccer. It required so much from my body, like stamina and skill, that it kept my interest. I had to be physically tough enough to block and defend the ball with my body, but I also had to be skilled and quick enough with my footwork to move around the other players.
The crew wasn’t playing an official game; more like a group of guys kicking a ball around. Still, it wasn’t long before Warren - and my shoulders and hips - were knocking into each other side by side as we fought for possession of the ball. Warren, who was less experienced, tried to take off, but the momentum of the ball got away from him. I quickly sprinted ahead knowing that I just had to outrun him to gain possession of the ball. All those cigarettes must have finally caught up to him because I easily beat him to the ball.
As I swiftly continued toward Blakely, the tall thick African American drummer who was acting as goalie, I noticed a gaping hole to his left where a lawn chair was set to mark one of the goalposts. Soon the ball was sailing through the air and Blakely didn’t have enough time to adjust his body as the ball zipped past him for a goal.
“Yes!!!!!” Riley shouted, and for a second I thought he was going to pull off his t-shirt and fall to the ground on his knees in celebration.
“ I’m nothing like Mia Hamm ,” Hawkins said mockingly as he placed his hands on his hips and took a second to catch his breath causing me to laugh.
“Can we flip again?” Lizzie gasped from further down the field.
“No way in hell,” Riley sang.
We continued to play the game well into the afternoon, but it didn’t take long until I realized I needed to play down my skills because it was meant to be a friendly game of soccer, not a death match. So I found myself passing the ball off to Riley or Harlow when we neared the goal, but Riley quickly chucked that ball back over to me. When I ‘accidentally’ missed the goal, Riley threw me a dirty look.
“What?” I shrugged innocently enough.
“You’re throwing the game for your boyfriend.”
“No, I’m throwing the game,” I kept my voice down low for only him to hear, “Because we’re so far ahead in points that were practically playing football .”
“ So ? This is the only manly thing Harlow and I’ve got going for us.”
“Yeah, watching me
Similar Books
