pass verb: the transference of a ball
from one player to another;
pass out verb: to collapse, to fall into
an unconscious state
It takes me about fifteen minutes to get dressed and ready for the first match. I’ve got my lucky socks on and my lucky hair clip in. It takes me about fifteen seconds to realise that it’s going to take more than luck to get me through this match.
The problem isn’t that I can’t kick the ball. It’s not that I shoot for goals and miss. No, the problem is much more basic than this. No one in my team is passing me the ball. I spend the first forty minutes of the game running laps. I’m running so hard my legs are aching. I realise after about the first ten minutes why there’s a ball in soccer. It’s because you look pretty stupid chasing nothing.
I have a feeling that Martin would kick it to me, but he has the same problem. Nobody is passing it to him. Eventually Coach does the only thing he can do: he takes Martin and me off. Together, we watch our team play possibly the worst game of soccer in our history.
‘Morieson, pass it to Flemming!’ Martin screams beside me, his voice whirling with the roars of the crowd and the wind. ‘He passed it to Corelli.’ He covers his eyes with his hands and peeks through the gaps. ‘He’s never kicked a goal in his life.’
We are down 4–0. Corelli kicks. It flies wide. I’ve never seen a kick quite like that before. It flips back, lands in their midfield, and knocks Singh out. Cold. Coach is silent for the first time in his life. Or maybe Martin is doing all the yelling for him.
It’s a disaster of a game. The final whistle goes and our team walks off the ground without looking at the crowd once. They file silently, a small funeral procession, past Coach, past Martin, past me. Somehow, even though I haven’t played the game, I feel like I’ve lost it for them, lost it for Martin. There’s hardly a sound on the bus as we drive, just the whine of the engine and the changing of gears. If we don’t win tomorrow, we’re out.
Sorry, Singh.
Won’t dorry, Corelli, I’m fine.
I lied when I said I don’t care if we lose. I do care. I want us to feel like we’ve won something.