I lay in bed, stretching slowly as the smell of something delicious cooking for breakfast woke me up. It was such a treat to be able to sleep in. Between school during the week and soccer practices and games on the weekends, sleeping in wasn’t something I could do a lot.
I got up and quickly used the bathroom before heading downstairs in my favorite pair of pajamas. The T-shirt said WHAT’S LIFE WITHOUT GOALS? PLAY SOCCER, and the matching pants were black and had little soccer balls all over them.
I breathed in deeply before walking into the kitchen. The smell was so yummy!
“Let me guess? Your world-famous chocolate chip pancakes?” I asked my dad. He stood over the stove, a spatula in his hands.
“Yep, and I got the first one,” my sister Maisie said before my dad could answer. She was sitting at the kitchen table, chocolate from the pancakes smeared on her chin.
“Good for you,” I replied cheerfully. Then I sat down, and my dad slid a plate of pancakes in front of me. It was too early in the morning to get into an argument with my little sister.
“Here you go, kiddo!” Dad said.
I thanked him and then grabbed the syrup and poured it over my pancakes before digging in. We usually ate very healthfully at home, but every now and then we got a special treat. Dad’s pancakes were one of them.
“So, girls, what’s on the schedule for today?” Dad asked.
Again Maisie was the first to say something. “Devin promised to do soccer drills with me today!” she said, half-whining. I guess she was expecting me to say no.
“I remember, Maisie,” I told her. “Don’t worry, we’ll do it.”
“Yay!” Maisie cheered. “I’m going to watch TV until we start.”
She quickly got up from her chair.
“Not so fast!” my dad said. “Go wash up and make your bed first.”
“I’ll do it later.” This time my little sister spoke in full-on whine mode.
My dad gave her that no-nonsense look that meant it was pointless to try to argue with him. At least I had figured that out by now. Maisie, at age eight, was still learning.
“Your hands are sticky from syrup,” he said sternly. “And we do our chores in this household before we watch TV. You know the rules, Maisie.”
Instead of arguing, Maisie stomped up the stairs. She was being noisy and annoying about it, but at least she had figured out that arguing was pointless.
Maybe she has finally learned something, I thought.
I helped my dad clean up before going upstairs to grab a quick shower and change. Before I got into the shower, I got a text from Sasha, my former teammate on the Griffons who was now on the Santa Flora Roses.
Hey, Devin. U busy today? Can we hang? I’d like to get your advice.
I had plans with Maisie, and I knew I couldn’t cancel them. So this was my reply.
If u wanna come hang with me and my little sis, we’re doing soccer drills today.
Sasha replied: Cool! What time?
We worked out the details before I jumped into the shower. I was dressed and ready when Sasha rang the doorbell.
“Thanks, Devin, for having me over,” she said. “I can’t wait to meet your little sister.”
I laughed. “You might regret that. Maisie, Sasha’s here.”
Maisie loved meeting new people and hamming it up in front of them. Usually we had to pry her away from the TV, but I heard it shut off immediately, and she came running in.
“I’m Maisie,” she said, beginning to talk excitedly. “Wait till you see me play. I’m really good. If you want any pointers, let me know.”
Maisie charged through the house to the sliding glass doors that led into the backyard. Sasha and I exchanged grins before following her.
“I warned you,” I said.
“She’s funny,” Sasha laughed.
We started out with a simple passing drill, kicking the ball back and forth to Maisie.
“At first I was going to be a forward like Devin, but I think I like playing defense better,” Maisie chattered to Sasha happily. “I never let anyone past me. Never!
I smiled as I thought about the last game of Maisie’s that I had seen. One of the players actually had gotten a goal past her, but I didn’t say anything.
“Let’s do monkey in the middle,” Sasha suggested. “I’ll be the monkey first. Maisie, you and Devin have to try to pass the ball to each other without letting me get it.”
We played for a while, and I noticed how great Sasha was with Maisie, getting her to laugh but focus at the same time.
“I want to be the monkey next!” Maisie said. “But I’m thirsty. I’ll be right back! Don’t play without me!”
She ran into the house, and Sasha turned to me.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said after the game yesterday,” she said. “I’d really like some more advice. Being on a team that’s so disorganized and playing so badly is really bringing me down.”
I nodded. “Like I told you yesterday, I completely understand. I was in exactly the same situation you’re in. All of the Kicks were.”
“You said to talk to Coach Doyle, but that’s kind of hard to do,” Sasha admitted. “I mean, she really is trying hard to be a good coach, I guess. And we all know that she kind of got stuck with this job. She stepped up to be coach when nobody else wanted to. So I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
“I know. But if she’s as nice as she sounds, she’ll want to help you and your teammates win,” I told her. “If you want, I can ask Coach Flores for advice. She might have some ideas of how you can bring it up with your coach.”
Sasha’s hazel eyes brightened. “That would be so cool. Would you really?”
“Sure. I feel like I can talk to Coach Flores about anything.”
Sasha gave me a big hug. “Thanks, Devin!”
I had another idea.
“Did you know that there’s a soccer clinic at Carmella College next weekend?” I asked her. “Most of the Kicks are going. You should come and bring as many of your teammates as you can.”
Sasha smiled. “That’s a fabulous idea. I think just about everyone on the team will want to go. Do you have the info?”
We pulled out our phones, and I sent her the website with the registration information.
“Devin, you are awesome! Thanks so much. You’ll definitely see me and most of the other Roses there.”
I returned her smile. It felt good to be able to help someone who was in the same situation I’d been in.
Maisie came running back out into the yard. “I’m the monkey! I’m the monkey!”
Sasha looked at me. “Should we go easy on her?”
“No way!” I said, but then I relented. “Well, maybe a little bit.”
Sasha hung out with me and Maisie until lunchtime, and then her mom picked her up. Later that afternoon Jessi’s face popped up on my phone screen.
“Hey, Dev!” she said. “What’s up? I am totally bored. What’d you do today?”
“Not much,” I said. I didn’t tell her that Sasha had come over, and I wasn’t sure why. I guess I didn’t think it was newsworthy.
Boy, was I wrong!