Soccer practice that afternoon started off badly and just got worse.
“We’re going to learn a new drill today,” Coach Flores told us after we had warmed up. “It’s a little complicated but it’s fun, and I think it will improve our shooting and passing. Follow me out onto the field, and I’ll show you.”
Coach Flores jogged onto the field, and we followed her. I saw Grace and Megan roll their eyes.
“You gonna share this drill with the Roses, Devin?” Grace asked me.
I sighed. “Come on. It’s not like that!”
But they ignored me and jogged ahead. I looked at Jessi next to me, who had heard the whole thing.
“I do not understand what they are so upset about,” I said.
Jessi shrugged. “I’m sure it will blow over.”
I was happy to see Hailey, Brianna, Taylor and Olivia there. At least they didn’t seem mad at me!
“Are you feeling better?” I asked them.
Hailey nodded. “It was one of those twenty-four hour things. I feel fine again, but my mom has it now. She is miserable!”
Olivia said, “Jade, Gabriela and Alandra are still feeling awful. They weren’t in school today.”
Jessi covered her mouth and nose with her hands. “I don’t want to catch it!”
“If you haven’t yet, you’re probably safe,” Hailey told her.
Coach had set up four cones in a square—two cones ten feet apart on the edge of the penalty box in front of the goal, and two more cones ten feet behind them. She had Zoe, Emma, Taylor, and Anjali stand by the four cones. Emma stood by the cone on the left side closest to the goal, and Anjali stood by the right cone closest to the goal. Taylor stood by the cone diagonally across from Anjali, and Zoe stood by the cone diagonally across from Emma.
“Seventh graders, line up behind Zoe,” Coach instructed. “Eight graders, line up behind Taylor.”
I lined up behind Zoe with Jessi, Frida, Brianna, Hailey, Anna, Sarah, and Olivia.
“This is a diagonal drill,” Coach explained. “Zoe is in position number one, so she will go first. She’s going to pass the ball diagonally to Emma, who’s in position number four.” Coach walked from Zoe to Emma, demonstrating.
“Then Zoe will run forward, and Emma will pass it to her, and Zoe will kick it into the goal,” Coach went on. “Zoe moves to position four, Emma retrieves the ball and passes it to Taylor in position two. Then Emma moves to the back of the eighth grade line and Taylor passes the ball diagonally to Anjali. And then we keep going. Got it?”
Believe it or not, we did get it. It might have sounded confusing, but it was easy to figure out when Coach demonstrated on the field.
“All right, Zoe. Let’s begin,” Coach said.
Zoe nodded and passed the ball smoothly to Emma. Then Zoe ran toward the goal. Emma passed it to her, but she kicked the ball so hard that it whizzed past Zoe and out of bounds.
“Jeez, Emma, calm down!” Zoe called out, annoyed, chasing after the ball.
“You calm down!” Emma shot back.
“Zoe, just dribble the ball back and make the goal!” Coach called out.
Zoe obeyed, and then she and Emma crossed paths as Zoe took Emma’s place by the cone. I saw Zoe say something to Emma, but I couldn’t hear it. Then Emma scowled and stomped all the way to the back of the eighth-grade line.
I looked at Jessi and raised my eyebrows.
“This is not good,” I whispered.
“No, it isn’t,” Jessi agreed.
The drill continued, and even though some of us were confused about where to go or where to pass the ball, we quickly got the hang of it after a few rounds. We kept going until everybody had had a chance in all four positions. At one point Zoe had to pass the ball to Emma again. She aimed a precise, perfect pass that rolled right in front of Emma’s feet.
“That’s how you do it,” Zoe said, loud enough for Emma to hear. Emma glared at her and kicked the ball into the goal so hard that it bounced off the net and flew back onto the field. Zoe chased after it, shaking her head.
When we finished the drill, Coach split us up for a scrimmage.
“Let’s do seventh grade versus eighth grade, just for fun,” she said.
“Oh boy,” I muttered under my breath. Of all the times for Coach Flores to split us up by grade, I had a feeling this was not a good idea. And I was right.
Grace and the eighth graders got into a huddle before the scrimmage started, and when they came out of it, they were super high-energy, which turned into their becoming totally aggro on the field. They were on top of the ball like peanut butter on jelly. I could barely get near it.
It didn’t help that Emma and Zoe took their argument onto the field. Emma stopped a goal by Giselle, and Zoe was clear for a pass, but Emma passed it to Hailey, who was guarded by two eighth graders, Jade and Taylor.
“Emma, I was free!” Zoe yelled.
“Don’t tell me how to play!” Emma yelled back, and while she was distracted, Jade sent a ball whizzing past her ear into the net.
The seventh graders lost the scrimmage 4–0, and Grace and the eighth graders looked pretty pleased with themselves. Coach Flores, on the other hand, sensed that something was up.
“Good job, eighth grade,” she said. “I love the energy you had on the field. I’d love to see you use that against the Tigers on Saturday.”
Grace and Megan high-fived.
Then Coach turned to me and my team. “Seventh grade, you guys were not as focused as you should be,” she said, looking right at Emma and Zoe. “We all need to work together as a team if we’re going to succeed.”
She looked back at the eighth graders now. “All of us.”
“Yes, Coach!” we all said, and I hoped that everyone meant it.
When I got home from practice, I showered and then had a video chat with Kara before dinner. When her face popped up on the screen, I saw that she was sitting at her kitchen table with piles of papers around her.
“Bad time?” I asked her.
“It’s okay,” she said with a yawn. “I’ve been studying for my science test for the past two hours. I could use a break! How was practice?”
“Full of drama,” I replied, and then I told her everything that had happened. Kara’s eyes got wide.
“So I guess things aren’t any better with Zoe and Emma?” she asked.
“No, and I don’t know how to fix it,” I said.
Kara frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe you can’t fix it, Devin. Maybe this is something the two of them have to work out for themselves.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But you know me. I like to fix things.”
Kara laughed. “Yeah, I remember last year when Aimee and Alexis got into that big fight, and you held, like, a court proceeding at the cafeteria table.”
I laughed. “I hate drama! And things usually get better when you talk them out.”
“Well, Aimee stormed away from the table, remember?” Kara asked.
“Yes, but she and Alexis made up the next day,” I pointed out. “And I think it’s because I put the idea into their heads. Broke the ice.”
“Hmm. Good point,” Kara said. “Maybe you need to break the ice somehow with Emma and Zoe.”
I sighed. “Maybe. If I can get them into the same room. Zoe hasn’t been sitting with us recently.”
“Wow,” Kara said. “And that’s not your only problem. I do not understand what is up with Grace. She is making a big deal out of nothing.”
“I know!” I agreed. “And now it’s affecting the team. And that is not good.”
“Not good at all,” Kara agreed. “But if anyone can bring the team back together, it’s you, Devin.”
I suddenly felt really sad that Kara was three thousand miles away and not right next to me.
“I miss you so much!” I blurted out.
“Miss you too!” Kara said. She leaned forward and kissed the camera, and I laughed.
“Maybe Emma and Zoe just need to live across the country from each other,” Kara said. “You and I never fight!”
“True,” I said, “but there’s got to be a simpler way.”
I said good night to Kara and headed downstairs to dinner, the wheels turning in my head. I knew they wouldn’t stop turning until all of this drama was over!