Chapter 7
“I can’t believe this,” Fiona mumbled. She was leaning her chin on her fist. With her other hand, she used a fork to poke at her lunch.
“I know,” Selma said. She stirred the slop in her bowl. “I can’t believe this is actually beef stew either.”
Aliyah nodded. “It’s definitely not beef. Probably rat,” she said. She gave her bowl a poke. “Or maybe stray cat.”
“Gross,” Fiona said, shaking her head to get rid of the image. “Anyway, I mean I can’t believe I’m going to get cut from a hockey team!”
Aliyah waved her off. “You’re not going to get cut,” she said.
“But Coach Kelly said . . . ,” Fiona started.
“Don’t worry about that,” Selma cut in. “We’ll make sure you know what you need to know.”
Aliyah managed a small bite of her stew. It made her shudder. Then she said, “Right. Come over to my place after practice today and we’ll study.”
Fiona sighed. “I can’t believe I have to study that dumb booklet or get cut from the team,” she said.
“Forget the booklet,” Aliyah replied. “Selma and I know the rules. Plus we have lots of great videos. And we can practice in the park near Selma’s apartment.”
Selma nodded. “Definitely,” she said. “The soccer field will be a good place to practice.”
* * *
For the rest of the week, whenever Fiona wasn’t in class or doing her homework, she was with Selma and Aliyah, trying to learn all the rules of field hockey.
They watched hours of field hockey videos at Aliyah’s house. Some of the videos were of the middle school’s team from last season. Some of them were of great pro teams from all over the world. Fiona took notes and watched carefully.
They also spent hours running up and down the soccer field at the park. Fiona was finally getting used to that crazy candy-cane hockey stick.
By the end of the week, Fiona was feeling pretty ready for practice.
“This is the big day, Fiona,” Selma said. The three girls were changed and heading to the field for practice.
“Yeah,” Aliyah added. “Today Coach Kelly will decide if you get to stay on the team or not. How do you feel? Are you nervous?”
Fiona smiled. “I feel pretty good about it,” she said. “Quiz me.”
Selma thought for a second, and then asked, “How do we restart play after an injury?”
Fiona knew that one right away. “A bully,” she replied. “I’ll never forget that after last week.”
“Are you allowed to touch the ball, ever, with any part of your body?” Aliyah asked.
“Nope,” Fiona said. “Not even to knock it down.”
“And what if you do touch the ball?” Selma asked quickly.
“It’s a penalty, called advancing,” Fiona replied. “I really know this stuff, thanks to you guys!”
“Sounds like it,” Aliyah agreed. “Now let’s show the coach.”
Fiona nodded as the girls headed toward the field. She was ready.