Playing With the Boys Read Online Free PDF Page B

she’s trying out on the field. So it’s cool because we’re, like—” She stopped abruptly, realizing she’d said “like” again. “Sorry,” she said quickly, then continued. “So we’re both defenders—me and Pickle—”
     
     
    “Pickle and I,” her dad corrected.
     
     
    “Pickle and I ,” Lucy emphasized. “And we get to practice together. I’m just happy because maybe we’ll get to be friends or something. Oh, and there’s Max.”
     
     
    “Max?” her dad questioned.
     
     
    “Short for Maxine. She seems pretty cool, too.” Just up from eighth grade, Max had been recruited by Martie this summer. With her short blond hair and slightly rebellious attitude, Max had so much confidence, she could even make the senior girls laugh. Lucy couldn’t help but be awed by the younger girl’s lack of intimidation—and by what a strong player she was. Every shot on goal that Max took, she made. Not to mention, she was fast . Max had been clinically diagnosed as hyperactive, although Lucy wondered if that was due to the twenty Pixy Stix she consumed daily.
     
     
    “Well it sounds like this team was just what you needed, kid,” her dad said, pleased, as he helped himself to more coffee.
     
     
    Lucy nodded. “Yeah, I think it is.” As she scooted her cup closer for a refill and watched her dad pour, she decided that the glass—or in this case, coffee mug—was definitely looking half full.
     
     
     
That afternoon, Martie divided the girls up into teams in order to scrimmage. Lucy was placed on a team led by Carla, as were Karen, Heather, and Jamie, who was an amazing senior defender. Lucy played stopper, nearly the last line of defense before the goalie, a position that always felt like it came with a lot of pressure—probably because it did.
     
     
    Twice the other side scored, and both times, Lucy felt responsible. Carla instructed her to get more aggressive. “Don’t wait to go to the ball!” she ordered. “Step up!”
     
     
    Lucy was caught off guard by Carla’s intensity. She’d expected that kind of tone to come from Charlie. She nodded obediently. “I know. Sorry.”
     
     
    Carla softened a little. “Listen, just clear it. If it gets anywhere near the box, just clear it!” She patted Lucy on the back. “You got this, okay? I’m being hard on you because I want you on the team.”
     
     
    Lucy nodded, blinking back tears. She knew Carla was just trying to help. She reminded herself that she could do this. That she needed to be aggressive. She remembered when she was eleven and scared to learn to snowboard. Her mom, a great skier, had stayed with her as she learned, encouraging her the entire time. As Lucy had taken face-plant after face-plant and had begun to cry, Lucy’s mom had told her, “You’re Tough Lucy! Tough Lucy doesn’t cry.
     
     
    She gets back up. She tries it again.” By the end of the day, Lucy was not only staying up on her snowboard, she was actually turning!
     
     
    Now, on the soccer field, Lucy told herself to be Tough Lucy. This time, when Charlie passed the ball across the field, in Max’s direction, Lucy sprinted forward. This ball was hers to clear. In one swift motion, she booted the ball, hard. It soared past half field, traveling at least thirty-five yards, right into the feet of Heather, her one open teammate. Heather trapped it perfectly.
     
     
    On the sidelines, Martie was stunned. Even the other girls gave Lucy a look.
     
     
    “Whoa,” Carla gasped. “Nice leg.”
     
     
    “And nice aim,” Carla added.
     
     
    Lucy beamed proudly. After a rough start, she felt like she’d finally shown Martie what she could do. Now she just needed to do it about fifty more times.
     
     
    After practice, Lucy considered calling her dad for a ride, but knowing he was working late all week, she suspected she’d be waiting outside school for a while. She saw Charlie, Carla, Pickle, and Max walking to Charlie’s car and could hear their