Chapter Text
Adequately Concealed
~Chapter 1~
“The New Kid”
“Bzz bzz bzz bzz!”
Alex Morgan groaned loudly as she listened to her alarm clock buzz in her ear, its pitch increasing by the second. Rolling over with some difficulty, the twelve-year-old girl slammed her fist down on the machine, effectively silencing it. After treating herself to just a few more seconds of relaxation, she began to wriggle underneath her bed sheets, trying to free herself from the place she longed to stay but knew she could not. Slowly she pulled herself to a sitting-up position. The seventh-grader rubbed her sleepy eyes and peered around the room, blinking to adjust her vision to the morning light that was then seeping through her window. Her eyes swept across her bedroom, mapping out where she needed to go and what she needed to do in the next few minutes. When her gaze finally left the closet and fell upon an already-packed black and hot pink duffel bag, her posture immediately straightened itself as she perked up, realizing what the day held for her. Although she was quite dismayed that it was the first day of the new school year, she felt her mood gradually shift from “Uuugh. . .” to “Yes!!!”
With renewed and abundant energy, Alex hopped gleefully out of bed and quickly dressed herself in a pair of purple running shorts and a white golf polo, both Nike brand, her favorite. Grabbing both her school backpack and duffel bag, the blue-eyed brunette waltzed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her mother was pouring maple syrup onto a plate of freshly-heated waffles. Pam Morgan passed the plate to her youngest daughter, Alex, who graciously accepted the prepared breakfast after setting down her bags. Several moments later, Alex’s two older sisters rambled into the room and began to eat their waffles, too.
“Ready to go?” Pam asked Alex after she had rapidly finished her breakfast, who only nodded an affirmative on her way out the door, backpack slung across her left shoulder, duffel bag in hand.
The young girl opened the door to the van and tossed her burdens in, then turned around and stole a glance down the street. Staring back at her was a boy of her own age who was also readying for departure to Diamond Bar Middle School, the same school as Alex. He flashed a quick smile and nodded his head at her in acknowledgement. She smiled back and waved briefly. The two neighbors had a history of hanging-out, but their frequent study or soccer training sessions had ended roughly a year ago when the pair began attending middle school and developed a disease known best as “cooties.” Once it had been found socially unacceptable for the boy and girl to be seen together so often, their friendship had gradually grown apart until it barely existed.
“I kind of miss Servando.” Alex sighed to herself as she watched the seventh-grade boy, whose attention had turned away from the girl down his street, run a hand through his short black hair.
“He’s only gotten cuter, right?” Alex gave a start at hearing her sister’s voice sneak up from behind. Blushing hard, she turned around to face the older girl.
“Well? Hasn’t he?” Jeni demanded, a smirk widening across her face.
“Servando? Um, ahhh. . .” Alex stuttered. Her hand moved to scratch her neck, a sure indicator of how nervous she was. She was saved from having to answer, however, as Pam and Jeri emerged from the Morgan residence. Loading the van, the quartet drove off toward Diamond Bar Middle School.
“Have a good day, dear!” her mother called to her from inside their car. “Text me when soccer tryouts are over so I can come pick you up.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Alex said, waving as she watched the Morgans drive down the street to drop off her two siblings at the high school.
Sighing, she turned around and began her ascent up the steps toward the school’s entrance. Among the many groups of adolescent boys and girls standing around, the brunette spotted a group of three particular girls standing underneath a wide oak tree. She instantly recognized two of them, Lauren Cheney and Amy Rodriguez, two eighth-graders who had played for the school’s soccer team last year, but her vision of the third was obscured by Lauren. Another eighth-grade soccer player zoomed up to the trio from behind Alex, causing her hair to rustle in the newly-formed wind.
“Hey, girls!” She immediately began chatting with the group under the oak.
“Hi, HAO,” replied Amy. She tilted her head toward the fourth girl. “This is Tobin Heath. She’s new here. Tobin, this is Heather; we call her HAO, often.”
Alex found her pace slowing down as she walked by the older girls. Tobin, she thought to herself, that’s a weird name. Cautiously she risked a couple of quick glances at the group, straining to listen in on their conversation. The fourth, unknown girl was steadily coming into view for her.
“Hey, Tobin!” HAO greeted the new girl enthusiastically. “Heather O’Reilly.” She offered her hand to the girl.
“Hi, Heather; it’s nice to meet you,” Tobin replied, shaking hands with O’Reilly.
As Alex moved past the group, she witnessed a large grin from Tobin to Heather that caused her to almost stop dead in her tracks. The girl’s white teeth carried a near-blinding affect, shaking Alex to the core. Her smile was warm and friendly, almost urging the seventh-grader want to walk up and introduce herself, also. But Alex treaded onward to find her new locker inside the school.
Alex felt her body stiffen in her chair in an attempt to refocus her attention. Muttering to herself, she wished in vain that World History had not been the first class of her school day; however, it would continue to be so for the next several months.
A sigh of relief escaped the brunette’s lips as the bell rang, signaling the end of first period. Dismissed from their classes, the young adolescents shuffled their way into the hall, where they sought their lockers. Alex found herself a couple of steps away from last year’s locker before realizing that she had a new one this year. She continued on down the hallway until finding her new locker and retrieved her algebra textbook, replacing it with her history books. Then she made her way to the next classroom, where the teacher was writing a couple of easy practice problems and the steps to solve them on the board. She took a seat in the far left corner, opened her book to page one, and waited patiently as her fellow schoolmates lazily filed inside.
Although Algebra 1 was typically an eighth-grade class, Alex’s above-average arithmetic skills had placed her a full grade-level above most of the seventh-graders. She did, however, recognize Servando Carrasco, Ashlyn Harris, and Carli Lloyd, three equally-advanced students with her in this second period class. As Alex’s gaze searched the filling room to identify the kids around her, she caught sight of her best friend, twelve-year-old Kelley O'Hara, who carelessly dropped her textbook onto the desk immediately to the right of Alex and plopped herself into the chair.
“Al!” she exclaimed, her eyes bright and mouth smiling widely.
Startled at the loud noise, Alex jumped in her seat. “Kel! Don’t scare me like that,” she mockingly complained.
“Teaches you to always be on the lookout for your best friend,” her slightly shorter companion snubbed. Alex gave her an eye-roll. “So,” a bubbly Kelley continued, “excited for tryouts today?”
“You know I am,” Alex replied happily, emotion flickering across her face. It was what both young ladies had been waiting for ever since the spring season had let out. “You?”
“I’m nervous,” Kelley said, running her hand through her as she did so frequently. Then, she dropped her voice a little lower and peered around the room. “Those eighth-graders are fierce, Al.”
Alex shrugged. “They may be reigning division champs, Kel, but don’t forget that our sixth-grade team last year went eight, one, and one. They’re only one year older than us.” The twelve-year-old appeared calm on the outside, but on the inside, she was just as nervous as Kelley.
Kelley bit her lip as they gazed in unison toward Lauren Cheney, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Abby Wambach, three eighth-graders who had excelled on the field for their school last year. Alex and Kelley sat quietly in their seats and observed the room full of thirteen-year-olds casually interacting with each other. Movement in the doorway caused Alex’s attention to turn toward the last person to enter the room. Her heart stopped when she saw that it just so happened to be the new girl, Tobin Heath. Alex couldn’t help but stare at her as she walked to the last empty seat and sat down one row ahead of her and three chairs to the right. Kelley looked back at Alex and, seeing her mesmerized, traced her pal’s gaze to Tobin.
“I think she’s new here,” Kelley subtly commented after a long, uncomfortable silence between the two friends. “Has a funny name. . . Toby, or something?”
“Tobin Heath,” Alex quietly replied. “I saw her talking with Lauren, Amy, and Heather before school started.”
“Oh, wow, she’s already made some friends? Good for her.”
Alex only nodded her head in agreement. Kelley, frustrated that her companion was in a daze, sighed deeply and faced the front of the room. After a few seconds’ pause, she turned back to make another comment, but the bell rang abruptly. The teacher greeted his students and then proceeded to explain the fundamentals of algebra.
“So we see that if we subtract five from this side and add it to the other side, x equals six,” he rambled. Most of the class didn’t care to pay attention to him because they had already learned how to solve simple equations long ago. Kelley looked over to her left and noticed Alex staring ahead, concluding that her best friend was awfully absorbed in the boring lecture. However, after a couple more seconds of scrutinizing, she realized that Alex’s gaze still rested on the new girl, Tobin.
“Alex,” she whispered. “What are you looking at?”
“Hmm?” a zoned-out Alex responded, unaware of the question that she had been asked.
“Al, what are you looking at?” Kelley asked. When she didn’t get an answer, she repeated herself yet again, her voice a little harsher.
“Miss O'Hara, is there something you wish to share with the class?” the teacher questioned.
Alex snapped back into focus and turned toward Kelley, along with the rest of the class. Kelley froze and turned her attention back to the lecture. “No sir,” she responded, blushing.
“Good. As I was saying. . .” The teacher continued, and soon the rest of their classmates resumed listening. Kelley shot Alex a look that said, “Really?” But to her dismay, there was no effect, as Alex had already focused back onto the new girl.
Just under an hour later, the bell rang again, signifying the end of the second period. Immediately Kelley shot up out of her chair, ready to leave. As she headed for the door, she looked over toward Alex to see if her best friend was following, but grew even more miffed at the girl who continued to stare at Tobin. Kelley stomped over toward Alex and snapped her fingers in her face.
“Al, really?” she asked harshly.
“What, Kel?” Alex responded as she stood up, still lethargic.
The shorter girl ran her hand through her silky brown hair and let out a deep sigh. She cautiously looked over at the new kid. Tobin Heath leaned against her desk with her arms crossed in a casual manner, soaking in every word of the fast-paced conversation between Cheney, Sauerbrunn, and Wambach about the women’s soccer game last night.
“Let’s go,” Kelley said softly. She reached the doorway before realizing that she lacked her follower. But when she turned around to motion to Alex to continue walking, she found her buddy moving toward the small group.
Clutching her textbook tightly to her chest, the brunette slowly made her way over to the four eighth-grade soccer players. As she drew closer, Alex was thankful that they didn’t pay her any attention. She slipped into the space between Lauren and Becky as nonchalantly as possible, careful not to display her nervousness.
“And when the ref pulls out that yellow?” Wambach continued to ramble to the other girls.
“That was definitely bogus,” Cheney agreed. “It was no worse than what they did against us not five minutes ago.”
“Referees, man. What can you do?” Abby smiled an unbelieving smile and folded her arms, leaning against a desk in the same relaxed manner as Tobin next to her.
“Don’t yell at them,” Sauerbrunn replied in a sarcastic tone pointed at the tallest girl.
“Two minutes later. . .” Lauren added for her.
“Referee! Referee! Did you see that?” Becky blasted.
“Oh geez,” Abby rolled her eyes, laughing along with the group.
“I think I almost spit out the water I was drinking when Mia sent that last one in,” Alex cut in, eager to make her presence known. Suddenly four pairs of eyes turned onto the newcomer. She felt like shrinking. But Morgan held both her ground and her smile. Alex looked toward Heath, whose soft smile reassured her.
“I would have, too, if I had been drinking anything,” Tobin added, immediately comforting the youngest girl by inviting her into their conversation. A short silence ensued as the five young ladies stared at the ground, smiled, and laughed awkwardly. Then, from across the room, Kelley audibly cleared her throat.
Lauren checked the clock on the wall. “Oh. Becky, we probably ought to head over to history.”
“Right behind ya.”
The two girls shuffled out of the classroom past an impatient yet quietly watching and waiting Kelley. For just a little longer, the remaining threesome continued to glare hard at the ground. Abby looked at her wristwatch and sighed.
“Onto the next one, right?” Tobin and Alex nodded their heads and smiled self-consciously. As she straightened up to walk away, Abby clapped the new girl on the back. “I’ll see ya at tryouts later, Heath?”
“Definitely,” came the strong and deep reply. With that, the taller eighth-grader strode out of the room.
Deciding that she had waited long enough, Kelley crossed over to her best friend. “Alexandra Morgan, I swear, if you make me late for the next class. . .”
The youngest girl snapped back into reality at the harsh tone of O'Hara. “Sorry, Kel,” she replied. Tobin flashed them a grin and a slight wave. Happily, Alex returned the smile and wave, while Kelley gave a brief smile before turning and leaving, this time with Alex in tow.
Morgan trudged down the hall after her near life-long friend with a giddy, unmovable smile brightening her face. Although Kelley noticed the distinct change in her, she pretended not to as they walked side-by-side toward science class.
While sitting in the rest of her classes, Alex paid only half her attention and probably half the required attention to the lessons. Instead, images of the new, tan-skinned eighth-grader floated into her head, causing her to lose focus easily. She wasn’t sure what it was about the girl that intrigued her. Perhaps it was her delicate, warm smile or her squinty hazel eyes. Maybe it was her mannerisms. The way she conducted herself; her posture, so comfortable and at-ease. Whatever it was, it never left Alex’s train of thought throughout the day. All day long she found herself constantly on the lookout for this new girl—while passing in the hallway or at lunch. Not once did she ever see Tobin Heath alone; she was always with Lauren, Heather, or Amy. When eye contact was made, Tobin and Alex exchanged smiles before quickly averting their gazes. The younger managed to sneak in several glances at the older across the room during lunch, but not enough to irritate Kelley, who continued conversing next to her as though she had Alex’s full attention.
As school let out, Alex pressed herself tightly against her locker, trying desperately to avoid the slew of middle schoolers trampling down the hallway and out the door. When she caught sight of her freckle-faced friend pushing her way towards her, the blue-eyed brunette withdrew what she needed from her locker. Shoving everything into her backpack, Alex greeted her eccentric comrade.
“Hey, Kel—ready to go?” she asked, slinging her pack onto one shoulder.
Fiercely Kelley gripped the straps on her own backpack. She gritted her teeth. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
With the hallway crowd thinning out, the duo made their way toward the girls’ locker room outside the soccer field. On the way they merged with Ashlyn Harris, Sydney Leroux, and Megan Rapinoe, three seventh-graders who were equally excited and anxious for soccer tryouts. Once they arrived at the locker room, they traded school books for soccer gear. Alex pulled off her golf polo, slipped on a t-shirt, and headed out onto the pitch. Joining six other players, they began solo stretching. Alex, along with Megan, was in the middle of the flamingo stretch when she spotted the four eighth-graders who had seemed to be sticking together for the majority of the day.
Oh, yeah, Alex thought to herself, mentally facepalming. Abby had mentioned something about tryouts to Tobin earlier. Hmm. Well, this ought to be interesting. Butterflies danced in her stomach although she wished they wouldn’t.
Alex and Kelley hopped next to Shannon Boxx, Meghan Klingenberg, Christen Press, and Christie Pearce, who were in the middle of various stretches. Soon, the small group was joined by Ashlyn, Sydney, Megan, Becky, and Abby. Trickling in came Ali Krieger, Carli Lloyd, and Hope Solo. Last to show up were Lauren, Tobin, Heather, and Amy.
Alex felt her heart unwillingly skip a beat as she watched the four eighth-graders join the rest of them in on-field stretches. The way they trotted onto the field in unison, laughing at a private joke shared between them by HAO, gave her a slight tinge of jealousy.
“Butterfly stretch!” Abby called gleefully after a few more minutes of solo stretching.
Butterflies, Alex mumbled to herself. Much to her chagrin, her stomach had begun to churn with them. Pleeease stop, she silently begged of it, though it didn’t change a thing.
Instantly the players on the field sank to the vibrant green grass, seating themselves onto the ground. With their feet tucked together and drawn tightly to their bodies, the girls’ long legs folded on either side, giving the impression of two wings. From across the circle, Alex observed Tobin struggle to grasp her cleats together and pull them toward her while giggling at an off-handed comment by Lauren. The seventh-grader unintentionally let a broad smile creep across her face.
“What’s so funny, Al?” Kelley leaned over and asked with a lifted eyebrow. In response Alex nodded her head toward the group across the circle from them. Relieved that it wasn’t anything big, Kelley’s features relaxed slightly. But as her mind processed this, her brow crinkled again in puzzlement, and she once again absentmindedly ran a hand through her dark hair. Although she was all-for Alex making new friends, she couldn’t see what made her best bud obsess so much over the new girl. To Kelley she seemed nice, but then again, they had only seen her from a distance. The shorter girl resolved not to make any judgement calls. Still, the way Alex stared at Tobin was a bit of a mystery.
While the soccer players continued to stretch out their muscles, their coach walked up, staring at the clipboard in her hand. Once the girls finished their stationary stretches on the ground, she signaled for Abby to line everyone up across the face of the goal, where the team co-captain of last year led the rest of the athletes through a few more stretches and some jogging. After that was accomplished, the coach blew her whistle. The players gathered around her.
“Hi, everyone! Most of you eighth-graders should know me from last year, but for those who are new to this team, I’m Coach Tracy. I’d like to thank all of you for coming out today and trying-out for this team. To start out, I want you all to pair up. Grab a ball and start passing about ten yards away; work on controlled passes and trapping it when it comes to you before you pass it back.”
At that the girls broke off. Kelley looked over toward Alex with the intent of partnering with her, but her buddy had already begun making her way toward Tobin. Should’ve guessed, Kelley muttered to herself. She waited for the crowd to clear before pulling out a ball and tossing it from hand to hand, looking around to see who else didn’t have a partner. When she saw that the only other person was eighth-grade goalkeeper Hope Solo, the best middle school keeper in the entire state, she cringed slightly and made a face. Uh-oh, Kelley thought. She surely won’t want to kick with me. But Hope caught her glance and flagged her down with a friendly smile on her face. Begrudgingly, Kelley moved over to be in-line with the tall girl and plopped her ball down. She wound up and sent the ball several yards wide of Hope.
“Sorry!” she called, blushing.
“No problem,” the older girl replied with her head down, sticking her thumb up as she chased the fast-moving ball across the field.
Meanwhile, Alex sent a perfect pass rolling straight for her partner. Satisfied, she smiled. The younger girl had been nervous in asking Tobin if she would pair up with her, figuring that she would already be taken, but the older girl had just grinned, saying, “Sure thing.”
Tobin trapped the ball by placing her left foot on top of it. Then, she kicked it swiftly back to Morgan. Alex stopped the line-drive pass with ease and responded with a pass in the air. The older girl moved to let it slide down her thigh upon contact, her focus never straying. After about ten minutes of passing, Coach instructed them to scoot back to twenty yards. Then, thirty yards. Diligently, the two continued to pass back and forth, as did the other groups.
A few more minutes and several wild passes across-field from many of the girls later, each pair moved in closer to work on “knock-downs,” where one partner tossed the ball at the other, who had to settle the ball. Alex looked on with awe at Tobin’s total command over any ball that came near the girl. The seventh-grader’s settling skills were not as polished and refined as Heath’s, but they were still admirable. Although it didn’t happen often, Tobin laughed when Alex wouldn’t get to a header in time and utterly miss the ball. Unashamed, Alex joined in. Of course she wanted to try her best to impress the older girl, but both knew she was far from Abby when it came to headers.
About an hour in, Coach blew her whistle, signaling a water-break. No one was quite exhausted yet, but all knew the importance of hydration. Besides, Coach promised that the intensity would be kicked-up in the next hour.
Alex jogged over to the bench alongside Tobin. Giving her a high-five, Morgan smiled over at the new girl.
“You are amazing at ball handling,” Alex commented, wide-eyed.
“I guess I’m all right,” Heath replied humbly, grinning.
“You’re more than all right,” said Wambach, walking up from behind. She slapped Tobin on the back as she passed by. “I think you’re way better than me.”
“And when Abby Wambach says that, she’s saying a lot,” Megan butted-in, grinning. When Abby playfully lurched for her, she ran away to the other side of the bench. The taller girl shook her head and walked over to Christie and Hope, leaving Alex and Tobin together. Noisily they sipped from their water jugs, but silence was mostly dominant between the two. Alex winced as her stomach danced. Just kill it already, she thought. Exhaling a deep breath, she rubbed her palm across her forehead to wick away the sweat that had formed. Morgan stole a glance at Heath, who stood next to her, staring off into space and hoisting her water jug to her lips every now and then.
“So, uh. . .” Alex began nervously. Tobin looked over and gave her a cheeky smile, wordlessly encouraging her to continue. “New here?” she sputtered out.
“Yeah,” Tobin replied coolly. Wow. . . thought Alex, who saw no confidence issues in the older girl. “Moved here this summer. From Basking Ridge. Dad got a job transfer.”
“Basking Ridge? Don’t think I’ve heard of that before.”
“It’s in New Jersey,” she informed matter-of-factly.
Shocked, Alex replied, “New Jersey? You don’t have a Jersey accent.”
Tobin grinned and gave a fist-pump in the air. Alex laughed. “Yeah. . .” Tobin squinted into the distance before returning her gaze back to the seasoned Cali citizen.
“Well, um. . . do you like it here? California?”
“It’s a little different,” the new girl admitted, shrugging her head and grinning all the while. “The weather’s nice.”
“Oh, it’s beautiful. . .” added Alex.
“I can’t wait to go surfing,” Tobin stated. She hesitated when Alex didn’t say anything else. “Know any good places?”
“Huh?” Alex uttered. “Oh. I’ve never been surfing before. But, uh. . . Kelley does it all the time with her family.” She pointed to the shorter girl across the way, standing next to Hope. “I could ask her.”
“Cool, thanks.” The two returned to staring into their water jugs.
“Um. . . I’m Alex,” said Morgan finally.
Heath stuck her hand out. “Tobin Heath,” she replied. Alex gingerly reached out and clapped her hand to the older girl’s. Tobin shook it firmly.
Just then, Coach blew her whistle again, calling off the water-break.
“All right, ladies, let’s try out something called the Shield Drill. Give me two circles with one person and a ball in the middle of each circle.”
Moving to comply, the girls broke off into two different groups and stood in circles. Alex followed Tobin, who joined Cheney, HAO, and A-Rod. Also in their group were Kelley, Hope, Megan, and Sydney. For the other group, Pearcey strode confidently into the center, while Alex’s group’s members stood uncomfortably, bearing Coach’s waiting stare. Finally, Megan cracked under the pressure and stepped inside the ring. Satisfied, Coach began to explain the idea.
“The person in the middle has a ball,” she started, tossing a soccer ball into each circle, “and their objective is to maintain possession. So Rapinoe’s got the ball, and she’s trying to protect it until she can find someone to pass it to. I’ll send in random players to try and steal it from her, and she tries to hang on to it. The purpose of the drill is learning how to maintain possession by putting your body in between the other player and the ball. If you push back on them with your backside, you’ll put even more space between them and the ball.” Coach moved to the center and placed a foot on Rapinoe’s ball. “Try to steal it,” she told her.
Megan stuck her foot out in a lame attempt to take the ball away, but Coach lightly tapped it farther out in front of her and moved her body to block Megan’s pathway to the ball. When Megan tried a second time with a little more verve, Coach carefully pushed herself back into the young girl, keeping the ball out of Megan’s reach. The two fought for a few more seconds before Megan stopped, knowing it was futile.
“Got it?” she asked the young athletes, who nodded an affirmative. “Okay, when I point at you, go attack until I tell you to stop. Once Rapinoe and Pearce have done everyone, we’ll switch out the middle so everyone gets a turn.” Coach pointed at Lauren and Carli in their respective circles. “Go!”
With her back turned toward Lauren, Megan had little time to react before figuring out who she was up against. Cheney jabbed for the ball and knocked it a few feet from Megan, but not enough to make her lose it entirely. The next jab was unsuccessful as Rapinoe pushed back forcefully into Lauren. The pair fought equally for a few seconds as if it were tug-of-war, Lauren trying to shove into Megan while Megan tried to push Lauren away. Each time Cheney tried to slip to the left or right of Rapinoe, the younger girl, not giving an inch, would instinctively turn her body and move with her.
Coach pointed discreetly at two other players in the circle, signaling that they were next. When she blew the whistle, calling off Lauren and Carli, the next challengers, Ali and Meghan, sprang into the middle. After Ali and Rapinoe tousled, Tobin was quietly called up next to go after the ball. Rapinoe struggled valiantly against the older, stronger girl, but as Tobin faked left, Rapinoe jumped to cover. This move opened up the right side for Tobin, who sidestepped the younger girl and victoriously dribbled the ball back to her spot in the ring. Cheers abounded for her as she reached over and gave Rapinoe a grin and a high-five for effort. Alex couldn’t help but smile at the casual display of good sportsmanship.
When she received the go-ahead whistle next, Morgan was determined to also steal the ball and impress her potential teammates—especially Tobin. Coming up from behind Megan, her speed surprised the girl. Hungry and feisty, she appeared on the left of Rapinoe and pushed her hip against the girl’s, effectively gaining position. She used her right foot to sweep the ball away from Rapinoe and toward her left foot, where she pulled it back into her possession. Megan’s posture slumped in quick defeat, but an ecstatic Alex smiled and playfully shoulder-bumped the young athlete, who returned the smile and shoulder-bump.
“Ya win for now, Morgan,” the Pinoe, winking at Alex. It was the best compliment she could muster to her friend. But Alex was fine with this, because the praise she really sought was Tobin’s. As she merged back into her spot in the circle, she glanced at her across the way. The older girl beamed at her. Alex felt herself helplessly inflating with pride.
The group looked on as HAO challenged Rapinoe. It was nearly even, with each girl dead-set on winning the ball. As the battle raged on, Pinoe made a bad touch, allowing O’Reilly to stretch her leg out and swipe it back to her control. But Megan wasn’t one to give up easily. The blonde slide-tackled the older girl, who never saw it coming. Both players ended up flat on the ground as the ball bounced harmlessly out of the circle. Each sprung up, determined to retrieve it, but Coach blew her whistle to reset.
Alex held her breath when she watched the next contender sprint for Rapinoe. A look of surprise at the speed of the oncoming girl registered on Megan’s face, and she could hardly blink before the ball was kicked away from between her legs. Pinoe chased after it, but Tobin Heath had already gotten there. Her smile read, “All too easy.” With good sportsmanship, Tobin reached out and gave a still-stupefied Megan a fist-bump. A couple of players whistled in admiration at the new girl, but Alex was too stunned to do anything but stare at her.
After Megan’s hard-fought turn at shielding expired, Tobin moved into the middle. Coach sent Kelley in, who managed to get a touch on the ball, but not enough to possess it. Cheney tried valiantly, but Tobin made her job look easy. In the process of keep-away, Tobin somehow managed to legally land A-Rod flat on the ground, causing laughter to ensue. HAO was tough, but nothing the talented transfer couldn’t handle. Sydney couldn’t maneuver around Tobin, who was light on her feet and defending the ball as if her life depended on it. Feisty Rapinoe wouldn’t give up on her task to steal the ball from Tobin Heath. She eventually wore the eighth-grader down to the wire but came out unsuccessful. Tall goalkeeper Hope Solo was a big challenge—literally—but Heath’s fancy footwork won her the bout against the larger girl. She counted off her opponents in her head. Two, three, four. . . Six, seven. . . That left only one person.
She turned her head immediately to watch Alex charge toward her. Sprinting hard, the seventh-grader’s sheer speed surprised Tobin. Etched into her rushing figure were all the marks of determination. Tobin took this as a challenge—one that she decided that she needed to win.
With the soccer ball a few feet in front of her, she placed her right foot on top to gain control. Alex grew miffed when the older girl continued to block her path toward the sought-after object. Resisting to play dirty with an arms-extended shove, she opted to place a forearm against Heath’s back in an attempt to better manage her position. The new girl cautiously peered over her shoulder to spot Alex, trying to maintain a bearing on where she was and what she was planning to do next. Alex feigned left but quickly switched to drive right. Applying pressure with her forearm, the brunette held off Tobin. The move only granted her a split-second window, won by sheer surprise, as Tobin took her foot off the ball to steady herself, but that moment was all she needed to claim her victory. With a knowing smile, Alex launched herself toward the coveted object and pulled the ball back to her with her foot. Tobin, knowing that it was already over after having just glimpsed the younger girl’s skills, made a lazy jab with her right leg, but Alex easily swept the ball toward herself. It was now in her possession, and it wasn’t about to leave any time soon. Cheers for the seventh-grader rang out amongst those standing by.
Coach blew the whistle. While walking back, Alex nudged the ball toward a defeated Tobin with a wink and a grin as Tobin smirked back, pretending to be thoroughly upset. Kelley gave her a high-five.
When it came to be Alex’s turn at shielding, the young girl proved herself a force to be reckoned with. She lost control to Rapinoe, who smiled back coyly in revenge, Leroux, and A-Rod, but held her own versus the rest in her group. That is, until Tobin Heath was thrown into the mix. Alex’s mind raced, trying to guess what moves Heath would attempt to pull on her, but Tobin appeared to be all focus and determination. In one moment Alex was leaning against Heath, pressing her sweat-soaked shirt against her back and Tobin’s front. Then in the next moment, Alex was struggling to stand. Arms flailing, she fell hard onto the ground. Immediately she looked up and saw Tobin Heath, who had backed up and, sidestepping to let her opponent fall, capture the ball and flash Alex a cocky grin. Even though she had lost, the brunette couldn’t resist smiling back. Especially when Tobin reached out a hand and hoisted the twelve-year-old up.
“Gotcha there,” she said, all smiles. Alex steamed and shook her head. She made it a mental note to never again throw her entire weight against Tobin Heath.
The groups merged again, and Alex watched the new girl excel at the cone drills. Fluidly she moved through the obstacles at full-speed as if the ball were part of her—as if it belonged there. Not that Alex herself fumbled through the course. She prided herself on being the star striker for last year’s championship team in sixth-grade with astonishing footwork. But when she watched Tobin Heath. . .
“Alex!” Kelley hissed from behind her.
“Huh?” Morgan responded, turning her gaze off Tobin and onto the new voice in her ear.
“You’re up! Go!”
Kelley caught Alex staring at the new girl work the drill with astonishing speed several times after that, but said nothing more. She found her best friend’s lack of focus disturbing, but at the same time was incredibly curious at the cause of it. I’ll have to ask her about it later, she told herself.
After several different courses of cones, Coach called for yet another quick water break. Alex scouted for Tobin, who was on the opposite end of the bench. She took a couple of steps toward the older girl before stopping; Tobin was already lost in conversation with Lauren and Amy. She sighed, absent in thought. A tap in the shoulder jolted her back to her senses. Alex whirled.
“Oh, hey, Syd. Nice moves out there.”
“Thanks, Al. You too.” the dark-skinned girl praised.
“Uh, sure,” Alex replied, only half-focused on their conversation. She threw a glance in the opposite direction of Sydney to where Tobin was chatting it up with her buddies. Turning back to Sydney, she frowned. “Tobin made me look like a fool.”
Sydney laughed. “Kind of a nasty spill you took, eh?”
“Yeah. But you didn’t help me look any better, either,” Alex jokingly pouted to her friend. “Just a few more seconds and I would’ve had you. Thanks a lot!”
“Well, you know, when you’ve got this much skill, it’s hard to keep under wraps.” Sydney gestured to herself and winked at Alex, earning a soft punch in the arm. After the pair drank a few more swallows, the whistle once again sounded.
“All right, then, everyone,” Coach began as the players surrounded her at midfield. “Let’s split up into teams for a scrimmage. Go back to your circles from the Shield Drill.” Alex and the rest of the girls moved to comply, adolescent cheers ringing out. With a hand stroking her chin, Coach looked on at the two groups and sorted them out in her head, using a finger to count silently.
“We could just do eighth-graders versus seventh-graders,” Becky suggested with a smirk. Murmurs of concurrence from her fellow eighth-graders rang around the pitch. Amy and Christie high-fived. Hope clapped. Abby nodded.
“What!” shrieked a concerned Kelley. Subconsciously she ran a hand through her hair, all the way to her high ponytail.
“Yeah, why not?” confident seventh-grader Carli added her approval, eyeing the older players. “We can take ‘em, no problem.”
Coach paused in thought. “That could work. Nine on nine. Is that what you all want?”
Alex shot a nervous glance at Tobin, Lauren, and HAO, who had already separated themselves from her circle. She noticed the spring in Tobin’s step and a cocky grin. Suddenly, she became determined to prove herself just as good as the older players. “I’m okay with that.”
The girls stood and stared at each other. The eighth-graders seemed to almost be daring the younger ones to back down from the challenge. After no one complained, Coach clapped her hands and said, “All right. Eighth-graders on this side, seventh-graders on that side. Uh, let’s see here. . .” She looked down at her clipboard in her hand. “Pearce and Wambach, eighth-grade captains. Seventh-grade. . . Let’s have Lloyd and Morgan. You’ve got two minutes until kickoff.”
The seventh-graders ran to the penalty box at the other side of the field and joined together in a tight huddle. They looked to their captains for instructions. Carli shot a glance at Alex, giving her the go-ahead to hand out positions. Alex swallowed and then leaned in farther, making eye contact with her players.
“Ashlyn, take goal. You’re our rock. Abby’s got a mean header, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Kriegs, Kling, you guys are defense. Their midfielders can lose their spot on the field easily, so make sure you track them and try to catch them offsides as much as possible. Carli, Pinoe, mids. Syd, Press, and I can be forwards.”
Kelley’s hand shot up in protest. “Uh, where do I go?”
Alex looked to Carli.
“I think we’ve got too many on the other side of the field. Their offensive game is strong,” said the other captain.
Alex nodded in concurrence. “Kelley, can you handle right-back?” she asked.
The younger girl frowned at her best friend. “I’ll try it.”
“Can we move Syd and Press down, too? Three, four, one?” suggested Carli.
Alex pondered this. “That could work. From left to right, that’d be Pinoe, you, Syd, Press?”
“Yeah. Carli and Syd can hold, Pressy and I can make runs up the sideline,” Rapinoe agreed.
Alex looked at each of her teammates. “Sound good?”
“Sounds great,” said Meghan.
Carli glanced at Coach, who was on the sideline enjoying a bottle of water, and concluded that they still had a little longer for strategy. “So we know Hope will be in goal. Christie and Becky will defend. HAO, Boxxy, and Cheney will likely run mid, which leaves Abby and A-Rod up top. Right?”
“I doubt they’ll leave the backfield so open,” Ali submitted. Carli pursed her lips.
“What about the new girl?” inquired Alex. Suffering a mean glare from Kelley at the mention of her new obsession, the young forward struggled to keep her head in the game.
“I don’t know anything about her,” Press stated. The rest of the team agreed with her. Tobin Heath was a mystery.
Coach dropped the ball into midfield and blew the whistle. Ashlyn scrambled to the sidelines to fetch her gloves and sprinted back to her box as Alex tapped the ball to Carli, signifying the beginning of the scrimmage. Carli sent it back to Sydney, who took it wide right. As the seventh-graders surged forward, the older team rushed at them.
Alex looked up to make a mental note on where the eighth-graders had lined up. Except for Tobin playing left-wing, her co-captain had been correct. Surprising them all, the state winners had indeed left their defense in the capable hands of just Christie and Becky. Abby and A-Rod sprinted up the middle in hopes to gain position on the younger team, HAO, Cheney, Boxxy, and Heath not far behind. Running a 2-4-2, the eighth-graders had stacked their midfield, with Shannon currently charging at Sydney.
Before Boxxy was within reach, Sydney found a seemingly uncovered Christen Press and decided to pass it off to her. But Tobin had long since anticipated this move, and she headed it off with ease. The direction of play changed as Heath advanced the ball down the sideline with the speed of light. The four seventh-graders at the other half of the field chugged back as quickly as possible, but were not going to make it in time. In front of the oncoming girl was Kelley O'Hara, who carried a chip on her shoulder, courtesy of Tobin. The right-back came out to challenge Tobin, but the new girl swiftly made a lateral move and dribbled right by before looking up to find Abby charging up the middle. With a left kick, Tobin floated the ball into the middle for the striker. Ashlyn prepared herself to face the tall athlete’s famous header. However, the short Meghan Klingenberg launched off the pitch first and headed it to the opposite side of the field, safely out of Wambach’s path. Large and full of momentum, though, Abby crashed into Kling, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
“Kling!” called her concerned teammates from around her. Displaying resilience, Meghan immediately rolled out from under the thicker girl and bounced right back to her position. Sighs of relief were mixed in with heavy breaths from the sprinting athletes.
Meanwhile, Krieger caught the ball and drove it up her left sideline. Once she drew in HAO, the defender launched it down the field, sending it high into the air and up for grabs. Carli trapped it and moved forward in the midfield, looking for her wingbacks. Pinoe, on her left, called for the ball, and Lloyd gave it up. Megan glanced up to see Alex, their lone striker, teetering on the edge of the defense. Waiting a few more seconds, Pinoe pushed it up the field. Once she had Pearcey finally commit to play out on her, she drilled it into the offensive third, where Alex got a step on the only other defender, Sauerbrunn. It was all the forward needed. Morgan got her first touch on the run and reared back for the shot. As she did so, she was so focused on the ball that she didn’t notice the star goalkeeper coming off the line. In the next moment, Alex found herself flying face-forward, landing on the grassy field with a resounding thud. No longer did she have the ball at her feet. Hope Solo had made the play. The eighth-grader didn’t even take a second to ponder whether or not she had made the right call to dive for the ball, clipping the younger girl’s legs in the process. It was what she had been called on to do.
Morgan picked her head up out of the dirt and gazed down the field. Having already beaten half of the seventh-graders, Shannon was pushing it down the middle. She shoveled it out to Tobin on the wing when Kelley challenged her. Alex watched her best friend struggle back to Tobin, but the new girl floated yet another beautiful pass into the rushing Wambach. This time, the ball was placed too high for Kling, and Abby dove at just the right angle to send the sphere whistling past goalkeeper Harris’ ears and outstretched arms. Alex finally picked her dazed self up off the ground as Hope from behind her joined the eighth-graders in erupting with glee. When Abby ran over and gave Heath a great big hug for the beautiful cross, Alex felt her heart melt in her chest. Although they had just been scored on, Morgan felt happy because Tobin was happy.
In the end, the eighth-graders ended up winning 3-1. The seventh-graders, though, proved that they could still compete, making plenty of runs. But pitted against the state’s best eighth-grade keeper, it wasn’t likely that many would go in. The younger team did manage to sneak one past Hope Solo. Pearcey , one of the two defenders and the only one back on that particular run, was forced to concede a corner kick in protecting their net. Rapinoe sent the ball flying perfectly across the goal line, and Carli Lloyd tracked it all the way as if there were nothing but her, the ball, and the net. Hope found herself defenseless against the volley that was sent with a powerful kick to the far corner, and just like that, it was a tie game.
The tie was soon to be broken, however, when HAO barreled one in from the top of the box, Kling trailing by half a step and Krieger moving to cover. Ashlyn got one hand on it, altering the direction, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the score. The older squad’s third and final goal came courtesy of Tobin yet again. Lauren was driving in when Meghan cut her off, so she sent it out wide to an open Heath. With Kelley challenging her, Tobin danced on the sideline, ball at her feet as if it belonged there. O'Hara wisely showed her the corner, which Tobin gladly maneuvered into. With one false step from the inexperienced defender and a ball sent right in-between said defender’s legs, Tobin received the clearance that she needed and escaped, her man following. The defense shifted to cover her, and when the new girl had drawn Klingenberg in a satisfactory distance, she crossed it into the middle for a streaking Amy Rodriguez to fire the close-range one-timer.
Carli and Alex rushed their downtrodden teammates to reset so that the scrimmage could continue, but after a well-defended shot by Morgan and a punt from Solo, the whistle blew. The eighth-graders whooped triumphantly while the younger squad held their heads down as the players gathered around Coach at midfield.
“Hey, cheer up, you guys,” Shannon spoke up in the circle. “A 3-1 loss isn’t bad.”
“She’s right.” Christie nodded her concurrence and smiled at the younger players. “That was a great set piece, nice kick from Rapinoe and excellent finish by Lloyd. Caught us a bit off guard.” The older athletes verbally agreed.
“Good job to both teams,” Coach stated. “Eighth-graders, I’m looking to you this year to lead us. These seventh-graders have a lot of potential; they just need a little experience. I’m counting on you all for some spectacular teamwork this year. We’ve got at least as much talent as last year, if not more. That being said, it’s time for everybody’s favorite part of practice.”
“Going home?” Abby asked jokingly, knowing what was coming next.
“Conditioning!” Coach said with a smile. The players groaned out loud.
“Eighth-graders, since you won, you get to pick what the seventh-graders get to do for conditioning.”
Devious smiles spread across their faces as HAO gathered the older players around her for a quick conference. The seventh-graders nervously fixed their ponytails and shifted their feet, awaiting their punishment. After about half a minute, the group broke up. While half of them were smiling, half looked on the seventh-graders with pity.
“The Pyramid,” O’Reilly told Coach, her smile broadening.
“To six,” Lauren added matter-of-factly.
“What’s the Pyramid?” Kelley asked, her face straightening. A few of the eighth-graders snickered.
“You start at one line and run to the other and back once in a certain time limit,” Becky informed. “Then, you go down and back twice. Then three times. If anyone fails to make the time limit, you have to do that stage again. It builds until you get to six. I think the first stage is ten seconds, then the second is twenty-four, the third is forty. . . ”
“Like a beep test. . . ?” Carli reasoned.
Sauerbrunn nodded her head. “Sort of.”
“Oh gosh,” Ali complained.
“You get a short break in between,” Lauren assured.
“Do goalkeepers have to do it, too?” Ashlyn inquired, hopeful. She didn’t get a response.
“What about the eighth-graders?” Alex piped, furious.
“Theirs is coming,” Coach assured. “Seventh-graders, line up across the face of the goal!” The younger players groaned but complied. “We’ll go to the fifteen-yard line,” she said, moving there. Since they were on a football field, they were able to use the lines and hash marks to define how far they would need to run. “Go!”
The first two weren’t difficult for Alex in the least. Everyone made it back to the starting point with seconds to go as Coach called the time. The third and fourth was where the struggle began, and by the fifth, only she, Carli, and Kelley made it back on time. They ran that one twice; the sixth stage took three tries. Each of them collapsed onto the pitch when they finally made it back in time, opting to never get back up. But the next orders from Coach wouldn’t let them stay.
“You guys, go get some water. Eighth-graders, on the line!” she said with a smile. Upon hearing this, the seventh-graders shot up immediately, more than happy to oblige. Not so with the older girls. Eyes widened. Mouths dropped. Players groaned. They slowly made their way over to the line.
Alex greedily chugged her water with the rest of her younger teammates while they watched the older girls preform the grueling drill that they had assigned to them. They watched Shannon and Abby miss the time limit on the third round just two yards shy, forcing the whole group to redo it. The fourth and fifth were completed, but just barely. The sixth took a couple of tries. At the end, they all collapsed just as the seventh-graders had minutes ago. Alex looked at Tobin’s sweat-glistened body and snickered on accident.
“Took us a lot longer,” Kling whistled from the sideline.
“They had shorter times,” Carli stated from next to her and Alex. “I’m surprised they got it on the second,” she said with respect in her voice.
“That’s all for today,” Coach finally said, looking at her watch. “I’ll post the roster outside my office tomorrow morning. Hit the showers and have a good day!” With that, she walked off. Heavy sighs of relief rang out from the players. Tryouts, which was really a fancy name for the first practice, was in the books.
Alex secretly prided herself on noticing that Tobin had made it back successfully each time. She located Tobin’s water jug, which had been sitting right next to hers, picked it up, and walked over to the new girl. Carli grabbed Abby’s and followed, Kelley holding Hope’s not far behind. The rest of the seventh-graders picked up on the idea and walked over to the older girls, good-naturedly handing them their waters. The older girls were incredibly thankful when the cool water hit the backs of their throats.
When Alex took Tobin’s to her, the girls eyes were closed, so she tipped it over, spilling the icy cold water onto the eighth-grader’s stomach.
“Ahhh!” Her eyes flew open as she screamed and sat up.
Alex jumped back, laughing, then timidly handed the jug over. Tobin relaxed from her sudden outburst and then broke out into a smile.
“Thank you,” she said politely, then lifted the spout up to her lips and tipped it back to drink. Alex watched the older girl greedily down the liquid.
“No prob,” the younger girl responded casually. Then, in a moment of uneasiness, she plopped herself down on the pitch next to the older girl, who didn’t bat an eye, thankfully. Alex picked at the grass while Tobin finished drinking. Heath pulled up her shirt to wipe the excess water on the rim of her mouth and then lifted it further to soak up the sweat all over her face, rubbing all over for several quick beats. Staring at the ground, Alex couldn’t help notice the girl’s shirt pulled up and subconsciously peered over out of the corner of her eye. All she could see was skin, very tan, before the image was gone from her eyes. Tobin sighed deeply as they sat there in silence for a few seconds.
“You’re a great player,” she said all of a sudden. “Had some great runs and shots on goal. And the way you tear across the field like nobody’s business.”
Alex blushed at the kind remark. “Thanks. . . My teammates from last year’s sixth-grade team always teased me about it, saying I gallop like a 'stallion,'” using air-quotes and a somewhat-disgusted face.
“A horse, huh?” Tobin laughed, and Alex couldn’t help but join in. “Maybe a baby horse.” She paused, her smile broadening. “Hey, I like that. Baby Horse.”
“Baby Horse?” Alex burst out incredulously.
“Baby Horse!” Kelley exclaimed as she walked by, snickering. “That’s a good one.”
“Oh, have we started nicknaming them already?” HAO, still lying on her back, asked from a few yards away.
Alex blushed even harder. She had forgotten that she and Tobin weren’t the only people still on the field. “Them?”
“You young guns!” Abby called as she strode past toward the locker room. “Oh, and Tobin. You’re a new kid, too.”
“We’ll need to have a brainstorming session next practice,” Pearcey commented.
“You can’t just assign someone a nickname,” complained Cheney. “They just sort of fall into place.”
“Like Alex’s,” Tobin stated. “It’s just in the way she runs. Baby Horse!”
“I’m not sure if I like the sound of that,” Alex said, cracking up.
“Show of hands for 'Baby Horse?’” Tobin asked. Immediately HAO’s and Sydney’s hands flew up, followed by Carli’s, and the six other players still present. “Baby Horse it is.” She smiled at Alex.
Alex groaned. “Whatever.” She pushed up off her palm and stood up, then bent over Tobin with her hand outstretched. The older girl looked at it and inhaled deeply before taking it and exerting some energy to pull herself up. Alex was worried that the older girl would pull her down, but fortunately she was able to hold her ground. Tobin grinned at her as she hauled herself up and began to follow her to the locker room before stopping. Curious, Alex turned around to see Tobin unscrewing the lid on her water jug and fishing out a piece of ice. With expertise she lobbed one right onto the face of Heather, who yelped at the sudden impact and coolness on her face. Tobin cackled, causing HAO to smile. She turned back to Morgan and jogged up next to the younger girl.
“So, uh. . .” the younger girl asked after a while, tense. “Did you play soccer over there?”
Tobin’s head snapped toward Alex, confused. “Huh?”
“New Jersey. Where you used to live. Did you play soccer over there?”
“Oh,” she replied coolly. Tobin peered up into the sunlight, squinting at the brightness. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve been playing competitive for a while now. I really think I want to try for a scholarship.”
“Oh, that’s neat,” Alex commented, genuinely fascinated. “Anywhere specific?”
“Um, I’m not sure.” Tobin scratched her head. “I’ve always been a fan of North Carolina.”
Alex laughed. “God, another Tarheel?” At this, Tobin threw her head back and laughed. “There’s too many of you,” the younger girl complained. “Ash, HAO, Kling. . .” Alex continued, “Well, I think you’re definitely on the right track. Those were some great moves earlier.”
Tobin blushed at the compliment. “Thanks.”
After a pause, Alex continued, “It wouldn’t surprise me if Coach starts you. I know they lost a lot of great players last year to high school after winning Regionals, so they’re probably looking to fill a few spots.”
“Well, best of luck to both of us, then,” Tobin responded with a grin. Alex beamed back. Her second conversation with the new girl was going well.
They came upon the locker room and, right as they entered, jumped back, startled. A shirtless Megan Rapinoe tore across the room, screaming vividly. Kelley O'Hara chased her, twirling a soppy hand towel above her head, an unhappy look on her face.
“I’m sorry!” Megan screamed as she streaked past players at their lockers. Ali watched the spectacle and sighed. Ashlyn giggled.
“Ya will be when I get through with you!” Kelley responded, hopping on top of a bench to avoid ramming into Becky and Hope.
Alex and Tobin loitered in the doorway, unsure of what to do. They didn’t want to be trampled. From behind them Carli politely pushed her way past and strode over to her locker without even noticing Megan rushing at her full-blast. The impact sent Lloyd flying into Press’ locker. Flesh clashed against metal with a sickening thud, and Alex watched as all breath left her teammate. Megan stumbled backward from the opposite reaction and into Kling’s arms. The small defender caught the taller girl and nearly tumbled into her own locker, but was able to hold her ground.
Kelley came to a skidding stop. “See what ya did now?” she half-scoffed, half-joked. She popped Megan’s calf with her damp towel for good measure before moving to check on Carli, recovering from her traumatic yet minor incident.
“Hey!” exclaimed the scolded midfielder, who rubbed her now-stinging leg.
Christie strolled in and immediately rushed toward the injured player. Diagnosis: Small bruise and a big headache in the morning. Prescription: Ibuprofen and an apology from Megan, both of which she received in full.
Alex flashed Tobin an apologetic smile, and Tobin smiled back. With the coast now clear, they made their way toward their respective lockers and began to gather clean clothes and such for quick showers. Alex was immediately grateful that Rapinoe was not at her own locker, giving Alex a clear view of Heath, whose locker was just past Megan’s. She stared at the ground, cautiously sneaking peaks every few seconds. Tobin absentmindedly pulled off her shorts and t-shirt, exposing a lot of tan skin. She still had on a black sports bra and compression shorts, but the exposed figure of the older girl gave Alex a decent look at the rest of Tobin. Her eyes traveled down the older girl, lingering as long as she dared at her chest and then snapping to her midsection.
“Damn,” she mumbled under her breath, “those abs!”
Just then, after gathering clothes and toiletries, Tobin’s head turned and found Alex, who had been caught staring for just a second too long. The younger girl’s eyes grew wide, and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Tobin blushed as she made eye-contact for just a second. The blush turned into a knowing smirk before she headed for the shower. Once she had left, Alex sighed.
“Wow.”