Blow Out (4 page)

Her mother tilted her head. “I don't understand.”

“I'm worried about what
might
happen to it. A new girl is trying out for the Copperheads. She's a sophomore, a forward from L.A. And I don't know—”

“Lacy. Darling.” Her mother pressed her thumbs against her temples. “It was a long flight, and my head is throbbing.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“No, it's all right.” She dropped her hands and gave Lacy a smile. “I was thinking about you while we were in Europe. Soccer was fine when you were younger. But you're seventeen now. A young woman. I think it's time to consider your future.”

“My future?”

“Yes. College is a wonderful place to find a husband, but it's not your only option, and not everyone can do what your sister's done. If you join the Belle League with me, you'll meet young men—”

“You want me to join your civic club?”

“I think it's a fabulous idea, don't you? The annual luncheon for prospective members is in a few weeks. I think you should come.”

“But, Mother—”

“Oh, come on, Lacy.” Her smile was gone. “Your infatuation with sports has gone on long enough. It's caused you physical problems and now emotional trauma. I think it's past time you embrace yourself as a woman and your place in Fraser.” She rubbed Lacy's arm and smiled again.

“But—”

“Lacy Lou!” Her dad barged in and wrapped Lacy in a hug.

“Welcome home, Dad.”

He let her go, too quickly for Lacy. “It is good to be home.” Sighing, he added, “Now, to bed. I'm exhausted.”

Lacy's parents left her room in the same flurry they'd entered. She crawled into bed, certain that the mention of the Belle League had ruined any chance of a good night's sleep.

L

acy decided the best way to handle her mother's demand to quit soccer was to ignore it. She would not bring more attention to the issue by sharing her problems again. The only thing her attempt at “mature” parental talk had done was prove that she and Mother lived on different planets. The Belle League? Lacy couldn't imagine herself as a member of that hoity-toity women's group any more than she could imagine herself with a tattoo on her neck.

Lacy pushed herself to her limits at practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. She also made a point of staying out of Raven's way. That wasn't much of a problem, since Raven seemed more focused on impressing her teammates and Coach Berg than on harassing Lacy.

At Thursday's practice, Raven was there again, showing off for everyone.

“Okay, set pieces!” Coach Berg barked from the penalty area.

Players gathered around. Of all the drills, these scared Lacy the least. With kicks, she had control of her body and when and how she planted her feet.

“Let's start with direct free kicks,” Coach said. “I want to see where your skills are at. Tallest players form a defensive wall.”

When it was Lacy's turn to kick, she took six steps back and diagonal to where she wanted the ball to hit the net. Breathing in deep, she eased into a run and wrapped the instep of her kicking foot around the ball, hitting it off-center. The ball curved out and up just the right amount of topspin. The Copperheads forming the wall jumped up but couldn't touch it with their heads. The ball floated past Alyssa's extended hands into the back of the net.

Coach nodded. “Well done, Sheridan.”

Elise, a midfielder, slapped Lacy's shoulder. “It's great having you back, Lace. We are so going to rock this season.”

Lacy couldn't help smiling.

When it was Raven's turn to free kick, Lacy noticed that her good-natured grin was gone, replaced with a clenched jaw. As Raven set her ball and backed up, Lacy could see that her shoulders and hips were tight. She seemed uncomfortable. Lacy wasn't surprised when Raven's ball went wide of the box.
She might be a good striker
, Lacy thought,
but free kicks aren't her thing. They make her nervous.

For once, Coach Berg didn't compliment Raven. Lacy knew it was probably mean, but she grinned smugly.

Coach Berg looked at his watch. “Okay. The rest of practice is one-on-one drills, cross-field. Decide who's A and who's B. You'll be rotating partners.”

Lacy's sense of self-satisfaction faded. She'd done some one-on-ones with Nita, but this would be her first “official” tackling drill of the season. It meant a lot of twisting and knee strain. She waved at Nita, who nodded back. If Lacy could at least start the drill with a friendly opponent, it might help.

Nita trotted over, carrying a ball. “I'll be A. Do you want to attack or defend first?”

“Neither,” Lacy said.

“Don't worry. You'll do fine.” She handed the ball to Lacy. “I'll be careful of your leg, but I still have to play full out. Coach will kill me if I don't.”

“I know. I just…” Lacy wanted to finish her sentence with “. . . want to put it off forever.” Instead, she took a deep breath and dropped the ball on the touchline. Nita backed up a few paces, and Lacy started dribbling.

Almost immediately Coach Berg yelled, “Head up, Sheridan!”

Lacy couldn't believe she was making such a beginner's mistake. But she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off the ball and Nita's feet. As soon as she lifted her head, Nita tapped the ball away from her.

“Ugh,” Lacy muttered. She started attacking, but Nita had a big jump. She made it to the sideline without Lacy touching the ball.

Coach Berg blew his whistle. “A's move to your left!”

Nita gave Lacy's shoulder an encouraging squeeze before she sidestepped down the touchline.

“Hey.”

Lacy looked over at her new opponent—Raven. Lacy's heart sank. She could have sworn the scorpion on Raven's neck waved its tail.

“You're pretty good at free kicks,” Raven said. “I'm pretty good at tackling.” She tapped the ball to Lacy and backed all the way to midfield. “Go ahead. Start dribbling.”

Lacy stood on the touchline. She couldn't get her feet to move.

“Sheridan!” Coach yelled. “What's the holdup?”

“N-nothing!” She took a deep breath and forced herself to dribble, keeping the ball close. Within seconds Raven was sprinting for her. Frozen by fear, Lacy watched as Raven went into a slide. She hit the ball and Lacy's right leg along with it. Lacy fell to the grass. She grabbed her knee and began crying, waiting for the pain to start.

Raven squatted next to her. “Sorry.”

“Get away from me!” Lacy screamed.

Raven rose as Nita and Coach Berg trotted over.

“McAlister, this wasn't a sliding drill!” Coach yelled.

“I'm sorry. I guess I misunderstood.”

“Lace, are you okay?” Nita asked.

Lacy slowly extended her leg. It didn't hurt. She nodded. She couldn't believe she was crying in front of Coach and the whole team.

“Are you
sure
you're all right?” Coach Berg asked. He gently pressed around her knee. “Does any of this hurt?”

“No. I'm okay. Her tackle just scared me.”

“I really am sorry,” Raven said. “I didn't realize you had a leg I had to be careful of.”

Nita burst out, “Yes, you did, you little—!”

“Hey! Cool it!” Coach Berg yelled. He watched as Lacy slowly got to her feet. “Do you want to keep practicing?”

Lacy brushed the tears off her face. She felt too shaky to play—especially the one-on-ones. “No. I don't think so.”

Coach Berg's lack of a response told her she'd given him the wrong answer. He wanted fighters, not quitters.

L

acy had never been so glad to see the end of a week. Late Friday night, she got a text from Nita:

UR coming shopping w me 2morrow. No excuses! And… I've got big news.

Lacy wasn't really in the mood for a walk around a busy mall. But she wanted to know what Nita's news was. She texted back:

K. I'm in. And curious. :)

 . . .

As usual, Lacy did the driving. Nita didn't have her own car, and borrowing her family's minivan meant getting in line behind her parents and older brother. In other words, it never happened.

The mall was crowded. But all of the activity helped Lacy perk up. She wandered around Macy's with Nita, helping her find the perfect jeans.

“Here.” Lacy held out a red pair. “Not a UNC color, but you look good in red.”

“Ooh, I like.” Nita added it to her growing pile of try-ons. “And if Stanford happens to call…”

“You'd actually move to the West Coast?”

“They're a Division I powerhouse. Yeah, I've thought about it.” She shrugged, then grinned. “Especially if those cardinal red jeans fit.”

Lacy tried on a skirt and a top in the dressing room next to Nita's.

“So was that your big secret?” she said through the thin wall. “You're running away to California?”

“Uh. No.” After a pause, Nita said, “Oh, crap. I think I've gained weight.”

“Not possible. You're all muscle.”

“Yeah, well. I guess one of these will do. Just not the red pair. Maybe that's a sign to stay loyal to my state.”

Nita swung her shopping bag as they left Macy's. “Food court! I am craving a power shake!”

“Ick.” Lacy laughed. “So, share your news. Before I strangle you.”

“Okay.” Nita lowered her voice and looked around. “It's about your friend Scorpion Neck.”

Lacy shivered, her good mood instantly gone. “What about her?”

“I was bored out of my mind with history homework last night and did some online snooping. You know, just to see if she has a criminal record or whatever. One of us had to do some digging.”

“Nita!”

“Lace, after all that's happened, you can't possibly doubt she's after you.”

Lacy took a deep breath. “No, I guess not.”

“Well, it looks like she's done this before. I pieced together info from Facebook and one of her old teammates' blogs. I
know
it's Raven. Get this. You ready?”

Lacy groaned with impatience.

“She was expelled from her high school last year for injuring one of her own teammates. Well,
allegedly
injuring. She said it was an accident. But they expelled her anyway.”

“
What?
” This was starting to get creepy. As they walked into the food court, Lacy wasn't sure if she was hungry anymore.

“And get this,” Nita said as they stood in line at the Smoothie Factory. “The teammate—whose leg she
broke
with a well-placed kick—was the team's best scorer.”

Lacy had a hard time believing what she was hearing. Could anyone be that ruthless about playing soccer? But after Thursday's practice, it was clear Raven was at least trying to frighten her.

“This is creeping me out,” Lacy said. “Should we tell Coach Berg?”

Smoothies in hand, Nita led Lacy to one of the big tables near the windows.

“I'm wondering if he already knows,” Nita said. She sucked on her straw. “He must have all her school records.”

“But would her records mention something like that?”

Nita shrugged. “Coach isn't a bad guy, but you know how focused he gets on winning. He wants aggressive players. Period.”

Lucy knew this was true. But she couldn't imagine him knowingly recruiting someone with a violent history.

“Hey! Are these seats taken?”

Lacy looked up from her peach smoothie. Nita's boyfriend, Reggie, and his friend Peyton stood next to their table, holding trays loaded with pizza slices and soft drinks.

“Yeah, by you!” Nita grinned.

You set me up!
Lacy mouthed to Nita as the guys sat down across from them. Nita had been trying to set her up with Peyton forever. This run-in was no coincidence.

Nita shrugged innocently.

Lacy had too much on her mind to chitchat with boys. Lacy paid little attention as they went through the usual small talk—mutual friends, teachers, music. So she was caught off guard when Peyton asked her, “How's soccer practice going?”