Soccer Camp

Round One

Junior tournament day! I wish I was as excited as everyone else seemed to be. I got up and took a quick shower, avoiding make up. The only reason I wore it was so Jesse would like it, now it seemed pointless to even apply any.

I wrapped my hair in a bun and got dressed. When I arrived on the field, I was completely thrown to see bleachers. And they were packed. It was like the whole camp was here.

“What’s going on?” I asked the closest person near me.

“Junior tournaments. The small kids face each other until we have a champion team.” The girl said enthusiastically.

“Good morning” Jesse mumbled as he walked passed me. I hurried behind him, happy that he was truly speaking to me.

“Is our team up?” I asked, trying to hear his voice again. Maybe we could work this out, I hoped. He was wearing a simple white v-neck t-shirt and basketball shorts, with a whistle around his neck. He was heavenly, to say the least.

“You haven’t received the schedule?” he mumbled as he scanned the clipboard in his hand. For some reason that hurt me. He would usually dismiss my ignorance, smile, and kiss me. Now I was just the retarded, uncoordinated, and annoying girl who didn’t know the difference between a soccer ball and a basketball.

I avoided saying another word and joined the familiar faces that sat on the bench. I would have to find that schedule later this afternoon.

“Are you guys ready?” I asked.

“Yes!” they screamed, clearly pumped up. The kids were jogging on the spot, doing jumping jacks, and keeping busy.

“Good morning Team A!” Nicole sang as she entered onto the field with her own clipboard and very short shorts. “Hi, Captain!” she winked at Jesse, who chuckled but remain focused on the papers in his hands.

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the bench, glancing at the spectators.

“Alright, so today you will be facing Team F. If you win, you will advance to round two. But if you lose, you are out for the summer. Good luck and let’s play ball!” She sang.

“Alright, James, Ken, Peter, Samantha, Adam, Jonathan, and Monique. You are up first, all in” Jesse ordered. They huddled and formed a circle. Before anything else happened, they turned to look at me. Jesse’s eyes stared at me expectantly and I glanced at him weakly. Why was I looking for something to happen?

“All in” Yale encouraged, motioning me to join in. Feeling like a complete i***t, I stood to my feet and placed a hand in the circle.

“Horah!” they shouted. I was the last one to lift my hand from the circle, awkwardly dropping it to my side. I swear I was imagining it, but I could hear Jesse chuckle at my confusion. God, I should have just stayed home! I’m just embarrassing myself even more than humanly-possible in front of him! He’s probably happy he got rid of me.

I sat back on the bench and watched the game as it began. The kids fought for the ball enthusiastically, passing it from one person to the other.

“Rapido! Rapido! Mas rapido!” Jesse shouted onto the field. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration when the other team took control of the ball. Nicole was obviously an organizer for the tournaments but she kept on visiting our team for no apparent reason. I knew I shouldn’t care anymore but it was favouritism! When she wasn’t needed somewhere else, she remained put beside Jesse.

“Who’s up next?” Jesse asked as he looked over at me expectantly. I stared back at him bewilderedly and confused.

“I think Phil and Katie should go in for Peter and Ken. They look a bit tired and their defences are getting weaker by the minute” Nicole observed. Jesse turned to her but I couldn’t see his facial features.

“Let’s do it.” He nodded.

“Like old times.” She acknowledged with a shy smile. She looked at him knowingly, like they shared a secrete no one understood.

Then it hits me. They probably had s*x together… many times. Matt had said they hooked up every summer; I completely forgot. I couldn’t measure up to that.

My day was just not getting better. After they switched the players, my butt became numb from sitting. I began to walk around the viewing area, randomly cheering the kids on to get myself out of my head. I have to stop thinking all together!

“Pass the ball Adam!” Jesse shouted from the sidelines. When Adam refused to pass the ball, the opponent stole it from him, scoring a goal, tying up the scores at six for six. “Timeout” Jesse sighed.

The referee called a timeout and the players came in for a huddle. “You guys are doing great” I encouraged.

“What the hell is happening out there?” Jesse spat, ignoring my positivity. The kids stared at him with wide eyes as they struggled to breathe. I ran to pass out water; the only thing I was confident I could do right.

He switched up the players after checking in with Nicole. I wasn’t even upset, I wasn’t much help regardless.

“On three” Jesse shouted. Everyone placed their hands in and I hurried to get it right this time. “One, two, three – break!” They shouted in unison.

“Horah” I shouted. The kids looked over at me in amusement and I hid my face in embarrassment. How the hell was I to know it was a onetime thing?

Nicole snickered under her breath and Jesse shook his head and turned back to his clipboard, pretending nothing happened. I sat back down on the bench and continued to watch the game. After a few minutes, Jesse seemingly became distressed as both teams failed to score.

“Do you need me to do anything?” I asked in an effort to ease his worried.

“I’m fine” he grunted as he watched the game through a clenched jaw. His eyes kept focused on the game, never glancing down at me.

“Maybe you should just continue to pass out water” Nicole suggested with a smirk. I turned away from them and walked back to the cooler, handing out waters. Hydration was important! I took no shame in doing it.

“You need to relax” Nicole soothed, rubbing Jesse’s back.

“I’m trying, but it’s difficult!” Jesse sighed as he chewed his lip. Oh, how I missed that lip!

I continued to pass out water, forgetting the game. “Goal!” they all shouted after a while and I spun to catch something that already passed. He embraced her and spun her around enthusiastically. All the kids ran up to him and piled on top of him, taking him to the floor.

Nicole grabbed the water cooler, pulled off the cover, and emptied the contents onto him. I watched as he gasped in surprise and happiness.

I stood there like an outsider looking in; watching the scene unfold before my eyes. Justin ran over with a girl following behind him. He held up a jersey and handed it to Jesse, who was now soaking wet.

“Just in time for your jersey!” Justin smiled. “If being a professional soccer player doesn’t work out, then maybe you’ll have a future in coaching.”

Jesse smiled and held up the jersey, examining it. The jersey was red and white, and had a number one plastered onto the back. The girl beside Justin was wearing the same jersey but it was a number seven. I congratulated the kids and Jesse, who seemed too preoccupied to care. After the crowd cleared out, I headed back to my cabin.

I threw off my shoes and pulled out my hair. I was rubbing my aching feet when someone knocked on the door.

“Come in” I mumbled.

“Hey,” Matt smiled. “congratulations! Why are you rubbing your feet? You sat on the bench all morning, giving out water…”

“It was hard work” I defended. I stared at my feet and sighed in frustration. “I had no idea what I was doing.”

“It’ll get easier. Everyone here participated in this tournament for years; a few of them were even in it.” Matt soothed as he sat beside me.

“Jesse barely talked to me.” I mumbled as I remembered the dreadful morning.

“He’s serious about soccer. He barely focuses on anything…”

“Nicole had his full attention.” I shook my head and fell against the bed. “What’s with those jerseys anyways?”

“Oh, those are the player’s jerseys for the senior tournament playoff! The player’s girl friend wears it around camp until then. Give me your phone.” Matt instructed.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and handed it to him. “What are you doing?” I wondered as I watched him text rapidly.

“Asking Jesse if you could wear his jersey.” Matt smiled.

“Don’t…” I protested as I reached for my phone. When it vibrated, something in the pit of my stomach turned.

“Read it” Matt pushed.

I sighed and read threw my new message.

Me: Can I wear your jersey J ?

Jesse: sorry.

“He said no” I whispered as I pushed my phone as far away from me as possible, causing it to fall off the edge of the bed.

“He did?” Matt asked in disbelief

“What’s even more embarrassing was the smiley face you added” I frowned, my head hitting the bedroom wall repeatedly.

“I thought it was cute…” he grumbled as we sat in silence for a long while. “There is a celebration tonight for the winning teams of this morning and this afternoon. You should come and meet Jaylen”

“No, I think I’m going to stay here and bask in my rejection. You should go with her alone… this is me learning how to share…” I promised.

He smiled at me sympathetically and kissed my forehead before exiting the room. When I was sure he was gone, I searched underneath my bed for the stacks of books I brought out here. If I couldn’t have my own romance anymore, I could at least escape through the lives of the heroin in the novels. I grabbed the first romance book I found, slipped under my sheet, and began to visit a faraway place.