Unfolding

Chapter 1

Clumsy First Encounters

"And suddenly you just know it's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings." - Meister Eckhart

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"Let's go ladies!" Yelled Coach Garcia from a few feet away. "Start warming up. We don't have all day". She was tall with dark blonde hair, and in her early forties. The years she spent playing professional soccer has clearly done wonders for her physique.

Wearing black soccer pants and a Northside College Prep maroon fleece, she motioned for us to start our warm-up.

I finished lacing up my cleats and jogged over towards the rest of the girls. We quicky formed two lines and began jogging around the field. It was late August and despite it being late in the afternoon, the Chicago sun was still beating down on us.

The girls' soccer pre-season had started two months ago, and today was the second game of the season. I internally sighed knowing I still had at least two or 3 more month left until the season was over. I love soccer, don't get me wrong. However, I much preferred to watch it from the comfort of my own home with the AC on and surrounded by snacks.

The only reason I even bothered to join the team at our school was so it would give me a one-up on my college applications. With senior year looming around the corner, it was time to seriously consider what I was going to write on my resume and on all those college applications. If I'm being honest though, I've had all of this planned since my freshman year in high school.

"Make a circle ladies". Yelled Naomi, the captain of our team and also one of my good friends. "We'll start with butt-kicks and work our way through the stretches." Despite her being a year younger than most of the varsity players, she's been playing with us since her freshman year. She had more talent than the whole team combined and if we won any games, it was usually because of her. She could easily go pro one day.

It's not to say that our team was awful, we were just directionally challenged of sorts. Since I've been on the team, I think we've won a handful of games. Pitiful I know, but that's what happens when the school administration tends to forget about our team because the boys' soccer team is the talk of the town. If I remember correctly, last year they almost won the state championship but when their star player got injured just before half-time, they ended up losing.

Getting myself off the ground from a butterfly stretch, I looked around the stadium and noticed most of it had filled up. There were a few parents from our team which I recognized, and some students who had come to probably watch us humiliate ourself.

Like I said, we don't have the best track record. However, most of the people in the stadium were here to watch the opposing team. This week it was Lincoln Park High School.

"This week I want a 3-3-4 formation. Lincoln Park has a strong attack team, let's try to play on defense." Coach said. "Naomi, if you see an opening, take it".

We all nodded and waited for her to finish her pre-game pep-talk. I glanced around looking for our assistant coach Carla. She was usually the one who helped me warm-up before a game. As goalie, I warned up with the rest of the team and practiced some warm-up drills with Carla. Today, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Natalie." Coach's voice snapped me out of my trace. "Carla couldn't make it today. Aiden here is going to help you warm-up for today."

I looked around for this Aiden person as she motioned to someone behind her. Actually, it was a group of three guys standing around talking and laughing. One of them had his back turned to us, but the other two I had seen in the hallways. I also recognized them as being part of the boys' soccer team.