Enchanted

Alice's Response

I saw Alice moving across the field toward me as we stopped for another break half an hour later. I could tell from the look on her face that she hadn't liked my decision to switch places on the field.
'Hey! What's going on here?' She shot me a poisonous look. 'She's supposed to be wing. You heard me tell you guys that, right?' She paused, surveying the field. 'Who switched with her?'
'My god, cut it out,  Alice,' I interjected, rolling my eyes.
She spun around to face me. 'Do you want to get kicked out of the team? Because I will. I don't care how good you are. Everyone else here follows the rules. So it shouldn't be so hard for you to, should it?'
'Jesus, Alice, chill out. I changed positions, so what?' I demanded. 'We scored better and we played better after I and her switched.'
Alice ignored me and turned to Samantha. 'You let her take your spot?'
I saw Samantha look down at the ground, and shuffle her feet awkwardly. 'I'm sorry. I - she wanted to. I didn't think it would be such a big deal.'
'How hard would it have been to come to me first and ask?,' she demanded.
Samantha looked embarrassed. 'Yeah, you're right. I was stupid, I'm sorry.'
I felt surprised when one of the other girls stepped forward, looking briefly at me. I recognized her as one of the girls that Alice frequently spent time with during training or after the lesson had finished. 'Alice,' she said, 'she's right. We need her in an aggressive position. It actually worked out pretty good for our team. Maybe you should let her stick with it for a bit?'
I shot her an appreciative look.
'Chelsie,' Alice snapped, 'I don't care how good she was. She broke the rules. I'm not going to just let her get away with that.'
Chelise raised her hands. 'Look Alice, I get what you're saying, but she saw that we were struggling, and she knew what to do to fix it. That's not really breaking the rules, is it?'
Alice gave her a sharp glare. 'Yes, actually, that's still breaking the rules. She's defying me on purpose. You can see that, can't you? She's not doing this to help you.'
Chelsie looked at me apologetically. I shrugged at her slightly, mouthing thanks for trying.
She returned her attention to me. 'Okay, sweetheart. Listen to me. You're going to play wing. You can't just switch and do something else. If you try that again, I am going to kick you out of the team and I'll tell the teacher you're refusing to participate. Got it?'
'Seriously, what is your problem?' I demanded.
'Your attitude.', she said calmly. 'Her comment elicited a few smiles and whispers from the girls around us. 'That's my problem. Just get over it, okay?'
She stepped back and raised her voice before I could answer.
'If the new girl tries to trade her position with any of you,', she yelled out, 'you come straight to me, alright?'
There were a few scattered nods from people across the field, and she smiled at me.
'Okay, I'm glad that's settled.' Alice began making her way to the centre of the field. After taking a few steps, she spun around to face me again. 'And don't try to cross me again.'
I glanced at the students surrounding me, half hoping for some support, as Alice waited for a response.
'Seraphina? Anyone there?' Alice reached out and waved a hand in front of my face.
'Fine,' I said, exasperated. 'It doesn't matter that much to me anyway. I was just trying to help the team win. Like you said, we're here to win, right?'

As I predicted, our team did more poorly with me back in my old position. By the end of the lesson, my team had lost the lead and was lagging behind just enough for us to lose the game. I had to remind myself I wasn't going to stay around in the town long enough for it to matter.
I fell into step beside Chelsie as the dispersing students approached the gate to the sportsfield after the lesson ended, and complimented her on her playing skills.
'You weren't bad yourself,' she said, thanking me. We started discussing sports and what other games were most frequently played at the school. I smiled when I saw Alice walking quickly up to us, looking between us with irritation.
'Chelsie,' she said, her voice clipped, 'we have a class to go to.'
'She's right. I should get going,' Chelise said apologetically. 'I look forward to playing with you again next time,' she added. 'You'll have to tell me more about your old soccer team.'
I nodded, my eyes flicking to Alice. 'Sure. We should meet up sometime."
'That would be great. Me and Alice are actually going out this afternoon. You could come if you wanted.'
I told her I liked that idea, and suggested we exchange numbers. Alice watched on, looking like she had just eaten something vaguely unpleasant. She practically dragged Chelsie away once she took her phone back from me.
Nice to meet you, Chelise', I said. 'I'll see you next week.'
I could tell from the venomous look Alice had given me that I had managed to get under her skin. Which was enough to put me in a good mood again.