THE ROSE AND THE THORN

Chapter 11

"Indi! I'm free!" I heard Aimee call, and I used a Ronaldo Stepover Combo to dodge the two defenders in front of me, quickly passing the ball to Aimee.

I quickly and easily outran my defenders, swerving right in front of the goal so Aimee could pass the ball back.

"Aimz!" I called out, and she passed the ball back to me smoothly.

Before the goal keeper could process what was happening I had flicked the ball over her head and into the net. I heard a loud cheer from the sideline as I pulled my shirt over my head, exposing my black sports bra as I ran around the field and was tackled by my team mates.

"Good work, India!" I heard Miss Rose call from the sidelines, which made me smile even wider than I already was.

It was our first game of the season and we were winning 3-0. I had scored two goals and Aimee had scored one. Our team was working so well together, our passing on point and our skills top notch. Our goalkeeper was saving everything and we were unstoppable.

The referee blew his whistle, ending the game. All the girls from our team ran to the middle of the field, jumping up and down and cheering as we hugged and high fived each other. Mr Linder and Miss Rose came onto the field, congratulating us on our first win of the season.

"You girls played great!" Mr Linder said, high fiving Aimee and our goalkeeper Lindsay.

"That was incredible, girls. You all played so well!" Miss Rose was beaming. She seemed so happy, a lot happier than she had been for the past week. I hadn't asked, but I was sure it had something to do with her girlfriend.

We all began walking back to the bus to go back to school. I helped Miss Rose pick up our ball bag and drink bottles. We walked together back to the bus chatting about the game.

"I liked what you did with the Ronaldo stepover, you're good with your feet!" she complimented.

"I'm good with my hands, too..." I said cheekily before I could stop myself.

She rolled her eyes at me, tutting and shaking her head.

"That is not an appropriate comment to be making to your teacher," she scolded, although I could see that she appreciated my quick wit.

"Sorry, Miss Rose, it's just that you're...so young...I forget you're my teacher sometimes. Consider it a compliment," I teased, poking my tongue out at her before climbing onto the bus and sitting next to Aimee.

The ride back to school was uneventful, Aimee and I just continuing to talk about the game. Every now and then I would steal glances at Miss Rose as she spoke to Mr Linder and other girls from the team. 'She better not be flirting with them!' I found myself thinking. But why did I care?

By the time we had gotten back to school it was time to go home. Everyone from the bus walked into the gym and to the change rooms to shower and change back into their uniforms. I locked myself in the shower cubicle and stripped down to nothing, letting the hot water run over me. After rinsing myself off I threw my wet hair into a messy bun to deal with later, grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my body before walking out to change.

I let my towel drop, grabbing it to dry my legs before pulling on my underwear and school skirt. I didn't care who saw me naked, I was proud of my body and the soccer team were no strangers to me. We were all used to changing in front of each other in the locker room anyway. I began to dry my torso and arms when the change room door opened, Miss Rose walking in. She acted like she didn't care, but I know for sure that her eyes lingered on my chest a lot longer than she had wanted them to. I played with my nipple piercing, looking up through my lashes and smiling innocently at her. She gulped loudly before turning her attention to the rest of the girls.

"I won't be at training tomorrow girls, but Mr Linder will be there. If you don't have any classes with me tomorrow then I'll see you next week," she told us all.

Her eyes flickered to mine, down to my chest, then back up to my eyes before she turned and walked out of the room. I quickly threw on my bra and school shirt before grabbing my bag and running out of the change rooms after her.

"Miss Rose!" I called, trying to catch up to her. She kept walking, unable to hear me calling for her.

"Miss Rose!" I yelled louder, and she stopped and turned around.

"Yes, India?" she asked. She sounded exasperated, frustrated...maybe even upset?

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm fine, India, what did you want to talk about?" she said shortly.

"Why won't you be at practice tomorrow?" I asked her.

"I have a personal commitment that I have to tend to," she stated simply, although I knew she was hiding the truth.

"Is it because of your girlfriend?" I asked, and I saw her eyebrows furrow.

"This isn't something we should be discussing, Miss Thorn!" she said, trying to walk away from me.

"Wait!" I said, grabbing her arm.

"I really need to go, India!" she told me.

"Okay...sorry. Um, I'll see you in class tomorrow," I said quietly, and she nodded before walking quickly to her car. I heard her car engine roar to life and she sped off down the road, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust in her wake.

Had I done something to upset her? Had I made her uncomfortable with my blatant flirting? Were Aimee and Scott right - was she going to report me for harassment? I hoped I hadn't done anything to make her mad at me, because there was definitely something between us. I don't know how she perceived it, but I knew that I was feeling something. From the way she had been acting the past couple of weeks I'd be inclined to say she felt the same way...but she was my teacher. She couldn't feel the same way. I had to let it go.