Toe the Line

Chapter Fifteen

"Oof." I fall to the ground with a blond ponytail smashed in my eyes. I roll over, shoving the girl off of me, kicking the ball out from beneath her. I look at the clock: 45 seconds are ticking away. Look to the left: Cara surrounded by two defenders. Look to the right: a halfway open Annalise. Right, it is. I chip the ball up right-field, where it lands two feet in front of Annalise. She kicks in towards the middle, dodging a ginormous girl barreling full speed at her. 20 seconds. She winds back, aiming over the goalie's head. 15 seconds. Come on, Annalise. She makes this shot everyday in practice. Her foot connects with the ball, sending it flying over the goalie' head and into the net.

Our whole team runs in towards her as the buzzer rings, signaling a victory for Abbott. After a long round of high fives and hugs, we make our way back to the benches breathlessly.

"Great job, girls," Coach Keenan says. "We let up a little on the midfield during the first half, but Annalise and Lucy, very strong finish. Well done." Liza, our goalie, nudges my head with her fist. I give her a little shove back. "Go thank the refs, and let's make our way back to the locker room."

We all jog towards the referees. I stick out my hand to shake each of theirs, "Thank you!" The sun is blazing down as I take down my hair to rebraid it. It's way too hot to be October.

"Trying to fix yourself up for Mr. Ferrier?" Annalise says to me suggestively.

"What?" I say, my heart stops for a minute. Did Amanda tell people about him reading Jake's note on Monday? I will fucking kill her. Annalise nods her head in the direction of the sideline, where a squinting Mr. Ferrier is leaning against the fence. Shit.

I walk behind the benches to the other field exit. Head down, head down.

"Lucy!" He calls out, walking over to me. Dammit. I perk my head up, smiling,

"Hi!" I swallow hard, trying to put the memory of Monday afternoon behind me.

"Didn't realize you were such an avid Lady Eagles Soccer fan," I say, avoiding eye contact.

" I actually hate soccer? Traumatizing childhood experiences and all." He laughs. "I'm actually here to talk to you." My stomach turns. Please, God, kill me now. "Look, I know Monday was...not your ideal encounter with your French teacher, but you can't just skip class to avoid me." He looks down at me.

"Yes, I can," I say happily. "Can and have." I smile back at him.

"You know what I mean. And still maintain an A? I'm going to have to start dropping your grade for your absences. It's Thursday." He walks with me as I make my way towards the locker room entrance. I don't answer. "If not, I guess I'm just going to have to start showing up at all your soccer games, all your prefect meetings, maybe even sit at your lunch table until I can persuade you to return." He gives me a sly smile.

"Harassment is against the school code of conduct," I point out. "But fine," I sigh. I stop to take off my cleats. On my flat feet, Adrian has a good foot on me. I look up at him. "I will come to class tomorrow if and only if we never speak of it again."

"Done," he says. "I will never mention your wicked smile again." He cracks himself up.

I gasp. "Stop it!" I say, smacking him with my waterbottle. "I hate you."

"I'm done, I swear," he says, still laughing. I eye him suspiciously. "I promise!" He holds out his pinky to me. "Pinky swear. I was just trying to lighten the mood." We link pinkies as he says emphatically, "I am really sorry, trust me, I wish I hadn't read it either." Amanda's words about the so-called bright side of this situation echo in my head as I try to stuff them down.

"Get lost," I say to Adrian, waving him off before opening the door to the locker room.

"See you tomorrow!" he responds, upbeat. Well, he's gotten bolder.

I walk into the locker room to gather my things and run into a frantic Liza.

"Could you run out and grab my knee pads for me? I left them in the hallway. I have to take a phone call really quick, or else I would do it myself." She practically pushes me out the door.

"Uhhh, yeah, sure," I respond, turning around to head back into the hallway.

I push open the door to see Jake with a bouquet of flowers and a bunch of soccer balls. "Finally got the balls to ask you to formal" the sign in his hands reads. I burst out laughing, he's such a fucking dork. My whole team comes out and cheers, nudging me towards him.

"Yes, yes, I will go to formal with you," I say to him, smiling. "As long as you don't leave any more notes on my desk." I inwardly shudder. 

"Deal," his eyes twinkle knowingly. "Thank God, this sign took me way too long just to be rejected," he jokes, elbowing me. I roll my eyes and laugh, going in for a hug.

"Thank you," I tell him.

"Of course." He kisses my temple as we're hugging, and I pull away to avoid giving him any further ideas. I try to put on my best smile as the younger girls squeal about how cute Jake is, how cute the proposal is, how lucky I am. But there's only one thing on my mind: what if Jimmy finds out?