Scoring The Coach ✔️

chapter seven

Chapter Seven

The girls and I were sitting in Risa's room, trading phones and laptops as we read over each other's college essays. It was nerve-wracking letting them examine my work. The worst-case scenario was that they could say they hated what I'd written and tell me I needed to rewrite it. No matter what, I knew how important this essay was, and the deadline was coming up much faster than I wanted.

"That was great, R," I said, handing Risa back her laptop. "Just a few punctuation errors need to be fixed and then you're all set."

"I just hope my application films are good," she said. "Do you know how hard it is to get into film school?"

"As hard as Brown?" I guessed.

"Probably harder," Gen said. "But your short films are great, Risa. It would be a mistake not to take you."

"I hope you're right," Risa replied, clutching her computer.

Shea finally looked up from my screen, and I braced myself for the worst.

"This essay is great," she assured me. "You can breathe now, Laura. It's obvious you put a lot of thought into it. What is this? Draft eight?"

I took my laptop back from her, both relieved and slightly annoyed. "Draft nine actually."

"We'll have to get pie when you get into Brown and R gets into film school," Shea said. "And, Gen, you're totally invited."

Gen beamed. "Awesome!"

In the past week or so, Gen had become a permanent fixture in our little group. It was nice having her around. Through practices and the snacks the four of us got afterward, she was always there to join us. We were never the types to be overly cliquey, so we welcomed her in.

It sucked, being benched while the rest of them ran drills and got ready to play. I wanted to join them, but I couldn't. I was stuck next to Jared, who hadn't spoken to me much lately. There probably wasn't much to say, but I still wanted to make conversation. Somehow, I always talked myself out of it. I got one look at him and shut down.

Tonight, we had another game. It was the first game where I wouldn't get a chance on the field. I was walking on crutches with the hopes that would help me get better. So far, I was still limping most of the time.

Risa checked the time and sighed. "We better get going, guys. We've got a match to win."

I pushed off of the bed, grateful when Gen handed me one of my crutches. I couldn't hide my embarrassment as I stumbled onto my feet and waited in the corner for everyone to get changed. I threw my jersey on earlier that afternoon, so I was still wearing it.

I headed downstairs after them, knowing I would take the longest. Losing a lot of my mobility was irritating, to say the least. Jon could sense my attitude when I passed him in the hallway and offered me some consolation.

"You'll be back before you know it, kid," he said. "Really, Laura, keep that chin up."

I tried to pretend I wasn't incredibly glum as I climbed in the passenger side of Risa's car. Since it was a home game, we were there in no time. The girls rushed out as soon as we got there, considering they were running late for warm-ups. I could only keep up so much, so I lagged behind. I made it to the field a bit late, sitting down beside Jared on the bench as he took notes for the game.

He didn't look up, but I knew he noticed me right away.

"Hey," he said. "How's the ankle?"

"It's fantastic," I grumbled. "Yeah. It's great not being able to play."