An Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 23

"What day are you flying in?" I ask Maggie as we discuss her plans to come and visit next week. "I'm landing in Orlando on February 28th!" she squeals. "You're spending the entire week right?" I ask. "Of course I am!" she says excitedly. "I can't wait. It'll be really comforting to have you here with the day coming up and all," I smile. "There's no one I'd rather spend that day with," she smiles sadly. 

Our conversation is interrupted by a knock on my door. I look up to see Alex standing in the doorway. "Maggs I gotta go," I say and then shut my laptop.

"What's up?" I ask returning my attention to Alex. "When's your soccer tryout?" she asks pointedly. "February 22nd," I tell her. "That's tomorrow," she states blatantly. "I'm aware," I say confused. "Are you ready for it?" she presses. "Yeah I guess. I've been trying to not think about it too much," I explain. "Text your friends and meet me at the stadium in an hour," she tells me. "Why?" I ask. "Just do it," she smiles.

I pull out my phone a shoot a text to the group chat. 'Meet me at Exploria Stadium in an hour.'

...

"So why are we here?" Emmy asks curiously. "If I'm being honest, I'm not really sure. Alex wanted us to meet her here. Let's just go inside," I insist. Everyone nods in agreement and we make our way towards the players' entrance. "Alex!" I yell as we walk the halls. "Locker room!" I hear her yell back. The eight of us look at each other curiously before continuing on.

"Glad you guys could make it," Servando says as we enter the locker room. He and Alex plus Syd, Dom, Ash, and Ali are standing in the middle of the locker room smiling at us. "What's going on?" I ask. "Well since you guys have tryouts tomorrow, we're going to make sure you're ready. There's personalized training gear in each of your lockers. Get changed and meet us on the field in fifteen minutes," Alex says before they all exit the locker room.

"This is sick. Your parents are the coolest," Drew announces. "You heard what they said. We have fifteen minutes. I don't want to find out what will happen if we're late," I urge. Suddenly, the eight of us rush to get ready for the day.

...

"We look so cool. Def need a squad pic before we leave here," Addison gushes. I don't know how the hell they pulled this off for us. All I know is that I owe them big time for this. "Yo last one to the field has to buy everyone ice cream after training!" Tucker yells. We all chase after him towards the tunnel and out onto the field. "Dammit," Mike sighs as he's the last one to reach the field. "Better luck next time Mikey," Tucker chuckles.

"Alright Syd's gonna explain what we're doing today," Alex says to get our attention. "You guys are starting with a warm up, then we'll move to some team work drills, after that we'll split up and work on technical skills, and finally we'll end with a scrimmage," Sydney informs us. "It doesn't seem like much, but trust me we're gonna work you guys today," Ali adds.

"Any questions?" Servando asks. We all shake our heads no. "Let's start with the warm up then. Two laps around the field and then we'll get in a good stretch," Alex says. "What're you all standing there for? Get your asses over to the sideline and start jogging," Ashlynn orders while slapping her hands together repeatedly. We all perk up immediately and start running.

...

"I can't breathe," Ross whines as he drops onto the ground. "I can't feel my legs," Addison says joining him on the ground. "I can't believe how hot Alex is," Drew says in awe. I make sure to whack him in the head when I walk by him. The rest of us join the other three on the ground to try to recuperate from training. I rest my head on Tucker's thigh while I sip on some water.

"You guys can't seriously be that tired. We went easy on you," Dom chuckles. "Easy? That felt like boot camp," Mike asserts. "At least you guys will be prepared for tomorrow," Alex says and joins us on the ground. "You're right. Thanks for helping us today guys. We really appreciate it," I smile.