The Fault Line (GxG)

2. Are you okay down there?

I'm smiling as I walk down the hallway at school, listening to comments that have been hurled at me from every direction. How good last night's game was, how well we've done, and how well we're going to carry home the trophy this year.

"Wilder!" I turn to my friend.

"Hi, what's up?" I ask, lifting my eyebrow as she raced down the hallway to meet me.

"The coach wants a chat with you," She said, breathing heavily.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked skeptically.

"No, she only wants to talk to you. She's in her office," Lynda explained.

"Okay, I see you later," I smile and start heading in the other direction. A pair of guys were giving a pair of fist bumps along the way. They seem to know who I am, but I can't recall knowing them. People still seem to give me a nod or a grin when they see me. I'm not a fan of the attention, and it's uncomfortable. 

I bang on the half-open door, and the coach tells me to come in.

"You wanted to talk?" I say, uneasy, setting my bag on the floor as I sit in the chair across her desk.

"Yeah," She smiled, positioning her documents on the table in front of her brown eyes. Coach Warren looks content as she leans back to the cozy chair with her arms crossed over her chest. Her blond hair is in a ponytail every single day. She's wearing the red Howlers hoodie, our wolf on the right side of her chest. I have a couple of them at home; I wear them often, usually before the night of the game. They're warm and comfortable.

"The newspaper called; they were asking if you were able to come down for a couple of photographs and an interview tomorrow?" She stated, and my eyes flashed open.

"What?" I ask, not knowing if I heard right, and it made Warren laugh.

"You were asked to an interview," She repeated, so I heard it right the first time.

"Oh, I can do that, I guess. What time?" I asked.

"Noon," She said.

"Okay," I tried to smile.

"Don't worry,  Wilder, you will be fine. Just bring that confidence you have on the field with you. I'll give them a call, and I've been advised you should bring your kit. I'll see you on the pitch later," She smiled, picking up her phone as I get out of my seat, taking my bag with me. It's frightening to be in the newspaper. It might just be in town, but now my name is going out there. I don't like that attention, and it's something I don't enjoy as others might. 

After practice, I took Lynda with me to the Willmont Dinner to get some ice cream. This is what we do almost every Friday after school. Coach likes to push us further at the end of the week. Stamina is the secret to Warren. It's her soccer philosophy; the more stamina we've got, the more we're going to run. But we still get separate schedules because it depends on where you play. My friend is a holding midfielder. She's got an amazing ability to read the game. It's like she knows where to break the passes when required and mark the other players.

Although I have speed and agility, on the other hand, I love dribbling here and there. But shooting is my favorite part of the game, however. There's nothing like the feeling of kicking the ball, of watching it fly in the corner of the net.

"What's up? You've been quieter than usual since you spoke to Warren," She said, and I can't help the swallow hard as I look down at my vanilla ice cream.

"I have an interview tomorrow with the newspaper," I explain to her, and she leans back in her seat.

"That's amazing," Lynda said, and I nodded slightly.

"I've got a date tomorrow," Said my friend, and my mouth fell open. Yet her eyes went away from me in embarrassment.

"With whom?" I wonder I haven't heard anything about anyone being involved with her.

"With Ewen," She added.

"Well, he 's cool," I grinned at her, which seemed to help her relax. Lynda and I haven't had a lot of experience in dating since we were interested in soccer. Much of the girls our age are around the boys. While I've been chasing after football ever since I could walk.

But although my mother was present in my early years, it was more my dad who spent the time with me. She was too busy with her own interest. My dad played soccer in his early days, but an accident ended it all for him. Soccer was his way of sharing time with me, and it's the best memories I have.

"He is," Lynda beams back at me, a smile I haven't seen before. She seems really pleased, and I'm glad about that. I narrowed my eyes as I play around in my almost melted ice cream, more like a vanilla soup.

"Oh, shit, I need to go," Lynda said, staring at her phone.

"I see you late," She pulled her bag with her.

"Yeah, please tell me about the interview tomorrow," She reminds me, and I nodded to her. Lynda disappears out of the door. 

The stars are dancing in the sky as if no one is watching. At least they have all the right to do it because they know that they belong. Compared to me, who feel a little lost in the world sometimes. I'm glad my friend found somebody to hang with, but I have a feeling that if things go well, I could be let out of the picture. 

I have other people I can go to, of course, but she's my best friend. Maybe I'm scared of being more alone than I'm currently am. The entire squad is lying on my shoulders, needing me to lead them to victory. Not just that, half of the town relies on us to defeat The Griffiths.

As I stood up to pull my jacket on, I stumbled into someone.

"I'm sorry," I said as I tried to stand upright, but I need to look up to face a pair of brown-green eyes. 

"No, it's okay," She smiled politely at me. I'm shaking myself back to life as I looked longer than I should. Then I tried to figure out how to breathe again because, apparently, I forget how to.

"Are you okay down there?" She mocked me, and I narrowed my eyes. I may be a lot shorter than her, but that doesn't mean that she has the right to joke about it. We don't even know each other.

"Are you okay up there?" I asked the same thing, and she tried to hide her laugh by biting her lower lip. 

"Yeah, I'm good," She smiled but then started going down to the till. I don't remember seeing her here before. Believe me, because if I had, I would have remembered. I don't believe I've seen anyone as beautiful as her. 

She smiled in my direction and I turned to the side as she caught me watching her. Okay, let's go home. My imagination is going to areas it's not meant to be. I sighed and found the way out.