Tyler defends the ball, passing it my way. When I get control of the ball, I zoom toward the top of the goal circle. Kai cuts in from the left, skidding to steal the ball. I get air under the ball and jump over Kai’s foot.
“Nice one, James,” Kai says, catching his breath.
I turn around and call out to Tyler. “Just forget I’m a defender for a sec!”
“Huh?” Tyler says, barely ready for my attack.
I angle myself, bend low, and swipe the ball hard and fast. It scuttles toward the goal posts and Tyler dives to catch it. He narrowly saves the ball.
“Shoot,” I hiss.
Tyler throws the ball back, and I take control. Kai comes in for the steal and our feet fight to take control. In the scuffle, the ball spins out, shooting left and nearing the goal circle.
I trip on my feet, attempting to spin and retrieve the ball. Kai makes a perfect getaway, keeping his balance and speed. He gains control of the ball, stopping it before it leaves the goal circle.
Kai doesn’t turn around. Instead, he lifts one leg and bounces off the other, kicking the ball into the air. The ball swiftly flies over his head as Kai almost does a backflip. I’ve never seen him do a bicycle kick before. Someone, please help me pick my jaw off the ground.
The ball does a clean sweep past Tyler and hits the net.
“Dang, Kai. Since when can you do that?” I call out.
Kai swings around with a happy grin. “Just a little something I’ve been working on.”
I still won’t admit he’s better. “Since when do you work on fancy tricks without me?”
“I needed something to one-up you with.”
Wait? He thinks I’m the better one?
I smooth my hand over my ponytail and play it cool. “Well, I’m impressed. I bet it’ll take me a lot less time to learn the move and perfect it.”
“Are you saying I didn’t pull that off perfectly?” Kai counters. “Because it was pretty near perfect to me.”
“Since when is near perfect, perfect?” I tease. I wasn’t insinuating anything, but how could I ever resist tormenting him?
Kai folds his arms, looking at me up and down. “I’d like to see you try it.”
“Did you learn how to do it from a video tutorial?” I question. “I’d rather have Coach Anders teach me, so I don’t break my back.”
Kai puffs out a laugh and plants his hands on his hips. “Since when have you been too scared to try something new?”
I look around at the boys, running drills up the length of the field. Even though I’ve dreamed of switching to the boys’ team for so long, I feel out of my comfort zone. I’m confident when I know the moves I’m pulling, but I don't want to try the stunt and fail. I don’t want to be laughed out of here as an impostor and never invited back.
“Well?” Kai asks from the other side of the goal circle. “You gonna try?”
If there’s anything worse than failing in front of a bunch of people, it’s knocking back a challenge from my best friend.
I nod. “Okay. I’ll give it a try.”
“That’s the way,” Kai cheers. “Come over here. I’ll teach you.”
As I take a step toward him, a booming voice calls from the sidelines. “West!”
My skin grows icy cold. My shoulders stay rigid as I turn toward the voice.
Coach Anders stands on the sideline with his hands on his hips. His expression isn’t stern enough to be mad, but he’s definitely not happy.
Dang it. I’m so dumb. He always parks his truck in the west parking lot, which is right near the soccer field. Why didn’t I think of that?
