The Tryout

The Tryout

RRRRRING!! School had finally ended. Hallie grabbed her books and pushed open the creaky classroom door. Her school was a dreary place. There were little windows and dim lighting to conserve money. The classrooms had dusty chalkboards with stubs of chalk and rickety old desks with long-forgotten wads of gum stuck to the bottom. The paint on the walls was peeling off and the floor was uneven and dirty. Rows of battered blue lockers lined the corridor walls.

“Watch it!” somebody exclaimed as she entered the crowded hallways. She crashed into someone, and their books dropped all over the floor.

“Sorry!” she said, bending down to help them pick up their books. After he thanked her, she continued on her way. Forcing her way through the sea of people, she eventually reached her locker. Hallie yanked open the jammed door and took out her backpack, slamming the door shut.

“Hallie!” someone yelled, barging through the crowd. Her brown hair was in a ponytail and she wore a Real Madrid soccer jersey. She was tall, with blue eyes and a wide smile. It was her best friend. She was the kindest and most athletic person Hallie knew.

“Kate!” Hallie exclaimed.

“Will you go to soccer tryouts with me?” Kate asked.

“But I’m not good at it.”

“But it’ll be fun! Come on! I don’t want to be there alone and you're good at soccer! And, you’ll never get in the team if you don’t try.”

“Thanks. Fine…I’ll do it with you just to see if making the team possible.”

Kate sprinted through the hallways with Hallie following close behind. As they squeezed through the corridors, Hallie started having doubts and thinking about whether this was a good idea or not. What if she slipped and fell in front of the team? What if she was the worst one there and everybody started secretly hating her?

They barged through the rusty door to the bright glow of the afternoon sun above. The soccer field was freshly mowed, with healthy green grass rippling in the cool wind. The radiant sun shone, reflecting off the bright goalposts. Vibrant and colorful flowers bloomed on the side of the field. The sky was a beautiful shade of light blue and violet.

Hallie walked to the bench with the soccer equipment and dropped her backpack on it. She sat down and watched as more players arrived. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught her eye. One of the players was passing through the air to another girl. Hallie watched in awe as they juggled the ball with their feet and tried to get past each other. She started regretting her decision to try out. What if she got embarrassed and lost all her friends?

TWEEET!!! Hallie whipped around to find a burly middle-aged man holding a whistle. He was muscular and wearing a loose grey T-shirt and shorts. He also had dark eyes and dirty blonde hair.

“Hello everybody! I am Coach Brown, the middle school soccer coach. As you may know, there are 35 of you trying out, but only 16 will make the team,” said the coach. Hallie’s head spun. Only 16 players? There was almost no way she was going to make the cut.

“Alright, everybody. Grab a partner and a ball and start passing!” Hallie made her way towards Kate, who was getting a ball.

“Wanna be partners?” Hallie asked. Kate nodded and they walked to a field section where no one was. Kate kicked the ball towards her and she easily caught it with her foot. Hallie carefully nudged the ball towards Kate but it went far to the left and Kate had to run to get it. 

“Sorry!” she called out, but Kate was too far away to hear her. Her heart sank as she turned around to see the coach watching her.

Hallie slowly turned back to Kate and saw the ball Kate had just kicked whiz past her. She watched in horror as it stopped by the coach’s feet. The coach looked down in surprise. He lazily kicked the ball towards her but she knew Coach Brown wouldn’t forget this. After a few more passes, the coach blew their whistle.

TWEEEET!!! 

“Ok, everybody. Now we are going to do a scrimmage,” the coach said. Mutters swept through the crowd. The players stepped closer to their friends, forming clusters.

“If I give you a blue jersey, you are Team 1. If I give you a red jersey, you are Team 2,” said Coach Brown, randomly handing out different colored jerseys. The coach tossed a red jersey up at Hallie and she fumbled, nearly dropping it. Hallie looked at the jersey Kate got. It was also red. Hallie cheered inside her head. They were on the same team.

“Everybody, get into your teams and discuss positions. We’ll start in 3 minutes.”

Hallie reluctantly walked over to her team. They were already getting into their positions and Hallie stood there waiting for the first available spot.

“Hey! Hallie!” Hallie turned to see Kate beckoning her. “Come play striker with me. We need one.”

“Sure,” she said nervously.

She faced the other team, determined to try her best. A sharp shrill sound pierced the air as the coach threw the ball to the middle of the field. Kate immediately got the ball and passed it to her. Hallie cautiously dribbled the ball and kicked it back to the other striker. However, she accidentally slipped in the process and the ball went straight toward a player from the other team.

Seeing the midfield players step up, Hallie ran forward with Kate. One of their mid-field players slide-tackled the player and passed the ball to Kate who expertly dribbled it through the other team’s midfielders. She kicked the ball, hard, to Hallie who was running parallel to her. Swiping the perspiration off her face, Hallie dug her heels into the soft dirt of the field and ran forward with the ball. Faster and faster, she ran. Faster. Faster. She looked up to see someone from the other team coming to intercept her. Using a move she practiced hundreds of times in her backyard, she pulled the ball back but pushed it forward with her other foot. Kate spun around and started chasing after her as she ran with the ball.

I need to do this, Hallie thought as she ran faster and faster. She was almost nearing the defense line. Her foot thudded against the ground with each step, sending vibrations up. The sun up ahead was blinding her eyes, making it hard to see.

“30 MORE SECONDS UNTIL THE HALF ENDS” bellowed the coach.

Hallie reached the first defender who was waiting for her. She could feel each step she made into the ground, rumbling and thundering, sending shockwaves up to her brain and could hear the chit-chatter of the birds combined with the yelling of her teammates behind her.

The first defender jumped at Hallie and wrestled the ball away from her. Kate got the ball back and started dribbling it through the defenders.

“15 MORE SECONDS” Coach Brown yelled.

Hallie ran ahead to a few meters from the goal. Kate kicked the black and white checkered ball towards Hallie. She watched as the ball skipped on the grass, the sunlight reflecting off its surface, and stopped at her feet. 

“5 SECONDS” 

“SHOOT!!” Kate screamed. Hallie took a touch and kicked the ball as hard as she could. The ball soared up and up. Higher it went, in a perfect arc before touching down on the ground. All the players held their breath as it flew past the white line, the ball slipped past the goalie’s fingers and hit the grass.

“OUT!” the coach yelled as they all watched the ball bounce up and down.

She had missed.

Hallie hung her head as she walked to the benches. Kate started to approach her and she tensed in anticipation. 

“Nice try,” Kate said sincerely. “But you need to work on your shots. I miss plenty of shots all the time.”

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Hallie replied.

Suddenly she heard laughing behind her. Turning, she saw a couple of girls replicating what happened. 

“She’s never going to make the team,” one said.

“Yeah, Coach B always chooses the best players, not the funniest ones,” another player said laughing.

“I wonder why she bothered to try out with a skill set like that,” said another. Hallie turned around so no one could see the redness that rimmed her cheeks and the sudden wetness of her eyes.

Kate whipped around and glared at those girls. 

“If you’re so good at soccer, why don’t I see you playing striker? Oh yeah, I remember. You're just not good enough!” The girls stared in disbelief at Kate. One of them was struggling to form a coherent sentence.

Hallie was immensely satisfied as she tried to hide her laugh behind a cough. However, she could see that one of the girls was clenching and unclenching her fists, her jaw tightening and her eyes burning with intensity. They crossed their arms and exhaled sharply from their nose.

“Everybody, it's time for our second half!” said the coach. They walked to their positions again, but the girl took the other striker's position. The only available spot was center-mid, one row behind the striker, so she reluctantly took that position. Once again, Coach B threw the ball into the air, and Kate immediately got it. Hallie ran forward, following their action as Kate and the other striker carefully passed to each other, moving up the field.

Suddenly, one of the other team’s players took the ball from Kate, and Hallie watched as Kate desperately tried to block her progress. The ball spun out of their reach and landed beside Hallie’s feet. Hallie started running. 

Her cleats pounded against the turf, a rapid rhythm that echoed in her chest. The gleaming black-and-white checkered ball bounced by her feet. The wind whipped her hair, cool against the flush of effort on her face, as she ran forward. Faster and faster, she went, seemingly skipping on the ground. The midfielders are coming now. Don’t mess this up again. Not now. 

Gritting her teeth, Hallie flicked the ball to her left, speeding up past the midfielder. She could hear the breath of the midfielder behind her, giving chase. Running faster and faster, the goal loomed forward and the defenders started closing in on her. Should I do it? What if it doesn’t get through? What should I do? Hallie’s lungs burned and with a final burst of energy, she launched the ball forward, threading it perfectly between two defenders. It skimmed across the grass, sunlight reflecting off of it.

Kate moved in perfect synchronization. She easily caught the ball and didn’t hesitate as her foot struck it towards the net. All the players watched in anticipation. The ball soared. Time seemed to freeze as it soared in a perfect arc, the goalie lunging, fingers outstretched. But the ball slipped past and slammed into the corner of the net.

“GOAL!”

The players on her team clapped as Kate turned around, flushed, with a wide smile. Hallie ran forward and hugged her. All their players ran forward and started high-fiving them.

“That was an amazing goal, girls, but you must gather around. If your name is on this list, you made the team,” said Coach B.

The athletes eagerly gathered around the list: some cheering, some groaning. Hallie’s hands trembled as she approached the list, her cleats digging into the soft ground. The list was slightly fluttering in the breeze. She scanned the names quickly, her eyes darting up and down the paper.

Kate… Alexa… Olivia… Her chest tightened. Her name wasn’t there. Her stomach sank and her hands dropped to her sides. I knew I wouldn’t have made it. What did I expect? But something made her look again. This time, slower. Her gaze drifted all the way to the bottom and there, in smaller print, she saw it: Hallie Carter - Substitute.