If My Heart Was a Compass Then You Would Be North

“I don’t get why you don’t just hook up with him,” Laura said as we ran around the field. The coach, unfortunately, made us start every practice with running around the field hockey field until she blew her whistle. I, of course, hated running without a soccer ball at my feet, and she had had us running for 10 minutes already. I guess I would have to make do with the field hockey stick though. I was still surprised that Laura had convinced me to do this, and even more surprised that I had actually made the team. I had played floor hockey in 8th grade, and I had been alright, but it wasn’t exactly my thing.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Laura for the last time Nate and I are just friends.”

“I don’t get why you resist it,” she said back. “I mean it’s so obvious that you guys are like meant to be.”

“Is that why you’re so obsessed with him?” I turned my head slightly to smirk at her. My legs were aching but I pushed forward. It had been a while since I had just run like this. I knew right away that this was a good idea to join field hockey so I could condition for soccer in the spring.

“I am not,” she said defensively. “At least not anymore, not since I realized he was my BFF’s soul mate.”

“Did you get another BFF I don’t know about?” I asked, pretend to be hurt.

“Ha ha,” she said sarcastically. “I’m telling you Britt. You guys go together like peanut butter and jelly, glue and paste, scissors and paper, chocolate and me, water and fish, and – I’m out of things that go perfectly together but you get the point.”

“You know that glue and paste are the same thing, right?” I smirked as Coach Marinari blew her whistle. We fell down onto the grass, trying to catch our breath.

“That’s besides the point,” she waved it off as she held her side. Everyone on the team was gasping for breath.

“And the point is?” I asked.

“You’re completely oblivious to how perfect you two are,” she said as if it was fact.

“How perfect who are?” Kelly, another girl on the team, said. She was the only other freshman besides Laura and me to make the varsity team.

“Britt and her friend Nate,” Laura explained as I flushed slightly. I didn’t know Kelly that well and I had never really been one to share my personal life with people I didn’t know.

“Oh is that one of the guys that picked you up the other day?” Morgan, a sophomore on the team, jumped in. “The really hot one? Well they were both hot but the one you were clearly having that sexual soul mate vibe with.”

“Sexual soul mate vibe?” I asked.

“Exactly,” Laura gasped. “That’s completely what it is.”

“No it’s not,” I rolled my eyes. “It’s not sexual anything. We’re just best friends.”

“Start stretching,” Coach Marinari said. “Remember girls, stretching afterwards prevents cramping.”

We stretched our legs and calves as we sat on the grass. “Wait, are you guys talking about that hot kid that picked you up the other day?” Tony said. She was one of the 2 senior captains of the team. Great, the whole team would think Nate was my boyfriend now.

“He’s cute,” the other captain, Polly added.

“Who’s cute?” another teammate, Lisa said.

“Britt’s boyfriend,” Morgan explained.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I half shouted. I flushed slightly as the whole team looked at me. Even Coach Marinari turned to glare at me.

“Well if we’re done with discussing Britt’s social life, can we please get back to practice here?” she asked. “Let’s line up to pass the ball. Pair up girls.”

Laura stepped across from me and we started passing the ball back and forth between our sticks. “Thanks Laura,” I mumbled.

She laughed. “Come on Britt. You have to admit, you guys would be pretty perfect together.”

I rolled my eyes. “For the last time Laura, he is my best friend. Not anything else, okay?”

She sighed, shaking her head. “Fine, be in denial.”

I smiled. I knew she wouldn’t bring it up again – for now. I remembered something then. “Hey Friday is Josh’s barbeque, want to come?”

“Yeah definitely,” she said.

I grinned and we went through the rest of practice without any incident. Afterwards, we were in the locker room when my phone rang. Nate. I grinned as I picked up. I didn’t know why even the thought of talking to Nate always put a smile on my face. “Hey,” I said.

Laura looked at me questioningly before she smirked at me knowingly. She knew it was Nate, I could tell.

“Hey,” he said. “Are you home yet?”

“Nope,” I said, grabbing my shirt and changing it while keeping the phone between my ear and my shoulder. “Why what’s up?”

“I was going to see if you wanted to come to the JCC with me,” he said. “Frank wants to play ball but it’s just me and him.”

“There are always people at the JCC,” I reminded him. “You’ll find people to play with.”

“Yeah,” he said. “You’re still at practice?”

“I just finished,” I said. “I’m getting ready to leave now.”

“Okay I’ll talk to you later then.”

“Bye Nate,” I said, hanging up. I looked up to see the whole team smirking at me. “What?”

“The boyfriend?” Polly asked me.

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Yet,” Tony corrected.

I just rolled my eyes.