Ruin Everything

I drove home the next morning, kissing Alex in the privacy of his room before I left. I checked in with both Jack, who was lying on the couch with a bowl of Fruit Loops, and Joyce, who was putting on make-up to begin her day.

“Did you have fun with Alex?” she asked as I started to leave.

I smiled, the images passing in my mind easily. “Yeah, we did.”

“That’s good. What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Practice,” I replied.

“Of course, I should’ve known.”

She looked like she wanted to say something else, the comment on the tip of her tongue. She thought better and swallowed it. I waved as I headed towards my room. Safely inside, I changed from my skirt and strapless shirt, and quickly realized that I’d left my jacket and stockings at Alex’s. I’d just have to stop by after practice. I put on a pair of loose nylon short and practice team shirt. It was simple, dark grey with my school’s mascot, the tigers, over my heart and then my name in obnoxious white print across my upper back. I had three more, considering we got new ones each year. One stated JANKOWSKI, the next had JANKS, last years had C. JANKS and this years, the one I had donned screamed ACE.

I packed my bag quickly, sliding in my cleats, shin guards and socks. I flipped my hair over and dragged it into a sloppy ponytail. I was running late and even though Coach loved me, I’d still have to run extra laps while everyone else moved onto drills. I rather hate extra laps.

“CASSARA!” Jack yelled. I sighed, pulling open the door to my room and lifting my bag up to my shoulder. I slipped my feet into a pair of sandals and left. I met Jack at the end of the hall and he hugged me. I laughed and hugged him back. “I’m sorry.”

“I know, Jack-Jack, and I’d love to hear you go on but I gotta go. We’ll talk more later. Okay?”

I was out of the door before Jack could really respond. I hated to be late and after last night, I didn’t want to delay returning to Alex’s, especially not because Coach held me after to lecture me about the importance of attendance and punctuality. I just wanted to kiss the boy again.

I arrived at practice two minutes early, thanks to miraculous green lights partnered with my skilled speeding. I let out a thankful sigh, pushed myself out of the car and heaved my sports bag after me. I joined the girls sitting at the side of field, changing from heels and sneakers to their cleats. I walked past Becca, who sat alone off to the side of the group, and sat beside the center forward, a blonde girl with multi-colored streaks in her pin straight hair.

“Hey Crayon Box,” I said, bumping her shoulder with my own. She smiled. Her name was actually Olivia, but ever since she’d dyed her hair purple and blue sophomore year, we’d referred to her as Crayon Box. Over the years, her hair had been so many different colors that we hardly remember the order.

“Hey Ace. You’re late for you,” she mentioned, glancing at her cell phone.

“I know. I slept at a friend’s house and didn’t get home until ten minutes ago.”

“Friend’s house, huh? Was it a boy’s house, by any chance?”

I forced a laugh and shook my head, trying to be convincing. I’ve never really been that great of a liar, despite being a Jankowski. My mom was the master at lying. She once got us out of having to pay rent by weaving this intricate lie about how I was sick and she was working 15 hour shifts just to pay my hospital bills and how she would pay as much as she could but she couldn’t promise it would be all of what she owed. We never paid rent at that apartment again. However, that little trait never got passed on to me. Fortunately for me, Olivia wasn’t paying much attention to me, due to the fact that her brand new cleat had been chewed on by her brand new puppy.

“I’m just asking because you smell like a guy.”

“I do not!”

I sniffed myself just in case. I kind of did smell like Alex, but it wasn’t that noticeable.

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise,” she said with a grin.

I nodded my gratitude and went back to putting on my shin guards and cleats.

“Tell me one thing though,” she said. I sighed and turned towards her. “Is he hot at least?”

I laughed and nodded, “Yeah. He is.”

She grinned and said, “This pleases me.”

“Alright, ladies, let’s get going! We have a lot to cover today!” Coach yelled, causing the entire team to stand up almost simultaneously. I tied my shoe, fixed my sock and started towards the starting line for our partnered run. Becca joined me and we started, the rest of the team falling behind us like always. We ran down the length of the field, each pair running from the back to overtake the front. This repeated for 3 more laps, before we stood in a circle to stretch.

“Can we talk?” Becca asked under her breath as we stretched out our hamstrings.

“Can’t this wait?”

“I hate that you’re mad at me.”

“It’s your own fault,” I informed her.

“Come on, Cass. Just hear me out,” she begged. I stopped stretching and looked to my best friend, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. She looked sad, and desperate. Had me storming out hurt her that much?

“Jankowski! Hammond! That doesn’t look like stretching to me!” Coach yelled.

“Later,” I replied and we went back to stretching. Stretching turned into drills, drills gave way to a lesson about new techniques and then that finally gave way to our cool down run and stretches. Coach let us go and we all walked happily across the field, joking and bumping into one another. We loved each other. The team was a big family. We knew when the others were hurting, when they were having problems with boyfriends and parents. We were a support group for one another. It’s what has gotten me through years of struggles with my mom and adjusting to life with the Barakats. They’ve been my constant, since I first started playing soccer in middle school. Mom had discouraged me but I had wanted to feel like I was a part of something more than me. My team gave that to me. My team also gave me Becca.

I jogged away from my teammates to Becca’s side as she walked silently by herself.

“I’m sorry for getting so upset yesterday. I shouldn’t have gotten so offended,” I apologized.

“I get why, though. I crossed the line. I knew it as I said it. I’m sorry.”

“We’re good?” I asked her. She stopped beside her car and smiled, nodding.

“Yeah, we’re good. Dinner?”

“Nah, I have a date with Jack.”

She laughed. “Can’t having you miss that, can we?”

She opened the door to her car, threw her bag into the passenger seat. She pulled herself up and went to close the door. I grabbed the edge before it shut.

“And Becca? Alex is mine. Don’t even think about riding him anywhere,” I stated.

“Yes, ma’am!” she said, saluting me. I smiled and headed off to my own car, heart speeding up as I thought about seeing Alex again. This wasn’t healthy, but the thought of his hands on my hips and his lips on mine made me not care.