Serving The Team

You can't believe it's only been a week since you made the team.

When you first found out, you were thrilled but also a bit surprised. You were never particularly good, and usually had to settle for the Rec. League, where anyone who signed up got put on a team. This year you got lucky. You thought maybe it was because less people tried out than usually. The team captain, Alyssa, usually favored her friends and other popular girls, which made it even more surprising that you made it on.

The other girls on the team were a bit distant from you. They never really wanted to talk, and you barely knew any of their names. Alyssa, on the other hand, had spent every practice asking you questions about your life, and it made you feel really good. It was also kind of odd, though, because she didn't have a reputation for being nice, and she seemed to treat you better than the girls she'd been friends with since elementary school.

Since you were practicing every day, you skill level improved somewhat, though it was obvious that you were the worst player on the field. Alyssa insisted that you play defense in the first game, and she wouldn't budge even when you admitted it would definitely cause you to give up goals. She just said to let the goalie worry about it, nobody would score on her anyway.

You got to the field an hour before the game, as Alyssa said, and she walked up to you right away and said, "I haven't been honest about why you made the team. It's because..."