Chapter 12 #2
Coach Lyle smirks and folds his arms. “What do you think this is? I don’t let just anyone join my team. Plus, if you blew off your practice, what makes you think I’d give you the honor of training with my boys?”
“I didn’t blow it off,” I reply. “Coach Anders told me to work on an assignment instead of going to practice. Now, I’ve got itchy feet and need to run drills.”
“Come on, Coach,” Kai urges. “Let her train with us. She’s better than half the guys here.”
“Half?” I scoff. “Okay, I’ll be modest and play along.”
Coach Lyle rocks his jaw and then shrugs. “Okay, what do I care? Go on, you two, get going.”
Without another word, Kai and I break out in a jog, gaining speed on the rest of the team, who run along the edge of the field. I get some strange looks from the boys on the team, but Kai and Tyler tell them to take a hike.
After a run and some stretches, Coach Lyle has us juggling balls.
This couldn’t be more perfect. Kai and I love competing against each other to see who gets the highest number and breaks our record.
Kai once got to nine-hundred and fifty-three.
It still blows my mind. I hate to admit he’s better than me. That’s why I never admit it aloud.
My best is seven-hundred and two. I’ve spent so many hours in my tiny backyard practicing, and I still can’t get higher.
Many days it’s hard just to break two-hundred.
Coach Lyle wants us to do one-hundred in a row without dropping the ball.
Some of the guys struggle with the stamina and self-discipline needed.
Kai, on the other hand, gives me a knowing look, trying for that elusive one-thousand reps.
Somehow, I don’t think Coach Lyle will let us dedicate the entire practice session to beating our record.
We can't stay on school grounds for the number of hours needed to meet that feat.
Kai and I stare each other down as we start on our one-hundred.
His cocky smirk is off-putting, and I swiftly change focus to the ball, keeping my knees lifting high.
I get a nice bouncy rhythm, juggling the ball off one thigh, to the other, and repeat.
It’s Zen as I count each time my legs connect with the ball.
My head stays steady, my gaze laser-focused, with the ball crossing my vision every second and a half.
After my ninety-ninth hit, I cheer, “One-hundred!”
Thrown off, Kai’s ball ricochets off his right knee and hurtles toward Tyler. Tyler yelps, losing control of his ball too.
“Man, what gives?” Tyler whines, moving in a semi-circle to gain control of the two balls.
“Sorry, man,” Kai says with a laugh, stopping the ball after Tyler passes. “I didn’t expect Jamie to blitz me like that. I was only up to eighty-six.”
I poke my tongue out at him. “Looks like you’ve gotta start over, bro.”
Kai laughs. “Taunting isn’t a good color on you, James.”
I grin. “Since when has that stopped me?”
Five boys on the team can’t get through one-hundred uninterrupted juggles, and Coach Lyle has them run more laps. The rest of us move onto the next drill.
Coach Lyle announces he wants to work on fake-outs. “It’s all about footwork, misdirection, and juggling, like you’ve been practicing.”
He then demonstrates a rainbow kick. He grabs the ball with his left foot and rolls it along the back of his right foot. Leaning forward, he pushes the ball into the air and kicks it over his head.
“Whoa,” Kai breathes beside me.
“In motion, you want to push the ball forward first,” Coach Lyle says, and then repeats the demonstration. He kicks the ball forward, runs on it, grabbing it and flicking it on the back of his foot. The ball becomes easily airborne and moves over his head.
I smile at Kai’s eagerness to try the move. Happiness flutters inside me. My coach already taught me the move when I had excelled at the other drills he was teaching our team.
Kai dribbles his ball away from the group, finding space to work on the new move. I watch him recreate what Coach Lyle did. His tongue pokes out as he tries to get his footing correct.
“Uh, Kai,” I say coyly. He looks up. “I think it’s something like this.”
I master the rainbow kick like it’s the most basic of moves.
“What?” Kai asks, almost mad. “You can already do it?”
I flick my ponytail and roll my right foot over the ball without touching it, and then redirect with my left foot, passing it to him.
“Okay, you don’t need to keep showing off your fancy footwork,” Kai says, stopping the ball.
He then flicks it onto the top of his foot, lifts it into the air, and then hits the ball with the inside of his foot.
When the ball lands on the ground in front of him, he grabs it with his foot, rolling it under and keeping it locked under his foot.
“It’s easy,” I say, dribbling my ball up to him. I demonstrate the move again, reexplaining everything Coach Lyle already said.
“Okay, okay,” he says, signalling for me to back off. “I got it.”
Kai positions himself again and works out the mechanics of the move.
The scar below his eye becomes more prominent as his focus narrows.
Slowly, he rolls the ball up the back of his foot, anticipating the best time to kick it up and over.
I cup a hand over my mouth, masking my silent giggle.
I can’t help remembering my time with Milo and teaching him the basics of the game.
How are Kai and Milo identical twins? It makes no sense.
Kai has the right technique for rolling the ball up the back of his foot.
He kicks the ball a few times, but not at the right trajectory to get it over his head.
His expression is purposeful as he feels out the move.
His next try, the ball successfully goes over his head.
He cheers, “Whoop,” as he runs onto the ball in front of him.
“Geez,” I comment. “You picked that up fast.”
He kicks the ball up, bounces it on his knee, and then onto his head. When he headbutts the ball, he replies, “Because I’m the best.”
I’m not admitting it. I un-grit my teeth so it doesn’t show on my face.
Kai continues practicing the rainbow kick until a truly satisfied smile graces his face.
“You wanna move onto something else?” Kai asks me. When I give a nod, Kai calls out to Tyler, “Hey Ty! Grab your gloves and we’ll head down to the goal circle.”
Tyler gives him a thumbs up and dashes to the sidelines for his gear. Tyler is their team’s keeper, and he’s exceptional at it. I can’t wait to get a ball past him.
“You want to be defender?” Kai asks as we dribble down toward the goal posts.
I laugh. “Why? Do you need a challenge?”
“Oh, it’s on,” Kai teases.
When Tyler lands in front of the net, I position myself in front of him, ready to defend.
Kai approaches with caution. At least that’s how it appears.
Kai loves a fake-out just as much as I do.
His speed increases and he darts side to side with the ball.
It’s a simple trick to pull off, but defenders have tricks too.
I guess his moves correctly and manage to steal the ball. I flick the ball behind my foot and spin around to retake control, dribbling away from Kai. With enough space, I throw all my power behind a kick, shooting the ball out of the goal circle.
“Dang,” Kai whines, chasing after the ball.
“Better luck next time,” I tease, watching him collect the ball.
Kai rocks his jaw, locking eyes with me as he returns to the goal circle. I watch him intently, working out his next move. Kai goes again but passes the ball backward with his right foot. He rotates, angling his body to receive the ball with his left.
As he spins and circles around me to the right, I say, “So much for not showing off with fancy footwork.”
He puffs a laugh as I press my body against his back. I jut out my foot to steal the ball, but he clips it and surges into a powerful midair kick.
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.”