Chapter 8 Maya
Maya
Fifteen years ago
Dina has her glare fixed on me as I run towards her.
The ball is at my feet; it almost feels automatic as I dribble it forward.
My breath is fast and heavy, and I know I’ve already outrun the other players on my team.
It’s just Dina playing in goal, and me. She’s the only thing standing between me and scoring the goal.
I pause for a second, just at the threshold of the penalty area, my eyes meeting Dina’s. If she sees my challenge in them, it doesn’t cause her to back down or even pause for a second. She stretches her arms on either side, ready to block the shot.
I run forward, shaping as if to go to the right.
Dina moves towards the ball, and my foot pushes forward, shooting to the left.
Dina realises her mistake at the last second, stumbling and leaping towards the ball.
But I’m too fast, and she’s too late. The ball brushes against the tips of her fingers and hits the net, before bounding to the ground with a satisfying thwap.
I turn to the rest of the team with a grin, as Jen blows the whistle.
‘And that’s time. Well done, Maya,’ Jen says. ‘That was a great goal.’ She gives me an encouraging pat on the shoulder, and even though she doesn’t say it, I already know that there’s no way Jen will leave me out of the team now.
To my dismay, though, Jen gives Dina an encouraging look as she leaves the goalmouth and makes her way towards the centre of the pitch.
‘You did a good job too, Dina. If you’d been just a second earlier, you would have caught the ball,’ Jen says.
Dina doesn’t seem very encouraged by Jen’s compliment.
She just shrugs, her expression surly as she glances at me.
I simply glare back. It’s not my fault that I’m a better football player than her, and besides, if Jen’s compliment is anything to go by, Dina will probably make it onto the team as well. The thought doesn’t make me happy.
Dina has seemed determined to hate me ever since that English class and I’m not exactly a big fan of her either. Being on the same football team wasn’t on my bingo card, but I can make it work.
Dina, though? I’m not sure if she can make it work.
‘All right, girls, really good game. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough spots on the team for everyone, but that was a great effort from all of you,’ Jen says with an encouraging smile. ‘So, the team is as follows …’
Jen starts calling out the names one by one. As each girl is called, they visibly brighten, many of them turning to high-five each other. I have no doubt that I made the cut, but I still wait with bated breath, my heart beating faster and faster as Jen calls each name that’s not mine.
‘Dina Chowdhury!’ Jen calls out, and Dina’s forlorn expression changes to one of surprise.
She looks towards Jen, like she can’t believe she was actually chosen.
I frown at the act – as if Dina doesn’t know that she was one of the best players trying out today.
She blocked nearly every shot when she was playing in goal, and she scored two goals when she was playing up front.
Her team probably would have won if Jen hadn’t made them switch goalies halfway through the match.
Jen is quickly nearing the end of her list, and I’m yet to be called.
My previous confidence starts to fade a little too fast, replaced with a slow-building panic.
Is it possible that I didn’t play as well as I thought I did?
Or maybe Jen just thought that my last-minute goal was a fluke?
After all, that was the only goal I managed to score, even if I did succeed in winning possession back from the other team multiple times.
‘Last but not least, Maya Alam.’ Jen gives me a smile as she says my name, and relief washes over me.
Beside me, Gwen and Nadine give me excited high-fives. Nadine and I have been obsessed with football since primary school and when we found out the secondary school had a team, we were desperate to try out, but we’ve only just met Gwen at try-outs.
‘All right, that’s everyone. I’m sorry to anyone who didn’t make the team. We still have the football unit in PE later in the year. And maybe you can try your luck next year, all right?’
With that, Jen motions us towards the changing rooms and we all shuffle forwards.
‘I’m so glad that all of us made it,’ Nadine says in a relieved voice. There are a couple of dejected girls who walk with us. I’m definitely glad that I’m not one of them.
‘Me too,’ Gwen says. ‘For a moment there, I thought maybe Maya wouldn’t …’ She drifts off, giving me a nervous glance.
‘I knew I would.’ My voice is a lot more confident than I feel. I was the last person called and I couldn’t help but wonder if that meant I was Jen’s last pick. ‘I mean, I was the one who scored that final goal. Did you see me? How could I not make the team after that?’
‘Yeah, but … Dina almost blocked you,’ Gwen points out unhelpfully.
I frown, glad that once we get to the changing rooms, her bag and locker are on the other side, so we don’t have to talk about Dina and her goalkeeping.
Gwen parts ways with us, while Nadine and I get our stuff from the benches.
I sit down, starting to peel off my boots, but Nadine is giving me a weird look.
‘What?’ I ask, wondering if maybe my socks are smelly after all that running around.
‘Dina made the team too. You’re going to have to get along with her,’ she says.
Dina and I have only known each other for a week, but it feels like everybody already knows just how much we don’t get along. It’s not my fault that Dina seems determined to show me up at every opportunity.
‘Yes, I know.’ I sigh, looking over her shoulder to where Dina is standing, rooting around in her bag.
She pulls out her worn uniform – the one that is the wrong shade for the actual school uniform and doesn’t even have the school logo.
I don’t understand why the teachers haven’t made her change out of it, and into the proper uniform.
Only Dina would get away with something like that.
‘I just don’t get her,’ I say, lowering my voice.
‘She’s such a phony, and she’s so … ugh.
I mean, did you see how she pretended to be shocked when Jen called her name out?
Like, of course she knew she was on the team, Jen couldn’t stop praising her goalkeeping.
’ Once I get started, I can’t stop, even though I know she’s only a few paces away from me.
‘And did you see how she was late for class again? Is it that difficult to set an alarm? I just don’t get it. I don’t get her.’
It would be one thing if Dina didn’t act like she was better than everyone while being decidedly not better than everyone.
But she walks around school like it doesn’t matter that she has the wrong uniform or the fact that she’s already had detention despite it only being the first week.
And then there’s the showing off – the always trying to one-up me.
It started that first day and has persisted into every single class we’ve shared together.
She even tried to one-up my lunch the other day.
It’s like she’s determined to prove she’s better than me in every possible way.
Nadine shakes her head, like she doesn’t get her either. ‘I’m just saying, we’re all going to be on the same team. We’ll probably have to see a lot of each other. I mean, practice every week, and then matches too. Plus, it probably helps when people on the same team don’t hate each other’s guts.’
‘I don’t hate her guts,’ I say. I’m not sure if I sound particularly convincing.
There is something about Dina that just rubs me the wrong way.
Maybe it’s the fact that, despite her many clear flaws, she seems to have the disarming ability to charm anyone.
Like how quickly Ms Nichols seemed to forget that Dina missed half of our first English class, and how Jen was practically singing her praises just now.
And now I’m going to be stuck on a football team with her.