The Girl in 309

Chapter 3

Apparently my coach roomed Liz and I together for reasons more than we just get along. In the last 4 months I have come to the realization that she and I might be soulmates. Not the kind of soulmates that get married, but the kind that stay in each other's lives forever. We both have goals of helping people, we both love the same television shows, and together we may be the pickiest eaters on this planet. I have, however, found one thing that we don't agree on: our favorite color. Mine is blue and hers is green. For this reason I have started calling her Lizard. She totally hates it, but I continue to use it daily.

Softball players love November because the weather gets a little cooler and we can finally start practicing on the field. Since team practices take the place of having two-a-day weights, Coach Warren is making us use that time for team bonding. It's not as bad as it sounds. Last week we went to the beach and spent the whole day together. This week, the seniors decided that we need to go the the basketball game and show our boys a little love. On Fridays we only have offensive practice so that we can start the weekend off with a team bonding activity. Since our practices are short, coach has arranged for two members of every class, of her choosing, to meet with her and discuss leadership roles. I explained it to my mom like kings and queens. She is basically hand plucking the captains and grooming them to learn from the already captains; quite genius if I say so myself. Anyway after our meeting, Liz and I decide to stop and get some dinner. We always eat in the cafe because of our meal plan so on Fridays we try to have an 'out to dinner' meal, it's like a Maddie-Lizard date. We pass by Gilroy's which has the best pizza on the entire coast! Okay maybe not THE best, but you catch my drift. "How about pizza" she asks. "Damn girl forget Lizard, I'm gonna start calling you Wizard cause you read my mind!" She puts her hand over her face and giggles.

We order the usual, a large pineapple pepperoni. Since we're the only two in the whole city who get this combination, Gilroy himself has actually named it "The 17". I'm assuming it's because of our numbers, I'm number 7 and Liz is number 1. And because it's stitched on our backpacks that's the only logical explanation I can come up with. "Here Mads" she says holding out a plastic cup. I walk over to the soda fountain and pour myself a Coke. We sit in our usual booth, it's the one by the window so we can see all the people that pass. Tommy, the pizza boy, brings out our deep dish creation and slaps it on the table. "Here ya go ladies" he says in the most Brooklyn accent I've ever heard. Liz and I dig in. We're literally shoveling this pizza in so fast neither one of us is uttering one word. Before we notice, we're both stabbing at the last slice. "Take it" I tell her, "but you're washing my next load of laundry!" She glares at me contemplating her choice. After a moment she grabs the triangle and smirks at me. "I would've picked the pizza too" I reassure her.

After the pizza is gone we sit in the booth for a good hour. We have to let our food babies go down, especially since it's a three block walk back to our dorm. We start talking about some of the things we discussed with coach about the team and some of the members that we need to push a little harder off the field. We quickly change the conversation to our future ring ceremony and what these rings will look like. I glance down at my hand and I can actually see the gold ring encompassing my finger.

"Are you ready" Liz asks and I nod. I get up to get some more coke for the walk home. I finish filling up my cup when I turn and none other than the cute blonde walks through the doors. "Mads, let's go!" Lizard is now waving me from outside Gilroy's to get a move on. I frantically look back and forth between Liz and the girl. What do I do? I motion her to come back inside. I sit back down at our booth and Liz plops down throwing her backpack against the wall. "Dude what the fuck?!" She moans. "I-I-I'm not ready to go just yet" I stammer while studying the blonde's body from behind. She's looking extra cute today. Her long blonde hair is straight and pulled back into a pony tail. Her white t-shirt is snug around her waist accentuating her hips, and her blue jean shorts are frayed at the ends. They fit her just right showing off her very round backside, and her tan legs are met by some golden strapped sandals with her maroon toenails wiggling as she waits on Tommy to take her order.

Liz notices me checking her out and kicks me under the table. "Ouch!" I turn around to find her making kissy-faces. "Stop it" I snap, but she doesn't listen. "Go talk to her Mads!" I roll my eyes, "and say what? Hi I'm Maddie and I think you have a nice ass?" "No! How about... Hey I'm Maddie, I think I've seen you around a couple times..." I wait for her to finish her sentence but a blank stare comes over her face. "Is that it?" "Sorry I'm not good at flirting either!" "Oh my god" I whine, "she's gonna leave and I'm gonna miss my chance, again!" "Again?! Oh my god is this the girl from Starbucks?!" I nod my head in assurance and now Liz is writing something on a napkin. "Here!" She hands the white square to me, "invite her to the baseball party after the game! Tell her to text you for directions!" Damn I knew Wizard was a better name for her.

I can feel my stomach doing summersaults as I begin to walk in her direction. Before I know it I'm standing right behind her. The smell of cinnamon rushes through the air. I look back at Liz and she gives me a thumbs up. You got this Mads, you can do this. I tap her on the shoulder and she whips around. I immediately get lost in her emerald green eyes, they must be the most beautiful shade of green I've ever seen. "Uhhhh... Hello? Did you tap me?" Focus Maddie. "Uh yeah.. I-I was wondering what you're doing tonight. Or if you have plans. Not because I want to know. But there's a party. A baseball party. Not that we're playing baseball but the boys are throwing it. Do you wanna go? If you wanna go I have the address. It's tonight. After the basketball game. Here" I stuck out my hand and put the napkin in hers. Wtf did I just say? It was like I couldn't make my mouth stop producing words. She totally thinks I'm a weirdo, she'll never like me now. "Uh thanks?" She folds the napkin and places it in her bag. I can feel my cheeks turning red with embarrassment, I cannot believe I just said all of that. I duck my head and b-line it for the door. It's over, I ruined my chances, guess I better start looking for a new girl. Those three blocks were the most painful of my life because I just kept replaying in my head the explosion of words. I turn the hot water in and get in the shower. Maybe I'll meet someone new at the party tonight... Maybe.