Chapter 13
The weekend felt extremely slow and uneventful, as I didn't get to see my friends on either day. My brother and most people I knew took friends for granted, assuming that they would always be able to talk to and visit their buddies. But I knew better and I would never take my friends for granted; I was aware that they could always decide they'd had enough, and so I had vowed to myself to enjoy and savour each moment I had with them.
Sid's game on Monday was announced postponed when it was found out that the coach of the other team was out of town and could not make it back in time for the match. Sid wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be able to play anyway, and I hadn't heard the news until reaching the field; since I had already booked the evening off work, I decided to simply hang around and watch one of the other games that were going to be played at the complex. I walked around near a field where two girls teams were arriving, one in green jerseys and the other in purple. I looked uninterestedly at the players, not recognizing any faces, but jumped almost a foot in the air as I heard a very familiar voice sound from somewhere behind me.
"Well hi! You here to watch us kick some butt?" I looked around in disbelief to see Tracy grinning cheerfully, but with a slightly surprised look on her face. She gave me a hug and I laughed.
"I am now," I assented. "Wow what a coincidence! I had no idea you were playing in this game, otherwise I'd have let you know I was here!" She laughed too and shook her head.
"It's better this way, what a pleasant surprise," she smiled as she took a ball from her team's stock. "Want to pass it around so I can warm up?" I glanced uncertainly in the direction of her teammates who were passing around in small groups on the field. She seemed to read my mind as she followed my gaze and chuckled. "It's fine, I don't have to practice with my teammates, I'd rather practice with someone who I know can kick the ball anyway." I felt easier and slightly proud at her compliment, and we passed back and forth for about ten minutes until it was time for her to rejoin her team for the start of the game.
She gave me another hug and I wished her good luck. "I may have to leave at half, my parents think I'm at my brother's game and they'll expect me home by then," I said sadly but she just grinned.
"That's fine, it's great that you can stay even for a half. Otherwise there's no one here to watch me play at all!" With that she jogged off to the team bench and I found a spot with the rest of the spectators so that I would be able to see the whole field clearly. Watching happily as the players took their positions, I noted that Tracy was playing in the centre of defence to start, the same place she had played in the soccer game for Free the Children a couple of weekends ago.
The game began and although I had one eye on the ball for almost the entire time, I kept looking back at Tracy too, in case she was being outnumbered by the opposing forwards. She played solidly though, and although her team conceded two goals in the first half, I found it hard to see any fault on her part for either of them; her positioning couldn't have been questioned, although a couple of the other defenders should probably have been further back to help defend. The half-time whistle went with her team trailing 2-1, and I reluctantly got up to leave, texting her to let me know the score at the end. I didn't want to leave since Tracy's team had been dominating the play since going two goals down, and I felt like they would probably tie or even win the match. But I didn't want to get into an argument with my parents either, and I slowly walked away from the field, hoping fervently that her team would manage to salvage the result.
Tracy texted me a couple of hours later, telling me that her team had managed to win the match 3-2. I was delighted for her and congratulated her before letting her give me a highlight reel of the second half. When she had finished we continued to talk and the topic turned to my team. She seemed enthusiastic about the idea of coming to see one of my games, and by the time we were heading to bed we had decided that I would pick her before my Thursday match next week so she could watch. We had convinced Joanna to come too as she wasn't doing anything. I had hoped for Carrie to accompany us as well, but apparently she was working that evening, and Tracy said she usually didn't watch sports anyway.
