Chapter 23
AKASH'S P. O. V.
I sat at my laptop late on Friday night, waiting for Carrie to come online on Facebook so we could talk as we had been doing for a couple of weeks now. I enjoyed it a lot, as I hadn't spent as much time talking to Carrie as I had her sister and Joanna; we had talked on some interesting topics already, but I always knew that there would be something new to discuss. However, since she usually worked for a few hours during the day each day, and I had my job and soccer filling up most days, late at night was the only time we had to talk; not that I minded in the slightest, Carrie was always so cheerful and full of energy, and I always looked forward to chatting with her. Tracy and Joanna had become even busier than her so I barely got to talk to them and while I wished I could talk to Tracy more, I knew I could count on Carrie to always be there.
As I waited for Carrie I decided to work on my story while my mind ran through the events of the match yesterday. It had felt good no doubt to finally score a hat trick this season, but being in such goal-scoring form only made me wish more that at least one of the girls had been watching. I smiled slightly as I recalled the feelings that had run through my mind while scoring each goal; the blood thundering through my heart and the images of Tracy and Carrie's smiling faces clouding my vision as I placed the ball in the back of the net.
Suddenly I remembered how the team had rushed to crowd me after that crazy third goal and I felt my smile fade and then return; were all those hugs and claps on the back only because of the goal? Or had the team finally started to warm up to me a little? I suspected that Dan had had more than a hand in it, but whatever had been the reason I was grateful. I had told Tracy about the game too and she had been as excited and full of praise as the team. My smile turned into a grin as I re-read her messages, but I frowned again as I remembered what happened after the match. On reaching home my family had inquired about the game, but unlike Tracy and my team, when I told them they simply said a quick congratulations for the win and went back to their own things. It suited me just fine, they didn't care about my performances in soccer anymore anyway and I wasn't going to bother trying to make them.
I continued to work on the latest chapter as the clock showed me it was nearly eleven. I stopped thinking about the game and focused on the chapter; I was at the point where it was time for the International Banquet, and Carrie had been excited about this one ever since she had convinced me to start writing. For that reason I didn't want to rush into finishing it because even though Carrie wanted a new chapter done every couple of days, I knew she would like it more if this one was well-written and a little late. I typed slowly, making sure I could remember every possible detail of that day. Pausing for a few minutes, I shut my eyes and thought about what I had to include; I remembered promising Kadie to help her carry the utensils, and how that plan had nearly been foiled when Sid had needed a ride to school and I had been told at the last minute. Then there had been the setting up of the cafeteria and I couldn't help recalling my wish to serve the food with my friends, and the reproach I had felt towards Mrs. Arnent for not allowing it. And then of course the actual banquet and how I had forced the girls to agree to my helping clean up afterwards, and then... A smile crept across my face and that familiar warm feeling inside returned as I remembered the hugs I had received from Carrie and Tracy just before leaving.
As if on cue, Carrie popped online and sent me a message right then. I snapped my eyes open and grinned widely as we told each other about our days and she asked for an update on my story. I told her the chapter would be slower and probably wouldn't be done until the end of the weekend, especially since I had my 6:30-2 shift tomorrow as it would be a Saturday. I smiled as I waited for her reply since I expected her to fake anger and reprimand me, and demand it to be done tonight. But her response wiped the smile cleanly from my face, and my eyes popped and I caught my breath sharply as I read and re-read it: 'I'm going to camp for a week, I leave on Sunday morning. Will the chapter be done by then? ? '
