Game Time

Chapter 1

Jessie's POV

"Jess call me later if you need anything okay? And try and talk to some new people too," my Mom smiled.

"Okay," I said dryly. I had no intention of talking to anyone here. Socializing wasn't really my thing. My main priorities at the moment were just soccer and school. I couldn't afford any distractions, given the level of soccer I was currently playing at.

"You'll be fine," Mom said sensing my worried expression. I nodded, her pulling me into a tight hug.

"I love you," she said pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Love you too Mom," I smiled. She gave me one last hug before leaving. I sat down on my bed and observed the quiet room. I had set up my side of the room, leaving the other side empty for my roommate: Mallory Pugh. I knew exactly who she was. She was the youngest player on the senior USWNT. She had awesome skill and was definitely a powerful playmaker on the field. And she was also gorgeous. Like really gorgeous. But, she probably didn't even know who I was. UCLA thought it would be a great idea to have two national team soccer players share a dorm room. I didn't think I would mind it, but since we were opponents I didn't know if that would change anything.

I sat down on my bed, nervously playing with my hair and also not knowing what to do to kill time as I waited for her to arrive. But, just moments after being alone I heard the doorknob turn. My head shot up as the door opened to reveal Mallory herself. She forcefully dragged her luggage in, not even noticing me. Okay stay cool Jess. I stood up slowly, fixing my hair. She sensed me and jumped a little finally noticing that there was someone else in the room with her.

"H-hi..I'm Jess-," I tried to say, but a taller man wearing a suit came into the room. He seemed out of breath.

"Mal..I'll be in the lobby making a quick phone call. Set up all your stuff while I'm gone," he said not giving her a chance to respond or even noticing that I was there. He left, leaving her and I alone. She rolled her eyes and set her stuff down, not looking at me.

"I'm..Jessie. Jessie Fleming," I said shyly.

"I know," she said blankly. She pulled out her phone and sat down on her bed. My face began to turn red, as I found myself feeling more awkward. Should I say something? Should I just leave her alone? I decided to sit back down on my bed, cross-legged. I continued to play with my hair as I noticed how pretty she actually was. Her hair was wavy, falling past her shoulders. She wore a yellow sweater, along with blue skinny jeans. And oh my god, her eyes. They were gorgeous.

I continued to stare at her, as she texted on her phone. "Staring problem?" she randomly asked, without even looking up from her phone. My cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, as I looked the other way.

"Sorry," I said quietly. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Well she's rude, I thought. The man eventually came back into the room and shook his head when he noticed that she hadn't unpacked any of her things.

"Really Mal?" he said, crossing his arms. She looked up from her phone and groaned.

"Okayyy," she said opening her suitcase.

"Call me if you need anything. Make sure to talk to your professors before hand and complete the handouts they assigned. Your mother and I don't need you slacking off," he said quickly before simply patting her arm and leaving.

"Bye Dad," she fakely smiled, as he closed the door. She noticed me staring again and harshly asked, "What?"

"I didn't say anything," I mumbled. I decided that not talking to her would be a much better option. I began to take some of my belongings out of my box near my bed, along with my clothes. After a solid 20 minutes of silence, she finally spoke up.

"You like Mia Hamm?," she asked. I gave her a confused look as she pointed to the poster of Mia Hamm I had hung up above my bed.

"Oh..yeah I do," I smiled. She nodded simply saying, "Cool."

"Well..uh it's nice to finally meet you! You're a very good soccer player by the way," I said shyly extending my hand out. She stared at me and then at my hand, slowly shaking it.

"You are too," she said quietly as a small smile formed on her face. We stood there for a brief moment, before she let go. And I hadn't realized it in that moment, but I had been holding my breath the whole time.

"You nervous about school and stuff?" I asked sitting back down on my bed. She looked up, her cheeks turning red.

"What? No," she said defensively. She scoffed, sitting down on the floor.

"Oh..well I am," I laughed trying to lighten the mood. She smiled, looking up at me.

"Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know many people here. And I'm not very good at socializing either, which makes me think that people won't like me here," I nervously giggled.

She nodded. "I understand. Most of my friends came with me here, I'm nervous about the amount of work that will be given along with keeping up with soccer." The image of her Dad talking to her earlier replayed in my head.

"Your mother and I don't need you slacking off," he had said. I turned my attention back to an irritated Mal, as she looked down at the floor with frustration in her eyes. I opened my mouth to respond when the door opened, revealing two blonde girls. One carried a blue backpack on her shoulder matching her blue eyes, while the other had bright red lipstick on complimenting the rest of her fall themed outfit.

"Hey Mal! You ready to go?" they asked. She nodded standing up. I felt the two girls eyes on me, as they whispered to one another making my cheeks turn red.

"Yup! Lemme just grab my things," she said digging a jacket out of her suitcase. She pulled it on while grabbing her phone on her bed. She then turned to me. "Um..we'll be back in a bit. Let's catch up later okay?" she said and followed the other two girls quickly out the door not giving me a chance to respond.

"Well..that wasn't a complete disaster," I said out loud shrugging it off.

(lmao this is so bad sorry)