After Everything

Chapter Seven: Lola's Try Out

For the rest of the school day, Juliana looked forward to soccer practice. Soccer made her forget her worries and only focus on the sport. She felt at ease with the soccer ball at her feet, already feeling less stressed now that she wasn't cooped up in the toxic halls of her high school.

The less she saw Lola, and the less she saw her with Jake, the better she felt.

But when her eyes landed on Lola standing beside her coach, she knew she was in trouble - and knew she was in even more trouble when she saw her clothed in athletic attire.

Coach Ryan called an end to the warmup, which Juliana was thankful for because she couldn't focus on anything but Lola. She stormed over to her bag with anger in her step, breezing past Cassie who was ransacking through her bag.

Juliana then swiftly turned around, feeling the desperate need to point out her sighting to Cassie. "What is Lola doing here?" She questioned, trying to contain the fury in her voice as she peered down on her.

Cassie stood up, looking into her eyes. "She wants to try out for the team," she informed her nonchalantly.

Juliana tried to comprehend the information she just received. She felt at a loss for words. Shaking her head in disbelief, she spoke. "She what?"

"Relax," Cassie rolled her eyes as she tightened her wavy blonde ponytail. "I hardly doubt she's any good. Who says she'll even make the team?"

If Juliana was being honest with herself, she didn't know what to think. Cassie seemed so calm about the situation while on the contrary, she was freaking out. She glanced over at Lola, who was laughing with Coach Ryan and Crystal. Suddenly the eighty-degree weather became one-thousand degrees as the situation started to become more real to her. Lola - the girl who was all over her boyfriend - is trying over for her soccer team. She felt like she was sweltering. "Did you see her all over Jake at lunch today?"

Cassie paused, reflecting on lunch. The only thing she seemed to remember was her embarrassment for spilling her iced coffee across the hallway. Her cheeks flushed red as the humiliation hit her once again. "No."

"Probably because you were so focused on your iced coffee catastrophe," Juliana joked, playfully rolling her eyes as Cassie's cheeks turned even redder. "She was flirting with him in front of me."

Coach Ryan interrupted their conversation by blowing her whistle and motioning the team towards her to begin practice. Cassie was quick to set her phone in her bag as she and Juliana jogged towards her together. "That's a little weird."

"The worst part is that Jake acts like he's available," she replied, shaking her head in disappointment. "It's so embarrassing for me. I thought she'd get over him after finding out he has a girlfriend, but she hasn't." Fear set in Cassie's eyes as Juliana continued. "I don't know what I would do if Lola makes the team. I can't stand to be around her."

They stopped in front of their coach who was studying the clipboard in her hands. "I'm sorry," whispered Cassie as she had a sympathetic look on her face. "That sucks."

Juliana nodded her head, knowing she was right. The whole thing sucked.

"Hi, girls," said Coach Ryan as she looked up from her clipboard. "I hope the first day went well for everyone," she smiled before turning to Lola, who stood beside her. "This is Lola Cook. She just moved here from New York," she said as some of the girls waved to her. "She missed try-outs but I still want to give her the chance to be apart of our team. Today we're going to scrimmage and work on some skills to see how Lola does."

Everyone nodded their heads and agreed to Coach Ryan's game plan for practice except Juliana, who spoke up. "I heard Lola gets intimidated easily. Maybe doing a scrimmage isn't the best idea? We don't want her to make her uncomfortable."