Hitting the Crossbar by Nicole Nwosu

Author:Nicole Nwosu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group
Published: 2023-02-07T17:57:56+00:00

20

BEGGING

In my eighteen years of life, I had met a few people that I’d disliked.

There was Michael, the sexist pig I had to see every year on account of us living in the same town and playing soccer. I hoped he’d moved.

There was Beatrice. And, well, she was Beatrice—a bully, a mean girl, and, given some of the things she’d said to Jasmine, a racist. I hoped she’d moved away from Port Meadow too.

Now there was Tanya, who was like Michael and Beatrice combined: a soccer rival (despite us being on the same team) and a queen bee bully.

But there was also Alexis.

Alexis, at whom I said fake witchcraft spells in my head every time she rolled her eyes at something I said, cut me off, or managed to actually divert Sam’s attention from me. She was the girl who could never get my name right even though she knew it. When she’d come to Port Meadow over the summer, I’d tried to be nice to her. Everyone could vouch for me, but my attempts to be nice clearly didn’t work.

I got out of the kitchen, Andrew right behind me as Alexis started talking to Liz, probably trying to finagle her way into another photo shoot or something. But while walking out of the room, I almost bumped into someone. “Lucy.”

“Macy,” Sam’s grandmother replied, giving me a hug.

Her gray hair was in a bun on her head. Her green eyes glowed as she looked at me. “Could you tell Samuel to talk to me later today?”

“Of course,” I said before she moved past Andrew and me into the kitchen.

We walked back into the living room, noticing that everyone was silent the second they saw Andrew. Jacob spoke up. “Sorry, Andrew. We should’ve left you alone.”

Andrew shrugged, sitting back down on the ground, facing the TV. “I understand.”

I sat down on the ground in front of Sam, who had the spoon in his mouth and my ice cream in his hand as he eyed Andrew carefully. I took it from him, passing on his grandmother’s message as Alexis came into the room. She had magazines in her hands as she stepped over me, scraping her heels over my knee and sitting next to Sam.

Then Toby entered, standing tall at the entrance, not wearing a suit today and instead opting for a T-shirt and jeans. He surveyed the room, granting me a nod of acknowledgment. Then he made his way over to me.

Why was he walking in my direction? Why was he taking a seat near me on the armrest? Why was he looking down at me?

Even Sam couldn’t save me; he was too busy being in conversation with the she-devil.

“Um, hi,” I said.

“Hi,” Toby responded. “You’re driving back tonight?”

Keep it together. He’s just Sam’s cousin. You like Sam’s family.

The boys liked you back. Win over this one too. Maybe. I don’t know.

“We both have practice tomorrow morning.”

Toby’s eyebrows went up. “How long have you played football?”

Soccer. “Since I was three.”

“Competitively too?” I nodded.

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