The Long Game by Elena Armas

Author:Elena Armas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2023-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Cameron

The girls left the middle of the Rockstone field and made their way toward the guest bench with red cheeks and ponies, pigtails, bunnies, and whatnot sticking in all directions.

I assessed them in silence, one by one, not surprised by the way they were dragging their feet or how they plopped on the ground around me and Adalyn.

“This sucks,” Juniper muttered, taking her frustration out on the grass under her outstretched legs. “We suck. We suck monkey butt. We suck so bad, we probably suck worse than monkey butt.”

Nodding heads created a wave of agreement, and I had to clap my hands to capture their attention before the conversation veered too deep into muddy terrain. “You don’t suck,” I assured the team in a firm tone. “You played a good game. You battled, hard. And left all you had on the grass.”

“But we lost,” Chelsea countered, tugging furiously at the remainder of her braid. Her tutu—which I now considered a lost battle—hung sideways. “We didn’t even score. We’ve only scored once in two games. And it didn’t even count.”

I decided not to comment on the own goal. “You didn’t lose. Nil-nil is not a loss.”

Chelsea threw her hand up, resting it against her forehead as she sighed. “It’s just as tragic as a loss, Coach Cam.”

“We’re losers,” Juniper muttered.

“And we worked so hard this week,” Chelsea added, encouraged by the other kid. “I haven’t missed soccer practice, not even once. Not even for ballet class. I feel like I haven’t danced in aaaages. I told my mom I could do both things, but I’m not so sure anymore. Maybe Dad was right. Maybe I should pick just the one thing and focus on it.”

“I haven’t been spending time with Brandy, either,” María grumbled from her spot on the grass. “Or Tilly. Or Carmen. And Sebastian is still missing.”

A somber mutter started picking up speed and volume. Every kid relating their own overdramatic version of their sacrifices for the game.

I brought my fingers to my mouth and whistled.

All mouths snapped closed.

“So you feel like you lost,” I said stepping forward. “So you worked hard for a whole week, got here today, tried your hardest, and got beat.” All heads were looking at me now, eyes wide and sparkly with a sentiment that, had I been smarter, I would have interpreted as my cue to shut up. But it bothered me seeing them like this. “Well, news flash, girlies. Life is not a walk in the park. Life is hard. Sometimes you win and oftentimes you lose. But this is only the outcome of one game. You fall and then you stand up and chase after the… little league cup.”

I sensed Adalyn shuffle closer. “There’s no cup,” she whispered loudly. “The prize is a trip to the Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park.”

“I love the Jungle Rapids,” Juniper grumbled.

“So you fall and then stand up and chase after the… trip to the Jungle Rapids,” I continued. “Tripping only toughens you. It’s moments like these that harden you.

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