As soon as the water meets my shins, I jump, throwing myself into the gulf that’s at least a little cooler than the air. The visibility is zero, and I feel someone’s hand touch my shoulder. It only lasts for a few seconds, and then I’m back up, taking a gulp of air that turns into a scream all four of us do together, looking right up at the sky like we just won a war, riding this adrenaline rush and tasting salt on our tongues. We yell some more, forgetting our tired, cranky moods while throwing water and trying to dunk one another for whole minutes as our team cheers us on from the sand.
The four of us were put together in one of the off-campus townhomes the university owns only a couple minutes fromcampus, right on Oso Bay. It’s been a few weeks since I met them and once they became my roommatesandteammates, we began spending nearly every single minute of our day together. I learned that Pérez’s favorite midnight snack is Doritos and spicy bean dip (RIP to his toilet), and that one of Nguyen’s exes got him listening to K-Pop as study music (which made me realize how catchy it is, and I’ve caught myself singing “BLACKPINK in your area” more than a few times), and that, while Ahmed was a bitch and a half to get up for this, hewillwake up at four in the morning to watch a French National Team game, if only because he loves to yell “Fuck France!” for ninety minutes.
We’ve gotten mostly used to one another. It’ll happen when we all come back from practice, rushing to our fridge and the Powerades we keep stocked on the second self, or when we try to cook dinners together without catching the entire building on fire before letting Nguyen take charge as official head chef, or when we see each other naked way more than necessary. The evolution from strangers to, at the very least, cordial and familiar was bound to happen.
Right now, though? Getting one another out of bed way too early and being pendejos in the water as part of some squad tradition and, also again, seeing each other naked way more than necessary? We dove in as boys, and we come up as brothers.
Which is why when Pérez yells out, “I love you guys,” I can’t help but say it back. And when, after Ahmed tells us he loves us, we all hassle Nguyen to say it back too—“Like you mean it!”—I have a huge smile on my face, knowing that I’ve got friends again. That I’m not alone. And I have a confidence that I honestly needed going into today and the start of my first semester of college.
“Good job, Piña,” Barrera tells me as he throws a towel my way once we’re back on the beach and rinsed off. “That’s the way to start off the day of our first home game. Counting on you for another shutout, yeah?”
“Claro, jefe,” I say back while wiping myself down. We’ve had two away games in the past couple weeks, and I’ve been solid so far, starting off our season strong. Even though I was so nervous for my first college game that I threw up in a trash can outside the locker room while everyone else was hustling to the pitch. I went in with a lot of words fresh in my mind about what the team’s thoughts were with me being the starting keeper, Barrera included. He’d been on my ass constantly since our first practice, all “You going to prove me right, Piña? You going to keep letting the ball get past you like that? You going to make Coach regret putting you here and giving you this spot?” But it’s only driven me harder to show them exactly why I’m here. So, after that puke, I jogged out there ready to give it my all, and I’ve been playing better than I ever have. Every goal attempt so far, from both teams we’ve faced, has been stopped. That is, the few that have happened. If anyone’s quick-footed enough to make it through our defense that’s also playing better than ever, there’s no way they’re getting past me. This team had been overlooked for years before I showed up, and we’re all ready to show everyone it’s our time.
“We’re getting our third W today. I know it.”
Barrera gives me an all-lip smile and hands me the plastic bag with my clothes. “Don’t let this get to your head, but you might be the best keeper TAMUCC’s ever had. And don’t make me regret saying that either, alright?” He starts walking away from me, his hand coming to the back of my shoulder for a couple slaps before squeezing. “Keep it up. Ponte las pilas. Oh, and if you’re not going to put your clothes on, at least wrap that towel around your waist, yeah? It’s starting to get weird.”
“What time do we got to be at the field?” Pérez yells, holding his towel in front of him, also not caring much about anyone who’s walking behind him and has to see his ass.
“Eleven,” some teammate in the mix of all of us yells back.
“’Ueno. So, when we get back to the house, you boys want to circle up and—”
“Shut up, Pérez,”Nguyen, Ahmed, and I all groan together.
“Take a nap! I was going to say take a nap. It’s enough time for an REM cycle, I think. And if any of y’all want to cuddle, I’m cool with bed buddies. Not putting my clothes back on, though.”
“No one wants that,” Ahmed says, trying his best to keep his eyes open while Nguyen tells him, “You’re at least wrapping that towel around yourself! There’s no way your bare ass is sitting on my seats.”
“Suit yourself. Oh, but if y’all are down for a pit stop, I wouldn’t say no to a quick drive by Whataburger, if anybody’s—”
“Pérez, I’m being so serious right now when I tell you tostop talking. And get in the car.”
Pérez puts on some Bad Bunny when Nguyen, as a sign of brotherhood, I guess, hands him the aux. In the back, Ahmed lasts seconds before his head is on my bare shoulder and he’s snoring. I put an arm around him to stay comfortable and keep it from falling asleep, and this boy unconsciously snuggles into me more. Our passenger princess doesn’t last much longer, getting a brief second wind, pumping his arm as he sings along to “EstáCabrón Ser Yo” one minute, and falling asleep the next, before the song’s even over, drool trailing down his chin. I try to stay up and keep Nguyen company, even though he’s the quietest one of the group and my eyelids are tempting me with the promise of a few z’s.
I can make it until we’re back home. Easy.
I don’t. I get as far as “That was something, huh?” and a “Wait, who lost that race?” Nguyen offering a quiet laugh back with a “Yeah” and “I think Ahmed.” I’m not sure when it happens, but I don’t even remember getting off the island. Next thing I know, I’m waking up as Nguyen is parking, the lights from the parking lot almost too bright as I open my eyes.
“I love you guys,” Pérez says again through a yawn before we all head off to our rooms. “The Fantastic Four por vida.” He holds up his Powerade, like he’s trying to make a toast. “Here’s to year one, boys.¡A huevo!”
“Shut up, Pérez.”
Here’s to year one.
2
A LOWOOMPHCOMESout as I kick the ball back into play, a side volley that keeps low to the ground, curving just slightly while it gets some air. It lands exactly where I want, right at Pérez’s feet, who’s on it in less than a second after it hits the grass, heading for the other team’s goal.
“¡Corre, papi!” I yell, my gloved hands circled around my mouth. “Don’t let them take it from you!”
I watch him sprint down the field, whispering, “There you go. Good movement. Great pass,” as the attention quickly goes to the other side of the pitch. And now that my half’s quiet, I can take a second to stretch out my right leg and knee. Do a couple hops and try to forget about how tired I still am from this morning. Saving this last attempt required a rough dive, and I got a big green stain on my white shorts for it, and grass sticking to the sweaty skin of my thigh. There’s also some pink near my elbow and on my leg where I slid a second after and cut myselfup. As long as someone caught that save on camera, I don’t mind leaving this game a little bruised up. I know it looked sexy.
All in a day for a keeper.
These guys—a team from a Catholic university in San Antonio—got some drive in them. Definitely the best offense we’ve faced so far. If anyone on my squad thought the past couple of games weren’t anything more than scrimmages, they’re realizing we’re in the real season now. I’ve kept them at zero so far, and our defense is consistent about making it hard for them to get to me, but I see it in their eyes: they want to give us our first L at our first home game, and they didn’t come all this way to let us off easy. On the other side of the pitch, their keeper has been just as on it as me. No one out here has got a point on the board so far, and with most of the game past us, we could be looking at a tie today.
I’d prefer the win, obviously. But at least my shutout holds up. And—