Page 25 of Enemy Crush
“Why? Did your mother make another noise complaint?” Miller clipped, his upper lip twisting in a sneer, his tone unmistakably aggressive.
I lowered my head and turned away, taking a great interest in the clicking mechanism of my pen and hiding my cheeks that were heating up to five thousand degrees Fahrenheit. It must’ve been a moment of madness to think he was ruggedly cuteyesterday. I ignored him for the rest of the period and as soon as class was dismissed, I zoomed out, keen to get away from him.
Coach McLean had called for the soccer trialists to meet in the gym after school. I slipped into the locker room like a shadow, hoping not to catch the attention of Livvy and Tori, but thankfully they’d already changed, as had Sadie. I tagged along with the last group of girls.
We sat on the benches as Coach recited a spiel about team culture and commitment and how representing the Sonics was an honor.
“But unfortunately, not everyone can be selected,” she said, clearing her throat before reading out a list of names.
Livvy Cortez was named as captain, followed by Tori Kane. I held my breath, unsure of the order she was announcing names as it didn’t appear to be alphabetical. Jessica, Emma, Lindsay, Abby were called, and I only relaxed when Sadie Hill was named. If Sadie had made the team, I was certain of a place too.
“Well, congratulations to all those girls,” Coach said, “and to those who didn’t make it, we thank you for trialing.” She led a round of applause and I clapped along with everyone, but in a state of shock and mild panic because I hadn’t heard my name. Had I been too nervous to listen properly or had Coach mispronounced it in such a way that I hadn’t recognized? Sometimes people could be confused by the spelling of Devereaux. In the past I’d been called Quinn Dever-roo and even Quinn Dever-rocks.
In a daze, I watched girls move around me, some heading straight for the door, others milling around and high fiving, my predominant thought still being that if Sadie was in the team, I must’ve made it. Because, without intentionally being mean, Sadie had been a terrible player, like really terrible.
“Well, you can go now.” Livvy stood in front of me with Tori. “Coach only wants to talk tothe teamnow.”
“Yeah, bad luck,” Tori said with the most insincere smile.
I rose to my feet, everything a blur as I tried to comprehend that I hadn’t made the team. But how? If Sadie Hill had made it, surely I should’ve been selected!
“Bye bye!” Livvy giggled, waving her fingers at me in a sign that I should clear off. Tori joined in and I could do nothing but head for the door.
“Devereaux!” Coach’s voice boomed and the noise in the gym lowered.
I hurried over to her with a quiet optimism that she’d realized the error of her ways and had accidentally missed my name.
“Yes, Coach?” I brimmed with confidence.
“You trialed well and showed some nice skills, Devereaux,” she said.
“Thank you, Coach” I said, smiling and ready for her apology, but baffled as to why she was suddenly calling me by my last name.
“It was a tough decision, but I had to make it.” Coach’s mouth tightened and a deep groove embedded between her eyebrows. “In this case, I didn’t think you were the right fit for the team.”
“Excuse me?” I exhaled in a puff of disbelief.
“I just don’t think you’d be a good fit for the Sonics,” she said. “I know you’ll be disappointed but that’s life.”
“A...a good fit?” I’d stuttered, unsure what that meant. Weren’t players selected on merit, on ability, on athletic talent?
“One of my coaching slogans is ‘We rise by lifting each other up.’ Unfortunately, I don’t see you as a team player.” Coach cleared her throat and offered a suggestion. “Perhaps you’d be more suited to an individual sport. Golf, maybe?”
With a curt dismissal, she turned from me and strode away. Livvy and Tori were right there in my face. They both made aheart shape with their hands, heads tilted, openly sniggering and taunting me.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,I implored myself, drawing air deep into my lungs.
“Too bad,” Livvy whispered with a disingenuous smile. “Thanks for trialing, Prep School Reject.”
“Yeah, Prep School Reject,” Tori echoed in a mocking tone.
Terrified that they knew the real reason I was no longer at Brizendine, I stammered, “Well, good...luck for the season.” I was determined not to drop to their level of nastiness but thinking,‘You’ll need it.’Yet I didn’t allow those words to escape my lips. I would exit with dignity, my head held high, my ears ringing with Mom’s instructions to always act with grace and class.
My quick feet took me to the locker room, retrieving my bags in a rush. Loading my backpack onto my back and my tote onto my shoulder, I didn’t bother to change out of my soccer clothes. I headed out, aimlessly trudging my way through the hallways, not particularly in a hurry to get to the salon because Mom wouldn’t be expecting me so early.
I kept my eyes focused on the floor in front of me, but up ahead I could see and hear Elise amongst a group of students. I couldn’t bear the thought of her asking if I’d made the team. The humiliation of admitting I was a failure was too great, especially as it wasn’t my lack of physical skills but because I supposedly wasn’t a team player. That was so much worse. I impulsively pulled my hair out of its ponytail, letting my long hair drape over my shoulders like a curtain and stopped behind a group of kids who were standing around a bulletin board. Pretending to read the notices, I meshed my lips and teeth together to stop the flood of emotion threatening to burst out.
“You thinking about signing up?” A blond boy in front of me elbowed the boy next to him.
