“Katie! Hurry up; you’re going to be late for your first soccer practice of the summer!”
I groaned in discomfort as I rolled over onto my back from having my face smuggled into the pillow. I propped myself up on my elbows and tilted my head over to the side to look at the time. My dark hair fell off of my shoulder tickling the length of my arm. I groaned again, it was 6:00 a.m. I loved soccer, it was my passion, but early morning practices kill me, especially because I just had a whole school year of waking up early.
If you haven’t caught on yet, my name is Katie. I’m an 18-year-old brunette. With not exactly a lot of popularity on my hands, I really only have one good friend. Fortunately for me, Emily, happens to be the greatest person ever, so luck was on my side for that one. My dating life is pretty much non-existent I would say, seeing as I not the cutest girl in my town. I live practically on my own seeing as my mom is rarely ever home. She is constantly on business trips leaving me alone for days or even weeks sometimes but for the time she is here with me, she is on my back on practically everything ever since my Father left us when I was 8 years young. I have dedicated more of my life to soccer then anyone in my town, giving me a bit more of an advantage when it comes to skill and experience levels. I’m also in this very prestigious soccer team program, which runs every summer and I have been in it since I was the eligible age.

Let me tell you about this program. See, every town in this state is involved. Basically every summer, one very lucky team is chosen to have the chance of getting a scholarship to this really amazing university. The team has to make it to the finals and win first place or the opportunity is passed on to another team next in line. If the team wins it though, one lucky person from the team gets chosen by a scout and is given the scholarship. This year, my very own team was chosen.
“Katie!” my mom yapped at me for the second time.
She barged into my room unannounced pulling my warm comforter off of me and jumping onto the side of the bed, jostling me around. She raised her hand and brushed the hair out of my face and gave me a peck on the cheek and then handed me a cup of hot tea. I sat up and propped my back up against my headboard.
“Thanks” I said in a rough, tired voice.
“Katie, you have to get used to these early hours” my mom complained.
I nodded my head slowly and took a sip of my tea embracing the hot liquid going down my throat.
My eyebrows frowned as I stared at my mom trying to hint at her to leave so I could get my uniform on. She stared back at me and her right eyebrow fell in confusion
“Mom, go away I need to get ready.”
Her mouth went in an O shape and she got up and walked out closing the door behind her. I placed my cup on my side table and I slid back down lying on my back staring at the ceiling. I closed my eyes tightly and grunted, taking in a deep breath and doing a big stretch then I pushed myself up and out of bed.
I glimpsed over to the clock again to see how my time was, it was already 6:15 a.m. I cursed under my breath and started to rummage through my drawer trying to find my soccer uniform. I pulled out my really old, light blue soccer jersey and my black shorts, followed by matching socks from the past few seasons. I walked over to my dresser top where I kept my shin pads and hair elastics. I started stripping off my old coke cola t-shirt my Father gave me when I was 6 years young. It was very old and faded but I couldn’t get myself to rid of it. I threw the shirt into the laundry basket and slid my jersey over my head pulling my arms through each arm hole and then tugging it down to my sides.
I grabbed my shorts by the waist holding them close to the ground; I bent over placing each leg in and pulling them up to my hips. I rolled my hair tie down the length of my hand, placing it on my wrist. I then bent down on my left knee and placed my guard on my right shin and wrapped the Velcro around and stuck the two pieces together then I switched legs placing my right knee on the ground and then repeating the same process. I jumped up onto my feet and wandered over to my bed side. I sat down and reached over for my socks. I pulled each one over my feet and up the length of my guards. I brushed my hair back and tucked it behind my ears. I rested my elbows on my thighs and placed my chin on the palms on my hands. I sighed then shook my head trying to keep myself up.
My mom yelled at me “Katie, are you almost done!”
I cursed under my breath again and sat up lugging my body weight over to the kitchen.
“Hurry up, tell me what you want to eat.”
I shrugged then replied saying “I don’t know I’ll get something after practice with Emily.”
My mom scowled at me and then picked up an apple from the fruit basket that was placed on the island in our kitchen and then tossed it over at me. I caught it with my chest then hugged it with my arms so I didn’t drop it. I rolled it into my left hand and took a bite out of it. I walked over to the front door and I placed the apple in my mouth and bit down so my teeth were wedged into the apple skin, holding it in my jaw while I put my cleats on. I tied the laces tightly and folded the flap on the shoe over containing the bow I made. I sat back up and then I completed the bite on my apple getting a decent chunk of the sour apple. I chewed on it while waiting for my Mom to finish filling up my water bottle. I took a few more bites of my apple before chucking it into the waste basket near the front door. My mom started walking towards me while tightening the cap of the big water bottle. She stuck her arm out passing me the water. I took it in my hand and opened the door with my other.
I hopped down the stairs trying to pump up my energy for practice and then jogged toward the car. It was a chilly morning so I went straight into the car rubbing my arms trying to remove the goose bumps that formed onto my naked arms. My Mom walked over to the car and opened the door and plopping down into her seat. She wiggled her keys around trying to retrieve the correct one; she finally found it and held the key with her thumb and pointer finger and searched for the ignition. She turned the key and made the engine roar, threw the gear shift into reverse and pulled out of the driveway backwards. She put the car into drive and made her way to the soccer field.
She was fiddling around with the radio trying to find something to listen to. Other than the dim sounds of old school music and her finger lightly tapping the steering wheel to the song, it was completely silent. We approached a red traffic light and my Mom cleared her throat.
“So Katie, is there going to be any cute boys at the soccer fields this season?” and followed with a wink and I smirk.
I grunted and rolled my eyes.
She laughed and said “Oh, come on you can tell me!”
My Mom can be strict at times but she has a sensitive side, she tries her hardest to be the best Mom she can be and I appreciate it. I replied sarcastically “Not that it would matter anyways Mom, with my beautiful allure and all…” when she interrupted me turning the conversation into a more serious tone “Katie, you are beautiful and guys who don’t notice that are idiots” I exhaled out hard at her statement then I noticed we were approaching the fields.
I sat up straighter trying to search for my best friend before we parked. I saw her socializing with my other teammates, my Mom was still pulling into a spot when I whipped off my seat belt and grabbed my water. She put the car into park and I jumped out of the car and ran over to Emily. She smiled at me when she noticed me and she swung her arms open to get a hug from me. I fell into her and wrapped my arms around her. I pulled away and said hello to her and my other teammates. My Mom was walking over to the other parents so she could talk about whatever parents talk about. Emily pulled me over away from the rest of the girls and had the biggest smile on her face. My eyebrow fell in confusion, wondering why she was so happy. She placed her hand onto my shoulder and pressed into my back with her fingers forcing me to turn around. She pointed at someone in the distance. My eyes squinted trying to make-out his face.
I turned around said “Who is that?”
She giggled and replied saying “He’s the coaches’ nephew, he’s in town for the rest of the summer for work and if he likes it here he is moving in with him and attending our school for his last year!”