Chapter 1

July 8, 2017

A young-looking girl that seems quite tall for the young age that she seems to be is sitting across a small living-room suite from two adults.

“Mom, Dad. Next year, I would like to try out for the 12-15-year-old premier team. The premier teams are two steps up in ... dedication to soccer from what I’ve been playing. I would very much like to play on a team that is made up entirely of girls like me, girls that want to learn, want to excel at soccer. While there is a select team, which is one step up, that I could join, that team’s ... pitch is even farther away than the premier team’s pitch. I believe that I could make the premier team, though I would certainly not start, not next year. I know that I would learn a lot on that team, as I have grown beyond the sort of team that is ... this year’s team. This year ... it’s just too easy for me. I’m not learning anything from playing on this team.”

The tall man sitting on the couch does his best to stifle a smile at his daughter’s last three sentences. He is mostly successful, but only mostly. Having been to most of his daughter’s games this spring and summer, despite his own volunteer job as coach of a Little League boy’s baseball team, he knows those three sentences to be not only true, but an understatement. An understatement of ... not epic proportions, but certainly quite large. The man looks at his wife next to him, then back at his daughter.

“I assume that you have information on that team ... a website, a brochure, something.”

“Yes, Dad. I can send the team’s and the league’s website addresses to you and Mom. I know that I could learn a lot, because the Elkton premier team is among the league’s leaders and both the goals leader and assists leader of the league are on the team. The team has a very strong offense, with two other players being in the league’s top ten goal scorers. No other of the league’s teams has even two players in the top ten. The offense’s leaders are all 14-year-olds, so they will be there next year, but will be graduating to the next level after next year.”

“You’re saying that, if you were on the team, you could learn a lot next year and in the subsequent year, when there are so many openings on the offense, you could be a starter and get even more game time and learn more. Is that right?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“That seems tailor-made for you, almost too good to be true.”

Someone that did not know the young girl as well as did her father would see nothing of import in the slight reaction to the man’s words: the intake of breath, the raising of shoulders, the narrowing of her eyes. Her father, however, knew his daughter well. That narrowing of her eyes was one of her tells. It resulted in a laser-like focus in preparation for an emphatic rebuttal of the words that caused that reaction. His daughter had taken immediate umbrage to his words, but before she released her knee-jerk outraged reaction, her quick, very quick, mind, had analyzed those words more closely and realized that her father was not baiting her. Again, he felt like grinning about his wonderful daughter, but he completely held that one in check. It would not do to push her any further.

“We will consider it, once we see the details on the websites. I might also ask around.”

“Thank you, Dad, Mom. I have just one more related request. Could we go to one of their games soon? I’d like you to see the difference in level of play, so that you can judge for yourselves whether I might be a good fit for the team.”

The man looked, again, at his wife, then back at his daughter.

“That, I can promise. In fact, I’d be very interested in seeing how girls soccer is supposed to be played, at least by those skilled enough to play it well.”

July 9, 2017

The father and daughter were sitting at the dinner table, the mother was serving.

“I looked at those websites today. You seem to have either missed an important aspect or neglected to tell us of it.”

The tall, young girl’s face expressed surprise, then concern.

“What did I miss? I did not purposefully leave anything important out.”

“The premier team is much more expensive than your current team.”

The girl hung her head, then looked up at her father and her mother as she sat at the table.

“I’m sorry, Mom, Dad. I did not look into that. I thought that it must be at least a little more expensive, since they travel farther and have a longer season.” Her head dipped again, possibly to attempt hiding the single tear running down her left cheek. “I will look more into the select team.”

[Later]

The woman and man are talking in bed; the woman seems animated.

“We can afford it, though it would leave us with less safety net. However, she rarely asks for anything and it just about broke my heart to see the shattered look on her face.”

July 10, 2017

Early-morning light filters in through a kitchen window, highlighting a tall, young girl seated at a table eating cereal. She looks like she might have only just woken up ... or is somewhat unhappy; perhaps both.

“We are still considering your trying out for the premier team. It is quite expensive, but, as your mother pointed out last night, you only very rarely ask for anything. I am going to look into some options. I’m not saying that you can do it. I’m saying that it’s still a possibility. I hate seeing you so unhappy.”