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One… Two… Three… Breathe…
Milly played with a pocket-sized tin of Vaseline in her pocket. She stood by the sidelines of Stevie’s soccer game. The Savannah High Moas were playing the Benedict Prep Stormers. Milly had no clue what was happening and she stood with Stevie’s Dad. He was a big blonde-stached man with a bald head and big belly. He smiled and bought a couple hotdogs and tea for himself and Milly.
“That’s a good pass… Stay on her… Okay push forward…” he would say under his breath as if Stevie had the hearing of an owl.
Sometimes you don’t have to play for honour. You don’t have to play for anything other than for the thing itself. But hey - honour, glory, and triumph sounds pretty damn good. Stevie played a vicious game and it was nothing like Milly had seen her when they messed around with Bryn and Gary. The sky swelled with grey clouds but it wasn’t only until the second half that it began to weep. It was the sort of rain that required a raincoat but did not end play.
Winston passed the ball to Stevie who sped up to the edge and kicked the ball at the goal. It hit the top bar and bounced off. She was so intent on the move that she skidded and fell into the mud. Her bleach blonde hair was rife with brown gunk and grass blades.
“Um… Eric, what is the score?” Milly asked. Stevie’s dad had insisted on being called by his first name. Felt weird.
“One all…” Stevie’s dad said.
It was tight. The Savannah High Moas were not exactly dominating. Fatigue was already setting in. John came off for a yellow card after having an argument with one of the players.
“Dammit John,” Stevie said as he walked off, and then she gave the evil eyes to the other boy.
“Go Stevie!” Milly shouted from the sidelines. Milly had no idea where it came from and Stevie’s dad gave out a surprised look.
Stevie heard, turned her head, and then smiled. She blew a kiss in that direction. Milly blushed and shrunk a bit. Stevie’s dad chuckled and then slapped her on the back. Ouch…
Determination swelled up in Stevie’s heart and then she dribbled the ball confidently around her opponents. She passed the ball to Lucy, around a player, and then Lucy passed back. Winston received the ball for an absolute steal between the legs of the goalie.
In the last ten minutes the Benedict Prep Stormers scored again. Even Milly couldn’t take her eyes off the game. Is this what liking sports feels like?
That damn beauty, Jacelyn, a tall caramel skinned girl with cocoa brown hair and red lips, scored in the last seconds. The crowd roared and it was insatiable. 3-2. The Moas were celebrating and jumping to the moon. Moas! Moas! Moas!
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“Hey, you’re Show-Girl Milly, right?” Jacelyn stuck out her hand to shake. Milly was a little stunned as this stranger approached her. She was just waiting for Stevie outside the changing room. Jacelyn was one of the players. She was tall and beautiful. Milly’s heart fluttered.
“Show girl? I’m not —“ Milly said.
“Nah nah… She is Sardines… Or Tarzan…” John laughed..
Jacelyn’s smile went a bit stern and then she turned to put a hand on his cheek.
“What was that again?” She said.
“Er… Um…” John flinched and looked down, “don’t mess with me!”
John was tall and lanky with curly black hair and a herd of freckles on his cheeks and nose. He looked a bit like he would fight back, but deep down he knew Jacelyn was more bite than bark. He did not want to be on the wrong side of that.
“Show-Girl… Stevie says you are a superstar and gonna be in the musical,” she said with a seductive smile.
Milly didn’t know what to say so she just blushed and smiled like an idiot.
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Stevie came out of the changing room. Her blonde hair was wet and hugged her face - must have been freezing…
“So you have already met! Milly’s in the team now!” Stevie smiled.
“What?! I don’t know how to play soccer!” Milly said.
“We always need more cheerleaders,” Jacelyn winked.
If it was possible to go redder than a tomato - that was Milly. She was surrounded by Stevie’s friends and her small universe suddenly got bigger.
“Stop flirting with everyone, Jacelyn…” Stevie said.
“Hey… I’m not flirting… I just sound like this,” Jacelyn laughed, “But then again you all look so delicious.”
There was a chorus of sighs, and Jacelyn laughed it off.
“Pizza time!” Stevie said, grabbing Milly by the shoulder.
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Jack’s Pizza was a modest chain with an animatronic owl and rabbit in a disco theme. There were shows every hour - but the real reason you came was for the pizza buffet and unlimited slushies.
She came! Milly stood up to hug Zahra. It felt good to hug her. Zahra smiled but then squirmed out of it when she caught the eyes of Stevie's friends. They looked at her like hawks. Zahra became sweaty. All this public attention made her anxious.
Milly had asked Zahra to come for the soccer and pizza. Zahra said that she was busy with some homework in the morning, but really hated sports with a passion, however she said she would come for lunch. Who can say no to pizza? Zahra had her hair tied into a short boyish ponytail - I guess it was her new style instead of the bob. She had eye makeup on that was a bit shiny, and a black hoodie with the caption, “Guilty as charged.”
They ordered a dozen pies and they filled a large sixteen seater table. The parents were also around the periphery too munching away.
“How long have you been dating?” John asked.
“Yeah that’s something I wanted to know… You guys are the talk of the school…” Jacelyn said.
“Well it’s new,” Milly and Zahra said almost simultaneously.
“Woah… in sync,” Stevie said, slurping from her blue raspberry slushie. Stevie was the first one to see the relationship budding from the inside out; to be honest, she was still not convinced that Zahra was the right match. She gave them a subtle smile.
John began the interrogation.
“But what I don’t understand is that Zahra and Milly were enemies… Everyone knows the drama… The fights… The detentions… You hate each other… but now you are dating,” John said suspiciously, “sound to me like a classic Stockholm syndrome love story…”
“You dummy… that’s not how Stockholm syndrome works…” Stevie said. At that point she remembered telling the same statement to Viraj months earlier - she felt a sting in her heart, and became quiet again.
“Well… I think Milly is great… I was wrong about her,” Zahra said, “I was wrong about a lot of things…”
Milly felt her heart glow when Zahra said that and she wanted to squeeze her hand but Zahra had them under the table. Instead she tapped her shoe with Zahra’s. She looked up and smiled. Everyone looked at Zahra and she went bright red.
”Quit it,” Zahra said to the group.
“Fire and Ice! I love it! It’s the beginning of a new era,” Jacelyn said.
Milly couldn’t believe how many people actually knew or thought about her. They had all been bystanders when she was bullied, but now she was hot gossip. It felt a bit weird to have all these new people in her life. But they were supporting it? Fire and Ice, huh?
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Mama couldn’t come to the hospital today. After what Milly had told her about her assistant, she was off on a tirade and path of destruction. Well… that was a story… Milly and Zahra had bought ice creams from the convenience store.
“You like cola?” Milly said.
“And you like strawberries and cream?” Zahra smiled. She would not forget that.
They took the bus to the hospital. It was sunny and the sky was an endless blue. An old woman smiled at them as Milly took Zahra’s hand. Zahra felt a pang of anxiety but then calmed down. After a few minutes she pulled away to show Milly a meme on her phone.
They talked about how Zahra had never been to the hospital since she was born. She was lucky.
“Touch wood,” Zahra looked, but there wasn’t any on the very plastic and metal bus.
“Oh here!” Milly said, giving her the holding part of the ice cream stick.
“Thanks,” Zahra said.
Milly on the other hand had been many times to the ED. Zahra remembered too.
“I’m not surprised. You used to get into dumb fights all the time, Tarzan,” Zahra said playfully.
“Hey… I’m not Tarzan…” Milly said, “And how come you never get injured when I try to hit you…”
“Oh… You never catch me.. I am always two steps ahead,” Zahra said, standing up and taking two steps, “This is our stop, right?”
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Mom had been awake for a week - although she was very tired. A brain bleed would do that to you. She was happy that she had brought her girlfriend. Milly introduced them properly and Zahra held her mother’s hand.
“I look like such a mess,” Mom said.
”I brought this,” Milly smiled, and took out the tin of cream.
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