Soccer practice ended the same way it had for the past four years. Hollie and I ran three laps around the field together, sprinting the last leg of the third as usual. Hollie beat me by a nose as usual. Her jersey, number eight and last name, Gibson, bounced on her shoulders with every stride, her long blond ponytail switching back and forth. But the day was far from ordinary, and tomorrow was Sadie, Hollie, and my last game. Ever. And it wasn't even a real game. Women's soccer is a fall sport, but the UW and Washington State University teams have a rivalry scrimmage at the end of every year - a tradition for the seniors, and the seniors were finally us.
I felt a knot form at the back of my throat as the nearness of this milestone sunk in, and it made it hard to swallow as Hollie and I gulped in sips of water. Coach Miller gave us a knowing smile as the rest of the team came thumping into the huddle behind us.
"Bring it in everyone. Cougars is the team to beat tomorrow - our last test of the work we’ve put in. Do it for your seniors," she said, putting an arm around Hollie and Lillie's shoulders. "Lana, Lillie, Sadie and Hollie have put in the work and tomorrow they’ll give it their everything. Make the end of their careers here at the UW something worth remembering," said Coach, taking her arms off the player's shoulders and flipping through her clipboard. "Good night, ladies. Hollie, Lana, take it away."
Hollie put her hand in the center of the huddle. I put mine on top of hers. Everyone else followed.
"Last time guys," I said.
Hollie started the cheer. "One, two, three," she began. The rest of us joined in.
"Huskies!" we all yelled.
No one seemed as sad as me when they all dispersed, snatching their purple duffel bags and bolting to the parking lot. Everyone treated it as a normal routine - it was normal to them.
"Kind of sad, huh, Hol?" I asked as we rounded up the last of the stray soccer balls tangled inside the goal net.
"A little, yeah," she said, dumping the last two balls in the bag I was holding. "It's really going to hit hard tomorrow. Too much torture happened on this field for it to be sad."
"Agreed," I sighed. "The tear jerker will be leaving the stadium."
I didn't want to think about that anymore. I don't think Hollie did either.
We threw our bags over our shoulders and walked into the parking lot. Our cleat spikes click-clacking along were the only sounds as we walked out from under the bright field lights. Once we reached my old blue and gray Ford Bronco that I had left in the parking lot that morning, I opened the tailgate and we tossed our bags in the back, pushed off our cleats, rolled down our socks, and unsnapped our shin guards. We sat there a minute on the tailgate, still in total silence except for the sloshing of our water bottles.
A jersey with "Montgomery" stamped on the back briefly appeared then disappeared into her ride home. Sadie waved to us as her boyfriend drove them both by. Hollie and I weren’t particularly big fans of Andrew. Sadie is so funny, outgoing and quick witted, and it always seemed like a shame for her to waste her time with a guy who still thought women should have dinner waiting for her husband every night. She is definitely not the housecoat, martini, red lipstick type.
Just thinking about him made me want to punch him in the nose. "Ready to go?" I asked, turning my attention back to Hollie.
"Let’s do it." Hollie said, bumping me with her shoulder.
"I love this song!" Hollie yelled over the two open windows and the roar of my clunky truck as we drove home.
"Me too!" I said, turning up the volume and speeding the truck up simultaneously.
"Don’t do anything stupid," Hollie said, absentmindedly re-doing her long ponytail in the rear view mirror as my engine revved again.
"Don’t do what?" I yelled, laughing and accelerating. "Gun it you said? Speed up? Go faster?"
"Gu- what? NO!" Hollie’s eyes got big, and she grabbed for the self named "Oh-shit-handle," above the window. "Lana don’t mess around! Vehicles are weapons, not toys!"
"Okay, okay. Fine. Ruin all my fun." I loved teasing her. She drove a tiny red Ford Focus and I drove my hulking beast of a truck and yet somehow, she was always the one backing into telephone poles and getting into fender benders.
Hollie let go of the handle above the window and I turned up the music.
"Hi Andrew," I said when we came bursting in the front door. "What’s new?"
"Lana," he nodded. "How are you doing?"
"Fine."
That was civil, wasn't it?
It was pretty much all either of us could handle. He knew I didn’t care for him and that didn’t bother me. We got along perfectly conflict-free. Why wouldn’t we? He wasn’t my boyfriend. That didn't change the fact that it made steam come out my ears when I saw her come out of the kitchen with a beer and a plate full of sandwiches though. How stupid. She was the one coming off a hard practice, what was she waiting on him for?
"Mayo on both sides?" he asked.
"Yep." Sadie set the tray down and handed him the beer.
Close your eyes and count to ten, I told myself.
That wasn't working at all, so I went into my bedroom and got a towel. After a shower, I fastened my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head and walked out into the kitchen for some dinner.
Hollie was sitting at the bar on the other side of the kitchen divider and was eating a big bowl of pasta out of the pot she cooked it in.
"Carb load, huh?" I asked.
"I guess so," she said with a mouthful. She smiled sheepishly. "Also, the last thing in my cupboard."
"Right."
We had until tomorrow evening to be out of this house. With our incredibly important soccer game taking precedence, we were going to be scrambling all day tomorrow, to say the least. Already, boxes were stacked up all over - mostly my stuff. We had packed everything and were living on a love seat, two bar stools and paper plates. My bedroom was an absolute mess too.
After I ate some dinner, I went to my room to finish all the packing I could. My collapsible bed frame was already dismantled and laid out on the floor. I had minimal furniture as it was - I hate moving. Usually it’s because I have to do it by myself.
My family, extended and all, includes Rick, my dad, who is a part-time pilot for American Airlines, and Elijah, my 25 year old brother. I never really knew any grandparents or aunts and uncles. Just the guys. I say guys because Dad and Eli are pretty much twins separated by 18 years. Both are tall, tan and blond with dark blue eyes. Despite the small size of my family, my childhood was always full of laughter and fun. Eli and Dad had always been carefree (absolutely nuts) and I’ve always been the one bandaging them up afterwards. I had a few fun adventures too, as the little one trotting along after them.
Dad, being free every other week or so, still has his fair share of expeditions. He'll still go fishing, hiking, and sometimes even meets Eli and his fiancé Annie on their trips. Eli is a freelance photographer for National Geographic and gets to travel all over the world with Annie who is a travel writer. Now they were expecting their first baby, due sometime this summer. Ultimately, Elijah would have to settle down at some point, at least for a while.
Unfortunately, all the sporadic schedule ultimately means for me that I‘m on my own, and hence, moving in and out of college was always an independent project for me. It wasn’t that big of a deal - I had gotten really good at pulling furniture out through windows by myself.
"LAAAYYYY-NAAA!" came Sadie’s voice from the living room.
"Yeah?" I yelled through a strained voice as I struggled to pile another box onto the tower growing at the foot of my bed.
"Come out here a second, will ya?" Hollie yelled.
I unburied myself and found my two roommates, with Andrew nowhere to be seen, standing in the kitchen with a bottle of grape juice.
"Come toast our last night!" a smiling Hollie said, holding up the bottle. I laughed and came over to them, grabbing a paper cup.
"Pretty classy guys," I said, holding my cup steady. "I like your style."
I wish someone would bring me a plate of sandwiches and a beer! Study break over... :)
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