Walking down the street, Krystal and Samantha, best friends, are taking their time to meet some fun people. They are bubbling with excitement as they trot down the path to see some special people.
“Do you think that they are bursting with excitement to see us again?” Samantha asks her best friend, Krystal.
“Of course, they will be!”
As the two friends ponder on the excitement of reuniting with their friends again, they arrive at the park to see an unbelievable sight. A sweet, huge, pink cloud stares deeply at the girls. What is it? Is it a monster? Is it going to eat them?
“Surprise!” they shout.
The girls look at the boys dumbfound and with their eyebrow arching up.
“What is it?”
“I don’t have any idea what it is.”
“You don’t know what fairy floss is?” the boys ask, dumbfound themselves.
They shake their heads as they question what their life has become. Well, not everyone has the same life experiences.
“Let’s continue walking down to the park.”
They continue their path and arrive at the luscious green grass. Alejandro sets down the soccer ball.
“Time to play?”
“Yeah!” the trio shouts in happiness.
Even if the exciting game soothes the awkward atmosphere, the lingering feeling never leaves the boys. How could the girls not know what fairy floss is?
…
Tryouts. One of the most terrifying and anticipating times of someone’s life. Krystal and Samantha both stand near each other, shivering. Butterflies fly in their stomachs rapidly and they glance over at the large crowd.
“Why are there so many people here?”
“There’s way more people than at school.”
Across the field, there are two boys, shivering and holding themselves protectively. Their dark brown hair is gleaming in the sun, most likely sweat from the anxiety flooding through everyone’s bloodstream. Their nervous eyes are facing the floor and they both huddle close to each other. Brothers, perhaps?
“Should we go over?”
“No, Samantha! Are you crazy? They are our competition.”
“But we’re in different groups. Plus, they look so nervous. Come on, let’s go.”
Holding her stance, Krystal resists against Samantha’s intense wishes. There is no absolute way she would be going over there. First, it starts there and then who knows what? It may lead to the most obscure things. Competitors should never associate with other competitors.
“Krystal, I’m going over there regardless. You can stay here but I want to make some friends before this all gets too real.”
She storms off and expecting her to turn back around, she does not.
Reluctantly, Krystal trembles forward, finding the strength within herself to continue. Catching up with Samantha, she slows down her pace and feels the intense pain strike her stomach – hard!
“Samantha are you sure you want to go through with this? There’s still time to turn back.”
“Seriously, what is so scary? We are playing for a girl team and they are playing for a boy team. Would you just breathe? It’s not like they will ever compete against us.”
She stares at her best friend, concern filling her eyes about the truth she does not know.
“You don’t know?”
“Know what? The fact that you are shying yourself from making friends or the fact that you might have a crush on one of them?”
Krystal stares at her friend, aghast and mouth wide open. Samantha gazes intensely as she waits for an answer.
“So? Which one is it, Krystal?”
“The first one…”
Avoiding eye contact with her friend, Krystal fights the urge to tell her the truth. That one day, they will have a friendly match…
As she lowers her head, Samantha wraps her arms around her best friend. She strokes her back and pats her soothingly.
“I’m sorry Krystal. You’re not going to lose me. I’m sorry I forgot.”
Wiping invisible tears, Krystal nods her head solemnly and braves through the rest of the walk with Samantha. There’s no way she will lose her best friend. She will always be there for her.
“Hi, I’m Samantha and this is Krystal.”
“Hi, we’re Alejandro and Steven.”
In a sense of confusion, the boys reply.
“We’re twins and we sometimes say things in sync.”
“Oh,” the girls announce in unison.
From there, conversation flows smoothly with Krystal even contributing at times. The friendship slowly begins to blossom, and this is where it all commences. When tryouts end, they all recombine and talk about their individual experience.
That is the start of something magical.
…
“So, what do you guys want to do next week?” asks Samantha as they all form a circle and eat the fairy floss.
Silence resides in the centre of the circle as concentration stands still. The sweet, soft, and melting fairy floss in their mouths is the only thing on their minds.
“So, what are we doing next week?”
“Want to play soccer again?” Alejandro suggests.
Before any answers come about, the ice-cream truck strolls by. Steven gets up and purchases four different flavours, each someone’s favourite. Many thanks go around, and they all forget about the events for next week.
When they finish savouring their treats, Alejandro tries again.
“So, are we going to play soccer again next week?”
“Yeah, sure!”
The answers arrive and they all get back onto the field. As the ball flies in the air, Steven does a volley kick, Alejandro does a scissor kick, Krystal does a toe kick, and Samantha does an instep step. They continue, changing their kicks and trying to score it into the goal. Happiness floods through them all and the awkwardness and crisis pass. Everything is normal in their friendship again and now everything is right. Their friendship circle will always be tight, and no one will ever leave the other alone. Everyone will be there for one another and stand up for each other.
“I can’t wait till next week!”
“Me too!”
“See you girls next week,” call the twins as they leave.
They wave goodbye to their friends and begin to leave the field.
“What a good day,” says Krystal.
“Definitely a good day,” replies Samantha and they walk off.
This is the friendship that soccer creates.
Issy's Writing Wonderland 