Wildflowers

Having grown up with two older brothers, Melissa was always playing some sport or the other with them when they were home. They were both a bit older than her, so by the time she got to Wiskayok High, they’d already graduated. The only girls team they had was soccer, and as soon as JV tryouts were announced, she’d made up her mind to join, and so did Gen. The two had grown up as neighbors and she was over at Melissa’s often enough to be an honorary fourth sibling, which meant they did most of everything together. She was the one who’d gotten her lucky pink hat for her back in middle school.

“You sort of look like Mac when he’s playing baseball” Gen said, after Melissa put her hat on for the first time. Out of all her 14th birthday presents, this hat was definitely her favorite. 

“Really?” Melissa questioned, her nose scrunching a little as she glanced at her mirror. She didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

“Yeah, here look.” Gen leaned over and gently turned her hat around, resting her hand on Melissa’s shoulder after she was done. She had to admit, she did look like her brother, especially with her hair tied back and out of sight. Gen gave her a thoughtful look before adding: 

“You look cute.” With a wide grin. 

Melissa had been told that before, mostly by her mom and grandmother, but it felt different this time. She quickly grabbed the sides of the hat and pulled them down over her ears, which she was sure were turning red. Since then, she’d only ever worn caps backwards.

Melissa had mostly kept to herself when she was younger, and Gen was popular enough that the two of them always had people to hang out with. Still, she told herself that she’d try and be more proactive about making friends in high school. As luck had it, the other freshmen trying out seemed to share the sentiment. After coach Martinez welcomed the new prospects, he gave them some time to get to know their future teammates. An eager girl named Mari immediately made her way over to Melissa and Gen, as well as the girl standing next to them that introduced herself as Robin later in the conversation. 

Over the next week they’d all started eating lunch together, and despite Mari’s attempts at befriending the older girls on the team and getting a seat with them, she’d always find her way back to their table. On a random day during sophomore year, Melissa took her seat at their usual spot and noticed that Mari was missing again. Before she could even ask, Robin pointed behind her. Mari could be seen following around two of the juniors. Jackie something-with-a-t, Thomas maybe? Probably in an attempt to get invited to some party Melissa was unaware of. 

“I’m gonna go get her before she embarrasses herself.” She says, before setting off in their direction. She can vaguely hear a snippet of the conversation that Mari is desperately trying to be a part of.

“C’mon Shipman, Jeff can drive us there, it’ll be fun! Maybe his friend Randy will finally make a move on you, who knows?” Jackie chirps. Melissa gets there before this Shipman can respond. 

“Let’s go Mar, Robin said something about Danny Mears looking for you.” She says, grabbing the other girl by her shoulders and turning her toward their table. 

“Wait really? No hold on I’m talking to Jackie-” Mari responds, turning back to them.

“Don’t you wanna know what Danny said? You can talk to Jackie later.” Melissa said, her eyes moving from Mari to the brunette linking arms with Jackie. She recalls seeing her at practice a few times, always with Jackie in tow. Before she successfully drags Mari back, she meets eyes with Shipman, who is smiling at Mari being difficult with a knowing look. She’s still thinking about that when Mari starts firing off questions to Robin about Danny Mears. 

“Do you know that girl who’s always with Jackie?” Melissa asks Gen, poking at her already cold lunch. 

“Oh, Shauna? She’s like one of the fastest on the Varsity team. Why?” She doesn’t respond to that, and looks over her shoulder at the girl who she now knows is Shauna Shipman. 

Shauna Shipman, who had previously gone completely unnoticed by Melissa, had suddenly become the center of her attention at every practice and scrimmage. She’d spend her time on the bench intently watching the way she played. Shauna wore #6, played as a central midfielder, and didn’t hesitate to check anyone who got in her way. Melissa found her aggressiveness on the field both terrifying and mesmerizing. The few times that Coach Martinez made the varsity girls pair off with JV for drills, Melissa would cross her fingers that she’d end up with Shauna, usually to no avail. Instead of waiting around for someone to pair up with her, she started setting up cones for herself.

“Hey.” Someone spoke from behind her. Melissa glanced back and was met with Shauna, soccer ball tucked under her right arm. 

“Wanna run some drills?” She asked, with a small smile. Melissa willed herself to nod, not able to form a coherent thought, let alone respond. She had to run to keep up with Shauna, and almost missed a couple easy passes because she was too busy watching Shauna’s footwork. 

“You’re pretty fast y’know.” She’d said, once they were done. Melissa doesn’t know what she said in response, but she remembers standing there and watching Shauna walk off until Gen had come up to her. 

Once they moved up to varsity the following year, they finally got to pick out their new jerseys. The single digits were taken by the seniors, which left #12 - #22 for them to fight over. Melissa was set on getting #16, because it was the closest she could get to #6. She had to plead with Britt to switch with her, but she’d eventually gotten the one she wanted. 

At first, only the girls on the main team were supposed to go to nationals, so the school could save money on chartering transportation for them, but after what happened to Allie at their last practice, the coaches got nervous and told the rest of the girls to be prepared in case they have to tag along as replacements. Then when Mr. Matthews offered to get them a private jet, the entire varsity team got to go, plus Akilah from JV who got moved up to take Allie’s spot. 

“When are they gonna pass out the snacks?” Melissa asked. She’d never left Wiskayok before, let alone been in a plane. 

“I don’t think we’re getting snacks.” Gen responded, leaning out of her aisle seat to see if she could spot a snack cart. 

“What was the point in thanking Mr. Matthews if he couldn’t even get us a pack of peanuts?”  She muttered. Gen stifled her laugh as the pilot announced that they were about to take off.