Gracie by Suzanne Weyn

news. The bad news was that Peter’s team was definitely made up of players who were not as strong as those on Kyle’s team.

    Kyle kicked off and the game began. At first, I hung back a bit, too timid to jump in. Then it hit me that I was playing exactly as Dad predicted I would play, like a girl. So when Curt from our side got the ball, I moved into position to receive it. But even though I was in a much better spot, Curt passed it to Craig.
    I stayed with the ball as we moved down the field with it, and eventually it came to me. This was my chance and I took it, running hard, determined to show them what I could do. Ben, the fullback from Kyle’s team, came at me. Even though I was going at full speed, somehow he outran me and knocked me off the ball.
    It wasn’t long before they scored the first goal.
    Begrudgingly, I saw what Dad had been getting at about the guys being stronger, heavier, and faster than me—even the new toned and super fit me. Playing soccer with my family hadn’t prepared me for this level of tough competitive play. But strategy, speed, and skill had to count for something. I had those things. Practice and experience also counted, and that’s what I didn’t have. These guys played all the time. If I wanted to be as good as they were, I couldn’t let them scare me off or I’d never get the practice.
    In the next round of play, I made it my business to be tougher. I managed to cut the ball out from under Kyle, knocking him off his feet.
    If Kyle didn’t like me before this, I’m sure he hated me now. Kate and the cheerleaders giggled as he tumbled over. Even his teammates laughed.

    I saw Kyle nod to Ben as he got to his feet. His angry glare said, Get her .
    Ben charged at me, pushing me off the ball. I wasn’t going to let him do it. I pushed back, hard, and got the ball back. He started hacking my ankles, cutting a gash with his cleats and knocking me backward to the ground as the ball disappeared up the field.
    Kyle looked down at me, laughing coldly. He thought he’d gotten me back good and I guess he had. In an instant, though, I was on my feet, pushing him. Furious, I walked away and off the lousy makeshift field.
    Peter ran after me. “Gracie, you can’t go.”
    â€œI can’t stay,” I shouted. After this, Kyle’s team would be all over me. They’d knock me down every chance they got.
    What a jerk I’d been to think I could really do this! What a moron!
    I stomped off the field, blind with anger and humiliation, not sure where I was going. Jena hurried behind me, but I was too beside myself to even speak. She stayed with me until I finally cooled down a little a few blocks from my house.
    â€œAre you okay?” she asked, breathless from keeping up.
    â€œYou know what I want to do?” I asked. “I want to do something neither of us has ever done before, and I want to do it right now!”
    â€œWhy?” Jena asked. She was usually up for anything, but I think I was scaring her a little. Actually, I was scaring me a little. If I didn’t get out of town that very
minute, I felt that I would explode. I was sick of being Gracie Bowen, the girl who wanted to play soccer but couldn’t. I wanted to be someone completely new.

    It was late afternoon but still light when we got to the Jersey Shore in Mom’s station wagon. I was going to catch hell for sneaking it out of the garage, especially considering I didn’t have my license yet. I would definitely be in major trouble but, as with so much else, I didn’t care.
    What could happen? I wouldn’t be playing soccer, it seemed. I was already grounded. I was possibly looking at months of summer school. If I didn’t have some fun right then, I might not have another chance for a long time.
    The boardwalk smelled like salt air, and I could hear the surf crashing not too far off. I was looking at a pair of sunglasses in a shop