Chelsea Reed's dad signs her up for Powder Puff football, even though he knows she's been playing with, and wants to continue playing with the boys at her high school. Little does he know, much of her desire to play football stems from her estranged relationship with him and her longing to strengthen their relationship.
The rest of the week was like
time standing still because my first football game caused me
“I need coffee,” I said to no one
in particular.
He peeked at me over the top of his
newspaper like I was crazy and said, “Coffee?
You’re a little young for coffee aren’t you?”
“You are aware that high school kids pretty
much live on coffee, pizza, chips, and gum, right?”
“Hmph,” he said. Seriously, do people
really say hmph?
I poured a cup of coffee, leaving enough
room for about half a cup of creamer. I hated the taste of regular coffee. I
preferred Starbucks, but I needed the jolt and my only option was the slop in
Dad's coffee pot. While I drank my coffee I made myself a breakfast full of
good carbs and went and got my uniform on.
My stomach fluttered, and not in the good
way, like when Tommy said nice things to me, but in the bad way like when I’m
about to throw up. I sat down on my bed and took a few deep breaths. I pulled
on my socks, put my hair in a ponytail, and grabbed my cleats.
As I walked toward the garage, I stopped
at the kitchen table where my dad still sat. I stood for a moment which caught
his attention. He glanced up from his paper and said, “What is it?”
“Um—” I couldn’t ask, knowing the answer
would disappoint me.
“Well, what is it?”
I stared him square in the eyes and asked,
“Are you coming to my game?”
His gaze immediately shifted back to his
newspaper. “I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“Oh, okay.” I admit, even though I knew
what the answer would be, it still
disappointed me. I mean, he signed me up for the stupid team with their
stupid ugly players and dumb skirts and he didn't even plan to see me play?
