But I had to. I had no choice. The clock was ticking away. We were down three to four. No one was close enough to pass to. And the other team’s defenders were bearing down.
One wrong move, and it would be game over. And it would be all my fault.
“Go, Ian! You can do it!”
My eyes shot to my left—just for the briefest second. Lilli was in the stands, whooping and cheering in the loudest voice ever. Geez. Could she be any more embarrassing? Of course, my athletic sister was the one who dragged me into this whole soccer thing in the first place. The one who said it’d be “good for me” to try something new.
Easy for her to say.
I turned my attention back to the goal, now definitely within kicking reach. This was it. There was no turning back now. Should I shoot it straight or try to cross it? My heart thudded in my chest. I drew back my foot as the defenders barreled toward me. Only seconds to make the decision…
Do you want to play again?
Suddenly, my vision blurred. My whole body went numb, ice trickling down my spine. When I looked up, the goalie was gone. And in his place stood a huge red dragon with massive jaws and diamond-sharp teeth. He leered at me, sparks dancing on his tongue. Fire warming in his belly. Smoke rose around him, obscuring the goal completely.
Do you want to play again? his deep, growling voice whispered in my ear. Do you want to play again?
“No,” I begged. “Not now. Please not now!”
“Ian! Shoot!” Lilli’s voice sounded a million miles away. “What are you waiting for?”
I shook my head, trying to force myself back to reality. Soccer. Game. Real life. Come on, Ian. Snap out of it!
But it was too late. The defenders reached me, trampling me, easily stealing the ball away. I hit the ground hard, breath knocked from my lungs. For a moment, I saw stars.
Then the buzzer rang. The clock ticked to zero. Cheerleaders screamed and cartwheeled across the field. The other team’s parents cheered from the bleachers.
Game over.
I looked up blearily. The dragon, of course, had disappeared. Replaced by the not-actually-all-that-giant goalie who was dancing with glee. “Nice try, nerd!” he jeered. “Maybe next time you won’t choke.”
I dropped my head back into the grass. Maybe I would sink right through.
No such luck. “Rivera! What were you thinking?” a voice demanded from above. “You totally had that!”
I lifted my head. Josh, the team’s captain, was standing over me, his blond mop of curly hair falling into his eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his lips set into a scowl. Which was pretty much his default expression when looking at me.
I considered sticking my head back into the grass, pretending I’d died or something. Maybe he’d give up and go away.
“If you weren’t going to shoot, you could have passed it to me,” he added, his voice thick with exasperation. “I was totally open.”
Uh yeah. I was pretty sure he hadn’t been. No team ever let Josh the Jock run around the field without at least two defenders trailing close behind. It was too dangerous. He was too good.
But I didn’t have the energy to argue. And hey, I probably should have passed it to him, even if half the team had been up in his grill at the time. People like Josh didn’t choke under pressure.
Unlike, say, people like me.
I forced myself to my feet. I could feel the cold stares of the other players, not to mention their parents, as I trudged off the field trying desperately not to cry. They wouldn’t say anything to me—they weren’t those kind of parents. But I knew what they were thinking. Eight-Bit Ian, hopeless nerd. Go back to your video games.
Yeah. Believe me, I would if I could…
Ugh. I should have never listened to Lilli.
Just think of it as a real-life video game, she’d said. You’ll have so much fun. Meet new people.
She hadn’t mentioned they’d be people like Josh. Who were about as fun as mandatory standardized testing a week before Christmas. Josh lived, breathed, and probably ate soccer ball cereal for breakfast. He cared for nothing but the game. Well, besides winning the game, that was. And let’s just say he didn’t appreciate noobs like me messing up his chances.
“Ian!” Lilli cried now, rushing in my direction. She threw her arms around me, hugging me as if I was the hero of the game instead of the guy who caused everyone to lose. I shrugged her off, annoyed. I didn’t need her brand of rah-rah-believe-in-yourself in my life right now. Not when I’d just made a fool of myself in front of everyone.
“Are you okay?” she asked, peering at me worriedly. “You just kind of froze out there. Like… you’d seen a ghost or something.”
I winced, untangling myself from her hug. If only she knew how close she was. And yet totally off base at the same time. In fact, I only wished it were a ghost taunting me from the goal. Because ghosts weren’t real.
Unlike AI dragons escaped from a certain video game…
Do you want to play again? Do you want to play AGAIN?
“I’m fine,” I muttered. “Just… a brain fart or whatever.”
She gave me a pitying look. “It was a tough shot,” she assured me. “I bet I couldn’t have gotten it in, either.”
“Of course you could have,” I groaned. Lilli was as soccer crazy as Josh these days. She practiced in the backyard every chance she got. “You probably could have done it with your eyes closed.”
“Maybe one eye,” she teased. Then she caught my look and sighed. “Come on, Ian. You just started playing. You’re going to get better. You just need practice. I’ll practice with you if you want. Just the two of us. It’ll be fun.”
“Yeah. As much fun as the stomach flu at a spelling bee.”
Her face
