I nodded and took my place on the bench, grateful that Coach Flores wasn’t as strict as some other coaches. In the winter league, Coach Darby had a no-tolerance policy for lateness. If you were late, you didn’t play.

The halftime whistle blew, and Jessi ran off the field and right to me.

“Let me guess,” she said. “Your modeling thing went too long?”

I nodded. “You were right.”

I worried she’d be mad, but then she grinned. “I love being right. But I hate that we’re tied. We need you. And also, you missed Frida acting like a weird beekeeper.”

She nodded toward Frida, who ran past a group of the Bees on the field, saying, “You shall not sting me! I am your master!”

I laughed. “Oh boy.”

“But seriously, we need to beat these Bees,” she said. “Is Coach letting you play the second half?”

I nodded. “Thankfully.”

Jessi smiled. “Then let’s kick some bee butt!”

Jessi and I high-fived, and a few minutes later, I was out on the grass, playing forward. As I ran down the field, my heart pumping, I found that my concentration was scattered.

I closed my eyes briefly and took a few deep breaths, just like I had learned in my smiling tutorial. I opened my eyes and smiled, feeling more focused. I wasn’t thinking about anything except getting the ball in the net. Within the first five minutes, I intercepted a pass from one Bee to another and then kicked it to Hailey, who was in goal position. She scored, breaking the tie we had and making the game 3–2.

“Yes!” I cheered.

After being treated like a prop all morning, with a photographer who didn’t even bother to learn my name, I felt in my element on the soccer field. The thought of letting my team down because I had been late inspired me to do my best and push aside my guilt. Being part of a team, hearing us call out one another’s names, patting one another on the back when we had a good play, and just the overall camaraderie made me feel like this was where I belonged. Not to mention Coach Flores calling words of encouragement from the sidelines and giving us her all. The Kicks were not only my team; they were also my family, and I wasn’t about to disappoint them.

The rest of the game went by in a whirlwind, and if I had been angry or frustrated that morning, I forgot all about it. I became laser-focused. I needed my soccer-ball brain now more than ever. I intercepted the ball four more times and managed to score two goals. Jessi and Grace both scored too, and we won handily in the end, 7–3.

“Go, Kicks!” the team cheered after we shook hands with the Bees.