Chet Watakeekul

"Do you think he'll show up?" Mateo asked me. We sat on the bench in the locker room. I had one foot on the bench as I tied my shoe.

"No," I said. I was sure Vincent wasn't going to show up. Unless, he had another plan to break Mateo and Alex up and saw this as an opportunity. He had said he hadn't given up breaking them up.

Mateo sighed. He was already dressed and waiting. "But maybe he will," he said.

"This is an important game," Devon said as he came up behind us. "This goalie is the best I've come across. I've never scored against him."

"Never?" Mateo asked. Devon shook his head.

Devon and I had already spoken about the goalie extensively. I was a great striker. I wouldn't have received the full soccer scholarship if I wasn't, but Devon was a senior and also a great striker. I had learned a lot from him. It was difficult for me to fathom any goalie good enough that Devon had never scored against him.

We got the plan and formations from the coach, ran a little on the field and then it was gametime. My main focus drifted between what was happening on the field and what the coach was doing. It would be great if I could keep playing soccer for a long time, but eventually I wanted to be a coach. I would love to coach college soccer and then maybe for Major League Soccer and then maybe the Olympics.

No, no. Don't get ahead of yourself.

Mateo's eyes kept darting to the stands. He was usually more focused on the games. There was one moment I chanced looking up in the stands. My family waved at me when I looked. I almost waved back, but decided that would be unprofessional so instead I just smiled. It was easy to spot them. College soccer games were never as crowded as the football games. Even though our soccer team was high ranking and our football team wasn't, we still didn't generate even half the crowd the football team did. I honestly did not understand it.

I found Alex in the stands and wasn't surprised to see he was sitting alone. No. Not completely alone. Even as I thought it, Mateo's family left their usual spot to go sit next to Alex.

He was surprised to see them, but smiled gratefully as Serafina sat on one side of him and Hugo and Adrian argued - I assumed, I couldn't hear them from this distance - over who got to sit on the other side of him. Mateo's mom gave Alex a big hug. Mateo's dad shook his hand. Grandpa Manuel smiled grandly and also gave Alex a hug.

I nudged Mateo so he wouldn't miss this, but of course he was already watching them. He had a big smile on his face. There was no sign of Vincent though.

Then I noticed someone else in the stands. Melissa sat there in full makeup with her hair done all pretty. She waved a shy hand my way when she noticed me looking. I smiled at her, but quickly turned back to the game. I'd probably have to acknowledge her after this was over. Maybe I could introduce her to Devon or Jimmy. She was nice and hadn't tried to be anything more than friends, but every once in awhile I would catch her looking at me in class and then she would blush.

Our offense was running to the goal. Their defense was getting ready. Jimmy passed the ball high to Devon. Devon jumped and the ball bounced off his head towards the goal. I held my breath. Their goalie dove and the ball bounced off his hands.

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With fifteen minutes left in the first half, the coach made substitutions. I was finally on the field, running, watching the ball, watching for my opportunity. Mateo was substituted in at the same time I was. He had been distracted while on the sidelines, but now he was focused only on the game.

It wasn't only the opposite team's goalie that was good. Their entire defensive line was good. We didn't really get a good shot opportunity until a minute left to the first half. Mateo passed me the ball. In a split second I calculated and kicked the ball.

The goalie jumped into the air. It was going to be close. I held my breath as everything seemed to go in slow motion for a brief moment. Then the goalie's fingertips touched the ball and the ball was deflected away from the goal.

I didn't get to play during the second half, but it went pretty much the same as the first half. No one was able to score against their goalie and their team made 1 point with ten minutes left in the game. It was our second loss of the season. And it was a home game which just seemed to make it worse.

The mood in the locker room afterwards was somber. Mateo, as usual, was the first to shower, get dressed and leave. Tim wasn't that far behind him as he also now had someone waiting for him.

I wasn't the last to leave this time. Devon seemed to be taking this loss particularly hard and just sat on the bench. I almost approached him to try and cheer him up, but then thought better of it. Devon wasn't the type of person to like that. He'd prefer to be left alone so I left.

My family waited for me in the usual spot. "You were good out there," my dad hugged me.

"I didn't score," I said.

"Miller is probably the best goalie in all of college soccer right now," my dad said. "You almost scored and you're just a freshman. You were good."

"Do you want to get dinner with us?" Kannika asked. The three of them looked at me eagerly. They had always been really great about letting me hang out with friends after a game if I wanted.

"I would say yes," I said, "except Mateo is trying to win over his boyfriend's best friend and I thought I'd better go to dinner with them to put Mateo in a good light."

My mom nodded her head. "That's a good idea," she said. She gave me a hug. "We'll see you later at home then."

Kannika and dad gave me a hug too and then I sprinted away from them as I searched for Mateo and Alex.

I almost ran into Melissa's back. "Hi," she said.

"Hello," I replied. I had hoped she would just leave after the game, but apparently she had decided to wait.

"That looked like a tough game," she said.

"It was," I said happy to talk about soccer, but not anything else. "That goalie is one of the best in college soccer right now. Their team is known for their defense. Devon said he had never scored against him and he's a great striker. I hope when I'm a senior too, I'll be as good as he is. Actually, if I'm being honest, I hope I'm better than he is."

She smiled. "Do you want to go get something to eat? As friends," she quickly added.

"It's going to have to be some other time," I replied. I spotted Alex, but there wasn't any sign of Mateo. "I've got some plans." I was already walking quickly passed her. I called back to her, "I'll see you in class." And then I completely forgot about her as I caught up to Alex.

"Hey, Alex."

"Hi," he said.

"So Mateo's family sat next to you," I pointed out.

Alex smiled really big. "Yes. I wasn't expecting that. It was nice."

"I bet Hugo and Adrian argued over who got to sit next to you."

"Yes. They wouldn't stop talking to me once they found out I like to play video games. They made me promise I would play with them one day soon."

"That sounds just like them," I said. "Did they leave already?"

"Yes. They left after Mateo came out of the locker room."

"Did he go with them? Where is he?"

Alex sighed and looked to the direction of the parking lot. "He went to see if perhaps Vincent is waiting in the parking lot. I heard his grandmother is having a retirement party tonight though so I bet he went to that. He doesn't do things that will disappoint his family."

That was weird to point out wasn't it? None of us wanted to disappoint our families. I knew with mine, it wasn't easy to disappoint them. They loved me pretty much no matter what. Wouldn't his family be like that too?

"Well," I said, "it still isn't right of him to just leave you here. I'll go find him."

"It's all right. I can wait."

But I was already headed to the parking lot. It wasn't just because I didn't want Alex left alone, it was also because if Vincent was out there, I was sure he would be rude to Mateo and I wanted to intervene if I could.