1 CHAPTER Anya look out I spun around just in time to see the black-and-white comet barreling toward my head I dropped to the ground hearing the whoosh of the soccer ball as it zoomed over my ponytail A split second later it landed with a thud in the grass about ten yards beyond me Great I thought I may have avoided a concussion but I just made a total fool out of myself in front of the entire soccer team As if to confirm it someone from the sidelines started to giggle then someone else said Shhh but I could tell the shusher herself was trying not to giggle That would be Daria Benson the rising team captain and without a doubt the coolest girl at Chappaqua Middle School Daria was one of those girls who matched her lip gloss and eye shadow to 1
Stagestruck Curtain Up her soccer uniform Meanwhile I didn’t even know it was acceptable to wear lip gloss and eye shadow with a soccer uniform What am I doing here I wondered Because seriously I had absolutely no delusions about my athletic ability I liked sports and I wasn’t completely uncoordinated but I was definitely not a natural-born jock The only reason I’d agreed to try out for the soccer team in the first place was because my best friend Becky Mezan who was a natural-born jock maybe even a natural-born superjock had talked me into it And to be honest if a person were going to be stuck in middle school with the Daria Bensons of the world wouldn’t it better to be on their team literally But as I reached up to remove a clump of dirt from my hair I realized there were about a zillion other places I’d rather be right now My first choice would be New York City at a Broadway theater watching Aladdin or Newsies or even Wicked again I’d already seen it twice but so what I would go again in a heartbeat Across the field somebody asked Is she alive I opened my eyes and saw Becky staring down at me looking pretty concerned She was the one who’d shouted the warning that had kept me from being decapitated by the speeding soccer bomb As she reached down to help me 2
Chapter One to my feet I could feel everyone’s eyes on me I suppose I should have been thanking Becky for saving my life but at the moment with all the other sixth and seventh-grade soccer hopefuls not to mention Daria and the rest of the returning players staring at me being decapitated suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad thing after all Are you okay Becky whispered and then grimaced Um you’ve got some grass stuck right there Mortified mortified I sputtered the grass pieces from my lip Okay everybody said Daria swinging her thick auburn braid and smiling around at the twenty-two of us who’d come to try out for the team Coach says we can wrap it up Awesome job today As you know we can pick only six new girls for next year The new team members will be posted outside the gym first thing tomorrow morning Good luck you guys With that Daria and her glittering circle of athletically athletically gifted besties turned and sauntered back to the school building The other candidates broke into groups and pairs and walked off chattering excitedly about what they thought their chances were of making the team A couple of girls turned to peek at me over their shoulders and chuckle I wanted to dig a hole right in the middle of the center circle and crawl in 3
Stagestruck Curtain Up Don’t worry about it said Becky reading my mind as she hoisted her hot pink glitter-encrusted gym bag onto her shoulder By tomorrow everyone will forget what happened Which part I grumbled The part where I fell on my face or the part where I had to spit grass clippings out of my mouth Both Becky assured me with a smile I seriously doubted it and Becky could tell from my expression Well if they don’t she continued it’s no big deal Tomorrow’s the last day of school anyway and once the roster’s posted nobody will give the soccer team a second thought until September Becky would make the team no question She was that flawless combination of girly-girl and superjock did I mention the glittery gym bag and half the boys in school had crushes on her My best friend was basically a perfect human being which when you were twelve was the kind of thing that either totally impressed you or made you sick to your stomach If I were going to be truthful about it I’d have to say in my case it was a little of both Too bad there’s no middle-school theater program she said with a sigh That would be great for you Yeah I grumbled Then I stopped walking and turned 4
