Read Online Camp Confidential 05 - TTYL by Melissa J. Morgan - Free Book Online

didn’t go so well. After they talked to her for just a moment, the girl’s face crumpled and she looked like she was going to cry. Seeing Jane make the team had made Alex feel a little better, but seeing this girl not make it brought the butterflies back to Alex’s stomach.
    A few more girls came and sat down on the bleachers with Alex. She knew one of them from her fifth-grade soccer team and they smiled nervously at each other. “Hey, Amanda,” Alex said.
    “Hi,” Amanda replied. She sat down next to Alex. “I like your shoelaces.”
    Alex looked down at her shoes. She’d bought new yellow laces with smiley faces on them. “Thanks,” she said. “They make me smile.”
    Amanda laughed. “That’s good,” she said. “Are you nervous?”
    “Totally,” Alex said. “Are you?”
    “Yeah,” Amanda admitted. “It’s weird to have to try out, since we didn’t have to in fifth grade.”
    “I know,” Alex groaned. “I wish I would’ve just made it in the first cut!”
    From the field, Coach Gregorson blew on her whistle. “All right, girls, let’s get started!” she called, motioning for everyone to join her on the field.
    When all the girls were assembled, the coach said, “Okay, we’re going to start by warming up, and then we’re going to play a short game so that we can see everyone’s skills. You’ll play the position you’re used to. I split up the tryouts so that everyone would play the position they’ve played before. Does anyone have any questions?”
    Alex looked around. One girl with short red curls raised her hand. “Yes, Debbie?” the coach asked.
    “When will we find out whether we made the team?” Debbie asked tentatively.
    The coach laughed. “Right after tryouts, we’ll sit you down and talk with you. Don’t worry about that right now, though—just have a good time.” She blew on her whistle. “Let’s warm up, everybody!”
    Henry and Lisa walked to the center of the field, and all the girls followed. The two older kids led everyone through some simple exercises, like jumping jacks and sit-ups. Then they did some practice with the ball, passing it and pivoting and dribbling. Alex was starting to feel like she was getting a real workout, which was great—she loved the feeling of her heart pounding and sweat starting to build along her hairline.
    After about ten minutes of warming up, Coach Gregorson blew her whistle. “Great work, girls,” she called. “Let’s split into teams now for the scrimmage. On team A, I have Alex, Amanda, Debbie, Carla, LaShondra, Franny, Cate, Michaela, Sara, Savannah, and Monica. Everyone else, you’re on team B.”
    The group of girls split up, and the coaches walked to the sidelines. As the game began, Alex stopped feeling nervous. She ran fast and worked hard, and every time her team scored a point, she felt a little lighter. After playing for about twenty minutes, Coach Gregorson blew her whistle. “All right, that’s great, everyone,” she said. “We’ve made our decisions. We’ll start with Amanda. Everyone else, relax on the field, do some stretches.”
    Alex sat down on the grass and stretched out her legs. Franny, who’d been on her team, sat down next to her. “That was fun, huh?” Franny said casually.
    “Yeah,” Alex said. “It was cool.”
    “Did you play at your old school?” Franny gently pulled a few blades of grass from the field.
    “Yup,” Alex replied. She looked over at Amanda, who looked sort of sad as the coach talked to her. Coach Gregorson patted Amanda on the shoulder, and then they both stood up. Amanda walked slowly toward the school building.
    “All right, Alex?” Coach Gregorson called. “Come on over.”
    Suddenly, the butterflies returned to Alex’s tummy. She slowly stood up and walked over to Coach Gregorson, Henry, and Lisa.
    “Sit down, Alex,” the coach said kindly. Alex sat down and crossed her legs, and Coach Gregorson followed suit.
    “Henry, why don’t you start?” Coach