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it.”
    â€œYou know she used to play college soccer, right?” Mirabelle asked.
    â€œShe did?” That totally surprised me. “No way! You’d never know. She doesn’t teach us much of anything.”
    Mirabelle shrugged. “I know. Anyway, maybe the better players, like you and me, should play more minutes.” It was flattering that Mirabelle thought I was on her level. Or close to it.
    â€œAnd I think Jessi and Brianna have been great too,” I offered.
    â€œJessi? Oh, come on,” Mirabelle said dismissively. “She doesn’t try hard enough. Trust me, I know her. We used to be friends.”
    â€œShe told me you guys grew up together,” I said cautiously.
    â€œJessi used to be better than me at soccer. I mean, sports always came super-easy to her. But when I started getting better and joined the travel team, she got jealous.” Mirabelle shrugged.
    That didn’t sound like the story I’d heard, but I kept my mouth shut.
    â€œAnyway, we should talk to Coach about this playing-time stuff,” Mirabelle said. “You gotta back me up when I say the better players deserve to play more.”
    â€œOkay,” I said hesitantly. “Isn’t that unfair to everyone else on the team, though?” I was thinking about what Mirabelle’s solution would mean for the rest of the team—for players like Emma, in particular, who loved thegame but weren’t necessarily stars in the making.
    â€œLook, you’re a captain,” Mirabelle said. “This is what captains do. We help the team make decisions,” Mirabelle continued, her voice rising. “It’s for the good of the team.”
    â€œAll right, all right, I understand,” I said, backing down. It would be nice to try to win a game or two. But was it worth the price of fairness?

    After the next practice Mirabelle and I went to go talk to Coach Flores. Jessi raised her eyebrows as she saw us walking off together. I shrugged helplessly. Mirabelle kept lecturing me all the way to Coach’s office. “Remember, we have a goal here. We’ll make it happen if we stick together. Got it?”
    â€œSure,” I said, rushing to keep up with her as she speed-walked down the hall. Something about this didn’t feel right.
    When we arrived at Coach Flores’s door, Mirabelle breezed right in without knocking.
    â€œHello there, girls,” Coach Flores said, her usual grin plastered on her face. “Take a seat.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” Mirabelle said. “This will just take a minute. Devin and I, as co-captains, thought that it would be better for our next game if we got to choose the positions and substitutions,” she said, her voice sugary sweet. “Just for one game, to try it out. I think it would really help us learn responsibility and teamwork.”I did a mental eye roll. Puh-leaze! Coach might be too nice, but even she wouldn’t buy Mirabelle’s sugar-and-spice act. Or would she?
    Coach hesitated. For a second I was sure she wouldn’t go for it. I mean, she was all about equal playing time for everyone. “You guys decided this?” she asked, looking at both of us. We nodded together.
    â€œWell, if you girls want to try doing the lineups, I’m not against it. Just make sure everyone agrees to it and people are enjoying themselves. And above all, be fair.” She emphasized the last word.
    â€œTaken care of! We already asked them. They’re all very excited about it,” Mirabelle said with a winning smile. It was a flat-out lie. My jaw dropped open, but I couldn’t get the words to come out of my mouth to contradict Mirabelle.
    Coach raised her eyebrows, looking surprised. “If everyone agreed,” she said, “then I’m all for it. It’s nice to see you two captains being proactive.”
    I felt a little sick inside. This wasn’t right, but I didn’t know what to do. To