Post by Bad Beth on Jul 14, 2013 13:40:14 GMT
The Lost Incontinent Natalie Story
I started this story on 10/23/00 and wrote it that year and maybe in 2001 also but never finished it. It was supposed to be the third story of the series and I started writing this when I didn’t even finish Natalie vs Veronica and I think I did do another Natalie story and never finished it either and jumped with this one. Then I abandoned it due to writer’s block and it sat in my room for years and then storage and I found it while I was getting my stuff while I was visiting Montana where my things were. It was in two different notebooks and I only had the first part of this story and I found the other part to this. There is no connection to my two current stories, Natalie vs Her parents and Natalie vs Veronica because the characters are different and so are the facts and it won’t work to try and make it go with the other two stories but there may be some connections to my current ones and you may notice some sameness in the characters in my current ones. I may take parts from it and use it for my future Natalie story and change it. So I call it the lost story. I also told this from 1st and 3rd person view so there are more emotions and more detail about what each character is doing and their feelings so the readers understand better what is going on.
How the characters are different:
Glen is meaner and mean to Natalie about her problem and he is mean to his other kids too and his wife but mostly to Natalie. He is barely in the story because he spends his whole time away from home drinking at friend’s houses and crashing there and hanging out at bars. Everyone’s excuse is he is having a rough time. He just seems to target all his anger on Natalie and he rages at his wife when she defends her.
Anita seemed more functional and she still has problems but they don’t seem to be as bad. She is also a fibber and will exaggerate her stories to make them sound more interesting when she talks about her life and past. She also seemed to tolerate crowds better because she went to the Halloween dance with Glen when she was sixteen when they first met and they kissed. She also has the ability to stay calm during Glen’s rages and act like it’s no big deal when he has his alcoholic episodes. She seems to have better empathy and have a better relationship with Brian. She also seems close to normal and seems to have a close relationship with her kids and has a huge interest in them and sticks with them while her husband is a drunk and an ass and doesn’t seem to let it get to her and affect her. She also seems to be stronger and she worked a lot when Natalie was little. But thanks to her ability to stay calm during her husband’s rages and episodes and the screaming, it makes the family less dysfunctional.
Natalie loves sports and is good at them (My fantasy because I wanted to be good at them so I made her be good) and she seems to have a different relationship with her sister like they are friends and can relate, has friends who are also disabled, she still has learning problems and still has a different brain wiring but her family seems unaware of what she has and appears to never been diagnosed with anything. But the contradicting fact about her is she does appear to be diagnosed with something and her whole family keeps it from her since Kelly mentioned her having a disability and fibs it’s about her bladder problem. She also doesn’t like to be called a dumb blonde. She also seems to be more sociable (my fantasy of wanting to be like that too as a kid so I made her be). She also has suicidal thoughts and behavior issues so she gets into psychical fights (based on my fantasy of wanting to beat people up when they make me mad). She also likes looking at clothes and earrings. She also wants to quit wearing diapers and would if she was allowed to and feels differently about them and has a different attitude about them. She appears to have social anxiety because of them. She also does not like horror movies.
Kelly is mean to Natalie about her medical condition sometimes but they still get along like they are friends and she still puts her down by saying negative stuff to her and Natalie seems to handle it well. She also seems to have an immature attitude.
Matthew seems normal but he is very smart and appears to have a high IQ because he complains the school work is too easy. He also does soccer.
Brian is still the same. I didn’t change anything about his character except he seems to want to be with his Mom more often and he is more involved in his siblings’ lives. In my current ones, he is too busy with work and school. Reality I did there because you know how work and school is. I know from experience now.
How things are different in this story:
Natalie has an autistic uncle but it’s not John, it’s someone else.
The parents don’t seem to throw things at each other.
Glen was an exchange student instead of his family moving to the states when he was in high school
The Evans went to London to see a friend instead of Glen’s side of the family
The Evans apparently didn’t go to London in 1996 to see family because they were watching a video on Christmas Eve at their house in 1996. Contradicting fact, they did go to London to see a friend there that same year but maybe it was earlier in the month.
Anita had four sisters and five brothers instead of four brothers and five sisters.
Natalie’s soccer team mates are actually nice to her
Her soccer team is not her school team, it’s some soccer league she signed up for and Bluebells isn’t the school mascot
Her soccer coach is a guy and left nameless
Only Glen gets mad at Natalie for her leaks
Anita did have a job and she quits and her excuse, to be with the kids. Maybe it was a real reason or she was having troubles there and she quit and she said it was to be with the kids to make herself sound normal.
Allie has ADD instead of ADHD but to me it was both the same when I wrote it so it didn’t matter if I called it ADD instead of ADHD.
Natalie vs the Goal
Chapter 1
“Go Natalie!” Mom cheered.
I dribbled the soccer ball as I ran. The other team was gaining up on me. They were trying to block me.
“Hey Natalie, over here, I’m open,” Jessica shouted. She was standing in the right field. I kicked the ball to her before the gap closed.
Jessica’s my teammate. We both go to Saltwater High School in Saltwater, Washington.
Jessica caught the ball and started running. Everyone started cheering for her. “Go Jessica!” her mother shouted.
The other team started gaining up on Jessica. I don’t understand why their coach lets them bunch up. That’s not how you play soccer. They aren’t even staying in their position. That’s why we’re beating them badly. Seventeen to three. Jessica passed the ball to Anitra. Anitra got it and ran with it. When we got near the goal, the defenders bunched up with their teammates. One of them kicked the ball to our field but luckily our defender Nikki blocked it by kicking it back to us. The ball went over our heads and landed in the defender’s position but there was no defender blocking it. The goalie ran out of her goal box to get the ball. One of us raced her to it and got it before she did. Katie kicked the ball and it went in the goal box. The goalie ran after it. Anitra ran after it and kicked it in the goal and we scored another goal.
Our coach blew his whistle. It was time for him to sub three of us out. Cheri, Kristy, and I were chosen. We all ran out of the field as Audrey, Michelle, and Natasha ran in to take our places. We gave each other a five.
The game began again. We all cheered. During the last quarter, the other team scored two goals. The referee blew his whistle two times. The game was over. Everyone ran to their coach. “You girls did good,” said our coach. “I’m so proud of you even though we were all aware of the other team bunching up but that didn’t stop us playing good did it?”
“Yeah,” everyone replied. We put our hands together. “Two four six eight who do we appreciate! Hurricanes!” We formed a line in the field.
“Two four six eight who do we appreciate! Bluebells!” the other team said.
They formed a straight line and we walked and we walked up to each other clapping hands. “Good game, good game,” we said.
We ran back to our side of the field. We got our snacks and had a meeting with our coach. He told us when our next game was and when it started. Our next game was in Battle Ground. Battle Ground’s another town south of us. We live ten miles away. “You did good,” Mom told me. She put her arm around me.
“Where’s Kelly and Matthew?” I asked.
Mom looked around and called their names. “Kelly, Matthew!” she shouted.
They weren’t around.
“They’re kickin’ around here somewhere?” I said.
Who’s Kelly and Matthew? Kelly’s my twelve year old sister. She’s in seventh grade and goes to Saltwater Junior High and Matthew’s my nine year old brother. He’s in fourth grade and goes to Saltwater Elementary school. I also have an older brother Brian. He’s twenty two and lives in an apartment in Vancouver, Washington with his girlfriend Kate. They’re both in college. I’m the second oldest in my family. I’m fifteen years old and I’m a sophomore in Saltwater High School. I have a bladder problem so I have to wear diapers. I got in a car accident on the way home from my doctor’s appointment when I was seven. I was in coma for a few days and when I woke up from it, I noticed I had a diaper on. I freaked out when I found out I had to wear them and I freaked out even more when I found out I had to wear them for the rest of my life.
Mom and I found Kelly and Matthew in the track field playing underneath the bleachers with the other kids. “Okay kids,” Mom said to Matthew and Kelly. “Your game starts in thirty minutes, time to warm up with your team.”
Kelly and Matthew play soccer too. “Aw Mom do we have to?” Matthew asked.
“Yes Matthew you have to,” Mom replied. “You’re part of the team and I say you warm up with them.”
“You always have to ruin everything for us,” he complained.
“That’s what moms are for,” she said.
Kelly and Matthew got their water bottle and soccer ball and went to their field. Kelly and Matthew aren’t on the same team so Mom will be watching two at once. She’ll watch half of Kelly’s and Matthew’s. “Hey Natalie, what’s up?” someone asked.
I turned around. It was Brian and Kate.
“You guys are here,” I said.
“Sorry we missed your game,” Brian apologized. “We got stuck in a two hour traffic jam because of a car accident.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“There was a car accident,” Kate replied.
“No,” I said. “What caused the car accident?”
“A car ran off the road and crashed into another car,” she replied.
“Has dad showed up yet?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “He said he’ll show up during one of our soccer games.”
“Tell Mom we’re here,” Brian told me.
I ran over to Mom and told her my brother was here with his girlfriend.
“That’s great,” Mom said. “They like watching you guys play.”
As I walked away I heard Kate talking to Mom. “We were coming back from Wilsonville and we got stuck in two hour traffic.”
“What were you down there for?” Mom asked.
“We went mini golfing at the family fun center,” Brian replied. “It’s really fun there. They have four mini golf courses, go karts, bumper boats, video games, and really cool toy equipment for kids but you need to be under five feet to play on it.”
“Was it chilly down there?” Mom asked.
“Of course. It was fifty degrees down there but we dressed warm,” said Kate.
“It was a little windy too,” Brian added. “By the way, we brought two video cameras with. One for Kelly’s game and one for Matthew’s. We stopped at our apartment to get them.” While they talked, I watched Kelly and her teammates kick their soccer ball in the goal. That got boring. I walked over to the other soccer field and watched Matthew and his teammates pass the soccer ball to each other. That got boring too. I got my soccer ball and dribbled it around. At least Brian gets to watch Kelly and Matthew’s game, not mine. Bad stuff always happens to me. I got in a car accident when I was seven and got injured, my best friend dumped me when I started wearing diapers, lots of kids made fun of me because of that, I don’t have any friends or best friends. I’m used to being by myself. I went back to the bleachers. I went to the top and sat down. I took out my pocket notebook and wrote.
Rose are red
Violets are blue
I like playing soccer
I’m a pretty good player`
I pass the ball
To my teammates
I dribble the
Ball good
But here is one thing
I wanna do really bad
Kick the ball
In the goal
I’m not a poet. I just like writing about my feelings and my imagination. Lot of people mistake them for poems. I really want to score a goal someday. Why? I’ve never done it before. I put my notebook away. A little girl climbed up the bleachers and sat down next to me. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” I said back.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Natalie,” I replied. “What’s yours?”
“Cindy.”
“Hi Cindy.”
“Do you play soccer?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Do you?’
Cindy shook her head. “No.”
“Then why are you here?” I asked.
“My cousin plays soccer,” she replied.
“Your cousin has a game here?” I asked.
She nodded, “Yeah.”
I got up and jumped off the bleachers.
“How old are you?” Cindy asked.
“Fifteen. How old are you?” I asked.
“Seven,” she replied.
“So you’re in second grade or first?” I asked.
“Second.” She got off the bleachers and played with the other kids.
I went back to my mom and dribbled my soccer ball some more. “Where were you?” Mom asked.
“Over there,” I pointed at the track field.
“Next time, tell me where you’re going or I’ll have to start putting you on a leash just like a little kid,” Mom warned.
In the soccer field, Kelly’s team and the other team were in their positions. The referee blew his whistle and the game began. I took out my pocket notebook and wrote.
S is don’t stop running
O is stay open for your teammates
C is concentrating
C
E
R is run hard
I couldn’t figure out what C and E should be. I closed my notebook and put it away. In the field, Kelly had the ball. “Go Kelly!” Brian and Mom rooted.
Brian was taking a movie of Kelly. I wonder where Kate was. She was probably in the other field taking a movie of Matthew playing. I helped Mom and Brian cheer for Kelly. Kelly passed the ball to one of her teammates and they almost scored.
When halftime came, Kelly asked Mom if Dad has arrived yet.
“No,” Mom replied.
Kelly sat down with her teammates and ate oranges.
When halftime was over, the game began again.
Towards the end of the game, Kelly scored a goal for the first time in her whole entire life. She was very excited about it. She’s never done it before. I was a little jealous. She was getting lot of attention. I wanted to score a goal too my entire life. Maybe it’ll happen one of these days this year.
When the game was over, Kelly was very upset when she found out our dad didn’t show up. “He said he’ll be here,” she cried. “He promised.”
Mom hugged her. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Your father’s changed. He doesn’t keep his promises. He’s been hanging out with his friends after work at the bar. He just forgot about your game that’s all.”
“But he promised he’ll be here,” Kelly said firmly. “He didn’t even see me score my first goal.”
“But I saw you,” Mom said.
“Of course you did,” Kelly said. “But my dad didn’t.”
“I understand why you’re mad at him but Brian got it all on tape. He can always see it at home.”
My dad started to change a few weeks ago around Friday the 13th. He’s been cussing and swearing, getting mad at me every time my diaper leaks, getting impatient at Matthew, Kelly, and I, and calling us names like stupid and calls me a dumb kid every time I don’t do something right because he isn’t being specific enough. Sometimes he calls me a dumb teenager.
Brian, Kelly, Mom, and I walked over to Matthew’s game. The game was still going on. Kate was taking a movie of Matthew playing. The referee blew his whistle twice. The game was over. All his teammates ran to their coach.
“Anita,” said Kate. (Anita’s my mom’s name) “Your son did good. He stole the ball from one of his opponents.”
“Did you really?” Mom asked Matthew.
He nodded.
“Oh Matthew, I’m so proud of you,” she hugged him and kissed him.
Matthew blushed. “Mom.”
“Sorry.”
Matthew ran back to his teammates and got in line. Them and the other team clapped hands. After they were done, Matthew ran back to us. “Where’s Dad?” he asked.
“He didn’t make it,” Kelly replied firmly.
“What?” Matthew said. “he said he would be here.”
“I know.”
Kelly and Matthew were very upset. Dad didn’t see Kelly score her first goal and he didn’t see Matthew steal the ball from his opponent.
I started this story on 10/23/00 and wrote it that year and maybe in 2001 also but never finished it. It was supposed to be the third story of the series and I started writing this when I didn’t even finish Natalie vs Veronica and I think I did do another Natalie story and never finished it either and jumped with this one. Then I abandoned it due to writer’s block and it sat in my room for years and then storage and I found it while I was getting my stuff while I was visiting Montana where my things were. It was in two different notebooks and I only had the first part of this story and I found the other part to this. There is no connection to my two current stories, Natalie vs Her parents and Natalie vs Veronica because the characters are different and so are the facts and it won’t work to try and make it go with the other two stories but there may be some connections to my current ones and you may notice some sameness in the characters in my current ones. I may take parts from it and use it for my future Natalie story and change it. So I call it the lost story. I also told this from 1st and 3rd person view so there are more emotions and more detail about what each character is doing and their feelings so the readers understand better what is going on.
How the characters are different:
Glen is meaner and mean to Natalie about her problem and he is mean to his other kids too and his wife but mostly to Natalie. He is barely in the story because he spends his whole time away from home drinking at friend’s houses and crashing there and hanging out at bars. Everyone’s excuse is he is having a rough time. He just seems to target all his anger on Natalie and he rages at his wife when she defends her.
Anita seemed more functional and she still has problems but they don’t seem to be as bad. She is also a fibber and will exaggerate her stories to make them sound more interesting when she talks about her life and past. She also seemed to tolerate crowds better because she went to the Halloween dance with Glen when she was sixteen when they first met and they kissed. She also has the ability to stay calm during Glen’s rages and act like it’s no big deal when he has his alcoholic episodes. She seems to have better empathy and have a better relationship with Brian. She also seems close to normal and seems to have a close relationship with her kids and has a huge interest in them and sticks with them while her husband is a drunk and an ass and doesn’t seem to let it get to her and affect her. She also seems to be stronger and she worked a lot when Natalie was little. But thanks to her ability to stay calm during her husband’s rages and episodes and the screaming, it makes the family less dysfunctional.
Natalie loves sports and is good at them (My fantasy because I wanted to be good at them so I made her be good) and she seems to have a different relationship with her sister like they are friends and can relate, has friends who are also disabled, she still has learning problems and still has a different brain wiring but her family seems unaware of what she has and appears to never been diagnosed with anything. But the contradicting fact about her is she does appear to be diagnosed with something and her whole family keeps it from her since Kelly mentioned her having a disability and fibs it’s about her bladder problem. She also doesn’t like to be called a dumb blonde. She also seems to be more sociable (my fantasy of wanting to be like that too as a kid so I made her be). She also has suicidal thoughts and behavior issues so she gets into psychical fights (based on my fantasy of wanting to beat people up when they make me mad). She also likes looking at clothes and earrings. She also wants to quit wearing diapers and would if she was allowed to and feels differently about them and has a different attitude about them. She appears to have social anxiety because of them. She also does not like horror movies.
Kelly is mean to Natalie about her medical condition sometimes but they still get along like they are friends and she still puts her down by saying negative stuff to her and Natalie seems to handle it well. She also seems to have an immature attitude.
Matthew seems normal but he is very smart and appears to have a high IQ because he complains the school work is too easy. He also does soccer.
Brian is still the same. I didn’t change anything about his character except he seems to want to be with his Mom more often and he is more involved in his siblings’ lives. In my current ones, he is too busy with work and school. Reality I did there because you know how work and school is. I know from experience now.
How things are different in this story:
Natalie has an autistic uncle but it’s not John, it’s someone else.
The parents don’t seem to throw things at each other.
Glen was an exchange student instead of his family moving to the states when he was in high school
The Evans went to London to see a friend instead of Glen’s side of the family
The Evans apparently didn’t go to London in 1996 to see family because they were watching a video on Christmas Eve at their house in 1996. Contradicting fact, they did go to London to see a friend there that same year but maybe it was earlier in the month.
Anita had four sisters and five brothers instead of four brothers and five sisters.
Natalie’s soccer team mates are actually nice to her
Her soccer team is not her school team, it’s some soccer league she signed up for and Bluebells isn’t the school mascot
Her soccer coach is a guy and left nameless
Only Glen gets mad at Natalie for her leaks
Anita did have a job and she quits and her excuse, to be with the kids. Maybe it was a real reason or she was having troubles there and she quit and she said it was to be with the kids to make herself sound normal.
Allie has ADD instead of ADHD but to me it was both the same when I wrote it so it didn’t matter if I called it ADD instead of ADHD.
Natalie vs the Goal
Chapter 1
“Go Natalie!” Mom cheered.
I dribbled the soccer ball as I ran. The other team was gaining up on me. They were trying to block me.
“Hey Natalie, over here, I’m open,” Jessica shouted. She was standing in the right field. I kicked the ball to her before the gap closed.
Jessica’s my teammate. We both go to Saltwater High School in Saltwater, Washington.
Jessica caught the ball and started running. Everyone started cheering for her. “Go Jessica!” her mother shouted.
The other team started gaining up on Jessica. I don’t understand why their coach lets them bunch up. That’s not how you play soccer. They aren’t even staying in their position. That’s why we’re beating them badly. Seventeen to three. Jessica passed the ball to Anitra. Anitra got it and ran with it. When we got near the goal, the defenders bunched up with their teammates. One of them kicked the ball to our field but luckily our defender Nikki blocked it by kicking it back to us. The ball went over our heads and landed in the defender’s position but there was no defender blocking it. The goalie ran out of her goal box to get the ball. One of us raced her to it and got it before she did. Katie kicked the ball and it went in the goal box. The goalie ran after it. Anitra ran after it and kicked it in the goal and we scored another goal.
Our coach blew his whistle. It was time for him to sub three of us out. Cheri, Kristy, and I were chosen. We all ran out of the field as Audrey, Michelle, and Natasha ran in to take our places. We gave each other a five.
The game began again. We all cheered. During the last quarter, the other team scored two goals. The referee blew his whistle two times. The game was over. Everyone ran to their coach. “You girls did good,” said our coach. “I’m so proud of you even though we were all aware of the other team bunching up but that didn’t stop us playing good did it?”
“Yeah,” everyone replied. We put our hands together. “Two four six eight who do we appreciate! Hurricanes!” We formed a line in the field.
“Two four six eight who do we appreciate! Bluebells!” the other team said.
They formed a straight line and we walked and we walked up to each other clapping hands. “Good game, good game,” we said.
We ran back to our side of the field. We got our snacks and had a meeting with our coach. He told us when our next game was and when it started. Our next game was in Battle Ground. Battle Ground’s another town south of us. We live ten miles away. “You did good,” Mom told me. She put her arm around me.
“Where’s Kelly and Matthew?” I asked.
Mom looked around and called their names. “Kelly, Matthew!” she shouted.
They weren’t around.
“They’re kickin’ around here somewhere?” I said.
Who’s Kelly and Matthew? Kelly’s my twelve year old sister. She’s in seventh grade and goes to Saltwater Junior High and Matthew’s my nine year old brother. He’s in fourth grade and goes to Saltwater Elementary school. I also have an older brother Brian. He’s twenty two and lives in an apartment in Vancouver, Washington with his girlfriend Kate. They’re both in college. I’m the second oldest in my family. I’m fifteen years old and I’m a sophomore in Saltwater High School. I have a bladder problem so I have to wear diapers. I got in a car accident on the way home from my doctor’s appointment when I was seven. I was in coma for a few days and when I woke up from it, I noticed I had a diaper on. I freaked out when I found out I had to wear them and I freaked out even more when I found out I had to wear them for the rest of my life.
Mom and I found Kelly and Matthew in the track field playing underneath the bleachers with the other kids. “Okay kids,” Mom said to Matthew and Kelly. “Your game starts in thirty minutes, time to warm up with your team.”
Kelly and Matthew play soccer too. “Aw Mom do we have to?” Matthew asked.
“Yes Matthew you have to,” Mom replied. “You’re part of the team and I say you warm up with them.”
“You always have to ruin everything for us,” he complained.
“That’s what moms are for,” she said.
Kelly and Matthew got their water bottle and soccer ball and went to their field. Kelly and Matthew aren’t on the same team so Mom will be watching two at once. She’ll watch half of Kelly’s and Matthew’s. “Hey Natalie, what’s up?” someone asked.
I turned around. It was Brian and Kate.
“You guys are here,” I said.
“Sorry we missed your game,” Brian apologized. “We got stuck in a two hour traffic jam because of a car accident.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“There was a car accident,” Kate replied.
“No,” I said. “What caused the car accident?”
“A car ran off the road and crashed into another car,” she replied.
“Has dad showed up yet?” Brian asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “He said he’ll show up during one of our soccer games.”
“Tell Mom we’re here,” Brian told me.
I ran over to Mom and told her my brother was here with his girlfriend.
“That’s great,” Mom said. “They like watching you guys play.”
As I walked away I heard Kate talking to Mom. “We were coming back from Wilsonville and we got stuck in two hour traffic.”
“What were you down there for?” Mom asked.
“We went mini golfing at the family fun center,” Brian replied. “It’s really fun there. They have four mini golf courses, go karts, bumper boats, video games, and really cool toy equipment for kids but you need to be under five feet to play on it.”
“Was it chilly down there?” Mom asked.
“Of course. It was fifty degrees down there but we dressed warm,” said Kate.
“It was a little windy too,” Brian added. “By the way, we brought two video cameras with. One for Kelly’s game and one for Matthew’s. We stopped at our apartment to get them.” While they talked, I watched Kelly and her teammates kick their soccer ball in the goal. That got boring. I walked over to the other soccer field and watched Matthew and his teammates pass the soccer ball to each other. That got boring too. I got my soccer ball and dribbled it around. At least Brian gets to watch Kelly and Matthew’s game, not mine. Bad stuff always happens to me. I got in a car accident when I was seven and got injured, my best friend dumped me when I started wearing diapers, lots of kids made fun of me because of that, I don’t have any friends or best friends. I’m used to being by myself. I went back to the bleachers. I went to the top and sat down. I took out my pocket notebook and wrote.
Rose are red
Violets are blue
I like playing soccer
I’m a pretty good player`
I pass the ball
To my teammates
I dribble the
Ball good
But here is one thing
I wanna do really bad
Kick the ball
In the goal
I’m not a poet. I just like writing about my feelings and my imagination. Lot of people mistake them for poems. I really want to score a goal someday. Why? I’ve never done it before. I put my notebook away. A little girl climbed up the bleachers and sat down next to me. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” I said back.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Natalie,” I replied. “What’s yours?”
“Cindy.”
“Hi Cindy.”
“Do you play soccer?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Do you?’
Cindy shook her head. “No.”
“Then why are you here?” I asked.
“My cousin plays soccer,” she replied.
“Your cousin has a game here?” I asked.
She nodded, “Yeah.”
I got up and jumped off the bleachers.
“How old are you?” Cindy asked.
“Fifteen. How old are you?” I asked.
“Seven,” she replied.
“So you’re in second grade or first?” I asked.
“Second.” She got off the bleachers and played with the other kids.
I went back to my mom and dribbled my soccer ball some more. “Where were you?” Mom asked.
“Over there,” I pointed at the track field.
“Next time, tell me where you’re going or I’ll have to start putting you on a leash just like a little kid,” Mom warned.
In the soccer field, Kelly’s team and the other team were in their positions. The referee blew his whistle and the game began. I took out my pocket notebook and wrote.
S is don’t stop running
O is stay open for your teammates
C is concentrating
C
E
R is run hard
I couldn’t figure out what C and E should be. I closed my notebook and put it away. In the field, Kelly had the ball. “Go Kelly!” Brian and Mom rooted.
Brian was taking a movie of Kelly. I wonder where Kate was. She was probably in the other field taking a movie of Matthew playing. I helped Mom and Brian cheer for Kelly. Kelly passed the ball to one of her teammates and they almost scored.
When halftime came, Kelly asked Mom if Dad has arrived yet.
“No,” Mom replied.
Kelly sat down with her teammates and ate oranges.
When halftime was over, the game began again.
Towards the end of the game, Kelly scored a goal for the first time in her whole entire life. She was very excited about it. She’s never done it before. I was a little jealous. She was getting lot of attention. I wanted to score a goal too my entire life. Maybe it’ll happen one of these days this year.
When the game was over, Kelly was very upset when she found out our dad didn’t show up. “He said he’ll be here,” she cried. “He promised.”
Mom hugged her. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Your father’s changed. He doesn’t keep his promises. He’s been hanging out with his friends after work at the bar. He just forgot about your game that’s all.”
“But he promised he’ll be here,” Kelly said firmly. “He didn’t even see me score my first goal.”
“But I saw you,” Mom said.
“Of course you did,” Kelly said. “But my dad didn’t.”
“I understand why you’re mad at him but Brian got it all on tape. He can always see it at home.”
My dad started to change a few weeks ago around Friday the 13th. He’s been cussing and swearing, getting mad at me every time my diaper leaks, getting impatient at Matthew, Kelly, and I, and calling us names like stupid and calls me a dumb kid every time I don’t do something right because he isn’t being specific enough. Sometimes he calls me a dumb teenager.
Brian, Kelly, Mom, and I walked over to Matthew’s game. The game was still going on. Kate was taking a movie of Matthew playing. The referee blew his whistle twice. The game was over. All his teammates ran to their coach.
“Anita,” said Kate. (Anita’s my mom’s name) “Your son did good. He stole the ball from one of his opponents.”
“Did you really?” Mom asked Matthew.
He nodded.
“Oh Matthew, I’m so proud of you,” she hugged him and kissed him.
Matthew blushed. “Mom.”
“Sorry.”
Matthew ran back to his teammates and got in line. Them and the other team clapped hands. After they were done, Matthew ran back to us. “Where’s Dad?” he asked.
“He didn’t make it,” Kelly replied firmly.
“What?” Matthew said. “he said he would be here.”
“I know.”
Kelly and Matthew were very upset. Dad didn’t see Kelly score her first goal and he didn’t see Matthew steal the ball from his opponent.