Shaken Up (9 page)

“It's no big deal,” Jessi replied. “Anyway, you'll find out soon.”

When we got to Pizza Kitchen, Emma, Frida, and Zoe
had already found us a round table. Tied to one of the chairs was a silver-and-blue helium balloon with the words “YOU'RE AWESOME!” written on it. Emma pulled out the chair and motioned for me to sit.

“You guys are too much,” I said as the balloon bounced against my head.

“Well, you
are
awesome,” Zoe said.

“We ordered a pepperoni pizza,” Emma said. “No pineapple or kale or anything.”

I smiled. My friends knew that I still hadn't gotten used to California pizza toppings.

“Excellent!” I said. “So, what is this about? You can't keep me in suspense any longer!”

“One more minute,” Emma said as a server came by with a tray of drinks and set one down in front of each of us. Emma picked up her glass and motioned for the rest of us to do the same.

“To Devin!” Emma said, clinking glasses with us.

“To Devin!” my friends repeated.

I was sure I was blushing. “Seriously? It's not like it's my birthday or anything.”

“No, but let's just say it's We're Grateful for Devin Day,” Emma said. “You have always helped us out when we needed it. Now it's our turn to help you.”

“Aww, guys,” I said. “You're so sweet, but I mean, we all help one another.”

“But you started it,” Zoe said. “Everything changed when you came to Kentville, Devin.”

That was a huge thing for Zoe to say, and I almost wasn't sure if I had heard her right. I looked around the table and saw Jessi, Emma, and Frida all nodding in agreement.

“You gave the Kicks the drive to win,” Emma said. “I thought I was a lousy soccer player, until you figured out that I would make a good goalie. I never even thought of that, but you did.”

“You're not just a good goalie; you're a great goalie,” I told her.

“And you helped me get my math grades up so I could stay on the team,” Jessi said. “I owe you big for that, Devin.”

“You don't owe me anything!” I insisted. “I'm your friend.”

“And I hated soccer, remember?” Frida asked. “My mom was forcing me to do it, and I dreaded every practice and every game. But you taught me how to make it fun, by imagining I was acting every time I was on the field. It really works.”

Emma nodded. “Besides, it's hilarious.”

“Totally,” I agreed.

“And you helped me, too,” Zoe said. “I froze up like an ice cube every time I got onto the field. But you're the one who figured out that Frida could help cure me by teaching me her tricks for overcoming stage fright.”

“And now you're a superstar!” Frida said.

“Not a superstar, but it feels so good to be confident on the field,” said Zoe. “So I know how you must feel to lose your confidence out there. It stinks.”

I nodded. “Yes, it does,” I said. “But you guys don't need to thank me for all that! I was all alone when I came to Kentville. I didn't know anybody. You guys came to my rescue, remember? You were so nice right from the start, and you stuck by me when we tried to fix the Kicks.”

Jessi grinned. “Well, if you put it that way, I guess we're all pretty awesome.”

Then the server brought our pizza, and the smell of pepperoni suddenly made me ravenous. We all dug into our pizza slices.

“Thanks so much for everything,” I said after my first bite. “It really helps to hear all this stuff.”

“Oh, we're not anywhere near finished with you,” promised Emma. “Since you have helped all of us, it's our turn to help you! Each of us has something special planned for you.”

“Oh no! More suspense? I can't take it!” I joked.

“I'm up first,” Zoe said. “I'll be at your house tomorrow after practice, Devin. Okay?”

I knew I had no choice. That was one thing all of my friends had in common. When they put their minds to something, they didn't back down.

“Okay!” I replied.

When the doorbell rang the next afternoon, I raced from the kitchen, where I'd been having a snack after soccer practice. I could not wait to see what Zoe had planned for me!

I opened the door, and my friend stood there in her soccer practice clothes, a stylish messenger bag slung over her shoulders.

She saluted me. “Zoe Quinlan of the Devin Confidence Squad, reporting for duty!”

I laughed before I stood up straight and saluted her back. “Yes, sir!” I said, and we both cracked up.

“So, how's your soccer mojo doing?” Zoe asked as we walked through my house to the sliding glass doors that led out into the backyard.

I sighed. “I've been holding back a lot, I guess. I've been doing a little better at practice, but I can't seem to score a goal.”

Zoe's face turned serious. “Remember how I used to be? I was so nervous on the field that I couldn't concentrate, and it affected my playing. But you had confidence in me, Devin, and that helped. And when Frida showed me tips, they really clicked for me, and it worked!”

I shook my head in agreement. “You are a beast on the field now, Zoe!”

Zoe's cheeks turned a little red under my praise. “I try my best. It's such a relief not to be nervous out there anymore!”

She spotted the soccer ball in my yard. “I think I can help you relax when you play,” Zoe said. “You've just got to promise me that no matter how silly these things seem, you've got to commit and give them your all.”

I gulped. I didn't like feeling silly or stupid. But at least Zoe and I were alone in the backyard. My mom was in her office, working, and Dad and Maisie were at her soccer practice. So there was no one around to point and laugh.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, Zoe. I'll do what you say. I trust you!”

Zoe smiled. “Good! Now, the first thing you need to do”—she took off her bag, opened it, and took out a small bottle of orange juice—“is drink this.”

I felt my eyebrows arch as I looked at her questioningly. “Orange juice?” I sounded totally bewildered.

“It's a trick Frida taught me,” Zoe shared. “It can help lower blood pressure and make you less anxious. It's something actors who suffer from stage fright use to calm themselves down.”

“Okay, so drinking orange juice,” I said. “That's not so bad. I thought you said I was going to have to do something silly.”

Zoe grinned. “That comes later,” she said. “Let's just chill for a minute while you drink your juice.”

We relaxed on the grass, chatting about the day while I drank some of the orange juice. When it was about halfway finished, Zoe told me to lie on my back.

“Get comfortable,” she suggested. “You can leave your hands by your sides, or put them on your stomach, whatever feels best.”

I lay back on the grass and rested my hands lightly on my stomach. I looked up at the bright blue California sky. Fluffy white clouds were dotting it, and it looked so pretty that I began to relax right away.

“Now close your eyes,” Zoe said in her gentle voice. “Picture the rays of the sun coming into the top of your head. The warm light is gently moving through your head, easing any tension. It's taking all your worries away. Feel it move through your eyes, your nose, your jaw. Notice any places that are tense. It's okay. Just let the tension go.”

At first I felt really silly, lying out in my backyard and trying to picture sunlight washing through my body. I felt my leg twitch, and I nervously began to tap it, but Zoe's voice was so melodic that I began to relax and not feel so self-conscious. In fact, as she kept talking about the light moving through my entire body, I felt like I might drift off to sleep.

When she finally ended at my feet, she said, “Picture all of the tension in your body draining out through the bottom of your feet. It's gone, and you're totally rested and peaceful.”

I breathed in and out, slowly and peacefully. I had never felt so relaxed in my life!

“Now picture yourself on the soccer field. You're in the middle of a game. You're surrounded by your teammates and your opponents. The ball is being passed to you.”

I tried to follow along, imagining myself at a game. It was tough to do. It was kind of hard for me to be creative or imaginative. So I tried instead to think about a real game. The last one where I'd played so terribly popped into my head. We were once again facing the Grizzlies. Kristin was passing the ball to me, and I was racing to receive it. I froze as I thought about what had really happened. In my eagerness I had overshot the defenders, which had led to me being offsides.

“Now, don't think about yourself or your fear of making a mistake. Think of your true purpose on the field. To be part of a team and to contribute something valuable to that team. It's not just about you. You're part of this great machine. Everyone is doing their part. Don't scare yourself with what might go wrong. Picture everything going right.”

In my imagination I was racing to get that pass. I looked around the field and spotted my teammates, saw how we were all working together, whether it was on defense,
midfield, or, like me, as a forward. I slowed my pace and backed up, catching the ball with my foot instead of overshooting the Grizzlies' defense. The defender came at me, ready to swipe the ball from me, but I maneuvered around her and saw a clear shot at the goal. I took the shot, and the ball landed squarely in the net, inches from the goalie's outstretched fingers. This time the whistle blew to signify a goal, not to signify me being offsides. My teammates hugged me, and we cheered.

“I did it, Zoe!” I told her, my eyes still closed as I lay on the lawn. “I made the goal and I didn't go offsides this time.”

“Awesome!” Zoe said. “Now, whenever you're ready, you can open your eyes and sit up.”

I felt just like one of those clouds in the sky, light and fluffy. As I sat up, I stretched slowly.

“I think I feel too relaxed now, Zoe,” I shared with her. “It will be hard to play soccer like this.”

Zoe nodded. “It's true. You don't want to calm yourself too much before a game, because that nervous energy serves a purpose too. Try doing that exercise the night before a game, right before you go to bed. To get the adrenaline flowing again before we kick the ball around, we can try a stimulating breathing exercise.”

Zoe showed me how to do this rapid inhale and exhale. I had to keep my mouth closed and breathe through my nose. Instead of long, deep breaths, I took rapid, quick ones.

I tried, but my nose made a really weird snorting noise as I tried to mimic Zoe's short breaths. My hand flew up to cover my nose. “I sound like a pig!” I laughed.

“Oink, oink!” Zoe joked. “That's what it's supposed to sound like! We'll call this the Three Little Pigs breathing exercise. The goal is for three in-and-out breaths per second. But we'll try it for only ten seconds the first time, before we go back to normal breathing.”

I tried it again, this time not feeling as self-conscious about how noisy my breathing was. Zoe and I did it together, taking the quick breaths for ten seconds before breathing normally. We repeated that two more times, and I felt the energy surge through my body.

I jumped up to my feet. “I'm ready!”

“Let's go!” Zoe said. “You attack. I'll be the defender.”

I had the ball under my foot and started dribbling it back and forth with Zoe guarding me. I faked going to the right and instead used my left foot to take the ball to the side, away from Zoe. I dribbled it down the yard as she raced to keep up. All the anxiety I had been feeling drifted away. It was just me and the ball. I raced back down the field as Zoe chased after me. I was in the soccer flow again, and it felt so good.

For the first time in a week, I felt a little more like myself again. And it was all thanks to Zoe and the Kicks!