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Iggy
and Malcolm walk across the soccer
field. The sun is barely up, and the ground is
still wet from last night’s rain. The air smells
of worms and mud and freshly cut grass. It’s
the last day of high school soccer tryouts—
the last day to prove themselves.
The boys are the first to arrive. They
head to a wooden bench and pull on their
soccer cleats. Iggy’s are cheaply made and are
starting to feel too tight. He’s gone through
three pairs of cleats in the past year. Last
summer, at the beginning of his eighth-grade
season, he was one of the smallest players on
the field—wiry and short with a round, baby
face. But now he’s long-legged and lean and
ready for his freshman year.
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