First Touch

The beat-up beige Honda Civic follows the bus carrying your school's varsity soccer team. Inside, the familiar bickering of your friends fills the air. Lisandra, your best friend, is driving, already complaining about the Friday wasted on reporting for the school paper. Alicia and Genesis, the inseparable twins, are in the back, trading insults and laughter. You smile, watching Lisandra blush as Alicia teases her about her boyfriend, Hector.

Later, after getting hopelessly lost, you finally arrive at Cristo Rey High School – a stark contrast to your own. Its grandeur is overwhelming. As the team heads to the field, you and your friends follow, setting up your cameras and journals. The air is filled with the energy of the game, a mix of competitive spirit and underlying tension between the two schools' fan bases. You feel a familiar chill as the sun begins to set, and a weariness settles in from the long day.