I felt free. Running toward the touchdown area and . . . Touchdown! I turned around smiling but nobody cared.

The boys were all talking then they turned around and told me, “Sorry it doesn’t count, you’re a girl.” 

It took all my strength not to start screaming in their faces at that moment. Then I turned around and walked away still holding the football.

“And we still need our football!” 

They shouted so I threw it back to them and continued on off the field.

“Where are you going?” my friend asked.

I turned to her and explained everything. I had been playing football with the boys just to prove that I could do it too but every time I did something like stopping a touchdown or scored a touchdown,or caught the football,or threw the football they would make up some rule to make it not count or make it a foul. I was getting ready to quit when they said it. 

“Because you’re a girl.” 

It had happened to me before, once but not like that. I had practically been booted from the game because I was a girl, NOT FAIR. 

“Come on,” Jane begged. “Please try football again”

“Okay, I’ll try it,” I finally said. 

I walked onto the field and waited to be sorted onto a team. Jane and I were the last ones to be picked. Well to be exact I was the last one to be picked. I was on a different team. I was on the A team and Jane was on the B team. Then the game started. I ran to the spot I was assigned to which was left defense. Then the runner came my way. With my arms outstretched I tagged the runner and stopped the touchdown. I was expecting it but it still made me really mad. Then I yelled

“I just stopped a touchdown you know!” but again nobody cared.  Then Jane spoke up.

“You guys should be grateful that she stopped the touchdown!” 

Since the boys were somewhat scared of her they said oh all right I guess you did stop the touchdown. I was so grateful that Jane had spoken up that I was actually able to play some more. Then it all went down. Jane had to leave so I was stuck alone. As soon as Jane left the boys had a whole great argument on whose team I would be on. In the end I stayed on the team that I had been put on originally. About ten minutes later I had stopped 4 touchdowns, scored 2 and had a horribly bloody finger but I was still invisible to everyone. Finally when I tried to catch the football and it slipped through my fingers and hit me in the face I got yelled at by the boys on my team saying that I sucked. I wanted to tell them that I didn’t know how to play football because nobody taught me but then they said it.

“We ban you from football.”

I asked why and they replied

“You can’t play because you’re a girl.” And at that I walked away with my eyes watering. 

It was somewhat rainy. I was sitting on the grass with my little sister Faye, watching football. When the football bounced out of bounds near me. Easton picked it up and yelled “Somebody once told me that Harley was a phony” And at that I got up ,beckoned m sister to follow and we went to a corner of the feil that was always peaceful and I sat there and cried again about how rude all those stupid boys were. Then Sky found me. My sister had left and then Sky walked over and asked me what was wrong. Then I told her about the first football try. Then the second and finally what had just happened.  Then it was silent for a while until I said

“I hate being a girl sometimes. Nobody lets me play anything with the boys unless there is no choice. I was banned from football because I am a girl and I get made fun of because I’m a girl.”

But Sky didn’t say anything. She just sat there with me until my face looked normal and then we walked back to the playground to play grounders.

“Ding Dong Ding”

The  school bell rang and it was time for P.E. We were sorted into teams for capture the flag and I was on the same team as all my friends, Sky, Marrie, Jane, and Haligh. As always I was put on defense because apparently I was good at it. I walked over and a couple kids yelled 

“Yes!” and “We got Harley!”

It made me feel good because in football the boys would say “Darn it, we got Harley.” 

Then it started. Capture the flag was my favorite thing to do in P.E.  About 5 minutes into the game I had gotten 13 people in jail and only 6 people remained on the other side. I figured that it was okay to rush because they had everyone on ball guard because they knew that we were going to rush. We all grouped up and on the count of three we all ran towards the ball but not me. I ran towards jail. There were 6 people in jail but they were some of our  players. But then something happened. Almost everyone got pulled and I only barely escaped. Now it was time to get jail.We had to go altogether if we wanted to get jail but the other kids had a different idea.

“We will rush again.” someone announced. I wanted to tell them that they were crazy but it would provide a good distraction. There was only one person guarding the jail so it would be easy. We all charged and instead of running with the rest of the kids I made a beeline for the jail and freed it. And on the plus side we got the ball and won. 

I was so happy to have friends because they were the ones that congratulated me and made me feel good. They were the ones that helped me with the whole football problem and made me feel like girls can do anything and that the boys don’t get to tell me what you can and can’t do based on your gender.