Araceli kicked the bright yellow soccer ball into the corner of the computer lab. It knocked over a stack of textbooks with a loud thud.
She froze as the teacher turned around, her sneakers squeaking sharply on the linoleum floor while the class gasped in unison.
The ball rolls toward three other students who are building a tower of empty plastic cups for a game.
Araceli dives forward to catch it, but trips over a chair leg and lands hard, scattering the cups everywhere.
Instead of getting mad, the boy next to her picks up a cup and offers Araceli a hand up, his fingers sticky from glue.
"We need a goalie," he says, pointing to the space behind the desk row where the keyboard wires hang like vines.
Araceli nods and takes her position, her heart pounding visibly as she watches the ball arc through the air.
She leaps sideways, blocking the shot with her shoulder just as the bell rings, leaving her breathless but smiling.