Under Pressure Read Online Free

it, and before she could think further, knocked it over to Sophie, who was open up field. The forward looked around as if she couldn’t figure out where the ball had gone.
    â€œNice, Elise!” she heard Coach Berg yell from the sidelines. He sounded surprised. Elise caught a glimpse of Dayton’s startled face—which turned into a grin before Dayton raced after the ball.
    Elise’s heart felt as if it were going to hammer out of her chest. She leaned over, resting her hands on her legs, trying to control her breathing. It had to be the pills—they were working. She’d never done a maneuver like that in her life. No wonder Coach Berg sounded surprised.
    A few minutes into the second half, it happened again. The striker was all over Sophie. Elise could see that Sophie was fighting to mark her, but she couldn’t keep up. Elise looked around. Ursula’s left forward, a slight blonde girl, was bearing down the field, a determined look on her face. Elise knew she only had seconds. Normally, she’d never have tried such a gutsy move, but this was the new Elise.
    â€œSoph!” she shouted. Her friend looked over and passed the ball. Elise trapped the ball neatly with her instep and, in an instant, knocked it to Nita.
    Nita dove for it as if she wasn’t expecting Elise to be able to make the pass and then dribbled up the field. Coach Berg clapped. “That’s right!” he shouted. Elise knew she had a huge, sloppy smile on her face, but she couldn’t help it.
    The rest of the game passed as if it were a dream. When the final whistle blew, it was Copperheads, 4–3. After the hand slap, Elise practically floated off the field. The rest of the team had already gathered around Coach Berg. Faces turned as Elise approached.
    â€œExcellent play, Elise,” Coach said, still sounding slightly unbelieving. “Really aggressive. Not like your usual style.”
    â€œYeah,” Madison agreed. “Nice steal in the first half.”
    The others nodded and murmured in agreement.
    Elise took care not to grin too widely. Instead, she just shrugged. “Thanks. I ate my Wheaties this morning.”
    Everyone laughed, and Elise flushed with pleasure. Then she caught Sophie giving her a considering look.
    What? Elise mouthed at her friend.
    Sophie just shook her head and smiled. Nothing , she mouthed back.
    Elise practically danced out to the parking lot after the game. She felt as though she was in one of those Disney movies where the birds start singing along with the heroine. She grabbed Sophie’s hand as they walked, and Elise started skipping.
    She threw herself theatrically into the front seat of Sophie’s car and leaned her head back with a sigh. “I’m exhausted.” She wasn’t really, though. The exhilaration was still pumping through her. The pills were everything they’d promised.
    â€œSeriously, what are you on , Elise?” Sophie asked with a laugh as she steered the car through the rapidly emptying parking lot.
    For a moment, Elise’s heart skidded. Then she realized her friend was kidding. Her heart resumed its normal pattern as she smiled. “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know,” she teased. At least, Sophie would think she was teasing. Sophie had no idea how close to the truth she’d come.
    â€œThose moves were awesome,” her friend continued. She turned onto a wide, busy boulevard. “I’ve never seen you defend like that before. And that striker was huge.” She pulled up behind a belching dump truck that had stopped at a red light and glanced over at her friend. “You start drinking coffee or something?”
    The first twinge of guilt clouded Elise’s Disney world for a moment. No matter what, it wasn’t fun deceiving her best friend. Elise cleared her throat. “No, nothing like that.” She made sure to keep the airy tone in her voice as Sophie pulled into Locopops. For an