Ambiguous Soccer Practice in Ambiguous Suburb


 
 
 

When the other boys ask him where he goes on Sundays while they go to church, the boy talks about soccer practice.   He talks about how he sings at practice to tease another boy who chases him    how they run in circles as he sings I like to Moody, Moody.      He doesn’t know the song actually says I like to move it, move it.      He doesn’t know the other boy’s name is not Moody     but Hamoudi     & he laughs every time Moody chases him.    The two boys do not know they are minorities yet because they are eight in the ambiguous suburbs      of an ambiguous state     where soccer takes a backseat to playing tag & plucking grass in soccer practice. The   other boys laugh & the boy sighs  relieved by the sight of his Mom’s minivan. He grabs his shin-guards from the garage as the other boys mount their bikes to ride to another ambiguous cul-de-sac in the neighborhood. His Mom opens the door & says    Hi my betas    to the boys as they pedal & wave. Her voice is a bell for the boy      who rushes in & swings the door closed before her voice has a chance to ring more. He watches his friends ride away     thankful they don’t look back.

 
 
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Rushi Vyas teaches creative writing at the University of Colorado-Boulder where he is a poetry student in the MFA program. He serves as the Managing Editor of Subito Press and Assistant Managing Editor of Timber Journal.