CHASING GOLD: World Cup

Chapter 1

March
Monday
Andy woke to her alarm clock ringing. She stretched her arms and pushed the button on her phone to stop the alarm. She sat up and got out of bed walking into the bathroom. She was still a little unfamiliar with the house she was in as she had been moved to her 4th foster family in 3 months. She finally found the bathroom and took a shower and got herself ready. When she was finished, she headed back to her room to get ready. She put on jeans, running shoes, her Portland Thorns Tobin Heath jersey her best friend, Theo, gave her, a USWNT hoodie and a Portland Thorns snapback. She grabbed her bag with her school supplies and headed downstairs for breakfast.

She got out cereal and milk and sat down at the table. When she was done, she got up and found her soccer bag. She made sure everything was in it before checking the time and deciding to head out to school. She found her longboard and rode off to school.

When she got to school, she saw Theo getting out of her car. "Hey!" Theo said, waving. Andy waved back and smiled. Fuck she's so cute. Andy thought.

"Hey. How was your weekend?" Andy asked, as they started to walk up the school steps.

"Amazing! This was a great birthday." Theo said smiling. "I got a new ball, new cleats, and..." Theo said hesitating. She smiled brightly. "Tickets to the upcoming USWNT game against France." Andy's eyes went wide.

"No way!" She said lightly slapping Theo in the side. "You're so lucky!" Theo only nodded vigorously, smiling wide.

"And..." Theo said, pausing again. "You are coming with me!" She said turning to face Andy who's eyes went wide in shock.

"Wh- what?" Andy said, stuttering. "What do you mean?"

"You are coming with me to the game dumbass." Theo said, stopping at her locker to put some things away. "And you can't try to say no because it was mom and dad's idea." Theo said turning her head to give Andy a look.

"I- I don't know what to say." Andy said blushing slightly. "Thank you." Theo smiled and threw her hands in the air excitedly.

"Ok so the game is this weekend at 6pm so mom and I will come get you around 5? It's a 20 minute drive to the stadium and we want to get there early to watch them warm up." Andy still stood in shock but nodded in agreement. The two headed off to class as the bell rang loudly in their ears. Andy couldn't contain her excitement.

*****

Tobin nodded in agreement at the instructions Coach Jill Ellis had just given the team for practice. She headed towards her spot next to Alex as they began their drill. "You know, I'm actually really excited to play this game this weekend." Tobin said.

"Really? Any reason?" Alex asked, chuckling.

"I don't know. Feels like something different is in the air." Tobin said, expressing her words with her arms. Alex laughed. Tobin watched her best friend for a little longer than necessary and smiled. She had loved Alex for a while now but didn't want to tell her because she was worried. She figured staying friends is the best option. Then she doesn't run the risk of losing her.

"Have you thought about her today?" Alex asked after a while. Tobin only nodded, yes. "You'll find her one day Toby. I promise." Alex said trying to reassure Tobin. The two shared a smile before setting their focus back onto the drill.

After practice, Jill let the girls have a night to relax and explore Cleveland, Ohio. Tobin, Alex, Kelley, Sonnett, Allie, Krieger and Ash decided to find a place to eat and then eventually just walk around. Maybe find a place to play some pick up soccer.

They found a fun restaurant and when they finished eating, found that walking around was better than playing more soccer. They didn't want to tire themselves out after all. They did stumble across two girls playing soccer, however, and decided to watch from afar. The field was high school size with metal bleachers scattered around. It was night time but there were flood lights illuminating the field. They watched the two play.

"They're good." Kelley said after a few moments of silence. The two girls had been going back and forth passing, doing cross over drills, taking shots. The national team players nodded in agreement. "That one plays a lot like you Tobin." Tobin smiled and nodded but then got a little sad and walked away. Alex followed.

"Toby. What's wrong?" Alex asked softly. She sat down next to Tobin on the metal bleachers. Tobin put her face in her hands.

"I know I don't know her...but I miss her." Tobin said softly. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. Alex rubbed Tobin's back. "I just want to find her. I have no idea how I'd do that but I just want to so badly." Alex nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks as well. She didn't know exactly what Tobin was going through but she knew it was hard for the beautiful girl in front of her.

"I know watching those girls playing and Kelley's comment probably didn't help." Alex said softly. Tobin looked up towards the field.

"I wonder if she likes soccer." Tobin said, intently watching the two girls playing. "If she looks like me, if she plays like me." Alex moved her attention from Tobin to the girls playing.

"I'm sure she plays soccer and looks like you and plays like you. There's no doubt about that in my mind." Alex said, confidently. Tobin looked at Alex in wonder. She smiled. She grabbed Alex's hand and squeezed it.

"Thank you Alex. You always know how to keep my spirits up." Tobin said smiling. Alex turned and looked at Tobin. Without saying any words, the two got up and went back to their group. They all decided to call it a night and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.