You're The One

Chapter 6

October 2020 - north London, England

October had been a busy month so far, and we had played a large number of games in a short amount of time. Coming up was the north London derby against Tottenham, a game which came after a variety of past results. We had won 3-1 against Bristol, had an awful loss to Chelsea in the cup, but then had a great win away at Brighton, so we felt as though we were in a good place for the match. We were in unstoppable form you could say so far in the league, winning all of our first four games as well as being top of the table.

"I can't believe it's already October." Leah said to me, as we walked to the parking lot, after a long day of training. With the number of matches we had played, the days had flown by, and both of us were amazed at the fact that it was already nearly winter.

"Boo!" Someone shouted, a person in Arsenal training gear jumping up with a terrifying face mask on.

I squealed and jumped, shocked from the scare. It was Lisa, having decided to play a prank on some of us.

"You are mean!" I scolded, spotting the vlog camera in the distance. "It's recorded as well, I hate you."

"You love me." She responded, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and pulling me into a hug. Leah seemed to be unfazed by Lisa's joke, smiling a the two of us. "Where are you girls going?"

It was around 4pm, but I had intended to head home and turn on a movie, with the current covid restrictions preventing me from exploring London. "I'm going home, but I'm not sure about this one." Leah responded, looking over at me.

"Home as well, probably. I wish I could do more though." I replied, although rather unenthusiastically, wishing that I could do some touristy things.

"Well maybe watch some football or something." Lisa recommended, "Be sure to get some rest, we do have a match tomorrow."

"You're not her mother, Lisa." Leah said laughing and sarcastically rolling her eyes. "Well, I'll see you both soon?" Leah hugged Lisa, and then came over to me, but I sort of awkwardly, but unintentionally, dodged the hug in a weird way.

"Sorry!" I said, nearly falling on to the gravel behind me, grabbing on to Leah for dear life as I regained my balance. "Back tomorrow!" I excused myself, practically running to my car, blushing red in embarrassment. What even was that? I always seemed to embarrass myself in the worst situations.

That evening, while on call with Kristie, I told her about my recent endeavours with the Arsenal team. "I'm really glad that you're enjoying it."

"What?" I asked, confused about her tone. I could tell that she wanted to tell me something, although I wasn't sure what. "I know you, just say it."

"I can't come to London." She blurted out suddenly, and I felt my stomach drop. It had been so long since I last saw her, and I didn't understand why. She could tell I was confused, saying "it's just, well, I'm getting called up to camp, and I need to stay and train."

"Wait, are you serious? Camp!" I responded, admittedly disappointed but also extremely proud. "That's amazing, I'm so happy for you."

"So you're not mad at all?" She asked tentatively, and I shook my head, giving her an encouraging smile instead. "Ok, then..." She then said, her voice trailing slightly and an almost awkward silence coming upon us. It had been different between us lately, not positive nor negative, just different. It made sense, distance and the time difference was hard.

"You know, I better be off. I have a game tomorrow and need to get up early."

"Well good luck!" She replied enthusiastically, "I'll make sure to watch the highlights, and I'll hope for a win."

I smiled softly in response, the screen going blank as I hung up. Groaning, I rolled over to the other side of the bed, ending up staring at the white ceiling. I took a deep breath, even closing my eyes for a brief moment.

'What are you doing with yourself?' I wondered, an array of questions intrusively popping into my head. I couldn't understand why I felt, different? I felt as though something wasn't quite right, and I wasn't so sure what. It unsettled me, confused me, it was strange.

The next morning I did in fact wake up early, groggily making my way to our home ground, Borehamwood, for the north London derby.

"Ready my girl?" Lisa said, in her usual Scottish accent, my slightly Americanised response sounding a little out of place. She, along with around six or seven other first team players were injured, leaving us with a bare bench of two academy players, Lotte and Lydia. It was an injury crisis so large that the club were investigating our training routine, and it definitely brought nerves to some of the players.

"You know it!" I answered smiling, making my way into the changing room. We knew that Tottenham would be a challenge, and although they had never beaten us before, they weren't a side to be underestimated. They hadn't won a single match though however, so that boosted our morale going into the game.

The match flew by, and I topped off a great team performance with two goals in a 6-1 win, securing us at the top of the table for the time being. It was a nice feeling to be leading the league and with a strong set of performances behind us, and I felt like being at Arsenal had given me a boost of energy. I was enjoying myself, perhaps a little too much than I should've been, and I felt a pit of guilt in my stomach when I thought of all I had left behind. Working myself up would be useless though, and besides, I had only signed a short term contract anyways so it wasn't as if I had committed to anything, but I think it was the way that Arsenal was starting to feel like the place I would rather be...