Little Mewis

Just a Bunch of Angry Parents and Players, No Biggie

"Y/N!" Coach shouted. "A word?"

You jogged over, taking note of the distressed look on his face. "What's up Coach?"

"This game is really important," he began, gesturing with his hands as he talked. "If we don't win this, we won't be able to compete in the finals."

You froze. You hadn't realized your team had been cutting it so close.

This tournament was important to all of you who wanted to get scouted in college, as winning a high school tournament was something that made it much more likely for a person to get noticed by scouts from professional soccer teams.

"A-are you sure Coach?" You stuttered nervously. "Are you going to tell the team?"

He nodded slightly. "I have to. And I know you can wash those nerves away. I need you to guide them. I know you can. I made you captain for a reason."

You gave him a nervous smile. "Right, and if we fail, just a bunch of angry parents and players, no biggie."

"Don't worry about that. Worry about the game, and how you're going to get your teammates motivated," he said, patting you in the shoulder. "I believe in you."

You only nodded as the two of you walked back towards the rest of the team. Their heads turned to the both of you as you approached, all of them pausing their warming up.

"Listen up, kiddos!" Your Coach shouted, clapping his hands together. "Cap's got something to say."

"Okay guys, I'm gonna get straight to the point. We win this game, we head to the finals. We lose this game, and our season's over," you swallowed, trying to mask your nervousness for the sake of the team. "Canyon's players are gonna play their best, but so are we."

You took a deep breath. "I know all of you, both personally and as your captain. I know you all have it in you to win this match. I see how hard you all work during practice, and how you always get back up during games. We've got this, and we're going to win this match as a team. Canyon's team has a lot of internal problems, and their chemistry is all out of whack. Use that to your advantage. And remember, if one of us prospers, we all prosper. If one of us fails, we all fail. We're a team."

As soon as you'd begun to speak, you'd felt as though someone else other than your coach and teammates were watching you, but you weren't about to let that ruin your speech for the most important game in your high school career.

You sucked in a breath before yelling, "TEAM ON 3! ONE TWO THREE!"

"TEAM!"

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Turns out, your speech worked. Your teammates Claire and Jackie scored in the 16th and 45th minute due to beautiful crosses from you, the Striker and Forward raising their fists in celebration. You would have preferred the score stay 2-nil, but of course, Canyon High's Seniors had to score as well in the 50th and 78th minutes.

And of course, it all went to shit when your goalkeeper, Liz, was given a red due to a dangerous challenge.

As she stepped off the field, your coach gestured to you frantically, a pair of Keeper's gloves along with a spare keeper's jersey in his hands.

"Mewis... I know you've never done this in-game before, but I've seen you in goal during practice–"

"Absolutely not," you cut him off. "If I screw this up–"

It was your coaches turn to cut you off, pushing the gloves into your hands as he did so. "Y/N, you're crazy stupid. Don't start acting sensible now." (I have issues LMAO)

You forced yourself to reach out, grabbing the keeper's gear that you weren't used to wearing.

As you ran back onto the pitch, the crowd cheered in your favor. Donning a stoic expression, you clapped your hands together to shake off the nerves. You could do this.

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You decided you would stick to being a Striker. Goalkeeping sucked. You felt like you were going to break your hand every time you reached out to stop the ball.

Unfortunately, at the moment, you were stuck with being a keeper until the end of the match, which was still tied at 2-2. You just hoped someone scored soon, because you really didn't have the patience to deal with a PK showdown.

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As one of your defenders, Sarah, passed you the ball from 30 meters away, you scanned the field. Realizing that Claire was pushed up all the way into Canyon's 18 yard box in an onside position, you punted the ball as hard as you could in her direction, watching as it soared towards the enemy's goal at an incredibly fast pace. You expected the Forward to jump for the header, but the ball bounced right in front of the 6 yard line and buried itself in the back of the net, just over the keeper's outstretched fingers.

You jogged over to your defenders, high-fiving them all before waving to the roaring crowd.

Of course, to both the supporters in the stands and the players representing Canyon High, that was a one in a million shot. Your teammates and coach, however, knew you liked to practice unrealistic goals from unrealistic angles. You never know, you'd always said. Safe to say, they'd never question you again.

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"Hi sweetheart!" Your mom greeted as you slipped through the door. "How was the game?"

"Stressful," you groaned, "Coach dropped a bomb and told us we're out if we lose."

"Yikes," she winced sympathetically. "Didja win?"

You nodded, trudging up the stairs. "Championship game is next Saturday."

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As you turned off the lights, you couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been watching your every move before and during the game.

Someone that shouldn't have been. Maybe an opposing player? Their coaches were busy in the huddle, so it couldn't have been them.

Deciding to sleep on it, you laid down, pulling the covers over you. You'd figure it out another time.

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First chapter done! Hope you enjoyed!