new girl - leah williamson

chapter 4: gameday

we walk out to the coach, the crisp early morning air hitting us as we walk out the door. my breakfast sitting in my stomach, a much needed coffee in my hand.

we are all in our england tracksuits. most wearing headphones or airpods, getting into the game day zone. nerves are crashing through my body.

i sit down on the coach, opposite alessia and ella, stretching my legs out into the vacant seat next to me. i dont cope well with nerves and stress. that's where i get my bad reputation from. normally, that's when i would go out and fuck a random girl.
mostly, pregame nerves hit and im lively, full on energy. me ella and lessi are playing games, singing and doing random tiktoks.

after half an hour of the journey i get called over by sarina. she pats the empty seat next to her, encouraging me to sit down.

"good morning, how you feeling?"

"i'm okay, nervous though"

"i would have thought so, i want to give you a heads up, you're in the starting 11 today"

"really? thank you sarina" i say, a smile beaming off my face

"but sophia, you need to keep your temper under control, i don't want a yellow or a sending off okay?"

"yeah got it"

"and i'm sorry to say, if you get sent off, i probably won't be playing you for the rest of the tournament, we can't risk it. "

i nod, understanding.
she dismissed me and i go sit back down with my girls.

we walk back into the changing rooms after warmup. the energy is high. we all take a seat, putting on our shirts instead of our warming up kit. mines next to leah's, as she's number eight and i'm number seven.
i sit down in my kit, my boots are tied, socks were over my knees for warmup and low for the game, and my headband...
shit where is my headband.
fuck
fuck.
i cant play without my rituals. i do this before every game. please please please don't say i have lost it. i dont wear one for training, so i couldn't have lost it then. my leg bounces up and down, i look around frantically. this can't be happening. loosing my good luck on my debut.
no no no no

"what are you looking for?" leah asks from beside me

"piss off"

"is it your headband?"
i turn to her, how did she know?

"yeah" i mumble, digging around in my bag.

"sophia it's around your ankle" she tells me.
oh yeah. i put it there so i wouldnt forget.

"right, sorry" i say, not meaning it in the slightest. i slip on my headband, turning my expression to sarina.
she says some final inspirational words, motivating us.

we walk into the tunnel, leah then mary infront of me. lucy stands behind me.
she places her hands on my shoulders, noticing my nerves. she rubs my shoulders firmly, i roll my head back, right as the camera does past me. i laugh slightly, knowing that's going to be edited.

music blasts through the speakers, signaling it's our time to go out. we walk out, side by side with austria. we stand in a line whilst the national anthem is sung. a few of my teammates wave to their family, my heart sinks a little, knowing i havent even talked to mine in months.

the national anthems are over and the stadium applauds. i look up, realising this is it. i know i can do this, just play it like any other match. you're used to this sophia. shaking hands with austria, we wish them good luck as we go. the subs go over to the sub bench.

we huddle up, one minute before kick off.

"okay girls this is it, there's no need to panic. we have played austria before and we know what we are capable of. but don't underestimate them, we never know what they can pull out in these games. we have sophia with us, we all know what she's capable of, and with our whole teams skills i feel we could smash any team right now. so girls, we ready?"
leah says.