Lost - Ellie Carpenter and Daniëlle Van De Donk

Match Day

It was now Sunday. Match day. We were playing against PSG in the afternoon. We were travelling early in the morning, match in the afternoon, and a long late night bus ride home. Just like we always do.

It was about 8 am when we all started piling onto the team bus, still pretty groggy from the early wake up call. It's about 4 hours on the bus but it usually flies by. I sit at one of the table seats, sitting across from Dama and Amel, with an empty seat next to me. Or at least it was empty until  Ellie came and sat with us.

Dama had brought UNO cards with her to play, so that is what we were doing for most of the ride.

"NO AMEL NO" I shout, on my last card, with Amel just announcing her possession of a +4.

Amel chuckles to herself, a slight smirk to her face while placing down the card.

"You have no mercy" I reply, picking up 4 cards from the pile. "I'm going to get you back"

Ellie laughs at our interaction, placing down one of her cards, then "Uno!"

"Wait, what, when?" Dama asks, completely stunned how Ellie is about to win the game before asking "Daan put down a plus 4 next"

"I dont have one!" I half shout, all of us conspiring to try guess what card she has left, clearly failing as she placed her last card on top of my most recent card.

"I win I win" Ellie laughs, doing a half dance as all of us look defeated, her winning practically each round we have played so far.

"Okay i'm done with this if all of our games are just Ellie making us look like losers" Dama says, a fake sense of seriousness in her voice.

"What a sore loser" Amel says while laughing at her, giving her a playful elbow to the chest, all of us erupting into laughter.

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It was about another hour on the bus before we arrived at the stadium, we spent that time on our phones just relaxing before the game. But, as soon as we arrived, the pre-match nerves and excitement set in as we made our way inside to the changing rooms.


"Tonight we are going for a 4-3-3 with Endler in the goal, a back 4 with Bacha on the left and Carpenter on the right." Sonia announces, showing us the formation on a screen behind her.

I nudge Ellie who is sitting on my right, watching as she smiles, her head going down hiding the excitement on her face.

"The 2 centre backs are Renard and Gilles and in the midfield we've got Van De Donk, Egurrla and Horan, with Diani and Cascarino on the wings. And lastly, Dumornay leading the line."

We all get ready to get onto the pitch, where we warm up for about half an hour before a last quick talk from Sonia and heading off to walk out.

I was stood behind Ellie, when walking out meaning I could see her trying to shake off her nerves before we walked onto the pitch. I gave her a comforting hand on her shoulder, and as she turned around I said "You'll be okay" i say, giving her a smile that she returns before turning back around, ready to walk off.

It was an annoying first 40 minutes, the ball going continuously from one side to the other, almost like a ping-pong match, with nothing actually happening. It wasn't until the 40th minute where I made a perfect pass to Diani who managed to get the goal into the back of the net.

The celebrations were intense, all of us piling around Diani, excited about a goal so close to the end of the first half. The emotions stuck with us all the way through half time, all of us excited for the second half, hopeful for the end of the match.

It was the 67th minute when PSG evened out the score to 1-1, bringing us back to reality and showing us it wont be as easy as we thought it was. 

After a few substitutions from PSG, they were stronger than ever, the ball constantly hanging around our goal, but never managing to make it in. Thankfully, once Ada was subbed onto the team, the score quickly changed, and we were once again in the lead.

The score didn't change again, all of us quickly accumulated into a big group hug in the middle of the pitch after the final whistle blew. All of us were ecstatic as usual, especially Ellie, who was grinning ear to ear, probably the most happy out of us all.

We all start getting into the bus, all still super excited after our win, the excitement very clear on us. I don't sit down at the table this time, preferring a normal seat so I could put my legs out in front of me, and also so i could sit with Ellie again.

"Well hello again" She says, as i sit down in the free seat next to her.

"Long time no see" I reply, a grin on my face.

Everyone has pillows and blankets for the drive back, practically turning this bus into a huge slumber party, all of us getting comfortable for the long drive home. I set my pillow behind my back, not needing my blanket at the moment, so i placed it under my seat.

We sit in a comfortable silence for a while, all of us calming down from our celebrations with a much needed phone break. I take out a packet of crisps, feeling hungry, and eat a few before offering them to Ellie. She thanks me while taking one out of the bag, but i place them in between us signalling for us to share the large pack. She smiles before both of us go back to our phones, each of us in turn taking crisps out of the bag.

It was about an hour of that, with us watching tiktok or scrolling on Instagram before I decided to turn on a movie, resting my phone on the small tray table on the seat in front of me.

I noticed Ellie turn her phone off and place it down in front of her, before laying her head back and closing her eyes. I continue watching the movie on my phone, completely unaware of my surroundings, until i feel a weight drop onto my shoulder. I sat there, stunned, not prepared for the blonde hair resting on my shoulder, before quickly coming back to my senses and pulling her blanket up for her to rest on her shoulders keeping her warm. I also moved the packet of crisps in between us because there's no way that is comfortable to sleep on.

I sat back further, prepared for the last 2 hours of the bus ride.

My movie ended perfectly on time, 5 minutes before arriving back in Lyon. I spent the last 5 minutes trying not to move, letting Ellie sleep peacefully on my shoulder.

It wasn't until we were pulling into the car park that I gently nudged her awake, watching her adorably cute face as she woke up from her nap.

"Oh my god i'm so sorry" Ellie says immediately after realising where she had been for the last couple of hours.

"It's okay don't worry, you're cute when you sleep" I reply, smiling slightly at her genuinely apologetic face, then start picking all my stuff up to get ready to leave the bus.

Ellie blushes before smiling back grabbing her things too as the bus completed its stop.

We all start leaving the bus, thanking our bus driver as we step off.

Me and Ellie head off together, our cars parked next to each other.

"Goodnight" I say, as we go our separate ways into our own cars.

She smiles at me, replying with "Goodnight" before tucking her hair behind her ear and getting into her car.

I smile to myself, happy with the interaction as i get into my car as well and driving off.

I don't think that could've gone better.