End Game - Taylor Swift

Practice ⚽

Alex was out at practice, working hard with the team.

The coach was barking orders, and the other players were all laser-focused on their exercises.

The coach blew her whistle, signaling the end of the drill.

The players all slowed to a stop and started to gather around him for a water break.

Cassandra, called out to Alex from the sidelines, "Hey Alex, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Alex looked over at Cassandra, a bit surprised. "Yeah, sure thing," she replied, jogging over to where the team manager was standing.

Cassandra looked at Alex seriously, her arms crossed. "Listen, I've noticed something during practice. I think you need to pass to Riley more. She's the one closest to the goal, and she's in a good position to score."

Alex nodded, taking in Cassandra's advice. "Yeah, you're right. I'll try to look for her more often on the field."

Alex wasn't looking in Riley's direction when Riley kicked the ball. It flew straight towards her, hitting her square in the stomach with a thwack.

Alex gasped in pain, doubling over as the ball made contact. She clutched her stomach, the wind knocked out of her for a moment.

Riley approached Alex, looking at her with a sly smile.

"Oops, my bad," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard."

Alex looked at her, still clutching her stomach. She hated how pleased with herself Riley looked. "It's fine," she managed to say through gritted teeth, trying to hide her pain.

Riley chuckled, clearly enjoying the situation. "You sure? You look like you're in pain. Maybe I should give you a little rub down to make it feel better," she suggested, her voice dripping with insinuation.

Alex's eyes widened at the suggestion, her cheeks flushing with anger. "No, thanks," she said firmly, brushing off Riley's offer. "I'll be fine." She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.

As practice continued, Alex noticed a change in Riley's behavior. Instead of passing the ball to her like usual, Riley seemed to deliberately avoid Alex. She was making passes to other players on the team, even if Alex was in a better position to receive the ball.

Alex clenched her jaw, frustrated and hurt by Riley's actions. She tried to get open and call for the ball, but Riley seemed determined to ignore her. It was like she was purposefully trying to make Alex look bad on the field.

The coach eventually called out,

"Alex, what's up with you today? You're not playing like yourself."

Alex glanced over at Riley, who was smirking to herself. It was clear that she was enjoying watching Alex struggle.

Alex forced a smile and shook her head.
"Just having an off day, Coach. I'll do better," she replied, her voice tight with suppressed anger.

Isabella had passed the ball to Alex, and she had just started running towards the goal when suddenly, Riley came up behind her and gave her a hard tackle from behind. Alex went sprawling to the ground.

Riley stood over her, a satisfied smile on her face. "Oops, my bad. Didn't see you there."

Alex pushed herself up off the ground, anger flashing in her eyes. She knew damn well that Riley had done that on purpose. "What the hell, Riley?" she snapped, brushing the grass off her uniform.

Riley shrugged, still grinning. "What? It was an accident. I'm clumsy sometimes." She looked at Alex's dirty uniform mockingly. "You look like you're gonna need to do some laundry."