Number on me

2. Andromeda

An alarm. Her alarm, she realises as she bolts up. She always gets scared at her incredibly loud alarm. But, it has to be loud, she would sleep through it if it wasn't. And, as Max is reminded while looking through her room, there is no Fay to wake her up.

Maxine gets up. Even though she spent most part of last night awake, she feels ready for the day. Not just ready, excited. Today will be her first day at arsenal. She was nervous, a new team meant new people. Max was good with new people, but she didn't like them.

She has had this ever since she was a kid. Her sister being the social butterfly that she is, always wanted them to make new friends. Maxine would reluctantly follow her sister. She wasn't awkward, but she loved keeping to herself. And while, with the right people, she would talk a lot, most people didn't know a lot about her. Max didn't need people to know a lot; she was fine dealing with her own issues, and loved talking to friends about lighter stuff. That did not mean Maxine wouldn't help her friends deal with their issues, her old friends loved using her as a therapist.

Old friends. Max found it weird to think of them like that, as she saw them last about two weeks ago. But, today marked the start of a new chapter. If she wanted to make this work, and fit in with her new team, she had to focus on her present. Before getting in the shower, Max decides to text Fleur. Even if she hopes to make new friends today, she would never want to lose her best friend. Fleur didn't like football, or sports in general, but to Max it didn't matter. With her, everything felt easy. They could, and oftentimes would, talk for hours about their new and old crushes, or gossip a little about their classmates.

When walking towards her kitchen to eat breakfast, Max is reminded that she in fact, called her empty fridge a problem for tomorrow. Yesterdays tomorrow turned today, and the fridge is empty. Smiling to herself, as this was in entirely her fault, she decides to get ready instead. The club told her that she would get her kit, and everything else, today. So, Max just wore some grey sweatpants with a black Netherlands hoodie.

Maxine was proud to play for her country, having made her debut in April against Germany, in a friendly. Coming on in the game's dying minutes, there was nothing she could do to help her team against defeat. Yet, she was proud, one dream to check of her list.

The next game was even better. Coming on with 15 minutes left, she got her first assist. Assists were special to Maxine. They were perfect, helping your team without being the one in the spotlight, creating happiness and success for someone else, the amazing feeling of delivering that perfect pass.

She got her first start in a friendly leading up to the World Cup. She knew her manager, Andries, was testing her, to see if she would be an asset in Australia. She did not disappoint him, assisting 3 goals in their 5-0 win over Belgium, her spot was secured. She was excited when she got the official call up, determined to leave her calling card at the highest stage. And she did just that. While she didn't play too long in the opening game against Portugal, her tackle in the last minute of the game made sure that Danielle's goal would be the game winner.

In the game against the VS she secured her first international yellow card. She shrugged it off. She didn't like yellow cards, but they seemed to like her. She always blamed her on her time playing youth basketball, where she adopted a bit of a rough playing style, being one of the shortest on the team. However, this time, she had her big mouth to thank.
In the final game of the group stage, she started against Vietnam. She got two assists and a goal before she broke her wrist.

It was the 70th minute when she went down in the box. No foul, she just tripped, her feet failing to keep up with the pace of her head. She tried to get up when Jill Roord wanted to connect her foot with the ball. Finding Max's arm, planted on the ground to support her weight, instead.

Max didn't cry when she felt her bone crack, she had always hated crying in front of people, even when she was just a toddler. She just sat on the pitch while the medical staff quickly ruled her out for the game. It was only when alone in the showers, before the rest of the team finished the game, that the tears started coming. Her first thought was about her family, back home. She was glad that they didn't fly all the way out here to see her miss out because of such an idiotic injury. Her second thought was obviously her World Cup dreams. She didn't yet know that her team would be eliminated in the quarter finals, a game that she would helplessly watch from the sidelines. Cruel that those dreams were ended like this. But, like always, dedication soon followed. Her third thought made her want to work extremely hard to make sure she would be better by the time her transfer to arsenal went through. Which brings Max back to today.

Putting her wavy, brown hair into her signature bun, she looked for her white frame glasses. Finding them in the bathroom. She checked the chalkboard checklist she made herself by her front door. She was notorious for being Ill-prepared, and Fay came up with this clever solution. Impressed with herself as she didn't forget anything, Maxine takes her ADHD medication.

The walk to the training grounds takes about 20 minutes. Fay has always despised walking, Max found it relaxing. She didn't have a car. She got her driving license as soon as she turned 18 last October. But, she hated driving. She got distracted quickly. Driving drained her, because in a car, you have to pay attention. She preferred walking.

She wasn't on time, she was early, she always was. This time, it made perfect sense, as she had no idea where she needed to go. Luckily for her, the nice man at the desk, who introduced himself as Mike, directed her to the office. She managed to get lost anyway. After wandering around for a couple minutes she finally saw it. She breathed in. Two knocks. Two knocks to start her new life.

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Hey guys!

I have started the first book on my new account, after having lost my last account. Please let me know what you think and what you would like to see for this book.

Xx Belle