Faulty Trust || Katie McCabe

02

By the time Monday had rolled around, my apartment was basically finished. I still needed to get a few things, but I'd find the time eventually. If I remembered. But it was time to officially sign for the club and then jump right into training.

I'll spare some details, but signing for the club went just as you'd expect it to go, and Wally gave me a full tour of the facilities afterwards before taking me to the locker room where I could change and also meet everyone. This is where my nerves kicked in.

When Lia opened the door, the room was loud, though it quickly fell silent, placing every single pair of eyes on me. I felt my heart drop slightly before Wally started talking; one can only have so much false confidence. "Hey guys, this is our newest signing, Emely Koloman. Who's also my best friend." I smiled and waved.

"Emy!" Leah jumped up and pulled me into a hug, making me laugh. "Hey Le," I giggled as I wrapped my arms around her. This seemed to cut the tension in the room as everyone began introducing themselves.

"Hi Emely, I'm Viv, and this is Beth." I smiled at them, knowing them briefly from the Euros. Other introductions followed from around the room as Wally and I moved to sit down. Although one introduction caught my attention as it sounded more forced than anything.

"I'm Katie," was said in a fake tone, followed by a forced smile. I could tell she wasn't happy I was here, but as my eyes met here's there was something else behind them. Something masked in anger. I gave her a wide smile back just to piss her off, which might've actually worked because her face dropped and she walked out of the room soon after. I turned to Wally, who only rolled her eyes and shook her head. Wally and Leah waited for me by the door as I changed quickly and followed them out to the training pitch, trailing behind them slightly just taking in my surroundings.

Realising I was actually going to play for The Arsenal, one of my childhood dream clubs to play for. Bayern had also been a dream; I'd been on loan with them for only a season, and it was a blast, but I knew it wasn't for me. I didn't fit into their squad how I would have liked to, which is a disappointment, but it's what got me here, so I wasn't entirely complaining.

Being a centreback and a fullback had its perks, though sometimes the running a fullback had to do was exhausting. Hence why I lean more towards playing centerback, which was what I was doing in our end-of-training mini-scrimmage. Lotte and I had been paired together, and we meshed perfectly; our styles were quite similar, and our ability to place long balls just past the opposing team's backline was deadly. "Yes Emely!" Lotte shouted as I placed a long ball right in front of Stina, who slotted it into the net just past Sabrina's outstretched hands.

As our scrimmage was coming to a close, the blue team earned a corner, which would probably signify the end of the game. My team was up 3-1, so we'd win no matter the outcome of the corner, but nobody liked to concede. Katie was the one taking the corner, putting up two hands, and letting everyone know she was aiming for the back post. Once she kicked it, utter chaos unfolded as bodies ended up on the ground and the ball curled towards the backpost. I realised it was going to curl into the net a moment too late, and my jump to head the ball away missed as the net rippled.

Groans came from one side as cheers came from another. One of the assistant coaches blew the whistle, ending the match, and we all began walking towards the centre of the pitch for a talk. I rolled my eyes, cursing myself for letting the ball go in as I rested my hands on my knees, catching my breath. "What happened? Not tall enough?" An Irish accent cut through my thoughts.

"That was luck," I shot back. Annoyed at the fact she was sort of right; I wasn't the tallest person on the pitch, but that didn't mean I wasn't one of the strongest.

"You mistake luck for skill." Katie quips before brushing past me and catching up to Vic, who was waiting for her. I scoffed at her cockiness; we both knew that it wasn't her plan to score like that, but I wouldn't want to ruin her ego now, would I?