𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 - 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥

𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧. 𝘖𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳

It was now our February international break, meaning everyone would be meeting at camp to get ready for the 2020 Olympics. We weren't sure who was going to be going yet it was what Phil Neville, the current England Manager would be telling us.

I said my goodbyes to Steph as I left the apartment and got into my car to drive to camp. I was excited to see all the girls, but mainly Rachel and of course Millie too.

Once I'd arrived, I wheeled my small suitcase through the doors. I instantly let go after seeing the familiar blonde and ran up to her, jumping up into her arms and wrapping my legs around her waist.

"Rachel!" I squeel.

"Hey." She laughed at me as I hugged her close. "How've you been, Els."

"Better since we last talked." I jump down as Rachel and I begin walking to my room to drop off my suitcase there.

"That's good to hear." She smiles at me while I unlock my room. I instantly flop onto my bed and look up at the ceiling for a few moments before I get back up.

"Is Millie here yet?"

"Nah, I've been waiting for her." Rachel tells me as she joins me on the bed. "So, debrief. I know you want to."

"Correct, my good friend." I pat her back while she laughs at me. "Okay so, the first day went well. I was introduced to the team, we went out and Steph Catley is letting me stay at her place."

"That's good. Permenantly?"

"Yeah, literally took me shopping for stuff I wanted in the apartment and everything."

"She's really welcomed you in then." Rach chuckles.

"Yeah, she's been great. She's helped introduce me to some people 'cause you know I get shy at first and she's just been there for me while I settle in. She knows when I need alone time, she knows when something's up, she just knows me, Rach. It's weird since we barely just met, but I see her as a big sister."

"It's not weird. She seems to really look after you. I'll have to thank her." She ruffles my hair and I scrunch up my nose. Rachel had always treated me like her little sister aswell. She wasn't afraid to argue and stand up for me if it was needed, on or off the pitch. She looked out for me whenever she could.

"I've settled in slowly, but I think I'll be alright to stay. Steph always makes sure I'm comfortable. Leah, Lotte and Beth are familiar faces of course and then I've gotten a bit close with Caitlin Foord aswell."

"You assisted her on her first game, right?" Rach asks me and I nod.

"Did you watch?"

"Of course I did." The blonde lightly pushes my shoulder with hers.

"Caitlin and I partner up a lot during training, we seem to be a good team."

"Nicely done, Els."

"Thank you, Rach."

"Do you have eyes on anyone?" Rachel wiggles her eyebrows at me. I let our a chuckle while pushing her away from me.

"No." I reply. "Not right now, anyway."

"Right now are the key words." Rachel tells me.

"Okay and what about you and Millie T?" I playfully mock the girl by wiggling my eyebrows the same way she did.

"Yes, we're together."

We walk through the hallways back to the main doors. I notice Millie and call her over. Rachel and her hug each other quickly before Millie ruffles my hair.

"Thanks, Millie." I roll my eyes. I look past her shoulder when I hear the door open. I see my favourite kind of ginger and run over to her. "Kiera Walsh." I sing her name.

"God, Els." She pulls me into a side hug that doesn't last very long, but I don't expect it to. "Who else is here?"

"At the moment just me, Rach, Millie and you." I follow her along to her room where she places her suitcase in a corner of her room before we walk to the lounge. "Are you ready for the Team GB announcement?"

"Yeah, just waiting for Phil to tell us." Kiera says at the same time as we hear a familiar player's voice.

"Lucy, come in here!" I call. "Helooo." I wave at her when she opens the door.

"What are you two doing?" She asks as she sits on the bed next to Kiera while I sit on the floor infront of them.

"Just chatting."

"Waiting for the others to arrive." Kiera adds.

After everyone had arrived, we'd made our way down to the dining room so that we could grab our lunch and also see what Phil would say.

I grabbed a plate of sphagetti and sat down at a table with Beth, Millie, Rachel and Jill. We began eating once Phil arrived and sat down at his table. Announcements were usually made before or after eating. We all assumed that since he began eating at the same time as us, we'd have to wait until the end.

Most of the chatter around the room was about the olympics and who we thought would be flying off to Tokyo. The thing was that it wasn't just the England team that the players would be selected from. Players from Scotland and Wales would also be selected, meaning it would be harder to make it onto the roster.

"Can I have everyone's attention." Phil calls us as he stand up from his seat. "I know you've all been waiting for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic call ups and I've purposely kept you waiting, but I'll announce them now."

"About time, innit?" Beth says and our table laugh.

"First of, our goalkeepers will be going to Tokyo so, Ellie Roebuck and Karen Bardsley would you like to come up here." Ellie walks over to Phil, who shakes her hand while we cheer for her. "Now, 3 of our midfielders are Jill Scott," I high-five Jill when she stands up, "Kiera Walsh and Elena Pugh."

"You go, Els." Rachel cheers for me ans I laugh while I follow Jill and Kiera to the front, shaking Phil's hand in turn.

"All 5 forwards have decided to be English and will consist of Lauren Hemp,"

"Go Hempo!" Beth cheers. Classic supportive Beth.

"Fran Kirby, Nikita Parris, Georgia Stanway and Ellen White." Each of them come up and I high-five them all, congratulating them as they do the same for me. "Our defenders will be Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Rachel Daly,"

"Go on, Rach." I cheer for the girl like she did for me, making her laugh on her way up.

"Steph Houghton, Demi Stokes and Leah Williamson. Lastly our reserves, Niamh Charles, Ella Toone, Sandy Mclver and Lotte Wubbon-Moy. I'm glad to be taking you all to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics." Everyone cheers and claps in the dining room, including the coaches and the kitchen staff.

International break flew by and consisted of light training. The Scotland and Wales girls that had been selected came down to our England camp and stayed in the spare rooms.

"Kim!" I pass her the ball, but Kiera comes and intercepts it. "Oh, for god's sake, Kie."

"You're just too slow." Kiera says. I run over to her and wrap my arms around her as I push her to the ground while we laugh. We roll onto our backs and look at the blue sky before we get back up and continue with our training.

We went through fitness training, goal shooting, passing and other excersizes to improve our performance for the Olympics.

I was excited for the Olympics. It would be my first ever Olympic Games and I was more than excited to be able to play with the girls and I loved watching the Olympics whenever they were on.