Always at the back of my mind

Tournament Time

Lucy's phone was ringing on the sofa in her living room and as she hobbled over to reach it, she knew as soon as she saw who was calling, that it wouldn't be a good conversation.

"Hello?" She answered, the trepidation in her voice clear.

"Lucy what the hell?!" Came the irate tone of her girlfriend down the phone "Why the hell are chasing the physio away? They're trying to help!!"

"Hello to you too..." exhaled Lucy, collapsing back onto her sofa.

"They are trying to help you Lucy!! But you have to let them!"

"I know, I know...but how do you know??" Asked Lucy confused, sitting up a little. Her girlfriend didn't play for the same club as her, wasn't in the same country as her and had no links to any of the staff here at Lyon. No links at all except for...

"Alex had a message off Pierre, asking what your favourite snack was to try and put you in a better mood" said Keira sternly. "Honestly Lucy, what the hell?!"

In the background Lucy could hear Alex laughing.

"You can tell her to shut up and all!" Lucy bit off angrily. Alex was a damned snitch, ratting her out like that. Lucy made a mental note that when she next saw Alex, she was going to make her pay.

There was a smack in the background and the laughed died away. Lucy was almost sure she heard a muffled 'ouch' in there too. Trying to steer the conversation into safer waters, Lucy tried a new tact.

"How's the tournament? Who are you sharing with? What's news?"

On the other end of the phone Keira laughed and it made Lucy smile. She hated missing out, but she felt better hearing from her girlfriend.

"Training is good, some new faces but all very nice! I'm sharing with Alessia Russo - she was the last minute call up. You have something in common - you both went to North Carolina and played for the Tar Heels"

"That's great, look forward to meeting her" said Lucy lazily.

"I think you'll like her" said Keira "she's young and full of energy - works really hard. I think she's a great addition to the squad."

"That's good to know. I hope to meet her next camp"

There was a slight lull in conversation, before a softly spoken voice tentatively asked, "How are you Luce?"

"Fine yeah. All good"

"I know how much you wanted to be here" said Keira quietly.

"I did. I do. I was looking forward to seeing you more though" Lucy admitted quietly, her cheeks turning a little red from her heartfelt omission.

"I was looking forward to seeing you too. FaceTime later? Alessia is meeting Steph and some of the other girls for team building" said Keira and Lucy could tell from her voice that she was smiling.

"Maybe you could show much how much you were looking forward to seeing me..." suggested Lucy suddenly feeling a little more herself.

"Play your cards right and I'll show you plenty" came the sultry reply down the phone, as the call ended.

Lucy threw her head back into the sofa and exhaled deeply. Her girlfriend was such a damned tease sometimes and boy did she love it.

Training had been gruelling. Alessia had loved every second of it but she had to admit she was tired. Team building with Steph and some of the more senior players had been a wonderful opportunity but it kept her out far later than she would have liked. But hearing stories from legends like Jill Scott and Ellen White had made it all worth it.

Training with incredible people who she'd watched represent their country was surreal - Alessia wasn't sure she'd ever get used to it. The training definitely made her up her game - she was learning so much and reuniting with Georgia, who she'd played for England with at youth level had been amazing.

With the opening game against the USA coming up, Alessia trained harder and longer hours than she had before, staying behind after sessions to practice shooting, sometimes being joined by Georgia, Keira and Leah, which helped enormously. Alessia knew there was only a small chance she would even get to make an appearance at this tournament and she knew that if the chance came, she must be ready for it.

Losing 2-0 to the USA was tough for morale, and Ellen White's 83rd minute winner against Japan several days later had definitely helped the mood in camp, but it was still a difficult watch. For most of the game she found herself say next to the Arsenal defender Leah Williamson, who had talked all the way through the game, treating Alessia to her own private commentary, before being subbed on in the second half. The Arsenal defender was only 2 years older than Alessia but already a solid feature in the England team - Alessia hoped she would be able to say the same in 2 years time.

It wasn't until their final game against Spain that Alessia finally got her chance to shine. Having spent 70% of the game on the bench with Keira and Georgia, they were finally all subbed on with the score still even at 0-0. She shared a thumbs up with Leah as she entered the fray but despite trying her hardest to break down the Spanish backline, they held strong and it was Alexia Putellas who scored the only goal of the game. They shook hands with their opposition after the final whistle, waved and applauded their travelling fans - Alessia saw both her brothers in the crowd, but waving and cheering proudly with their England flags around their necks.

Alessia had shyly shrugged off compliments and encouragements from her team mates, as she'd headed for the tunnel and for the last part of the walk, was flanked by Leah and Keira.

"Well done Russo, you did well on your first outing" shouted Leah over the noise in the stadium.

"Yeah, you made some really great runs, just a shame no one could pick you out" agreed Keira, clapping her on the shoulder.

"It was nice to get off the bench" smiled Alessia honestly.

"The first cap is always the hardest one to get and the most unlikely to live upto expectations" smiled Keira wisely.

Leah laughed "That's true enough! How much longer are you in the US for school?"

"I finish this summer" said Alessia "I'm not sure if I'll be allowed to fly back out there with all this though". She deflated towards the end of the sentence.

"Well hopefully we'll see you in the WSL come September then!" Said Leah excitedly.

"Yeah if you're looking for a good team, it's based in Manchester" quipped Keira

"Maybe Russo would rather go somewhere that isn't blue" retorted Leah, sticking her tongue out at her best friend.

"Guys, I'm definitely a red...but a Manchester red, not a London one!"

"Oh bloody hell, a United fan? Christ Russo, I had you down as someone with a bit of taste!" Laughed Leah lightly.

"It's the way I was raised" smiled Alessia before the smile on her face faded slightly.

Thankfully she was spared further conversation as the back room staff directly them into their changing room and they were informed of their departure time and evening itineraries.

Alessia half listened as she started to remove her boots and socks. She checked her phone, to see a message from Lotte, who'd congratulated her on her debut and a few messages in her family chat from her brothers, asking her to go out for dinner that night. She half rolled her eyes. Luca suggesting going out for dinner, was usually code for business and if Alessia had to guess, it was to talk about her future and in what capacity he would represent her. After such a lackluster tournament, the last thing she wanted to do was discuss the games and training in detail, but she supposed she had to look towards her future.

Neatly folding her shirt into her bag, she threw the shorts and socks into the laundry hamper, grabbed her toiletries and headed for the shower, where she hoped the hot water would make her feel a little more positive - after all, it had been a good day really.