GARDEN | [BLUE LOCK X OC]

Chapter 6 New Coach

[17yrs]

It's been three years since Erika got here in B.M. Her journey in soccer has not been easy compared to her teammates. She trained harder than anyone to always keep up since she knows that females are normally physically weaker than males; she's also keeping up with her academics by studying her lessons and researching things about soccer every night, and she's always looked down on by those they go against or have a friendly match with all because of her gender. Which she always found annoying.

Despite looking strong in front of others and acting as if things don't affect her, there are times when she's alone and sits at the corner of her bed and just wants to give up and go home because of the fatigue, negative words, and glares she always receives from others every time they find out that she's an official soccer player on the men's soccer team. But the face of her family always shows on her mind in those times, and she can't help but feel guilty for thinking such a thing, so the only thing she does is stand up, move forward, and face everything head-on. For she chose this path herself, for her family, and giving up won't ever be an option as long as she breathes.

For the past three years, her relationship with her other teammates has also improved. Since those older than her already left and the recruits with her before didn't pass the pro examination. Which she finds kind of ironic since all of them wish for her to fail and yet she's the only one who passed. Her teammates have started respecting and acknowledging her after seeing her talent, strength, and perseverance. Her friendship with Kaiser has also improved, and you can consider both of them as best friends. She also noticed that for the past three years Kaiser has been more talkative and taunting towards people he deemed as enemies or below him, which she finds weird and entertaining at the same time. She also got another close friend, Alexis Ness. The guy who helped her when she got stuck upside down after trying to do a handstand for the first time. She finds him comfortable and kind, and he reminds her of her childhood friend Lou. So she easily warmed up to him.

Right now in the middle soccer field, Erika was trying to shoot a soccer ball at different angles and distances. She increased her distance as she made a goal. She's practicing her long-range shot. After a few more shots, she decided to practice her free kick. She tried doing it the same way Messi does his free kicks.

She placed the ball on the ground, took a few steps away from it, then kicked it with the strongest force she had while making sure to position her body right. After a few attempts, she smiled upon seeing the ball enter the goal in a curve. After a few more kicks, she decided to end her practice and go to the gym to do some stretching to relax her muscles. 

While walking in the hall, she saw their coach talking to someone in the lobby. She looked closely at the person he's talking to and was surprised to see that person here. She walked slowly to hear at least a bit of their conversation and acted as if she didn't see them as she walked by them.

At the gym, Kaiser was doing his leg exercise while Alexis was running on the treadmill. It's just the both of them inside, and sweat was visible on their whole body. They're completely focused on what they're doing. As the door of the gym opened, Erika entered and greeted the both of them with a smile.

"Sup," she said to them as she went to the empty yoga mat near them and sat on it to do her stretching.

After a few minutes, Ness was done running; he turned the treadmill off and decided to sit near Erika and drink his water.

"You're really flexible, Erika," he complimented as he watched her.

"Thanks, I really work hard on it"