IDIOSYNCRASY // Soccer

Ch. 11

My eyes flutter open, only for me to squint at the bright light. Where was I? I look down at my body, I was wearing a hospital dress. What did I do? I try to speak, only to be muffled. There was a fairly large circle on my mouth. I realize what it was, it was helping me breathe.

I try to speak more, I had to get this off. The doctor looks at me and gasps, "It is a miracle!" The doctor leaves and I assume he is getting the nurse.

The nurse comes in and runs a few tests on me. She left with a smile. I had passed with flying colors. I see the door open, I was expecting to see my doctor. But no, it was my family. As in family, I mean my mom, Sam, and Tyler. Those two are the closest thing I have to brothers.

"Oh my god!" Mother exclaims. She puts a hand to her mouth. Mother couldn't believe I was here. I bet she couldn't believe I was here in the hospital either.

"Hey, nice to see you awake." Sam says softly. Sam and Tyler take a seat while Mother still was flabbergasted I was awake.

"What day is it?" I ask. My voice was hoarse and it felt like sand was in my mouth. It was dry and definitely not healthy. I take a sip of water and I choke slightly.

"Thursday. But its..." Tyler trails off. He takes a look at his phone before opening his mouth again. "Eleven thirty."

"Oh," I say. "It's not that bad then, right? I was only unconscious for a few hours."

Sam looks at me with guilt, "Char, its Eleven Thirty P.M." I open my mouth slightly, I passed out longer than I thought.

My eyes squint and my eyebrows furrow in pain. Soccer. Coach. My teammates. I remember what happened. I pushed myself too hard. "What day is it?" I ask in fear. All the had told me was the time.

"Thursday." My mom says. I was relived, I didn't miss the game!

"Char, I know its the first game of the season. But, you cannot play." Sam says softly.

"Why? Why can't I play?" I say, my voice breaking.

"Char, you literally just became conscious." Tyler says. No, this couldn't be. All I wanted to do was play.

Here I was, the next day. I was sitting on the bench, I had never been benched before. It was different, sitting around. Everyone had heard about my injury. I was expecting that, I was sorta known around the state.

My team was losing. The Eagles were horrible, but they were winning. What the hell is happening to the team. 2-0. It was close to half time. I was getting anxious. I was practically on my knees begging Coach to let me play.

"If you won't let me play. At least let me talk to them." I say to Coach. Coach looks at me before signaling time out.

The team gathers around Coach. He just points to me. "Listen, you may feel guilty about me getting injured. I don't really care about that. Are you going to let me down? Are you going to let our school down? We haven't won State in two years. Hell, we haven't won Nationals in ten years. This year, we are going to win State and Nationals. We can't do that if you are slacking. If you win, I will do anything you want. Okay, maybe not anything. But, if you want me to leave, I will. I want you guys to get out there and kick their asses!" I say. I wasn't the greatest at giving pep talk. But it was worth the try.

The boys ran to the middle, leaving me to go back to the bench. "Go. Play, just don't sue me when you get hurt." Coach says. I jump off my seat and run over to the boys. The substitute switches with me. I was ready.

I saw the boys' spirits lift up. I could tell that they are actually going to try now. The referee blows his whistle. The eagles pass the ball back in forth. I recognize their play and smirk. Predicting who they were going to pass to, I slide tackle one of them. The ball was in our possession now.

I dribble the ball across the field. I look down and see a shadow, it waves at me. I fake a pass to Bryson. Only to use the back of my foot to pass it to the person behind me. Parker bolts away with the ball. Leaving the opposite team confused. They went after Bryson, only to realize he didn't have the ball.

By the time they realized Bryson didn't have the ball, we were so close to the goal. Parker passes it to me, and I score a goal. The ball went flying to the corner of the net. Making it almost impossible for the goalie to get it in time.

"Finally, Evans is back in the game and scores a goal! 2-1! San Fran has a chance of winning!" Someone says on the intercom.

Kickoff. We had decided to do what I did in tryouts. No one has ever seen me do it. No one will suspect it. I nod to Parker, and he passes it to me. I square my shoulders to the goal and I am sure I made the most ugliest face. But I swing my leg towards the goal.

I see the confusion and amusement in everyones faces. The ball falls into the net and I  was proud of myself. I feel myself getting tackled by my teammates. I laugh as they hug me.

The fun was over and we were in the middle again. The eagles pass to another and they were doing a dig zag pattern. The Eagles had done this a million times now. I intercept the passing. I start to dribble with the ball and see someone trying to slide tackle me. Oh my god, I felt myself trip over his body. My body was diving in the air, and was welcomed by the hard ground.

I hear the referee blow his whistle. Fudge me, was I seeing stars - sorry, again?-. The referee signals a direct free kick. The ball was placed where the foul occurred. I run towards the ball and kick it as hard as I could. I had to curve the ball. The ball went straight before it reached the goalie. The ball went flying up over the goalie and into the net. I couldn't believe that actually worked out!

I hear the crowd chanting my name. As I stare into the crowd, the game buzzes its over. We won our first game! I gasp when my teammates jump on my back. It was close, but we did it. We won. I will make sure we will win. If I am alive, I will make sure this team wins Nationals and State. I will lead this team to victory, even if one of my teammates die or get injured. We will power through and win.