There's More to Soccer Then That

Chapter 2

//Hope Solo\\

I sat in the back of the bus with my head leaned back and my eyes closed as I happily listened to my music. Just across the isle, was my roommate Carli Lloyd, who appeared to be doing the same. The team and I were on our way to Indiana to pick up our two new players, then we'd be heading to the airport to get back to training grounds in Seattle. Honestly, it really didn't spark any excitement to be getting new players. It seemed like every year we were losing good players and close friends, just to gain more and lose them again. I'm tired of it, and I know that it'll just happen again. So I'm keeping my close friendships with Lloyd, and O'Hara, and Morgan, and Krieger. We joined around the same time, and we haven't broken up. 

We had picked up the two females, and they were briefly introduced as they boarded the bus. The first girl was probably about 5'10, long wavy blonde hair with green eyes, and actually looked a bit like Julie. She walked to a seat, probably behind Syd and Mew. The last girl, stepped on. She had long, kinda straight pure black hair. Her crystal blue eyes glowed brightly, a great complement from her hair. She was probably about 6'1, and she wore black yoga pants with a gray nike hoodie, and matching nike kicks. She had her earbuds in, and I kept my eyes on her as she walked right past me, sliding into the corner seat just diagonally behind me. As the bus drove off towards the airport, I happened to give a slight glance up to the girl in front. She already seemed to be having a good time, talking to Syd and Mew, along with Tobin and a few others. I then glance back, at the other girl. Her legs are pinned up against the seat infront of her and her eyes are glued to the terrain passing by through the window.

~Airplane back home~

"And duuuudddeee, I was like. 'Bro, you really think you're gonna get away with pulling my hair? Blow that whistle ref.' And she was like, 'Whatever bitch! I'm just taking you out!' And I was totally like-" Ali continued to tell her story from the last match. I sit on the end, with O'Hara just to my left, Lloyd has the window seat. The middle seats are empty, and just across is one of the new girls. She's sitting alone, once again. It seems as though the other new player, whom I've heard Sydney call Liz, is back there sitting with the rest of the team having a good time. I take out my earbuds, and slide them into the pocket of my track jacket. "You alright?" Kelley asked as I slowly sat up. I turned to her, and gave her a nod.
"Yeah, I'm good. Just gonna go check on the other new girl. Has she even said a word?"
"You know... Now that you mention that, I don't think so."
"Alright, I'll be right back." I finish and stand up, brushing out the wrinkles in my clothes as I slowly walk over, sitting down at the end seat so I left a bit of room between the two of us. "Hey." I say simply, giving her a small nudge in the arm, followed by a smile. Her head turns to me, and she quickly reaches to remove her earbuds. "Oh, sorry! Did I do something wrong?" She asked almost immediately, and I gave her a small laugh. "Oh no, not at all. You just haven't said a single word since you boarded the bus this morning. You got a name?"
"Ha, yeah. It's Scarlet. Scarlet Jade. But you can call me whatever."
"Nice to meet you Scarlet. I'm Hope Solo."
I offered her a hand, and she took it with a genuine smile across her rather beautiful young features. "It's a huge honor to meet you, like... Seriously. I never thought in my wildest dreams this would /ever/ happen..."
"Aw, ha. Well believe it Scarlet, you must have some skills to impress Ellis."
With that, we began a simple conversation. And by the time we were landing, I had really taken a liking to her. She was very soft spoken, in a mature and responsible type of way. But she also made me burst out laughing quite a number of times through our chat. From what I can gather, I really like, and I look forward to getting to know her better.

//Scarlet\\

We walk the halls of the penthouse we will be staying in until we leave for our first matchup against Ireland here in about 3 weeks. I was assigned a room on the top floor, but would get a room to myself which didn't bother me much. I followed up Hope, Carli, Kelley and Alex as they had rooms on the same floor. Pulling my suitcase behind me, I open the door to my room and walk in. 

After a while, I had unpacked most of my belongings, which wasn't much. I had actually been told I was free to go shopping for training, and casual wear along with anything else I might need for my time here with the team. I retied my shoes, and checked my wallet, before walking back out towards the stairs. Once outside, I glanced around the beautiful area around me. We were surrounded by large oak and pine trees, and a large gravel road trailing to the main stretch. Just out behind the quart pent house, was a large lake and a small sand bay. I looked at my phone, and checked the temperature. In the fall here in Seattle, it was known to get pretty cold. Right now it was about 52, which I honestly didn't mind. I slid my hood over my black hair, then began walking up the trail. Not long after, I heard tires in the gravel, and a familiar face pulled up just beside me. "Jade, what do you think you're doing?!" Hope called out to me, showing me her bright smile. "I was just gonna walk to town and go shopping for a few." I reply simply, giving her a small smile. "Pff, yeah right, like you're going to walk there. You've never even been here." She giggled, and I gave another smile. "Come on, get in. You can go shopping with me. I've lived here my entire life, I know the best shops." As told, I jogged to the passenger's side and got in, and off we went to downtown Seattle.

It turned out, we spent almost the entire night together, just running shops to shops, buying what I needed. Honestly, it was the best day of my life. I had never even imagined I'd ever speak a single word to Hope. But it turned out she was the only one I had spoken to since I joined, and she seemed to be enjoying it almost as much as I. We ran around, laughing and talking. We returned back to the penthouse around 12:30 am, and Hope walked me to my room. "Hey, Jade. I just wanted to say, I had a really great time today." She said, giving me a side hug. I hugged her back, and brightly smiled. "Thanks for showing me around, I definitely would have gotten lost. And also, thanks for talking to me on the plane. I think I would have still been a voiceless bird." I explained as we both laughed. "Alright, well get some rest Scar. I gotta get back before Lloyd thinks I ditched her again haha. See you bright and early in the morning." With that, we parted ways until the early morning would dawn.

I walked into the kitchen after putting away my new clothes and shoes, and looked out the window as I took a large drink of water. Suddenly, an uncomfortable feeling filled my head, as blood began to pour from both of my nostrils. I attempted to stop it with my hand, but it simply continued to pour. I grabbed for a towel, and held it to my nose for quite a while. I knew that my sickness would definitely come back blazing it's horns, and it'd be a fight to get over it. But it'd be worth it, that's for sure.