Keep Fighting for Hope

Chapter 2: Goal Bully

Waking up at 6 am was normal. But what wasn't normal is me walking to my car and driving to the field alone.. I honestly felt bad leaving Hope alone. She had just been fired from her career, the sport and team she absolutely adored. I personally had a hate for the team now.. But I'd push through it for Hope's sake. I pulled up to the parking lot in my dark gray 2017 Mustang Gt. It had been an early birthday present from my parents. When I parked, Kelley, Moe, and Julie were sitting on the tailgate of Moe's truck. I got out and pulled down my black Nike hoodie over my tight fit active pants, before grabbing my bad and walking over to them. "How's Hope?" Julie asked almost immediately. I let out a sigh before taking a drink from my water bottle. "She's really upset. Hell, I am too." I replied coldly, glancing at the officials walking inside the training area with coach Ellis. "I bet. I think we're all kind of angry about this. It's obvious Hope didn't deserve this." Kelley added in, jumping off the tail gate to hug me. "Yeah, I'm definitely not happy. At all." Morgan grumbled as she too got up to hug me. "Well, we can't let this get to us. We need to do our best to be there for Hope." I explained, as I began to walk towards the field. Once on field, most of the others were warming up. All except Carli. She was sitting on the bench, her arms propped up on her kneecaps as her eyes were glued to the turf below. The four of us exchanged glances before I gave a nod. "You guys go ahead, I'll talk to Carls." I said, before jogging over to the Midfielder. I dropped my bag beside hers and slipped off my hoodie, and then threw it with my bag before sitting down. "Hey." I said, unzipping my bag to grab my cleats. "Hey.." She said softly, lifting her gaze up to me. I glanced at her, as I took off my regular shoes and began to put on my cleats. "You alright?" I asked her as I did so. She took a breath, then simply shook her head. "It's going to be really weird not having Hope to look back at in the box every time I make a goal, or having Hope to hug every time she makes a game saving block..." She said softly, and I could hear the sadness in her voice. I smiled slightly, and as I finished tying my cleats, I wrapped my arm around her. "I know, I was thinking about that... But you can try to make due with me in the box?" I offered. She looked at me, shocked at my words. "What?" She asked simply, sitting up. I smirked as I reached down, and grabbed the pair of keeper gloves Hope had let me borrow. They were mainly black, with fading silver stripes throughout it. She had stitched the number 7 on the Velcro, to represent my number. She gasped softly, and grabbed the gloves from my hands. "YOU'RE A KEEPER?!" She exclaimed, standing up quickly. I too, stood up and gave a soft giggle while flipping my hair and doing a pose. "Why thanks, I always thought I belonged here." She gave me a playful slap to my arm, then smiled brightly. "This is actually so great!! If Hope had to be replaced temporarily, I'm glad it's going to be you." She said, then hugged me.  

With that, I grabbed the gloves, my water bottle and a towel, then jogged over to where Coach Abel was standing with Ash and Nicole. Coach had already known Hope wanted me to take her place, and he was more then willing to coach me. Ash and Nicole on the other hand, were surprised. "Jade?! You're our new keeper?!" Ash exclaimed, running to grab my arms. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind." I said with a chuckle. She squealed, jumping up and down repeatedly. I laughed again, before Coach approached us. "Alright girls, Ash and Nicole you two already know the drill. Go down field and get started with warm ups. I'll be working with Sylvia for a while. At the end of training, there will be a penalty kick session." He explained, and the two Goalies nodded before grabbing their stuff and jogging down field with the rest of the team. With that, I put my stuff down beside the goal and then walked to the center, doing a couple jumps and a few stretches. "Alright Coach, I'm ready. You think you're Abel to help me?" I said with a smirk, and he just laughed before throwing a soccer ball at me. I screamed as it bounced off my bare hands, and I quickly ran to go get it. I strapped on my gloves, and with that, goal keeper training began.

For the beginning, he explained the basics. How to be able to guess where the ball is going based on the kicker's stance. He took a few kicks for practice, and to my surprise I did decent. I think it's just having to believe in your intuition, and not hesitate. He then taught be how to catch, how to dive, and how to avoid diving into the goal post. Because yes. I ran head on into the goal post first try. It was about 4 o'clock when the team had taken a break, and then we'd get ready to end training with a penalty showdown. I sat with my back against the goal post, drinking what was left of my water and my towel lay over my right shoulder. I run my fingers through my black bangs that lay in my face, the rest of my hair pulled back in a ponytail. My legs were curled up against my chest, and my arms lay propped on my kneecaps. Moe and Julie were walking over, laughing about something. Just down the field, Alex and Kelley were juggling, and Tobin was goofing off, trying to get the ball from them. "How do you like it at this end of the field?" Moe called out to me, as her and JJ both sat down beside me. "I have to admit, it's very different. Instead of being the one taking the shots, I'm the one blocking the shots." I laughed, laying my head back against the metal. We talked for a bit, then it was time for the last part of training. I'd be on one team, Ash would be on the other. The ones shooting at me would be Alex, Tobin, Krieger, Julie, and Pinoe. The ones shooting at Ash would be Carli, Kelley, Moe, Kling and Christen. Carli was up first. I studied as Ash was jumping up and down, waving her arms like a crazy person. She was trying to psych Carls out, but I knew for a fact this didn't work. Carli charged, and the ball sailed straight into the top right corner of the neck, Ash didn't even flinch. It was my turn. I took a deep breath as I swung my arms out, approaching the goal. I then slightly crouched down, focusing on Ali's movement. She ran at the ball, pulling back her leg. Without hesitation, I dove to the left, and to my surprise the ball deflected directly off my gloves and rolled out of bounds. I rolled to my feet in the same movement, and watched Coach Abel pick up the ball and give me a thumbs up. Everyone was yelling compliments, and the next kick was up. Ash caught Kling's kick in one hand, and walked off like nothing happened. I was up once again. I focused on Tobin's feet, and I stepped to the right. The ball hit me directly in the gut, and I made a "Oof" sound as I fell forward, laughs escaping as I did so. "Are you okay?" Tobin asked as she ran over to me, kneeling to my side. "Yep, all good." I said through chuckles, and let her help me up. Next kick, Ash blocked Christen's shot almost as easily. I walked up, and again dove for the ground. I caught Pinoe's ball between my hands. After that, Ash blocked Moe's shot with her foot. Now it was my turn. Julie sprinted, and the ball sailed for the very edge of the left corner. I jumped as far and high as I could, but I just couldn't get my hand on it, and I found myself hitting the ground hard. Now, the score was even. 3 shots, 1 miss. Kelley stepped up to take the shot on Ash, and with Kelley's quick thinking, she delivered a kick into the bottom right corner, Ash was not expecting it. It was now the last kick. Me against Alex. If I missed this, we'd be forced into sudden death. But if I deflected this, it'd be a win. I took a deep breath, lowering myself as I concentrated on Alex's placement. Everyone was silent, until Alex's team began to cheer for her. I didn't take my eyes off the ball. Alex ran forward, her leg drawing back. My mind was telling me to dive left, but my intuition was saying dive right. I gave in, kicking myself off the ground in a dive to the right side of the goal. The ball sailed directly into my grip, and as I rolled in the turf I heard my team cheering. I stood up and kicked the ball as far as I could, lifting my arms up in triumph.