Superheroes Play Soccer

Chapter 6: A Few Stars and New Scars

2 weeks after my first cap, I didn't realize how big playing with the national team is. Honestly, everyone has been overly supportive. Like, I know I got in a fight on my first cap. But it wasn't anything I could avoid. The news reporters have been commending me on my first game and they thought I did a fantastic job for protecting my new "family." Which I couldn't agree more. Today was the day before our next game, and Ellis had been watching me hard core ever since we got back. Luckily I only had a few bruised ribs, a black eye, and both of my jaws were pretty dark with bruising. We had already been out here training since 7 am, and it was 5 pm. Yes, I had been out here the entire day, and I still haven't gone inside. Everyone else had, they had gone in for showers, dinner, and all that kind of stuff. Me? Nope. I've got work to do.

Once I finish lining up 7 balls on the midfield line, I kicked each one starting from the right. I only missed 1, so I felt pretty proud. I retrieved one of the balls and dribbled it around, practicing my footwork. I'd pretty much gallop over the ball, slide my legs in a circular motion around the ball, to twists and turns, stop it to kick it behind me or kick it over me. I was just having fun at that point. I kept running and running and running, not loosing speed or even growing tired until I realized the sun had set. I jogged over to the side and practically collapsed onto my back, grabbing my phone as I caught my breath. The clock read 9:12, and I had 7 missed calls, all from unknown numbers. What in the world? I unlocked my phone to take a closer look, and realized I had a voice mail. I clicked play and held my Iphone to my ear, listening to the voice message. "Hey Jade, it's Tobin. Everyone is kinda worried about you, because we haven't heard from you since like 12. Kelley, Alex, Julie, Moe, Hope, Carli and I have all tried to call you, and when you didn't answer we got super concerned.... So just, ya know. Give us a call to know you're okay." The message ended, and a small smile crossed my face. I didn't realize they'd be worried about me, and I kinda felt bad. But knowing that they had cared enough to call, made me feel better. I jumped to my feet and grabbed my belongings before walking the trail back to the hotel.

Once I walked in, I glanced around hoping to find one of the few that had called. Unfortunately, none of them were around. I shrugged and walked to the elevator, hoping Morgan would be in the hotel room. She was my rooming buddy, and honestly I was super nervous. But she's actually one of the sweetest people I've met here, and she's only made me feel more then welcome. We really hit it off honestly, she cracks me up. I get off at the seventh floor, then walk down the hall to the very end, and scan my key card. I opened the door as silently as possible, and walk in. I smile slightly as I see her long legs crossed on the bed, and a glimpse of her body that lay. I shut the door behind me, and she jumps up. "OH MY GOD! YOU'RE ALIVE!!!!" She screams, and practically throws herself at me. My eyes widen, and I'm forced to drop my belongings from my hands to catch her, letting out a laugh as she almost strangles me in a hug. "Yeah I am." I chuckle, waiting for her to lift off of me because I knew she wasn't going to let me off easily. Her and I were very much polar opposites, but at the same time we're the same. When it's just her and I in the room, she's bubbly, and giggly, and always has something entertaining to say. She's found out that I'm extremely quiet, more then usual, when something is bothering me, and there's nothing I can do to stop her from trying to find out. She's the only one I've talked to after the fight, well.... In a serious way. I've told everyone I'm completely fine, and I'm simply overly protective of those close to me. Which is all true, but it's not the complete truth. Moe's the only one that knows that I've never stood up to fighting before, I've never even made an attempt to "fight back." "Where in God's green earth have you been?! We called! SEVEN OF US. CALLED YOU. AND YOU DIDN'T PICK UP. ONCE!" She began, and I simply sat down on the end of my bed and would listen to her rant. "WE WENT 9 HOURS WITHOUT HEARING A SINGLE WORD FOR YOU. WE THOUGHT YOU MAY HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED. OR KILLED OR SOMETHING!" She yelled, and I watched amusingly as she paced the room. The way she clenched her fists at her side, and her normal wrinkle-less forehead was furrowed as her face turned red. "Morgan I'm sor-" "NO!" She interrupted me, then continued to rant as a smile appeared on my face. "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU'RE EXCUSE IS. BECAUSE I'M MAD AT YOU. YOU MADE MY ANXIETY SPIKE! AND-AND-AND I WAS SO WORRIED!! AND-AND..... GOSH." She finally stopped and sat down, covering her face with her hands. A softer smile grew over my features, as I wrapped my closest arm around the Midfielder. She leaned into me and turned so she could hug me. "I'm sorry. I was wrapped up in training. This is my second cap, and only my third week on the team. I want to impress you guys. And coach Ellis... And the world." I said calmly, looking out the window as I spoke. She slowly sat up, looking dead into my eyes as she gripped each of my shoulders. "Jade Silverado. Midfielder number 7. You listen to me. You, are one of the best players I've ever met. You're passionate, you're determined, you're quick witted, smart on the ball, and precise to the core. Not only that, but you're freaking blaze-it fast! And that's only on field. It's a small sliver of what builds the full Rado." She explained, and I felt a warm smile spread on my face as she smiled too. "I'm so glad I met you. You're simply amazing. And I want you as my "bff." Besties!" She said in a bit of a casual 'valley girl' accent, which resulted in both of us laughing. I went to stand, and she slapped the side of my leg, resulting in a loud "smack" against my bare skin. "Ouch!" I laughed, kneeling over slightly to rub the stinging skin. "I'm still mad at you." She said with a pout, and I simply shook my head and rolled my eyes as I went and grabbed my yoga pants, a t-shirt, and indoors. Once I changed, the two of us walked out to the elevators, intending to meet the team in the meeting hall. We stopped as there were a lot of teenagers we didn't know, waiting for the same elevator. With a glance between Moe and I, we silently agreed to take the stairs that led directly to the meeting hall. As soon as she opened the door, I sprinted in and gently bumped into her, and it automatically turned into a race. We let out loud laughs as we grabbed onto each other, sprinting down flights of steps. I held the back of her shirt so I could hold her back and get down the steps, but she playfully pushed me into the wall as she sped down more stairs. Once we reached the bottom, the two of us were gasping for air. Not because of the stairs, but simply because we had yelled at eachother all the way down, and probably hadn't stopped laughing. Once we calmed down, she opened the door and held it as we both walked into the meeting hall. About half of the team was there, the rest probably out exploring. I glanced through my teammates, most of them holding conversations and laughing. But, the table in the back. The others that had called all sat around the table, leaning on their elbows or back in their chairs. They looked really depressed. I wondered what had happened? Morgan grabbed me by the wrist and began dragging me towards the table. "Look who I found." She said, as we approached. They all glanced up, and almost immediately their faces lightened up. "Silver!" Carli said, standing up. "Jade!" Julie chirped also standing up. Kelley and Tobin almost tripped over eachother getting up, as Alex and Hope sat up completely in their seats. I was soon in the middle of a group hug, Kelley was the one that had her arms wrapped directly around my neck. I let out a laugh, doing my best to hug them back, but began to feel strangled. "Okay Kelley.... You're choking me." I rasped with a smirk, and they finally parted from me. "Sorry." Kel giggled, and took my arm to sit me down. "Where were you?!" Alex exclaimed, as they all sat down. "Yeah Rado. We were terrified that you may have gotten abducted my some freak!" Julie added. "Or Pinoe." Hope also added, and we all kinda laughed as we looked at Megan who was sitting with Syd and Kris, Press and Krieger. I turned back, as I was being asked more questions. "Where in the world were you?!" Carli asked, leaning on her arms so she kinda hovered over the table. "Yeah, we all called you." Kelley said. I was about to speak, but Tobin added in. "You know... We were really worried about you." I let out a soft sigh, nodding slowly. I then explained to them that I had stayed out on the field and had been practicing as hard as I could for tomorrow's game. I wanted to be in my best status, to be able to make them proud.... If I were to play anyways. I apologized over and over again, luckily they all understood. I think they were honestly just glad to have me back.