There's More to Soccer Then That

Chapter 11

// Scarlet \\

It was finally game day. And I had never been more determined to prove I wasn't such a trouble maker as I was cut out to be. 2 days ago, I was jailed because of the small fight against Germany. Yesterday was a all day training and workout day, which I worked extremely hard to prove to Coach Ellis that I was okay to play today. (Awesome rhyming there. You're welcome.) My leg was still sore, since one of the inmates kicked me in the side of my leg. I also walked with a slight limp, but I got it checked out and it was just a small strained muscle. I've been continuously running since yesterday, making sure that I'll be fit if Ellis does decide to put me on the field. My alarm went off at 6 am, and just like every morning I got up and got ready for the day. Today we'd be packing up and heading out to the field for another training session before the game tonight. After the game, we'd be on our way back to the airport to head home. I hadn't decided if I actually wanted to go home home, or if I wanted to stay in a hotel somewhere. I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. I brushed my teeth, and washed my face before I brushed out my hair. I put it up in a messy ponytail before brushing out my bangs over my left eye. I then got changed in my training uniform, grabbed my gym bag and walked out of the room. I shut the hotel room behind me, then headed for the elevators. My hand slapped against the button, and I glanced down at my phone with a yawn as I patiently waited for the elevator. I felt dead, I was so tired and without coffee I was just not functioning. The door made a ding as it opened, and I lifted my eyes to see Julie standing there, looking about as dead as me. I stepped in, and she smiled sleepily at me. "You look how I feel." I said with a chuckle, the door closing as we began to decent to the bottom floor. She let out a chuckle and a nod. "Yeah... I didn't sleep too well last night." She said, yawning half way through her sentence. I glanced up at her once again, then slid my phone into my pocket as I turned for her. "Did Morgan keep you up?" I asked with a soft laugh, both of us chuckling. "No no, she was out long before me." "Well, what kept you up?" She was silent for a moment, and I just raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, Jules. Seriously. If it's something bad, it's okay to talk to me. Hey, how about this. I'll grab us breakfast, you head out to the patio and we'll talk. Okay?" With a slight smile, she hesitantly nodded. The doors opened, and as told I walked into the breakfast area and the blond defender walked out. Everyone must have still been asleep, which is understandable. It was a chill day until we wanted to train. The only one that was up, was Coach Ellis. She sat at a table, reading through the news paper and drinking a cup of coffee. I walked over, offering a smile as I greeted her good morning. "Goodmorning Miss Jade. You look well rested." She told me, a hint of sarcasm in her words. I gave a soft laugh and a nod. "How about you Coach? Any sleep?" I asked, sitting down briefly. She gave a small nod as she put her paper down. "A little bit." She replied simply, looking into my eyes. I felt odd for a moment, having straight eye contact with your coach shouldn't be this weird.... Should it? Er..... I feel like she's staring into my soul. "How's that leg?" She finally asked, breaking the intense silence that had been shared between us. I nodded a bit, standing up as I showed her that my kneecap had been wrapped in bandages. She nodded looking over it. "Well, get some breakfast. Can't have you passing out later." She gave me a pat on the shoulder, and I bowed my head before gathering 2 plates of food, and some coffee.

Julie was waiting for me at a table under an umbrella. It felt good outside, and the new scenery was a nice change. I sat the plate in front of the defender, along with the coffee as I sat down across from her. "Thank you so much." She said with a bright smile, and we both went straight for the coffee. Almost instantaneously, we spat out the coffee on the ground. "Hot hot hot!!" I whispered, and we began to laugh. After a little of eating, I finally was able to get Johnston to talk. "Well... I guess, my mind was just keeping me awake." She said, before taking another bite of her waffle. I looked over her as I sipped my coffee, raising an eyebrow as if to tell her to continue talking. "Like.... I don't know. I guess, I just.... Feel.... Like I don't fit." She began. I put my cup down and simply looked into her eyes, I wasn't going to interrupt her. I've always been a good listener. But once she gets this off her mind, I'll share my input. "Like.... I'm one of the youngest on the team, besides Mal. And, you know. Morgan fits perfectly in with you guys- and... I just.... I want to be there too... I've felt really lonely." I leaned over the table, resting my tanned hand over her pale skinned hand. "Jules... Come on. You're the sweetest, chillest, most amazing girl around. Your laugh is enough to brighten an entire room. Seriously, I'm only 24. Same age as you. I literally just joined this team, everyone's still learning about me. Hell, I'm still learning about me! You fit in more then you realize. Without you, a huge piece of this puzzle would be missing... Trust me Julie, nobody would be the same without that bright smile of yours." As I finished explaining, she smiled brightly. I stood up, her doing the same as she wrapped her arms around me. We hugged for a moment before we sat back down, and finished breakfast. "Thank you... For everything." She told me, and I simply smiled. "Anytime."

~ Training ~

We rode the bus together to the training grounds. While getting ready to unload, Ellis explained to us that we'd simply be doing exercising and having some fun before tonight's game. We got off the bus, and I followed Hope and Carli towards the sidelines to set down our stuff. After putting on my cleats, one of the trainers tossed me a ball. Fans had already began to form around the gates, wanting to watch us play. To my surprise, there were a group of people standing with a few signs and they were wearing number 7 jerseys, with my last name on them. I froze for a second, realizing what this meant. Have I really already got a jersey line out there? I took the time to approach over to them, all of the girls screaming as I approached. I smiled and waved, and took the offered sharpie to sign their posters and jerseys. The rest of the team was getting ready to get started, but Alex was waiting for me. Since we were two of the main forwards on the team, we spent a lot of time together just having sprints and passing the ball to eachother. I jogged over to her, and we shared a smile before getting right to it. "You wanna race?" She asked me, and I simply smirked as if to say "What kind of question is that?" So we lined up on the side lines. I fixed my shinguards and made sure my cleats were tied before I got ready. Tobin and Kelley walked over, and were going to count us down and simply watch. "Ready. Set.... GO!" As Tobin said, Alex and I sprinted down the line. I simply kept running, keeping my leg movements sharp and clean. Alex and I ran side by side for a while, but as we reached the end to turn back I made a sharp turn back and began to run back. Alex seemed to have slid a bit, which allowed her to get a fast start back. As she got a bit ahead of me, I began to sprint. Within seconds I passed her, and ended up winning the small race. "Holy shit Scarlet. I'm gonna start calling you Zoom'It Jade." She laughed, and everyone else followed.

After running a bit more, we did a few more exercises and warm ups before doing a scrimmage. Tonight would be my first game in Forward position, and I was a bit nervous. But that's only if I'm able to play. I sat on the sidelines, wrapping a bag of ice around my right kneecap. It was sore, but it was finally loose and I could run freely. "Okay team, huddle up! I got the starting lineup for tonight's game." Coach Ellis yelled out, and the rest of the team ran over. Hope jogged and sat to my left, Carli to my right, and Moe just beside her. "Today for the line up, we will be doing a 4, 3, 3. Our keeper will be Solo. In the back line, will be Saurbrunn, Krieger, Johnston and Kling. In mid field will be O'Hara, Lloyd, and Heath. And our front line, will be held up by Morgan, Jade, and Press." My eyes lit up, and I glanced between the two beside me, a smile spreading on my face. She was giving me a chance. I proved to her that I wasn't trouble, now it's time to show the world.