Go for Gold

Prologue

I smiled as I put my things in my bag after the game we just won, the score was 3-0, and I scored two while assisting the other. It was a district game for my high school team, and we were one step closer to winning district. I had just missed a club game over in Township, but that didn't matter, I was suspended for the rest of the club season for a fight that wasn't even my fault. The girl elbowed me in the mouth, I just pushed her away from me, but nope, I was the only one to be disciplined. Which was stupid, but I guess that just shows me who I'm not playing for next season.

"Y/L/N, you did great out there." One of the seniors on the team says and I smile at her, thanking her as I continue to pack my bag for the road trip home. I'm only an eighth grader and I've over heard our three captains trying to get the coach to give me one of the three other armbands. I was honored that they thought so highly of me as a player and as a person, I know I'm more than adequately qualified in the technical sense of the game, but in the mental aspect, sometimes opponents undermine the fact that I try to play with honor and respect toward everyone I play, but that's hard when you take an elbow to the mouth, or a cleat to the pelvis, the kicked in the pelvis incident was so obviously an accident that I wasn't worried, but the girl who thought I needed a nice elbow snack during a corner kick didn't even try to hide the fact that she assaulted a human being, and I simply pushed her away so I wouldn't get beaten any further, sure, I was about to swing back, but that's because she called me a dyke, like, yeah, I like girls, but that doesn't hinder my ability to play her like a violin on the field, probably while playing an actual violin. She wasn't that great a defensive or attacking player in the first place, so maybe she just couldn't handle the fact that I was making her look as bad as she actually was, and instead of admitting that I made her look like a fool and learning from that, she decided assault was the best course of action. I'm just glad that the high school's Athletic Department saw that I didn't have any part in that altercation and decided that I could still play for the high school, I love soccer. Soccer could easily be my life, but it wasn't, I knew what my future was going to hold because I believed that it would turn out like this; I'd play my little heart out on the pitch through high school, keep my grades as high as possible, get an offer from UCLA in my junior year, take it, graduate one year early, and head off to California with my family to become a triple major, in coaching, music, and Engineering, and while I was off at college, I'd get called up to the full national team to help them win something important, because I have a meeting with the U-13 GNT coaches some time next week to discuss a possible future for me with the team, and there was no way I was walking away from that meeting without a spot on that team. I wanted this too bad, and I was going to get it.

-

In the following months, I had gotten on the national team and helped get my high school team to the State Championship Final, as a captain, so as the team relaxed after a particularly harsh practice, I sat in my room working on homework that was due next semester. My roommate was a senior and was working on some kind of English paper, and picking my brain about it because I'm apparently the smartest on both JV and Varsity, but it was no big deal.

A couple of days later, we were warming up for the actual Championship Final, and I couldn't fight this excited buzz, I mean, it wasn't a Youth World Cup, but for me, it was just that, until I experience a Youth World Cup, until then I'll make a big deal out of this.

"You ready, Y/N?" My friend, Kailee asks as we do our warm ups right beside each other.

"Born ready." I say and she smiles, holding her fist up, so I bump mine against hers and get in line for our next activity, which was a short passing drill. When we were called in, we grouped around our coach and the girls prayed while I went and got a drink of water, I wasn't religious in the least bit, so I wasn't forced to pray with the team. Which I was thankful for. As both teams got into their positions on the field, I was sitting on the bench to let a girl that was brought up from JV start in my place. She worked hard all season and I volunteered my spot for her so I was more than happy to sit out for the first bit of the game. Granted, I got tired of watching my teammates have the game by the time I was told to take my place on the field. It had barely been fifteen minutes, but our little JV girl looked a little nervous, which is understandable. So I was sent out in her place so she could talk to the coach about what she thinks she's doing wrong.