Saved by the Whistle

twenty-one || conniption

[This chapter might be a little short, but you'll see why at the end!]

conniption : a fit of rage or hysterics

Georgia had been living in Utah since January, and since February, she had been practicing with the rest of the team through April before their games began. It was now March, and preseason was about to begin. It was a nice change from the freezing temperatures of Manchester, even though the remainder of the winter in Sandy, Utah had been cold and snowy. Now it was moderately cool but dry, which was better than rainy days with the cool weather. She had befriended everyone on the team since she had signed her contract, and now that she was playing in the NWSL, she was the youngest professional soccer player at the moment. Mallory Pugh, a forward for both the Washington Spirit and the US Women's National Team, was also nineteen, but she would be twenty at the end of April. Georgia would not turn twenty until August.

Antonio was back in active combat in Afghanistan as part of the Resolute Support, and Georgia worried everyday for him. Although he assured her numerous times that he would never see gunfire, she still felt this gut-wrenching fear that something would happen. He was also going through a tour, so she would not be seeing him for at least a year and a half.

With their first game of preseason against the Seattle Reign in a few weeks, Laura Harvey's old team, they had been training together every other day for a few hours. It was a good time, because there were some days that Georgia and Catherine Parkhill did not even need to show to training because it was tactical training for the field players, so the two of them would go out to lunch or just be on their own for those days, but then they would have a small training session with their coaches the following morning to make up for their lost time the previous day. The Royals acquired both Kelley O'Hara and Taylor Lytle from Sky Blue FC since she had signed her contract, and they were good additions to the team.

Although she had been back in the United States for a few months now, she had not made the flight to Portland to go and see her parents. She had been thinking about heading up there for a long weekend, but they were getting a few days off after their preseason game in Seattle, so she figured she would head to Portland for those few days. Go see her parents, visit her high school. It would be good to get back. Allison would be back for spring break too, so maybe she would see her.

After numerous hours and days of training, they were finally getting on a plane to head to Seattle, Washington for their first game as a team. Georgia sat near the window seat with her headphones on as she watched the sun set under the clouds, the clouds they were flying past giving off different hues of red and orange. It was beautiful, and as she pulled out her phone, she watched as others pulled out their phones to get a picture of the beautiful skyline they were looking at.

They landed that night and the team went the hotel they booked for the next few days. They were going to have a light training session in the morning then the game was on Tuesday afternoon. It would be Georgia's first professional game in the United States, even though it did not count for the regular season starting next month, and she was excited. She was sharing a room with Sydney Leroux, and she felt both on edge but happy to be sharing a room with someone as funny and supportive as her. Georgia opened the door to the hotel room and they both went in, setting their luggage on their beds, their bodies soon following.

"These beds are so comfortable." Georgia muttered as she let her head sink into the pillow. Sydney just laughed at her. "What's so funny?" She asked, sitting up an facing her.

"This is the first time you're traveling far enough to stay in a hotel room, and I just find it funny since you've already got two seasons of professional soccer under your belt." She snickered, and Georgia plopped back down into the pillows.