HAZE (On Hold)

Part 30

Hailee watches the hands on the clock slowly move around as she waits for the final bell on that Friday afternoon. She knows from an earlier message that both Kelley and Alex are going to be attending her game and she can't wait to see either of them and surprise her teammates with introducing them.

She hasn't heard back from her father, so she can only assume he isn't going to make it back in time to watch.

Tapping her pencil on the desk as the teacher continues to drabble on about an upcoming unit in their Health class which requires parental consent to take part in. She takes the permission form and shoves it in her bag along with everything else and smiles as she sees Chris pretty well doing the same thing across the room.

Finally, the bell rings and the students fly out of the classroom in anticipation of their two days away from the building and presumably sleeping in. For the soccer players, they head to their lockers and collect what they need for the game.

Heading to the changeroom, they all go about their regular pre-game routine, which usually amounts to them dancing around and getting dressed before the Coach appears to give them instructions and let them know the starting lineup.

Hailee pulls on the Blue and Gold uniform with the #5 on the backside and goes about making sure she is ready to go. She heads into the bathroom area and uses the mirror to make sure her head is all pulled back and tied up.

Retaking her spot on the bench, she closes her eyes and does some breathing exercises the Dr recommended for her when she begins to feel overwhelmed. She hears the Coach enter the room and opens her eyes, watching as he writes the number of the starting lineup on the board.

Once Hailee ascertains that she is starting upfront, she takes some sips from her water bottle and listens to the final instructions. With the season having just begun, there isn't really much known about their opponents other than that they have yet to score a goal.

They head out for warmups and see the visitors already on the field.

"Guys, am I on a trip or is that Alex Morgan and Kelley O'Hara in the stands?"

All eyes turn to the stands and Hailee smiles seeing them, "It is Alex and Kelley, they are friends of mine and I promise I will introduce you to them after the game, provided we win, okay?"

"Oh, we're going to win!"

"Damn, right we are! Let's go everyone in, "Mustangs on 3."

"1, 2, 3, MUSTANGS!!"

The game gets underway and it's apparent right away that the Panthers from a nearby school aren't on the same level as the Mustangs led by Hailee and Chris are.

At the end of the first half the Mustangs lead by a score of 5 – 0 on the back of 2 goals each from Hailee and Chris and a single from Jen.

"I would ask you guys to take it easy on them this half, but I have a feeling that's not going to happen, so I'm only going to ask that you don't run up the scoreboard too much."

Hailee, Chris, Jen and Rain all look at each other and smile, knowing that there will be no taking it easy on them.

When the final whistle blows and the game mercifully comes to an end for the Panthers, the final score is 12 – 0 with Hailee having scored 5 of the goals.

The teams shake hands and Hailee walks over to the keeper and hugs her, "Hold your head up high, you played really well, the score could have been much higher if you didn't make the saves you did."

"Umm... thanks." Hailee nods before jogging back over to her teammates.

"You guys want to meet Alex and Kelley now?" They all yell at her to let her know they do and she signals them to come down from where they were sitting.