Girls Can't Play Football

Chapter 23

Droplets of sweat ran down my face and my breath came out in short, deep pants. My heart thudded in my chest as I awaited the feeling of the leather in my hands. Once the once-familiar material finally came into my hands, I passed the ball onwards to Troy.

He held onto the ball tightly and made a run for it on the field, getting tackled at a good 45. 

As we took our positions again, I looked proudly at Troy. "Now that's what I wanna see more of. Good work." I felt like a mother making sure her children did their homework correctly. Except that I wasn't a mother, and they most definitely were not my children. Oh god, forbid.

He flashed me a toothy grin and once again, we all diverted our attention to the game. 

"Hike," I called and the ball had once again landed right into my hands. I hurled it to Troy once again and he jumped over a couple of the defenders quite smoothly but got tackled at the 4 yard mark. Third down and three more yards to go. 

"Come on, guys. Focus. Now, listen to the next play. I'm going to pass to Xavier. If the defenders surround him, I want Mitch to stay alert. That's where my alternative pass is going to be. Also, Eddy. Good coverage. Well done. Keep it up and block them as much as possible. Got it?"

"Got it," they all chimed and we ran back. 

"Hike."

I held direct eye contact for a second with Xavier to deceive the other team members. As two of them came running over to Xavier to attain the ball, I quickly turned my posture and flung the ball to Mitch who took it up for two yards. 

We all came together, tired and completely out of breath. The end was nearing and we had a lot at stake. Our reputation. Our pride. And most importantly, our confidence. We were losing due to the touchdown Alex had done so beautifully that it would hurt me to state so and our stupid penalty. The score was now 10-14, with them in the lead. We needed the last down to be epic. To be extraordinary and ensure us our win. "Okay, we need a touchdown. Frederick, keep your eyes open. This one's coming to you. Go for it, okay? You can do this. I believe in you."

With a serious and firm nod, as though understanding his responsibilities, he sent me some reassurance. At that time, I may have looked tough on the exterior. However, internally, I was shaking with both fear and anticipation. I was so torn in between those two feelings. It almost felt like I was losing the battle for women's rights. And it felt horrible. 

At that time, I closed my eyes for a second before taking my position and just imagined Seb in front of me. He would have been giving me the reassuring nod and the 'everything-will-be-alright' look. And that was when he said the few words I'd never let him down on.

"Make me proud."

And although it was only in my head and my imagination, those words held such a powerful importance to me. I built up my courage and took the place of the shotgun with my head held high. "Hike," I called out. 

I didn't waste a second and aired the ball directly to Frederick. When I saw one of the defenders charging at full speed towards him with no one there to help Fred out, adrenaline built up in me and I stood in front of the defender so that Frederick could achieve his goal. It must have been the adrenaline because I only felt the pain seconds after the cheers went off.

My right arm and leg throbbed and a killer headache made its way through as I hit my head directly on the ground. For a minute, all I tried to do was blur out my vision. I could feel hands on me, trying to help me up, but I could only focus on trying to compose myself. My arm felt dead and my leg stung with every little movement.