Nothing shines as bright as your eyes - (Leah Williamson x OC)

Part 8

The match against Birmingham would be Saturday evening. So two days to go, since today it was Thursday.

This morning we had a training session, with a bit of weights following up on that. Every training felt like a trial, you had to prove yourself over and over again.

Therefor, every training I worked as hard as I could to show Gareth that I deserved to play minutes. I had yet to make my debut as a starter in the starting eleven. But I was determined to show with my probable substitution against Birmingham that I could start against West Ham.

After training, I drove home in my new car, a BMW M4. Quite the expensive car, and I actually had to look twice at the price tag to make sure I had read it correctly. But unfortunately I had read it right and it was a lot.

Of course, I could have looked for another car that was less expensive. But I wasn't going to search hours and hours again for a car that I actually liked. Basically, I was just too lazy to spend even more time on this than I already had.

Though, the only good thing that came out of my parents death was the massive heritage I got. So I could easily pay this car. Although, I'd much rather have my parents back, by now, I'd accepted their deaths and day by day it became easier to handle and talk about.

When I got home I saw a big suitcase laying on the doorstep of my front door. From far off, the suitcase looked quite similar to the one I had for the U-19 euros and as I got closer I finally realised what it was. It was the suitcase for my first ever England camp. The suitcase had a England badge on the front, just like my other suitcase had had. Though, this suitcase was just slightly bigger than the older one.

I reached down and carried the suitcase inside. I was actually way too excited to open it up and see what was inside. I've always had this, once there is a package that arrives and has to be opened it is usually the first thing I do. I'm just too curious to wait longer than necessary.

I opened it up, and lots of items were similar as the ones I had had for the U-19 euros. Though, there was much more than in my previous suitcase. Lots of shirts, shorts, socks, sports bras, and a few hoodies were inside. Though there was much more, but most of those items were singular small items. Like a sports watch, I actually hadn't expected to get that. But you don't hear me complaining. As well as an invitational card and a personalised message from Sarina.

I've been following you since your time at Ajax. You've got some talent in you, Stacy. Be ready to show the world. I made this decision despite some people disagreeing. Don't make me regret this. I believe in you, let's prove them wrong! See you soon.

Sarina Wiegman
Manager of England women's national team

'Despite some people disagreeing'. I couldn't help but let my mind wonder to Leah. I mean, it must have been her. Or there are staff members who don't think I should be there. Anyway, I was bound to prove everyone and anyone who doubted me wrong.

Everything depended on this camp. If I wouldn't be good enough, I would try to play for the Netherlands. If I didn't like the atmosphere or the vibe within the camp, I would try to play for the Netherlands. If Sarina did think I was good enough and I did like the vibe, then I'd have a very tough and difficult decision ahead of me.

In my enthusiasm for unpacking the suitcase I completely lost track of time. So when I finally unpacked and made sure everything fitted it was almost dinner time. I can't even begin to explain how I excited I am for this camp, despite the angry looks I will probably get from a certain person. But I wasn't gonna let that ruin my first ever camp for the senior team.

~~~

It was game day. This evening we would play Birmingham. We just received the starting lineup. And, yet again, I was not on there. I wasn't disappointed, I expected this. I just hoped I would get enough minutes to show Gareth my qualities.