Alice Henderson On Debut

Forty-five

I leave Charlie at the muffin station in the dining hall to head upstairs to finish packing. I won't need my kit today now that I'll be running out the drinks. If I'm lucky I might get to field, but that's nothing compared to seeing how happy Charlie is to be playing alongside one of her heroes. I hope she doesn't get too nervous and clam up like she did the first couple of times Jules spoke to her.

As I turn the corner at the top of the stairs, Paris jumps out in front of me, grabs my arm and drags me into the common room. She pushes me up against the wall and stands in front of me, glaring, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What did you do?" she asks.

I shrug. "I didn't do anything."

"I saw you talking to Karen before the team announcement. What did you say to her?"

"I was asking her if I could borrow some stuff from the spare kit."

"Crap," Paris spits at me. She gets up in my face. "It was either you or me getting that spot. If you didn't want it because you were too chicken, you should've given it to me."

I ignore the fact that she's just admitted that I'm just as good as she is. Instead, I just say, "I'm not the coach. I don't make the team decisions." I turn to walk away but Paris grabs my arm, digging her fingers into my skin.

"You and I both know Charlie's not good enough to make that side."

I let out a slow breath. I know Paris is jealous and I don't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing me upset. "Maybe it's not just about skills, Paris. Maybe it's about more than that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I don't reply, which obviously makes her even more angry.

"You're so stupid, you know that?" she says. "You give up your spot, and now you're on the bench. At least I'll be playing today."

I pull Paris's hand away from my arm and lean in to her. "Do you see me caring?" I walk out of the room.

"You'll regret it!" Paris yells to my back.

I don't reply. Maybe I will regret it. I don't know. But if a scout saw my potential once, it can happen again. I have to believe that.

When I get to my room, Charlie is packing her kit bag. "Hey, how did the meeting go?" I ask.

Charlie shrugs but doesn't answer.

I sit on her bed. "Is everything okay?"

Charlie looks up at me. "Fine," she says.

"Then why won't you tell me about it?"

Charlie looks at me like I'm stupid. "I can't talk tactics with you, Alice. You're the enemy."

I laugh. "You're kidding?"

"No," Charlie replies, and she's apparently deadly serious. "I can't talk to you anymore, Alice. You'll try to get our game plan out of me and give it to your team."

"So you have a game plan?"

"See? You're already trying." She zips up her kit bag and stands up. "I have to go. Angie wants us downstairs for a warm-up." She throws her bag over her shoulder.

"Good luck today, Charlie," I say.

She smiles at me. "Good luck to you too," she says and walks out the door.

I push myself up off Charlie's bed and open my cupboard. As I start to pack up the rest of my things, I realise this is it. The final day. No more training drills after breakfast. No more nets sessions. And the worst part? After the game finishes this afternoon, no more Charlie.