Snippets

Like Minded (Part 2)

"Uh...see you later, maybe," Rylen said and ran off to join Sanchez and Torres.

Juan was nowhere to be seen as was Reyanna. They must be romancing, or whatever they called it. The thought of her sister and best friend together didn't make Rylen cringe anymore. Maybe she was warming up to the idea of them. Or maybe she was warming up to the idea of romance.

She looked at Enrique who now stood with Rylen's and his parents. Before he could catch her staring, Rylen was out of his sight.

___

The matches went well.

They were tougher than any of the ones they played before. Rylen didn't let the other teams score. She had a stronger focus now. She had no idea how, but Rylen had become a tough nut for her rivals to crack. They would smirk, wink, do things to grab her attention, and divert her focus throughout the game.

But all this made her focus on not letting them prove she was weak. Some of the female players were good as well. No one was a goalkeeper like Rylen, but were basically fielders and defenders.

After winning the matches and entering quarter finals, Rylen had the title of letting no team score a goal against the Bulls. She wasn't sure how she was doing this.

The only thought that roamed in her mind was Enrique's words 'Tough, but not unbeatable'.

Maybe that's what it was, proving him that she was unbeatable. She wasn't over confident over it. She even believed that it might be all luck. Or maybe her Mama's prayers.

Her Mama would pray in front of the Goddess Lakshmi statue they had in their house. She would light the lamp, and make them all sit with her.

Mama didn't do it over the top, she just said a simple prayer she had made the triplets learn. But because of their accents, it came off a bit weird, and off when they enchanted the prayer.

When they were 10 and it was useless for their Mama to make them sing the 'Aarti' in Hindi, she translated it into Spanish with the help of her Papa. Now the triplets said the Spanish prayer when their Mama and Papa sang it in Hindi.

Maybe the goddess was helping her, as her Grammy Naina said.

The quarter finals were between them, and Enrique's team, the Valencian Eagles.

When they shook hands, Rylen couldn't place Enrique in the team. They were all athletic, chiseled jaw boys and a girl, Rylen recognized as Giowhatsherface. That's what she had named her.

Rylen decided that trying to figure out who was Enrique was a waste. She'll see him near the goal anyway. He was a striker after all.

The game started, Rylen's heart was hammering despite her full concentration on her job. Their coach had told them that the recruiters would be closely watching this game. The quarters, semis, and the finals were always important. Despite her achievement of not letting any team score, Rylen had to keep them aside and play her best now.

As the game started and went by, Rylen had saved two goals, none of them were by Enrique. She couldn't place him on the field.

It was halftime with scores tied at 0-0.

Her family was still there like always, cheering for her. Rylen closed her eyes as she made her way towards the goalpost, and sighed. She had to win this one. It would be a major for them. Valencian Eagles too were unbeatable. With one last prayer, Rylen's focused look appeared as the whistle blew to announce the halftime was over.

By the time the game ended, Rylen had saved 2 more goals and the score was 0-0.

It was a tie, and it was time for the penalty shoots.