Onward and Upward

eight || scintilla

scintilla : a spark or a very small thing

She had her bags packed to head to Detroit for the US Women's National Team Senior Team Camp. Antonio had to attend his own games with Real Salt Lake, so he would not be able to go with her, but he was flying out for the game on Saturday. She was boarding the flight with Becky, Kelley, and Amy, who was finally back with the National Team. As they boarded their flight, Becky was being a mother hen and telling her what to expect going into her first camp, informing her of possible hazing and pranks all week. She was excited to be in Detroit, but she hoped that she would be able to play a game against Mexico, a long-time rival of the US Women's National Team.

"Becky, lay off the kid. This isn't her first rodeo of joining a high class team. Remember, she joined us?" Kelley joked. They all knew that they were talking about Manchester City FC, a high-class team that anyone could dream of playing for.

"Yeah, you're right. I just want her to be prepared for this because I want her to go far with this team. Alyssa and Ashlyn are great, but notice who got called up over Adrianna this camp. We need some more young blood, and she's already got three years of playing professionally under her belt at nineteen." Becky admitted as they boarded their plane.

"I'm touched Becky, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to handle myself. I mean, of course I want to go far with this team, but that doesn't mean I'm ready for it." Georgia stated as they put their carry-ons in the overhead compartment and took their seats, Amy across the aisle from the three of them. Georgia sat on the end, Kelley in the middle, and Becky by the window.

"Hey, did you get the rooming list from Jill yet? She usually sends it to you." Amy asked Becky, and she pulled her phone out.

"Yeah, got it about an hour ago. You're with Tobin, Kelley you're with Em, I'm with Alyssa, and GJ you're with Carli." She told them as the flight attendants started going towards the safety demonstration, and they remained quite while they went through the instructions the four of them have seen numerous times. When they were done, Georgia put her earbuds in and turned her music on, resting back against seat and closing her eyes as the plane began to take off. She was excited to reunite with Carli once again, for she had not had a good conversation with her since they had left Manchester City FC almost four years ago. She had not kept good contact with her, but now - if she were to be a regular on the team - she would be able to keep better contact with her, and she planned to.

She was startled awake when they landed by vigorous shaking by Kelley, and she quickly tore her headphones off her ear and let the headset rest on her neck.

"Come on, we're getting off." Kelley said with a laugh, and she followed the four of them off the airplane with the rest of the passengers. They walked together to baggage claim and got their bags for their stay, then went out to the bus that was waiting for them. All of their flights were coming in within an hour of each other, and they were the last flight to come in to Detroit. Everyone else was already on the bus, and the veterans greeted the veterans. She got a couple of waves, but she found herself looking to find a seat, but the only seat she found was near the front. She sat by herself, not minding the space, and the bus began to move. The coaches were conversing quietly, but then Jill Ellis stood to her feet, holding onto the back of her seat for stability as the bus moved throughout the airport lot.

"Good afternoon ladies, glad to have you all back in camp. We've got some tough competition coming up against Mexico, so we need to make this camp worth it." She started, pausing for a moment so everyone could clap and hype each other up. "First, I would like to welcome back some old faces back into camp - Amy, Syd, glad you're both back with us. Second, I would like to welcome some new faces into camp - Georgia Jacobson, Tierna Davidson, and Savannah McCaskill, who I believe are going to make one hell of an impact on you old folk." She paused once again, allowing the team to greet those new members, welcome back the old members, and laugh at the comments that were made. "Dawn will be giving everyone a training schedule as soon as we get to the hotel, but as of today you have some recovery once we get there, and the rest of the day is yours." She concluded, the team excited to explore the Motor City. They were staying at the Comfort Inn in downtown, so they would be right in the middle of the tourist sights.