Champions-ish!
"The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." – Phil Jackson
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"Are you ready for the game tonight?" Caroline grinned as she and I made our way to my locker after Calculus.
"Ready for it to be over, yes." I snorted as I put in the combination. "I totally bombed that Biology quiz on Monday, and I got a B on my English essay!" All of the late practices during the week were finally starting to catch up with me. When I would get home, I would immediately crash and I had to force myself to stay awake to finish all the assignments due the following day.
It didn't help that all of our teachers decided to give out a shit ton of assignments at the same time.
The English essay I got a B on, that was the third one in two weeks! Throw in two more history essay, an Economics paper, and a biology and calculus quiz - I was just about ready to pull my own hair out.
And as much as I was enjoying the extra time I was spending with Aiden, it was seriously starting to affect my school work. Last weekend, Aiden, Lucas and Caroline all ended up sleeping over Friday night and we spent all of Saturday getting through the rest of the Harry Potter movies. I tried my best to study that Sunday, but I just couldn't concentrate.
Come Monday morning I was totally freaking out, and I even woke up at 5 am to try and get some last minute studying in. To this day I don't know if that did more good or damage.
I ended up getting some of those grades back today, and lets just say that I'm lucky that my mom stopped checking my grades back in middle school.
"Oh come on, Nat!" Caroline groaned. "It's just one bad grade. Some of us would kill for a B on our English Essays."
I turned to glare at her. "B's won't get me a full-ride anywhere! You know as well as I do that college's still check your senior year grades."
"You're over reacting." She bit back. "It's senior year, it's okay to breath once in a while."
Was she right? Absolutely. Was I going to be rational and listen? Fuck no.
"Anyway!" She continued. "Both Brooke and I will be there. It's senior night and there's no way we're missing it!"
"Ah, yes." I sighed. "Senior night". It's the last game of the season, and each year it's dedicated to the seniors on the team. There are posters, pictures, and all that other crap. Usually for our team it's pretty relaxed, but if you were to attend senior night for the boys' basketball or soccer team, be prepared to get trampled on. Those can get pretty serious.
"I'm so excited!" She squealed as the two of us made our way to the library on the first floor. We have a test next period for French, and Caroline promised to help me get some last minute studying in during lunch.
Just then, something hit me. "Oh Care! Don't do anything overboard. I mean it. I just want this season to be over with."
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about a thing." She smirked. It's safe to say I was officially worried. "Now, I know I promised to help you study, but Brooke needs me for something last minute."
"Caroline." I warned her. I have a feeling this little spur of the moment errand has something to do with tonight.
"But!" She continued. "Do not fret, I found you a new study partner."
Before I could ask who my new study partner is, Caroline pushed me through the library doors and left.
This girl, will one day be the death of me. I swear.
I was scanning the room to see who she could have possibly gotten to be my study partner when I spotted a familiar mess of tousled brown hair.
Of course.
"Let me guess," I said as I walked up to the table Aiden was currently occupying. "Caroline told you to be my study buddy."
"Well hello to you too." He smirked.
I groaned taking a seat right across from him. "I don't know what she was thinking. You can go enjoy the rest of your lunch period."
"Now, now." He smirked. "I'm here to help."
"Aiden." I stared him dead in the eye. "You don't take French."
His eyes sparkled with mischief. "Et pourtant je parle probablement mieux le français que toi." [And yet I probably speak better French than you do.]
My head snapped up and I gape at him dumbfounded. "Of course you speak French." I muttered under my breath. "Is there something you can't do?"
................................
After a long and treacherous day, the bell to eight period finally rang and I jumped out of my seat. Although our game today didn't start until 4:30 pm and I had plenty of time to get ready since it was a home game, I was more than ready to get out of Mr. Murphy's class.
Don't get me wrong, he's a very smart man. However, he can't teach to save his life.
This is also a class that I share with Aiden and normally he would annoy me to the point where I have to stay awake during class. However, today he wasn't in class.
On my way down to the girl's locker room to change, I stopped by my locker to get my duffle bag and drop off the rest of my school stuff. As I made my way towards an empty locker, I noticed that only half the girls on our team were there.
"Are you excited for tonight?" Naomi asked lacing her cleats.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "It's just a game. What is there to be excited about?"
"Oh nothing." Naomi smirked.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "What aren't you telling me."
"Nothing!" She held her hands up in surrender. "I'd just fix my hair a bit if I were you. Maybe put on some Chapstick and a bit of lipstick."
"Naomi." I gave her a pointed look. "We're paying a fucking sport, not walking down a runway."
"Suit yourself." She shrugged.
I spent the next 45 minutes in the locker room with Naomi and two other junior girls talking about their upcoming SAT exams. It was cute to see someone else freaking out over exams, other than me of course. I remember when I was in their shoes last year – I was a total basket case. Just ask Brooke and Caroline.
I was in the middle of explaining to them how your TI-84 calculator is your best friend on the math portion of the exam, when Coach Garcia walked into the locker room.
"Let's finish getting ready ladies!" She said, coming to stand in the middle of the room. "This is our last game, and you all have quite a crowd out there."
I finished tying my cleats and quickly pulled a long-sleeved shirt on underneath my jersey.
The moment I stepped out of the school building, I instantly wanted to go back inside. I pulled my jacket around me tighter, hoping to conceal as much body warmth as possible, but it was impossible. The bitter cold November air wasn't messing around today.
It was freezing shit outside.
As we walked towards our side of the field, I noticed that Coach Garcia wasn't kidding when she said we had quite a crowd. The usually empty bleachers were now full with students, parents, and even some teachers.
Peoples' parents actually show up to these things?
Aiden was also already on the field, talking to one of the refs and the two of them seemed to be in a pretty heated conversation.
As soon as we started warming up, I was the first one in line to start running. It was so cold outside, I could barely feel my bare legs.
Screw whoever came up with the rules for soccer that said we can't wear leggings underneath. This should be considered child abuse.
Just as the girls and I finished our stretches, our principal's voice boomed over the stadium. "Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to this year's Senior Night!"
Applause and cheering echoed throughout the stadium. I guess Senior Night is more important than I thought?
"Now, we have a special night for our Senior Mustangs." Principal Peters continued. "Please join me welcoming Bernie the Mustang!"
Wait – our mascot's name was Bernie? How did I not know this until now.
Next, the stadium speakers began playing an old Avicii song.
A few seconds later, Bernie came running onto the field followed by the cheerleaders. I immediately spotted Caroline at the forefront waving her pom-poms around like a mad woman.
Oh, sometimes
I get a good feeling, yeah
Get a feeling that I never, never
Never, never had before, no, no
I get a good feeling, yeah
"Now, I'd like to have Coach Garcia join me up here as we welcome our seniors onto the field for the last time."
Where the hell was I during last year's senior night because I certainly don't remember it being this extravagate. All they did was line them up and had their friends brought them posters. There was no principal speaking, no music, no cheerleaders.
I watched as Coach Garcia made her way to stand next to Principal Peters, a broad smile on her face. Compared to her, Principal Peters was a midget. He was a short man in his late fifties with a bald spot that only a hair transplant could hide, meanwhile Coach Garcia towered over him.
She then proceeded to take the microphone from Principal Peters and spoke into it. "Ladies, it has been an honor to be your coach the past four years. I have watched you grow not only individually, but also as a team. While some of you may go on to play for your college team, others may not. I ask that you keep in mind one thing from your past four years playing for me – there is nothing like sharing a commitment to play a role while doing it together. What you remember are not your stats or your prestige, but the achievements and relationships you've cultivated as a group."
The crowd was eating up every word.
"Now, I won't bore you any further because I know you didn't come here tonight to hear me speak." She smiled. "Some of the younger player on the team along with friends of our athletes have prepared a little something for tonight."
"Seniors, if you would please line up in alphabetical order in front of the net." Principal Peters continued.
I looked around to see that Naomi and a bunch of the younger girls had disappeared god knows where. I had no choice but to follow the five other seniors on our team. As we all lined up in front of the net, with me being the second one because my last name was Dawson.
Oh, sometimes
I get a good feeling, yeah
Get a feeling that I never, never
Never, never had before, no, no
I get a good feeling, yeah
I watched mortified as Naomi and Brooke came out onto the field carrying a large poster with my last name and number on it, along with various pictures taken throughout the years.
If that wasn't cringy worthy enough, the song they chose to play to go along with everything certainly was.
Buddy, you're a boy, make a big noise
Playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday
You got mud on your face, you big disgrace
Kicking your can all over the place, singin'
We will, we will rock you
We will, we will rock you
Don't get me wrong, the gesture was sweet, and if we were in a more intimate setting I would probably appreciate it more.
There's a quite a few pet peeves I have, and being the center of attention is one of them. Maybe it's the introvert in me, but the hundreds of eyes staring at me make me physically uncomfortable.
I watched as two younger players handed Jackie Anderson her poster and a large bouquet of red roses. They all paused to take a picture, along with Coach Garcia and Principal Peters. And it wasn't an iPhone picture either - the school's photography club was taking the pictures.
I shifted nervously knowing I was next.
"Next, we have the one player who has never made me hunt her down because she skipped class or wasn't doing her homework – Natalie Dawson!" Coach Garcia announced.
Buddy, you're a young man, hard man
Shouting in the street, gonna take on the world someday
You got blood on your face, you big disgrace
Waving your banner all over the place
We will, we will rock you, sing it!
We will, we will rock you, yeah
Brooke and Naomi both came up to me beaming, as they handed me my poster. I couldn't help but smile a genuine smile as I hugged the two of them. While I certainly don't know where Brooke and I will be going to college, I do know that I won't be seeing Naomi after this year. She may be a year younger than me, but she's more mature and down to earth than 99% of my graduating class.
Caroline had also made her way over to us and she handed me my bouquet of flowers before engulfing me in bone crushing hug. "I'm so proud of you, Nat."
Who knew all it took to penetrate my stone cold heart was a poster, some flowers, and a few hugs.
"Stop it you guys." I said as I felt my eyes begin to water.
"Is our ice queen finally melting?" Brooke laughed.
"Big smiles girls!" Lucas shouted from a few yards away.
Buddy, you're an old man, poor man
Pleading with your eyes, gonna get you some peace someday
You got mud on your face, big disgrace
Somebody better put you back into your place, do it!
After a few pictures with Brooke, Naomi, and Caroline, it was Coach Garcia and Principal Peters' turn.
"I'm really proud of you Natalie." Coach Garcia said as she came to stand next to me. "You're going far kid."
"Thanks Coach." I blushed. It's no secret that I'm ambitious and driven, but it's weird to hear others say it. Don't get me wrong, my mom tells me how proud she is of me all the time. But I guess I just never really considered myself to be anything that thousands of other people already aren't.
We will, we will rock you, yeah, yeah, come on
We will, we will rock you, alright, louder!
We will, we will rock you, one more time
We will, we will rock you
Yeah
After what felt like eternity and hundreds of pictures later, we all went to join Aiden by the bench.
"Are you warm enough?" I glared at him. He was all huddled up in a Parka and gloves while the rest of us were freezing our asses off.
"Here." He rolled his eyes, as he grabbed Lucas - who was also on the sidelines - by the collar and made him take his jacket off.
"What the hell are you doing man!" Lucas protested. "It's freezing balls out here."
"Grow a pair." Aiden growled as he pushed him off the field after handing me his jacket.
Aiden then turned to address all of us."Tonight's game is going to be exactly what you make it out to be. As long as you guys go out there and play to the best of your ability, then I know I've coached you right. So, in the words of Pete Rose – you owe it to yourself to be the best you can possibly be. Now let's go out there and kick some ass ladies!"
Tonight's game was against Roosevelt High School, and from what I heard through the grapevine, they needed to win this game to make it to the city playoffs. It was clear they were playing to win from the first ten minutes of the game. Although our defense had gotten progressively better throughout the season, it was no match for Roosevelt's offense.
By half-time we were tied 1-1, and the looks Roosevelt was sending our way were not reassuring at all. Didn't they realize this was just a game? I want to win as much as the next person, but if you ask me they were taking it to a whole new level.
During half-time, Aiden once again gave us a pep-talk.
"We play to win the game. They may want to win, but you have to want it more. You guys have worked too hard this season to just let them take this away from you. Defense, you need to pick it up! There is absolutely no reason as to why players from the opposing team should be breezing past you. Offence, Naomi can't be the only one trying to make plays. We have a 4-3-4 formation for a reason. You see an opening, you take it."
While he was going on and on about tactic, all I could think about was just how sexy he looked playing coach. His deep and husky voice, the way he spoke with charge.
Focus Natalie!
"Natalie." I heard Aiden call me as I took a swing out of my water bottle. Uh-oh, he's using my full name which means he has his coach hat on.
"Yes?" I cocked a questioning eyebrow at him.
"You're too quick to leave the goal when you see the other team attack. If you see them coming, don't leave the goal line until they're in the box at least. You risk letting them score on you that much easier."
I nodded in understanding, and before I could get anything else out the referee blew his whistle indicating the start of the second half of the game.
Here we go.
Just like our team came on to the field more determined than ever, it seemed Roosevelt did as well. It seemed that their offense was pushing harder than in the first half of the game, and they took possession of the ball most of the time.
Keeping Aiden's advice in mind, I did try to stay as close as possible to the goal line which did allow me to deflect more shots.
We were half way through the second quarter when Roosevelt got a corner kick.
I was mid-way in the air ready to catch the ball when one of the girls from Roosevelt jumped as well and pushed me with her shoulder. I ended up falling over, my head barely missing the post by an inch.
However, nearly busting my skull open wasn't what had me worried. The moment I landed on the ground, I felt a crack in my ankle.
Well fuck.
I gasped in agony as I felt the pain from my ankle rush throughout my entire body.
It's a miracle really, that I lasted throughout the entire season with only one injury so far.
I tried to stand with Naomi's help, however, I fell back on the ground in pain. I once again winced in pain as the throbbing in my right ankle seemed to be getting progressively worse with each movement I made.
Once the referee saw that I wasn't anywhere near close to actually getting up, he blew his whistle and called a time-out. Both Aiden and Coach Garcia rush up to me. I tried telling both of them that I was fine and that I just needed a minute but my words seemed to go over their head.
"Lift your foot up." Aiden commanded.
I bit my lip in pain, doing exactly what he asked. He then proceeded to roll my ankle a few times and bend it back and forth. Once he was done, he gently laid my leg back on the ground and extended his arm out to me.
"The good news is, it's definitely not broken." He said helping me stand up. "But you're done for tonight."
"What?" I protested. "No way!"
I may not be too thrilled to be out in the cold and freezing my ass off, but I wasn't about to be a pussy and leave my team stranded without a goalie because of a little sprained ankle. I did have a sense of team loyalty, after all.
"Natalie." He warned as he wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me limp over to the bench. "This isn't up for discussion."
Coach Garcia was already talking to Miranda, our back-up goalie. "And this isn't your decision to make." I fired back at him.
"Coach, you have to let me play." I pleaded with Coach Garcia. "My ankle is getting better as we speak."
She looked between me and Aiden. "Natalie, I don't know if that's a good idea. You're putting yourself at risk for further injury."
"I don't care." I shook my head. "I did not endure almost three months of hell at practice just so I could sit out the most important game of the season. It's my decision."
Aiden shook his head exasperated. "You're so stubborn."
"If you can give me five jumping jacks, I'll let you play. " He gave me a stern look.
"Yes, sir." I mocked as I stepped away from him and prepared to jump. The moment my feet landed back on the ground, I immediately lost my balance and I let out a loud whimper. Luckily, Aiden was there to help balance me. However, the look on his face told me I wasn't about to like what he was going to say.
"Sit down." He pointed to the bench.
"But -" Before I could even get the rest of my sentence out, I he had already turned towards Miranda who was awkwardly waiting to find out if she would be subbing in. "Miranda, you're in."
I let out a loud huff as I sat down on the bench.
I was not a happy camper.
Lucas, who was standing a few feet to the side, offered me his jacked once again.
He must have sensed that I was about to protest. "Take the jacket Nat. Its cold."
"What about you, Einstein." I rolled my eyes at him.
"I'll live." He chuckled as he came to sit next to me.
I reluctantly accepted his jacked and wrapped it around myself. Warmth.
Lucas and I sat in silence as we watched the remainder of the game play out. I wish I could say that we won, but then I'd be lying to you.
The rest of the game was unfortunately, uneventful for our team. We ended the game 1-3 for Roosevelt.
Just as our team was playing on defense, theirs was as well. The only difference was, Roosevelt seemed to have gained momentum after Miranda replaced me as goalie. Despite a few efforts by Naomi and our other forward, their goalie blocked every shot they sent her way. In fact, the longer the second half of the game droned on, the more discouraged our team seemed to get.
When the referee blew the last whistle, I joined the rest of the team in the middle of the field where we exchanged pleasantries with the other team.
While we had nothing to gain by winning this game, it would have been nice to end the season with a bang or so to speak. None of us thought we'd play as well as we did, and if you told me at the end of August that our team would actually go on to win a game or two, I would have laughed in your face.
Despite my insipid complaining about Aiden, we owe all of our improvement to him and his coaching. He pushed us harder than anyone else has before, and it paid off in the end. I just wish we could have one this last game.
Before we could all make our way off the field, Caroline came skipping over to us with Lucas in tote.
"Oh no you don't!" She lectured. "We need a group picture of the whole team!"
"That means you Aiden," she pointed a finger at him. "And coach Garcia as well."
I rolled my eyes at her bossiness. Trust Caroline to get a bunch of adults to listen to her when it should be the other way around.
As I stood to the far left of the group, Aiden followed suit.
"I know we didn't win tonight," Aiden bent down to whisper. "But I'm still really proud of you."
"1.. 2.. 3.. Seniors!" Caroline shouted.
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I struggled to write this chapter quite a bit because I didn't really know where I was going with it. Although I'm still not completely satisfied with it, I did want to give you guys another update this weekend as a thank you for 1k+ comments! I will probably be re-visiting this chapter in a future and it will undergo major editing until it's to my liking.
Again, I want to thank you guys so so so much for all of your continued support on this little adventure of mine. All of you inspire to keep writing ❤️☺️