Ben Tennyson's POV...
Alright, let's do this one last time. My name is Benjamin Tennyson and I'm from the city of Bellwood, America. When I was 10 years old, I was given the most powerful device in the universe called the Omnitrix. With it, I could transform into different species of aliens in the universe. I use their powers to not only help people but to also protect other planets, thus giving me the name Ben 10. I'm pretty sure you know the rest. I saved a bunch of people, fell in love with my childhood crush Kai Green, saved the universe with my grandfather and annoying cousin, saved the universe again and again and again, heck even recreating it.
I'm a comic book, I'm a cereal, did a TV show, and I have an excellent theme song. But after everything, I still love being a hero. I mean, who wouldn't? But then again, I sometimes let the whole thing get in over my head. Because the only thing standing between the universe and oblivion is me.
For years I've been doing what the world expects me to do and because of that, I ended up ignoring the people who I love and care about, take my cousin Gwen for example. Last I heard from them, she and her boyfriend Kevin Levin were expecting a child with Zed there to protect it. Make me wonder if he or she will get the spark of an Anodite. Thinking about how their relationship was perfect reminds me of the relationship I had between me and Kai. Around last year, after my grandpa, Max Tennyson, passed away, my old partner Rook Blonko, took over his role and became the new Magister. He'd often call me to help in different operations which kept on resulting in me canceling dates with my girlfriend. Though she said she understood and that I had to save the world, it still didn't make me feel better that I was basically neglecting her.
So to prevent any more pain to either of us, I called her one day, told her that it was all over, and hung up the phone before she could even give me a response. It hurt me so much that I didn't even have the heart to continue my old job. With that, I cut off all communications with the plumbers and ran somewhere they could never think to find me, a country that banned all aliens from it, Japan.
The universe should already have enough plumbers to help protect it from any threats so they don't need me anymore, they don't need the Omnitrix. Besides there's only one in the universe and it's right here strapped onto my wrist.
Izuku's POV...
My name's Izuku Midoriya and yeah, I'm just a normal human being. Ten years have passed since I last saw Ben Tennyson face to face and I guess it's been a few years since I've seen him publicly on TV. I understand that Japan made that law just so the government wouldn't have to be responsible for all the damage reports they receive from alien attacks, but truthfully, I believe there's more reason why he suddenly disappeared. I kept his words to heart when he said Kachan and Eijiro and I would someday become great Plumbers. Because of that, I took advantage of the Plumbers badge he had given me and I studied nearly all the alien species that were listed inside of it.
Currently, I'm in my room, sitting by my desk with a notebook in front of me and a pencil in my hand. Using the holographic display of the alien database from the badge, I sketched my own design of the aliens in my own version and gave each of them their own superhero name. It was a habit I developed ever since I started middle school. Eijiro was the one who told me doing this while listening to music can help me feel at ease from the stress of school.
"Just to save you... mmm... all of me... mmmhhh... callin' me... mmmmh.... fall for me... give my all," I said mumbling along to the song, not even getting the words right. As an otaku, I don't really listen to music, but ever since Eijiro gave me a pair of headphones for my birthday and a list of songs he recommended, I got the habit of listening to them while sketching. When doing this, I'm completely oblivious to the world around me, since I'm always in the zone. I didn't even realize that someone was calling him from outside his room.
"Iz... Izu... IZUKU!!!!" a voice shouted from outside my room, causing me to snap out of my daze. Knowing very well who called me, I removed my headphones and looked at my room door.
"Y-Yeah, Mom?!" I shouted letting her know I could hear her.
"Are you finished getting ready for school and the soccer match!?" I heard Mom ask. Turning on my chair, I looked at my bed to see my yellow backpack on top of a black duffel bag. With a smile, I slapped my notebook shut and stood up from his chair. After sliding the book into my bag, I went up to the mirror hanging on my door and looked at my reflection to see myself wearing my high school uniform.
After straightening my tie as best as I could, I grabbed my school bag which had my school books, and my duffel bag which had my cleats and soccer jersey. Before exiting the room, realizing I was forgetting something, I quickly grabbed the plumber badge that was still showing a holographic display, turned it off, and placed it in my pocket. Ever since I got the badge, I've tried my best to hide it from my mother because ever since the day Ben fought the evil Way Big, if she hears anything related to aliens, she would go into a panic attack and have slight trouble breathing. Though I'm still a fan of aliens, I love my mother more and I can't risk putting so much stress on her.
Upon exiting my room, I walked to the kitchen to see her wearing an apron while holding a frying pan sizzling with bacon and eggs. She must've heard my footsteps caused she turned around and smiled at me.
"Good Morning Izuku," she said turning off the stove and placing the egg and bacon on a plate. She then proceeded to the fridge, took out a small box of juice, and dropped it in a paper bag. She then folded the top, then placed the bag on the counter beside another that was already folded. "Do you have everything you need?"
"Yep, all my cleats are laced up and both my jerseys are ironed and bagged," I said with a thumbs up. She then smiled, grabbed all three paper bags, and placed them in front of me on the table.
"I packed extra food for Katsuki and Eijiro," she said while I grabbed all three of them with my spare hands while the other held my duffel bag. "I'll try my best to be there after my shift"
"Thanks, Mom, but don't push yourself just for my sake," I said walking up to her and hugging her with my spare arm. Once I let go, stepping on my tippy toes, I gave her a peck on her cheek and walked off to the door carrying all the bags. Running down the staircase of my apartment, I ran out to the street and rushed down to the bus stop as quickly as possible. Upon arriving I saw two figures standing there already. Judging by the figure and their hairstyles, I knew exactly who they were.
"Hey Kachan, Eijiro!" I shouted gaining their attention. While Eijiro waved back, Kachan simply glared at me with his arms crossed.
"Oi, you late nerd!" he said as I finally reached the bus stop completely out of breath. "Any minute longer and I would've just got the next bus, leaving your sorry ass behind"
"Didn't you just try to do that earlier? You know, when I stopped you and told you to wait for Izuku?" I heard Eijiro say from beside him scratching his cheek while laughing nervously. Kachan in response, turned towards him and gave him a sharp glare basically telling him to be quiet but Eijiro still laughed it off. As I looked at both of them, I couldn't help but smile. These two were like big brothers to me. Though we sometimes had our rough times, we still looked out for each other and helped one another. Like when Eijiro had a hard time studying, Kachan and I would normally help him, although, we sometimes argued about whose studying strategy was more effective. If I had trouble working out or training, they would both help me stay in shape.
"Then I guess, you don't want the breakfast my mom painstakingly put her heart into making this morning?" I said waving the bags in front of them. Kachan's eyes widened upon the sight or more likely the smell because, at blinding speed, he snatched the bag that had his name on it, rummaged through it, and pulled out a wrapped-up sandwich before eating it. I looked at Eijiro with a surprised look, who simply shrugged with the same surprised look.
"Guess he skipped his own breakfast this morning," Eijiro said gently taking the bag with his name from me. "And so did I. Lost track of time before leaving the house"
"Heh, guess we're all 'laters' huh?" I said trying to come up with a random name to call us.
"Oi! Who're you calling a 'later' nerd!" Kachan barely said as his mouth was still filled with chewed-up food. Eijiro and I laughed before sitting down on the bench at the bus stop. The three of us sat there eating our food till the public bus came to pick us up. Upon entering, we scanned our passes and were about to take our seats. But the moment I turned my head, that was when I saw her.
"Yo, Izuku..." Eijiro whispered while elbowing me before pointing in the direction of who I was looking at. "Isn't that Ochaco Uraraka?"
Sitting next to a window, reading what looked like a cookbook for sweets, was a brunette who goes by the name of Ochaco Uraraka. If anything, she's considered the cutest girl in our class due to how many boys from other grades, whether younger or older, have tried to ask her out. I've heard she always denies them in such a polite way, none of them feels so heartbroken after they had confessed to her. I've always seen her in class ever since I got accepted into UA, but I never had the guts to talk to her. I mean, what girl would want an otaku as a boyfriend?
"Hey bro, there's an empty seat beside her," Eijiro said indicating the vacant chair beside her. Of course, I felt my heart began to beat as he told me that. As my best friends, both Eijiro and Kachan knew that I'd been technically stealing glances at her every chance I got, cause I'd be lying if I said I didn't find her cute too. "Now's your chance, go get her"
"I-I-I don't know," I said in denial. I was still afraid to talk to her fearing that I'd get rejected like all the other guys whether it's nice or not a rejection is a rejection. I was planning to just walk past her and just in the back until I felt a slap on the back of my neck. Turning around while holding the part where I got slapped I looked at Kachan who was literally glaring at me.
"Quit being such a wuss Deku. You've been gawking at her ever since the school year even began. I'm really getting sick and tired of you being a coward. Where was the Deku, who literally rode on the shoulder off of To'kustar when he was only 4 years old huh?" he said with his hands crossed.
He was right. Sure I was scared back then but I still did what I thought was right to help Ben Tennyson. I shouldn't be afraid to just talk to a girl especially if they're so cute.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll do it," I said now full of confidence.
"Atta boy, go get her," Eijiro said whispering in excitement while holding a thumbs up. Moving out of the way for me to walk past him, I approached the set of chairs where Uraraka was sitting. I opened my mouth to say something to get her attention, but words failed me as the only that escaped my mouth was a very odd and weird cough.
"Wh-what the hell was that?!" I mentally shouted to myself. If I had eyes behind my head, I could totally see Kachan face-palming while Eijiro gave a nervous laugh while holding up two thumbs up. I felt my face sweat bullets while my brain continuously worked on what I should do if she gave me a very weird look. Except...
"Hm? Oh hello there," the voice of an angelic girl entered my ears causing me to forget my embarrassing slip-up and look at the source. Meeting my green eyes with her brown eyes, Uraraka turned from her book and looked at me with the adorable smile that attracts a lot of guys. Trying my best not to get too hypnotized by it, I took whatever composure I had left and spoke.
"Hi, um..." I said before pointing to the seat next to her. "Is this seat taken?"
She looked to where I was pointing before looking back at me with a smile so bright it made me want to back away.
"Nope, you can take it," she said before looking back to her book. With a little gulp, I carefully placed my duffel bag on the ground in front of the seat and gently sat down on the chair with my backpack in my lap. Looking up, Kachan and Eijiro walk past me with him giving me a thumbs up. Feeling the bus move, I relaxed in my seat and made a sigh of relief before hearing the notification tone from my phone. Taking it out of my pocket, I checked it to see it was from Kachan.
"Say something you idiot!" it read which made me mentally chuckle. Turning my head, I gave Uraraka a slight glance noticing she was still indulged in her book. Gaining more courage, I opened my mouth and tried to speak.
"You're, Ochaco Uraraka right?" I said with my face completely turned in her direction. Lifting her head from her book, she looked at me with a surprised face before smiling.
"Yup, that's me," she said closing her book. Her expression then went into one of curiosity, as she began to lean forward to me. The closeness of her face, caused me to lean back a little back a little. "Have we um.. met before?"
Hearing her question, got me thinking that it made sense. I could tell she was looking at my uniform checking if we went to the same school. Though we're in the same class, she sits in the back while I sit in the front, so I guessed she never really saw my face all that much.
"I uh, well not exactly," I stuttered to say. "We're in the same class so..."
I was then cut off by the sound of her snapping her fingers at the same time her face brightened up in realization.
"Oh yeah, now I remember!" she said speaking louder than usual. "You're Deku, right? Midoriya?"
"D-Deku?!" I said caught off guard by the name Kachan always calls me. "Where'd you hear that from?"
Uraraka placed a finger to her lips before responding, "I think it was last week after my cheerleader practice"
Looking up, I remembered that she along with a few other girls in the class were members of the school's cheerleader club.
"I was heading to the changing room to change until I heard shouting coming from the football field," she explained. "I turned to look and saw three guys running like crazy around the field. That was when I saw you chasing after a boy with ash-blonde hair who was chasing a boy with black hair. I think his name was Bakugo?"
Trying to recall what she was talking about, I searched my mind before finally remembering. Kachan, Eijiro, and I were doing some practice for the big game that was occurring later today after school. Since I joined the club later than them, I ended up being a basic goalie for the team. I didn't mind since I'm not that fast and our rivals, Shiketsu High, and our rival school, had very tall players. Kachan thought it would be a good idea for me to do some practice on the field, where he would train me to catch the ball or prevent it from entering the goal. I didn't do very well at first, as Eijiro kicked the balls so hard, that they were too fast for me to catch.
At one point, Kachan made me step to the side so he could show me how it was done. Instead, Eijiro got distracted by something outside the field, kicked the ball, and accidentally struck Kachan in his private area. That ended up with a raging Kachan chasing after Eijiro for about an hour with me running behind them trying to stop them.
"Oh, that," I said letting her know that I knew what she was talking about while scratching the back of my head. "Yeah, that was embarrassing"
I then turned to look at her once I heard a giggle escape from her.
" I think it was more funny than embarrassing," she said calling me to blush and squirm in my seat. I guess she must have noticed me squirming because she stopped laughing and looked at me worried. "Oh no, I meant, Bakugo and Kirishima. I mean, sure you were chasing after them too, but you were actually cool"
That made me perk up and look back at her with a surprised face before asking, "Cool?"
"Yeah. I mean Bakugo and Kirishima we're known for their speed on the field. And since you're always with them, it looks like you're getting faster too," she responded with a smile on her face. The heat from my cheeks rose not from her smile, but from what she said.
"You..." I started off before continuing. "You were watching me?"
As I mentioned before many boys at our school wanted the chance to date someone as cute as her, so I tried not to keep my hopes up. But while doing so, I was surprised to see her face when blank and I could have sworn I saw her cheeks redden. She then shifted in her seat and leaned back towards the window of the bus while holding both her hands up as if she were pushing away something.
"N-No, not like that!" she said in a flustered tone. "I mean I've seen you sometimes training so hard to make the soccer team, despite only just starting. I just think you were very cool"
She lowered her head to look down to the ground as if she was trying to hide her face. I myself still felt the heat in my cheeks, but hearing that caused me to calm down a little and smile.
"Thank you. I really appreciate that," I said smiling at her. She then raised her head and smiled back at me cheeks still redden. This conversation we were having was going so well until something unexpected happened that made me want to bury myself in the ground.
After a few seconds, the bus seemed to have slipped into a small ditch. The sudden movement caused me to drop my bag, and some of my books fell out. Uraraka, who was sitting beside me, noticed the fallen books and leaned down to pick them up."Here, I'll help," she said to get up some of my workbooks.
"Oh um, thank you," I said still feeling a little nervous talking to her. As I put some of the books back into my bag, she spoke again in a voice that sounded like she was interested in something.
"Woah, did you draw these?" she asked. Turning my head to look at her I thought she was holding a notebook. Except it wasn't any notebook, it was my sketchbook, which was filled to the brim with sketches of different alien species that I had learned from the old Plumber's Badge that I had gotten ever since I was little. The only people who knew about this were Kachan and Eijiro, whom I had made an oath with, to never reveal to other people what we had done when we were kids. It was already bad enough that they banned aliens from entering Japan or even showing their faces, but to have my interest in aliens exposed to one of the prettiest girls in the class is something I'll never live down.
"Oh um, yeah," I said looking the other way sweating bullets. I then called my eyes and prepared myself to be laughed at or worse cursed at. The Way Big battle that happened years ago cost so many lives. The mere mention of it was through up anger in anyone especially if they themselves lost someone precious to them in the battle.
"Sorry, I was uh, planning on throwing it away after school," I said with my eyes closed trying to come up with a believable excuse. Hoping she would buy it, Uraraka said something I clearly didn't expect.
"Why would you do that?" she asked. Opening my eyes, I turn to look at her only to see her flipping through the pages with eyes that sparkle with interest. "This book is like a dictionary of aliens. And these aliens you drew them yourself?"
I was not expecting her to find interest in my nerdy alien book. But since she asked I didn't see any other reason not to answer her.
"Yeah," I said scooting over to her a little. I then began pointing at a picture showing an illustration of what looked like a grasshopper alien. "This is an Orthopterran"
"Orthopterran?" Uraraka asked with one eyebrow raised. She then looked closer at the pictures before snapping her fingers. "Didn't Ben Tennyson turn into something like this years ago?"
"Yeah, he called himself Crashhopper when he transforms using the DNA of an Orthopterran. They are a unique species capable of jumping extremely long distances. In addition, they can use their legs as offensive weapons at close range.," I explained before flipping the pages, moving from one alien to another. "I even got information on Galvans, Vulpimancers, Petrosapiens, Tetramands..."
I went on and on not even realizing how much I'd been rambling before I heard giggling coming from beside me. Turning my head, I saw Uraraka trying to stifle her laughter which caused me to blush in embarrassment.
"S-Sorry," I said looking down embarrassed.
"Don't be. I still think it's cool," she said giggling even more. Hearing that, made me look back at her and smile. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Hm, sure," I responded as I watched her pull back a piece of her hair.
"Say an alien were to just appear in front of you, something not human, how would you take it?" she asked with her face forward to the seat in front of her. I had no idea where that question came from, especially since it was coming from her. I then began to remember what happened to me, Kachan, and Eijiro years ago, before giving her my answer.
"I think I'd be surprised at first. I mean, it's natural for anyone to have a reaction when being faced with something that looks different from them," I responded facing away from her. I turned to face her only to see her head lowered as if she was disappointed in something. But even so, I continued my answer. "But I wouldn't treat them so differently. Because if there's one thing both humans and aliens have in common, is that we both have feelings"
"Feelings?" she asked turning to look at me.
"Yeah," I responded before looking up at the ceiling. "Like animals, though some can't walk on two legs like us, they still have their own life to live in their way. I know that there are over a million species of aliens in the universe, and we humans are among them. We shouldn't make them feel more different than they are from us, just because we don't have a lot of things in common like looks, language, or even abilities. I'd respect them for who they are and try to get along with them"
While looking up, I waited for a response only to hear nothing. So I turned my head to look at her and nearly backed off my seat when I saw the look on her face. Her eyes were glistening as if tears were gonna fall out and her cheeks were blushing red.
"Um, Uraraka?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I'm okay," she said turning to look the other way. I looked at her questionably and was about to ask if she was okay until I realized that we had already reached our school.
Once the bus stopped at the bus stop, all the students including me, Uraraka, and my friends from the back exited the bus. As it drove off behind me, Uraraka who was technically still beside me turned towards me.
"Well, I'm going to go meet up with my friends from the cheerleading squad," she said looking at me with a smile.
"Oh yeah, I heard the cheerleaders will be performing a demonstration at the game later," I said remembering a conversation I overheard last week.
"You're going to be in the game too Deku?" she asked before covering her mouth quickly. "Oops, I mean Midoriya"
"It's okay I don't mind," I said chuckling a little. "I'm going to be in it, but I'll just be sitting on the sidelines unless I'm called"
"Oh, okay. Well then I hope you get your chance," she said swinging her bag from behind her back.
"Thanks. And good luck to you too on the performance," I said with a smile.
"Okay then, see ya later Izuku Midoriya," she said before flashing me a wink and walking off to join up with a group of girls. Watching her run off with her skirt swaying left and right, I stood there dumbfounded with both my cheeks burning hot.
"She...winked...at me," I managed to sputter out, right before a big slap struck my back. Regaining my footing from it, I turned to see Kachan and Eijiro walk up beside me from both sides.
"Well, I'll be damned. You had some backbone after all nerd," Kachan said smirking at me.
"Sh-shut up. I have a backbone!" I retorted back at him.
"We know you do Izuku," Eijiro said rubbing my hair like a big brother. I was just about to thank him before he said, "We just never seen you use it"
"Uh, thanks," I said in a tone of disappointment which made both of them laugh. Hearing the bell ring, I straightened up myself and walked alongside them into the building.
Most of the day was just a regular school day, involving pop quizzes, teachers scolding Kachan for sleeping in class, etc.
In short, it was just a regular school day. Once in a while I would turn my head to the back and see Uraraka either doing her schoolwork or talking with her friends. At one point she saw me looking at her and then waved at me which made me blush hard and caused a guy behind me to shake my body angrily.
This may sound unusual, especially for a human teenager like me, but at times, I wish it wasn't always this normal. I miss the days when I listen to the news and hear about a hero going all over saving people and fighting evil from Earth and space. But ever since the day they enforced the alien law, it is as if Ben Tennyson I had just... disappeared. I wouldn't be surprised if he turned into an alien like Big Chill or Ghostfreak to hide himself.
Though there are not a lot of people, there are some like me who wish to reinforce the law to allow aliens to roam free again. Every year, an election is taking place to see whether aliens should continue to conceal their identities or not. Unfortunately, those who were victims of the To'kustar battle 10 years ago, passed on the pain they felt to others which increased the votes to keep concealing the aliens' identity. If me and my friends were old enough to vote, we could have put our support to the aliens. Someday, I know someone will rise and show the world that aliens have the right to roam free among us.
As the day went by, it was finally time for the soccer match. After school, Kachan, Eijiro, and I headed to the locker rooms to change into our shirts, shorts, and cleats. But as we changed, Coach Sekijiro came bursting through the door holding a clipboard.
"Midoriya! Midoriya here!?" he shouted causing me to jump off the bench I was sitting on.
"He-here sir!" I said nervously as I stood in front of him like a soldier wearing only one shoe. He's not mean in any way, he just has a habit of sounding scary when he's talking in a way to motivate us.
"Okay good," he said before flipping through the pages of the clipboard. "Midoriya, as of right now you will be playing the official goalie"
As if a Chronosapien had come in here and froze time, all the boys including me froze in place from shock.
"M-m-m-me?" I said before pointing to myself. "But what happened to the original goalie?"
"Let's see..." he said before flipping through the pages again. "Ah, our star player, Yuga Aoyama. His parents called and apparently, he got a bad stomach ache from eating some exotic snails from a Parisian Restaurant yesterday"
"Huh, I was wondering why we were one short person in the class," Eijiro said from behind me.
"Never noticed, never cared," Kachan said as well.
"Anyway Midoriya, you were supposed to be his backup and without him, you will have to take the front," he said. Any other guy would jump in excitement upon hearing that, but me...
"B-But, I'm just a beginner, and this is my first match and..." I said trying to come up with an excuse but the coach didn't seem to care.
"Look kid, you're the only guy here who trained in goalie position so it's either you play or we all forfeit," he said before walking up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, and leaned close to my ears before whispering, "And there's no way in hell we're forfeiting"
Once again, I wasn't sure if it was the power of a Chronosapien because I stood there frozen in place while I watched the coach walk away and the other boys walk past me. What got me moving again was when I felt two hands touch both my shoulders from behind.
"C'mon dude, you got this in the bag. No pressure," Eijiro said slightly jabbing me in the chest.
"You mean besides the fact that the girl he's been staring at will be watching him?" Kachan said with a smirk, which made me shake even more.
"Dude, not helping," Eijiro said blankly at him. In response, I shook my head and gave a serious expression to both of them.
"No, you're right. I joined the soccer club because I wanted to show him how hard-working I am. I'm going to do my best out there," I said with all the confidence I had in my body. Like brothers, they both smiled and patted my shoulders, and followed me out of the changing room.
I joined the line as we jogged onto the field where I saw a lot of people sitting on the bleachers cheering on both teams. Looking through the crowd I was able to spot my mom waving a flag that had our school emblem on it. My guess was that she bought it from the vendor outside. After giving her a quick wave I focused on the front and caught sight of the school's cheerleader squad. Like I said before some of the girls from our class were there, especially the one I couldn't keep my eyes off.
Even as we all lined up beside the opposing team, and said our school pledges, my eyes never left her as her squad did a performance to support us. I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me but during the whole performance, every time Uraraka faced us boys, I noticed her eyes were never on them but always in my direction. She's always smiling whenever she turns any other direction, but when she's looking at me I notice her smile gets wider. To finish off their performance, the girls formed a pyramid formation where from what I heard, the one on top has to strike a pose to give the team the boost they need. I didn't even need to ask who that girl was, especially since I had my eyes on her the whole time and she ran from behind the group, jumped high into the air performed a somersault, and landed on the top with so much perfection that it made me gasp. As we all waited for what type of pose she was going to make, she did something that nearly made me drop to my knees. She brought both her pom poms to her mouth and looked straight into my eyes, I made a kissing expression while extending both arms into the air.
As the audience clapped for their performance, my legs began to feel like jelly as I had a hard time standing up. Luckily, Kachan and Eijiro were beside me, because as if they anticipated this, they held both my shoulders to keep me upright.
"You'll be fine, we got your back," Eijiro said from my left. "We'll do our best to keep the ball from the goal so you won't have to worry about catching it"
"Eijiro, Kachan," I said looking at both of them with teary eyes.
"Pfft, chill out you little crybaby," Kachan said slightly shoving me away. "We're the star player so leave it to us"
Hearing that, I nodded, reached into my pockets, placed on my goalie gloves, and ran straight to our team's goal. As I stood there, I took a deep breath and prepped myself to not only make my team proud but to also not make a fool out of myself. Pumping both arms together as the referee blew the whistle, I muttered, "Alright, it's game time!"