Teams | A Jamie Johnson FanFiction

Part 56 - Season 4

"Welcome to Goodfield Park." I faintly heard Jamie say as I came round the corner; him, Mike, Karen and Boggy were stood at the gates in the distance, looking out at our new training ground.

"Are you with Phoenix?" A voice behind me made me jump, and I spun around to face a woman who looked like she must be a coach, for she was dressed in a tracksuit with a whistle around her neck next to a set of keys.

"Me? Oh um, yes..." I said nervously, but she smiled reassuringly.

"Come on, I'll take you in." She said, gesturing for me to follow. I smiled at Jamie as our eyes met for a second when we got to the gates.

"I take it you're with Phoenix too?" She asked Jamie and the others as she unlocked the gate.

"Yeah. I'm Jamie Johnson."

"Oh right. I'm Molly. If you wait by the stands I'll come and get you when I'm ready." She said, as we followed her inside.

"Must be one of the volunteers I've been reading about ." Mike said, to which Karen nodded. "I might have a word with a Dunc. Could use an extra pair of hands at training."

I sidled over to Jamie. "Who?"

He looked at me in surprise. "Call yourself a Hawkstone fan, Bella, then you'd better never let anyone hear you ask who Big Dunc is."

"So who is he?"

"Only one of the greatest Hawkstone legends of all time." Jamie responded.

"What's he doing owning a random football club then?" I joked.

"You can laugh, Bella, but Northport's fortunes have really turned around since Duncan took over." Mike said, gazing up at their new grounds.

"Mike's a bit of a fan." Jamie said quietly, but his grandad obviously heard, since he laughed.

"Big Dunc is a legend. Anyone who watched him play upfront for Hawkstone knows that." he said, a smile plastered across his face as he seemed to relive a memory.

"Morning Johnson, Cave." A voice from behind them suddenly made us jump and we turned to see Dillon with a smile on his face; I couldn't tell if it was fake or not.

"Morning Dillon." I replied, raising an eyebrow.

"What's the look for, Bella?" he said, still smiling, almost sweetly.

"What look?" I replied, but I knew exactly what he meant.

"The 'you look suspicious' look."

"Well, it's just...you never normally...smile, like that." I struggled to find the right words.

"I'm a new person, Bella. Being in Phoenix has taught me the importance of being part of a team." he smiled before heading out onto the pitch where the other members of Phoenix were starting to arrive.

"He's acting weird."

"Or maybe he's just being nice." Jamie said, but I gave him a look as if to say 'are you being serious', and he just laughed.

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The sound of applause bounced between the stands of the pitch as Duncan walked out onto the grass. "Thank you, everyone." he said with a humble smile. "But actually, it's this man here we ought to be thanking. Without him, there wouldn't be a team so I think we all owe him a thank you."

Another round of applause broke out as Duncan gestured at Jamie who seemed to revel in the attention for a second, before looking slightly embarrassed at himself and the eyes on him.

"Anyway, I believe every team needs-" he corrected himself, "-deserves, a great coach. So it's a pleasure to introduce one of the very best around: Molly Sinkamba."

This took us all by surprise. We never thought joining Northport would mean we'd get a new coach. And what surprised me more was that the woman that stepped forward when the name was called was the lady that had let us in at the gate a few minutes ago; the one that Mike had thought was a volunteer.

"Thanks Duncan, and hi everyone." Molly said, stepping up to the front to address everyone. "I can't wait to get started, and soon we'll be heading over to our new training ground which is just a short walk away."

My first impressions of Molly were good. She seemed nice, but whether I'd like her training methods was a different matter all together. Jamie, however, looked mad. I tried to give him a reassuring look but his focus was on the new coach.

As we all started following Duncan to the training ground (I was slightly annoyed we wouldn't actually be playing at Northport), I listened in on a conversation with Mike and Molly.

"I've heard a lot about you." Molly was saying. "And I'd love you to stay on as an assistant if you'd like."

"What?" I heard a voice, but it wasn't Mike's. I prayed Jamie wouldn't do anything stupid, but it was Jamie.

"He's been the coach from the start!" He practically yelled, and Mike tried to calm him down but Molly got there first.

"Listen, Jamie, I accept that change can be scary but..."

"I'm not scared!" Jamie said aggressively, and walked up next to me. "This is out of order!"

"Relax Jamie." I said, trying not to make it too obvious that we were talking to each other; I didn't want them getting the wrong idea.

"It's not right. They can't just bring in someone random." he continued, and I clasped his hand for a second subtly, but he flinched and I pulled back.

So much for worrying about people getting the wrong idea. I was such an idiot.

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A/N: I'm so sorry for the lack of updates recently, but to make up for it, tomorrow there will be two new chapters 😌

Hope you're enjoying the book and thanks for reading 😊