Little Do They Know

Chapter 20 - Olympics

When we arrived in Tokyo, we knew it was time. The Olympics were postponed for a year, but we had momentum. We hadn't lost a game in more matches than we could remember and we were the top seed. We were going into this competition as the best team in the world. But something wasn't sitting right. For some reason, my confidence wasn't as high as it was when we were at the World Cup.

"You excited?" I asked Sam, as we boarded the plane.

"Very," she replied. Kristie was standing in front of her, beside Emily.

"What about you kratch?" I asked Kristie, "Are you excited?"

"Yeah," she replied, somewhat nervously.

"She's excited to see her new Sam," Emily joked, "Sam, do you feel like you've been name replaced?"

"I won't lie Sonnett, sometimes I feel like I have already been replaced," Sam joked back.

We boarded the plane, and flew the long haul flight across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. When we touched down in the country, and after a long process of clearing customs, we were finally able to settle down in our hotel rooms. As I arrived in my room, I crashed onto the bed. For the first few nights, we had our own rooms, and I was glad. I liked being in my own company, entertaining myself and keeping a somewhat low profile.

As I lay on my bed, reading the news, my door flung open. Emily came in, and fell on top of me on my bed.

"Hey," she said, tiredly, as her head rested on my leg.

"Have you come to disrupt my alone time?" I questioned, laughing sarcastically.

"Yes," she replied, "yes I have." I smile at her, and kiss the top of her head, continuing to look on my phone and read the new stories.

"I didn't think we'd actually get here," I said to her, as she lay with her eyes closed.

"Really?"

"I mean, with everything going on in the world, I didn't think the Olympics would be the priority, you know?"

"I guess," she replied, "but the Olympics have always been used as a sign of unity in this world. It shows that people are able to put aside their differences, come together and recognise achievement. It brings hope to those who don't see any, I guess." I stared at Emily, slightly in shock about what she just said.

"Wow," I replied, "Never knew you had a way with words, Em."

"Being around you for long enough has made me just slightly smarter," Emily laughed. I smiled at her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders, nustling my head into hers.

We trained for the next week, to keep preparing for the start of the tournament. We were up against Sweden in the first game, followed by New Zealand and then Australia.

"So, Kratch," I said to Kristie, as we sat on the grass after our training session, "nice ring you have on your finger" She had a small, slim, gold band on her middle finger that she only recently started to wear. It was delicate, but very beautiful.

"It was a gift," she replied, smiling.

"From her new friend, Sam," Sonnett added. Kristie blushed slightly, and we all saw her flushed cheeks.

"Kristie is smitten!" I joked with her, wrapping my arms around her back.

I trained with the girls, and as we worked through set pieces, I was playing on the right wing, as a forward. For the USWNT, I do not normally play as the lone striker, as that spot is mostly reserved for Press or Morgan or Lloyd, so I instead stick to the wing.