Funny Little Love

We're Going To Win This

54

SHAWN

I feel the cool wind in my hair as I jog to my coach who is standing on the other side of the touch line.

He has his right hand extended towards me, in which he is holding a black bottle.

My energy drink.

I slow down and eventually come to a stop as I reach Coach Hopper.

He hands me the bottle of energy drink and pats me on my left shoulder with his right hand.

"You are the best player I have ever seen in any team I have ever coached, son. You keep playing like this for the next fifteen minutes and manage to make a great ending impression on the scouts and I can guarantee that you will be accepted in any college you apply." Coach says with a wide smile on his face.

I smile back at him.

"I hope for it too." I say, with heavy breaths.

I'm tired because of all the running for the past several minutes.

My mind suddenly focuses on something coach said.

Did he say fifteen minutes?

I turn around to face the huge playing field again.

My eyes search for one of the two huge screens which are supposed to be displaying the score and the timer countdown.

I find one of the screens.

SCORE: 5-2

TIME LEFT: 14:31

It's just fifteen minutes away.

I knew by the time we were halfway into the game that we had high chances of winning and that my plan would finally happen.

We had already scored three goals and the other side had scored just one.

In the second half, till now, we scored two more goals and the other side had scored just one more.

By now, it's certain that we will win.

It would take a miracle for the other side to even catch up with us.

I have been looking forward to this game for so long.

I get to play in front of almost every soccer enthusiast in the Western States, some even from the Eastern States and of course, the scouts.

This game is the best chance I have ever had till now of making my dreams come true.

All this excitement does come with a lot of anxiety, yes.

Who would I be if things don't exactly work out the way I expect them to?

Will I be worthless? Will I be stupid? Will I be incompetent?

"You would still have people who care about you. You would still be an amazing player and the best soccer captain our school has ever seen. You would still be the nerdy guy who used to collect Pokémon cards in middle school. You would still be the hottest guy in a 10-mile radius. You're good at studies too, so you can always choose to become some doctor or something else." Alex had said.

Alex.

He is one of the spectators in one of those seats and I'm sure he's cheering me on and that, somehow, is one of the best assurances I have about this game.

That is one of the primary things which helped me keep on playing this game, not because I wanted to win for my career, but because I love playing soccer.