Against the odds - Jude Bellingham

Incidents

It was the 1st of August, and I was on my way to S.t George's Park to accomplish the last training before the world cup would start. Throughout the last few weeks, I had proven my skills to our coaches, and I was proud of my performance in the team. Since I'd gotten accepted to the team, my following on Instagram had grown a lot, which attracted many fans and supporters, but also haters. Most of the negative comments were directed towards my gender and as soon as I did something wrong, it would get noticed and I would get a bunch of hate for it. I guess sexists couldn't bear with the fact that a girl had entered the team, which of course, sucked.

I parked outside the training ground and grabbed my bag from the backseat of my car before locking it and heading towards the locker rooms. I had packed my shower things as usual but today I had also brought the England Tech Fleece tracksuit and other essentials, since Southgate wanted us to stay at the training ground after practice. It was still sunny outside, but the heat had decreased a lot since the last time I was here. When I entered the building, I saw a few of my teammates playing basketball. Since I already had my training clothes on and was a bit early, I decided to join them. Some of their heads turned as I walked up to the court.

"What's up, Addie" Mason said as he gave me a warm smile.

"Hey guys" I said as I dropped my bag on the floor.

"Care to join?" Declan asked.

"Sure, but don't expect to face a basketball professional because I'm not good at all" I said and chuckled.

"It's cool" my head turned as I heard Jude's voice behind me. He was bouncing the ball as he walked up to me. "I don't think you would stand a chance against me anyway" he said.

"Wanna bet?" I suggested

"Sure" he said and attempted to shoot, but his throw was too weak, so the ball didn't even make it near the basketball hoop. Everyone died from laughter, including me.

"Well, I can't be much worse than tha-" I got interrupted when Jude placed his hand over my mouth, preventing me from insulting his basketball skills.

"Shut up, Addie" he said as he shook his head and snorted. I felt his warm breath against my neck as he leaned down and whispered in my ear "Wait until I tell them about your hidden singing talent"

"You wouldn't do that" I said, unsure.

"Never say never" he said and smiled.

"Please don't?" I said as I tipped my head to the side.

"Okay fine, but only because I'm so kind and handsome" he responded. I just rolled my eyes at him as he smirked at me.

. . .

We were almost half through training when Southgate decided to dedicate the last hour to playing matches. He divided us into two teams, and I was a part of the starting 11. I was positioned as central midfielder and played good during the whole match by making many good passes and assists. Jack was to my right but stood far away from me, so I shot a hard pass to him from the center point. It flew in a perfect arc, and he received it in the penalty area. Moments later he scored, and I began to applaud. He sprinted towards me, celebrating with the others before pulling me in to a hug.

"Great pass, Addie" he said to me while smiling. "I've never seen any of the guys do that" he pulled away and patted me on the shoulder before giving me a wink. I just grinned at him in response.

"Well done Jack and what an incredible assist Smith" Southgate shouted from the side of the pitch. "I want to see more of that" he said while smiling. I responded with a small nod.