Strike It Right (Louis Tomlinson)

Strike It Right

"And now let’s greet the champions team!” the voice announces and I with the captain’s armband on my right arm go and greet the managers, sponsors and the president of women football in this country.

“Congratulations.” They all say happily and I greet them with a polite smile but I’m exploding inside me from happiness.

I led my team as a captain to the victory! We are the best women’s team!

They put a shining gold medal on my neck and handle me the cup. My dream has come true! I throw in the air my hands with cup in it and all our fans, our family members clap to us madly.

A smile rises to my face seeing everything. I’m so happy that even my eyes fill with tears.

I handle the cup to our coach and congratulate him with everything what he had done for us. He deserves it.

“Well team…” I shout to all the women and turn to her “…One! Two! Three!” I shout and “WE’RE THE CHAMPIONS!” We all scream happily.

--

I’m standing in my room and looking to my team pictures which are hanging on the wall or standing in the shelf. We’re the team. We will be friends for life because the atmosphere in this women team was amazing. We were doing everything together and there wasn’t any drama. I look at the other picture where I’m standing in my red match kit ad holding the champions cup in my hands which is almost half my size. I’m with a gold medal on my neck and the most important thing for me – armband on my right hand. I still can’t believe that I was chosen as the most reliable person in the team and they chose me to be the captain… It means for me a lot and I didn’t disappoint them. I feel my eyes filling with tears and then I hear how my room’s door opens and somebody comes in. Probably my mom.

“Honey, we all are ready to go.” She says in a soft voice and I quickly wipe the tears from my face.

“Ok.” I say making a poor smile although she doesn’t see that and I also nod.

In a second I feel her hand stroking my shoulder and it makes me to feel better. My mom is always by my side and I always will be with her. Because we both need each other. I turn to her and softly but carefully hug her. She’s very fragile and unhealthy after the car crash which she conceded few years ago.

We go out of my room and then out of the whole apartment. The ball is held in the first floor of this building so we just need to go downstairs. And we do that. I also help my mom to walk carefully on the stairs because after the crash she’s really unhealthy. Her head aches almost every time and she can’t walk without a stick, although that stick doesn’t help her a lot. But neither she nor I think about that…well try not to think about that. Because for me it really hurts to see my mother like this.

We enter the hall when a lot of people are and I help my mother to sit.

“All?” I hear how my coach says with the microphone “Great. Then we can start.”

I sit next to my mom and everybody sits in their places.

My coach takes a deep breathe and starts his speech.

“Thank you everybody who came. Today we have what to celebrate. First of all…” he says and makes a short pause “…we are the champions!” he says louder and I smile “This season for us was more than amazing. Great atmosphere in the team, great players, great sponsors, great training ground… everything was great.”

“Great coach!” shouts Maria from her seat and our coach blushes and chuckles shyly. Everybody laughs.

“Thank you, thank you.” He says happily “But unfortunately we have not so great news.” He says and looks down, but at the same time I feel how he looks at me with his eyes corners… “We have to say goodbye to one of the great players of our bunch. She is a great person. She is… I won’t say was, because I still believe in her… a great player. We can easily call her our team’s spirit. Because she was everywhere. She knew how to make our trainings as entertainment. But the most important that she enjoyed playing football. Football was, is and I hope it will remain the love of her life…” he keeps saying and I feel tears coming to my eyes. No… it’s not so easy to quit everything about what you were dreaming almost all your life. It’s not easy to end everything when you fought for it so hard… “I want to invite on this stage next to me – Navishaa Marie Brighton.” Says the coach and I stand from my place and go on the stage. He gives me the microphone and I quickly wipe down my face…

“I just wanted to say…” I hear how my voice is shivering and I take a deep sigh and look at my coach but he just smiles encouraging “…Football gave me not only the pleasure of the game. It also gave me all of you, my friends. We all had memorable moments that we won’t forget during the match and in our dressing rooms. And of course outside the stadium. Every of you I can call my friend, because the atmosphere in our team was more than amazing. Every other team can only be jealous… And I’m really sad…” I say and take a deep breathe once again because I feel that my voice can break down every minute “…I’m really sad that I have to leave you, my family. I have to leave my kit, my shirt’s number, my football shoes… everything. But I promise, I will never leave football. And we will meet someday. You will be famous players and I will be a famous coach.” I say and quickly shut up and purse my lips that I won’t cry. I give the microphone to my coach which is looking at me with his soft look. He smiles.

“Don’t you dare to think that we will ever forget you.” He says and I hear how the audience softly giggles “And that you won’t forget us, we have something for you.” He says and shows with his hand to bring something. In a minute two of my teammates come with a huge frame. I look at them confused and they turn the frame to me. Inside it it’s a red (my team’s kit) shirt with all of the players’ signatures on it. I cover my mouth with a palm and cry into it from joy. It was everything what I wanted.

My teammates come to me and hug strongly.

“We will never forget you.” One of them says and I don’t even try to stop my tears anymore.

“You were the best captain ever.” Says another while the whole team comes on the stage.


2 years has passed. Now I’m 18. Yeah, you are right. I’ve finished my football career really early, but it was not my fault... My health didn’t let me to keep playing and even it’s really hard to admit it now. I really regret that idea. If I can rely only on myself I would be running in the stadium and chasing the ball right now. But besides of that I can’t play football anymore I can’t complain of my life. I’m a quite successful coach. I have girls, well almost teenagers, team in football’s academy and we every year we reach really good results. I really love them and feel like a… I don’t know… sister maybe. I’m not so older than them, I think. Besides my girls I have and boys team. With them everything is a bit more difficult. Well not quite with them, but with their parents, but mostly fathers. You should have seen their faces when the director of the academy introduced me as a new boys coach. It was priceless. Some of them started to warn us that they won’t let their son to the trainings anymore, some of them did so. But now they can only bite their fingers from envy because few years in a row we are the champions. And nobody can stop us, at least now. Like males are better chefs than females sometimes, the same females can be better coaches than males… also sometimes.

I unlock my cabinet’s door and throw the keys on the table, put my bag on the chair and put my coffee on the table too. I open the window because it’s hot in here. It’s already 10th of June. And the weather is amazing. I sit on the chair and turn on my computer. Another simple day has started.

A knock on my door.

“Come in!” I shout not raising my look from the papers from doctors about my boys’ team’s conditions.

“Hey, Navishaa.” Says Rick when he sticks his head in. He comes to my cabinet every morning and brings something like cookies or muffins. And we together drink the coffee and eat them. He’s really nice. And quite young also. He’s 27 if I’m not wrong. And he has a team of 12 years old boys. We often arrange friendly matches between our teams and the looser buys the coffee the other morning. I don’t want to turn up my nose but I think that he bought a lot more times than I did.

“What you have brought this time?” I asked and giggle.
“Today with caramel. It was on sale.” He says and we both laughed

“Have a seat.” I say softly and for a minute move away my papers. He’s really a good friend.

I already take a cup from the shelf and put it right in front of Rick when the door opens and my boss with two other men come in.

“Hello.” I say a bit confused and notice a big grin on my boss’s face.

“Navishaa.” Says my boss with great excitement in his voice “I think you will be glad to meet these two men.” He says and shows at them. Only now I notice that they are with the same attire so probably they are from a company or something like that. And also they skin are quite dark and hairs are black. I can’t deny that are good looking as well.

“Now?” I ask still being confused and the grin on my boss’s face shrinks a bit.

“Yes. When you will found the reason you won’t care about coffee or muffins.” He says a bit strictly and looks at Rick. And at the same time Rick stands from the chair takes his coffee and muffins and looks at me smiling.

“We will finish this later.” He says and winks and I just smile. Rick goes out of my cabinet and I show for my strange and unknown guests to sit.

“So what’s the emergency?” I ask and put a cup with my coffee away also.

“Meet Andres and Santiago. They are representatives of The football club all the way from Doncaster.” He says and I frown this time really confused. What do they want from me?

“You’re from England basically?” I ask with my eyebrows raised quite high.

“Yes ma'am.” Says one of them with strange but cute British accent “We have a deal for you.” He says and I’m getting more surprised by every minute.

“What kind of deal?” I ask interested.

“There’s an interesting situation in our country right now.” Says the same and I see that the other one is prepared to talk.

“As you know the club is involved in many matches that are currently coming up.” Says the one who didn’t talk yet.

“Yes.” I say and nod confused. They came here to talk with me about?
 “But we have some problems with the team… well actually with the coach. The federation thinks that he’s already a bit too old and he thinks that all that championship can cause him a lot of stress which is not very good at age like his. Besides that, everybody thinks that it’s time for changes.” He says and turns to his friend.

“So, miss…miss?” says the other one and I nod still frowned.

“Miss.” I assure him.

“So, miss Navishaa, we are offering you to be the coach of the football team there.” He says and my jaw drops, literally. I look at him with exploded eyes and still don’t understand if this is not a joke.