You have just signed for Arsenal and are about to begin your new WSL career, but first you must complete pre-season. However, your focus is disrupted when the girl you locked eyes with on that historic day in July now forever occupies your mind.
*...
Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
Arriving at London Stansted, you follow the crowd of Arsenal Kit; you realise that you are going through a different entrance and your eyes drift to look at the planes out the window. You turn to Wally and say, "Are we getting a private plane?"
Before Wally could reply, Caitlin chimes in, "Oh yeah, they're trying to spoil us this season", giving a sarcastic laugh.
You'd never been on a private plane before, just a commercial plane and only a handful of times in your life, mainly with the England squad.
You were yet to disclose to your new friends that you were terrified of flying, and the aircraft to your right was freaking you out even more. Following the lead of your teammates, you adhere to the security rules and repack your hand luggage on the other side of the scanners. Before you knew it, you were being handed your ticket by a member of the Arsenal staff and walking onto the runway.
Looking at the plane as you walk up to it makes you slow down slightly, creating distance from the bus group you travelled with. Leah, Caitlin and Wally are deep in conversation about naming every European country, which had turned into a Leah and Wally vs. Caitlin situation, with Caitlin believing that Greenland was in Europe. Constant laughter and frustration radiated from that group as they made their way up the stairs onto the aircraft.
he nerves meant that you checked your ticket a good twenty times before entering the plane.
"Aisle Seat 3B", you repeated to yourself.
Smiling and greeting the staff warmly, you make your way to your seat. You remove your iPad and earphones and place your bag in the overhead locker before sitting in your designated chair. The time was 9:30am, with the plane scheduled for take-off at 9:45am. Your group was the first to enter the aircraft while the rest of the team grabbed coffees for the flight. Wasting no time, you turn up the volume on your Spotify playlist, a mixture of modern and timely classics, before leaning your head back and zoning out to the music.
The first shuffle provided a 1965 classic, The Temptations - My Girl.
~"I've got sunshine on a cloudy day,
When its cold outside,
I've got the month of May,
I guess you'd say,
What can make me feel this way,
My girl..."~
With it being one of your favourite songs to pick up your mood, you hum along, trying to rid the nerves and focus your energy on the playlist.
The stream of remaining teammates enters the plane with flashes of red hoodies and black tracksuit bottoms in your peripheral vision. A hand is placed on your shoulder, and a slight shake releases you from your trance; you remove an AirPod to see Beth and Viv standing over you.
