My Last First Love #Wattys2016

Chapter 28

"This is it boys, all the hours of training, the drills, the sacrifices... everything! All boils down to this, this match."

I was standing by the extreme corner of the room listening to the coach talk.

"Play time is over boys, this is the real thing. Tonight you go out there and become men!" he paused and looked at all of us.

"Go out there and own the field! Own the ball and own the goals!!"

"Yes!! Everyone cheered!

"AGT?" He yelled.

"Winners!" we responded.

"AGT!"

"Winners! Winners!! Winners!!!"

We clapped as we ran out into the field. The cheers that erupted was enough to stop me in my tracks. I should have gotten used to it, use to the roar of the crowd but each time I stepped into an auditorium or the field, I was always overwhelmed. I walked behind my team mates until we were in the middle of the field overlooking the crowd. We stood with puffed up chests as our names where called one by one.

"...Kunbi Peters- captain of the Avant Grade team" I heard my name as I scanned the crowd and immediately spotted my parents and Tracey sitting at their usual spot. They waved at me and I gave them a smile that didn't reach my eyes. The reason why I was not happy was no secret, I noticed Kemi was not around. This was the first match she was not going to be around for and also the first Valentine's Day we would spend apart.

The day I found out her SAT was the same day as my football match, was the day I figured out that or lives were becoming so different and I did not want that.

"I know that you and Kemi grew up together and basically did everything together but son, a time would come when you both will want different things and go different places" My mum told me when I complained to her that Kemi was not going to be around for my match.

"You are good at sports and she is interested in Academics. You want to study Law and Kemi wants to study computer science. Can't you see that you both want different things and at some point in time you would have to split?"

"No mum!" I argued with her "I know we want different things but we would be in the same university so we would always be together."

"Whatever you say son. I am sure Kemi would have been at your game if she was not travelling to Abuja for her SAT."

That conversation was only a week ago but somehow I felt cheated that she was not here with me! At this moment, to perform our ritual before my match.

"Are you ready?" Bill asked me, as he put his arm around me.

"Err!" I searched the crowd hoping for some miracle, that I would see Kemi but instead, I found Trisha waving at me furiously and smiling ear to ear. She was wearing a team shirt which was sold for supporters and she really was beautiful. I waved back at her before I answered Bill "I guess so."

"No second guesses man, this is it!"

I looked around the crowd again and sighed "Let's win this thing!"

We started running to our various positions, when the whistle went off.

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I sipped on my strawberry drink and glanced at my wristwatch- sliver with little diamond stones embedded around the round frame. It was a new watch my dad gave me yesterday when I was dropped off at the airport.

"Always be time conscious darling, especially when you are answering your questions. Do not spend too much time on a question you don't know or understand okay?"