Well, I'll Wait 'Til You Listen, I Won't Say a Word
In Which The Championship Is Played.
The volume of voices was insane as we walked onto the field. Almost everyone had shown up, it appeared, and everyone was excited. The first thing I did was scan the bleachers for Adam and Matt. I caught Adam’s eye and waved, and he waved back. My eyes and Matt’s locked for a moment, but he looked away immediately. Well, at least he came. He was still true to his word.
Our team gathered on the far side of the field near the goal. It was time for a pep talk. Coach Thompson went first.
“Girls, this has been an incredible season,” he began. “You’ve worked long and hard for this, and you’ve done a great job. Just go out there and show them how fantastic Middleborough is. I know you’ll be great, even if we don’t win,” he turned to me. “Lane, do you have anything to add?”
“We’re a great team. Morris might be tough, but we’re even better. Just go out there and show them who’s tougher.” Ria and Rebecca high fived me.
“Well said. Head out to your positions,” said Coach Thompson. “Good luck.”
The whistle blew, and I passed the ball over to Leah, who dribbled up the field, passing to Ria. A defender from Morris kicked the ball back downfield.
The game looked a lot like that for the first 15 minutes. We had a great offense, but Morris had an awesome defense. We couldn’t get through.
At the very end of the first quarter, I finally got passed the defenders and made the first goal of the game. You could tell the girls from Morris were mad. They thought they had us covered.
So in the middle of the second quarter, they scored on us. Annie, our goalie, dived to catch it, but it rolled past her fingertips. The score stayed tied all the way through the rest of the second quarter and the entire third quarter.
When we went to the sidelines before the last quarter, Coach Thompson was nervous.
“Try to hold them off and get a goal quickly. I have a feeling that only one team will score during this quarter, and they’ll be the ones who win.” We nodded and went back onto the field.
I grabbed the ball right away, dribbling up the field as quickly as I could, dodging defenders. Suddenly, I felt someone’s foot tangling up in my feet, and I fell to the ground with a thump. But the pain didn’t stop there. A defender had kept running because she hadn’t seen me on the ground. Her foot made contact with my head.
Immediately, I was seeing double. My head ached more than it ever had before. I moaned in pain. I couldn’t get up, though I was trying to.
After a moment, I heard Ria’s voice over my head.
“Lanie?! Lanie, can you hear me?” she said, panicking. I groaned in response.
“Get. Coach.” I managed to say.
“Okay, okay!” I heard her feet rush away. I saw Leah, Rebecca, and one of our defense girls, Hannah, hovering over me, speaking quickly. I couldn’t understand them. There was two of each of them.
Finally, Coach Thompson came over and kneeled next to me. “Lane, can you hear me? Can you stand up?”
“I can’t.” I choked out. I felt close to fainting.
Coach turned to Rebecca. “What happened?”
“I think she got kicked in the head.” She replied.
“Alright,” he said. “Call an ambulance. She might have a concussion.”
Rebecca turned and ran toward the sidelines. I groaned again. There were sharp pains in the side of my head, and I was going in and out of consciousness.
I saw another pair of feet run up and then kneel next to me. I saw two pairs of bright brown eyes above me, and I knew who it was right away.
“Adam?”
“Yeah, Lanie. It’s me. The ambulance will be here in a minute,” he brushed some hair away from my face. “Don’t worry. Just hold on a little longer.” I held on to his hand tightly.
Another moment passed, I heard another voice over my head. “Oh God, Lane. What happened?” Blue eyes came into focus.
“Matt?”
I finally blacked out.
Our team gathered on the far side of the field near the goal. It was time for a pep talk. Coach Thompson went first.
“Girls, this has been an incredible season,” he began. “You’ve worked long and hard for this, and you’ve done a great job. Just go out there and show them how fantastic Middleborough is. I know you’ll be great, even if we don’t win,” he turned to me. “Lane, do you have anything to add?”
“We’re a great team. Morris might be tough, but we’re even better. Just go out there and show them who’s tougher.” Ria and Rebecca high fived me.
“Well said. Head out to your positions,” said Coach Thompson. “Good luck.”
The whistle blew, and I passed the ball over to Leah, who dribbled up the field, passing to Ria. A defender from Morris kicked the ball back downfield.
The game looked a lot like that for the first 15 minutes. We had a great offense, but Morris had an awesome defense. We couldn’t get through.
At the very end of the first quarter, I finally got passed the defenders and made the first goal of the game. You could tell the girls from Morris were mad. They thought they had us covered.
So in the middle of the second quarter, they scored on us. Annie, our goalie, dived to catch it, but it rolled past her fingertips. The score stayed tied all the way through the rest of the second quarter and the entire third quarter.
When we went to the sidelines before the last quarter, Coach Thompson was nervous.
“Try to hold them off and get a goal quickly. I have a feeling that only one team will score during this quarter, and they’ll be the ones who win.” We nodded and went back onto the field.
I grabbed the ball right away, dribbling up the field as quickly as I could, dodging defenders. Suddenly, I felt someone’s foot tangling up in my feet, and I fell to the ground with a thump. But the pain didn’t stop there. A defender had kept running because she hadn’t seen me on the ground. Her foot made contact with my head.
Immediately, I was seeing double. My head ached more than it ever had before. I moaned in pain. I couldn’t get up, though I was trying to.
After a moment, I heard Ria’s voice over my head.
“Lanie?! Lanie, can you hear me?” she said, panicking. I groaned in response.
“Get. Coach.” I managed to say.
“Okay, okay!” I heard her feet rush away. I saw Leah, Rebecca, and one of our defense girls, Hannah, hovering over me, speaking quickly. I couldn’t understand them. There was two of each of them.
Finally, Coach Thompson came over and kneeled next to me. “Lane, can you hear me? Can you stand up?”
“I can’t.” I choked out. I felt close to fainting.
Coach turned to Rebecca. “What happened?”
“I think she got kicked in the head.” She replied.
“Alright,” he said. “Call an ambulance. She might have a concussion.”
Rebecca turned and ran toward the sidelines. I groaned again. There were sharp pains in the side of my head, and I was going in and out of consciousness.
I saw another pair of feet run up and then kneel next to me. I saw two pairs of bright brown eyes above me, and I knew who it was right away.
“Adam?”
“Yeah, Lanie. It’s me. The ambulance will be here in a minute,” he brushed some hair away from my face. “Don’t worry. Just hold on a little longer.” I held on to his hand tightly.
Another moment passed, I heard another voice over my head. “Oh God, Lane. What happened?” Blue eyes came into focus.
“Matt?”
I finally blacked out.