Page 76 of Redeeming Heart

“Morning,” Isabelle greeted us with a smile and her eyes lingered on me for a moment before she took in the rest of the girls.

“Welcome to my stadium.”

Our eyes scanned around the stadium, taking in the size and how well it’s been taken care of. Most of the new fields are made of synaptic, but hers were still grass.

“So, I heard all of the bad stuff.” She began.

“Getting kicked out from a turf that you rightfully won after a friendly match.”

“Losing your first match even when you were joined by another player.”

“And nobody is interested in sponsoring you because you are has-beens or haven’t proven yourself yet.”

“Am I missing anything?” When she pointed the things out like that it made me cringe.

Her smile baffled me a bit and when she shrugged.

“It’s tough being a girl in this divided world and I for one, am quite impressed with you because you didn’t stand back when those boys intended to humiliate you in front of the world.” That was a relief, but I heard a but coming.

“All of that might be awesome, but it’s not going to win you any medals. I don’t know if any of you realized that things are a bit tougher than what they used to be. Since technology and social media started to exist. Everything you do and say will be held against you forever.”

“People will want to start interviewing you and their questions aren’t going to be nice. Lawyers are expensive, especially in cases like that. Are you girls one hundred percent sure that this is what you want?”

I looked at the girls who were looking at me with determination and gave me curt nods.

“We just want a second chance,” I answered gazing back at her.

She nodded. “It’s not going to be easy since you are part of a club. We will need to find other clubs who are willing to face you on the field before we can even think about going for the international tournament.” She explained.

“You are the most hated team out there.” She said it when she looked directly into my eyes. “Teams want to squash you out of bitterness. Which is not all a bad sign, it gives you some advantage and exposure.”

Looking at the bright side. I don’t think I have a bright side after everything I have caused.

“Before I make any final decisions, I want to see what you’ve got as a team and as an individual.” She said stepping aside and letting us take over the field.

Orange cones were already positioned for us to start with the usual drills and I had a feeling that Isabelle wasn’t going to take it easy on us as she kept pushing and asking for perfection. She wanted us to give it our everything until she got us huffing and puffing—sounding like a bunch of smokers.

She then got us to demonstrate taking a strike at the ball and while everyone’s mission was the smash the ball past Tammy—she for one didn’t let any of our strikes go past her which I thought was great even if we as field players sucked.

I started to get nervous when Isabelle’s face was blank throughout the whole demonstration. I know we weren’t the best team out there, but I believed in us.

“We have a few things we have to work on, but I want to give a big congratulations to Tammy for still being the best goalkeeper. She didn’t let a single ball go past her today.”

We applauded Tammy who took the compliment graciously.

“You’ve got a great team, Adams.” I raised my eyes. “A team that can stand a chance and I am willing to have you use my field. Coach Peterson and I also talked about the possibility of having me as an assisting coach because of understanding what you are going through. Coach Peterson does have the skill to turn each of you into winners, but he needs a female brain to work with other females.”

I couldn’t agree more.

“Your third match is happening this weekend and it is a road game,” Isabelle noted. “We have a lot to do to get ready. Go home and rest up because starting from tomorrow we are going to be working harder than you’ve ever worked.”

She dismissed us and I started leaving with my team when she called my name.

I turned slightly and looked at her as she made her way over to me. “I can see why your team made you captain and why they wanted you on this team. You are being too hard on yourself for something that was completely out of your control. I know what strength and power you hold because I watched you grow up and follow in your mother’s footsteps.”

“I played alongside her for years and I can see you have that same drive.”

I nodded—not knowing what to say.

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