Page 105 of Redeeming Heart

“Let’s go and rattle their cages and have fun doing it,” I said, bringing in my hand. My whole team brought in their hands and we looked at each other determinedly.

We brought our hands up in unison and cheered rebels before jogging out of the locker room once we were called to the field.

I braced myself for the disappointment of hearing the booing crowd. I followed my team and ignored the crowd booing us once again.

“We are facing the favorites today,” Megan said, reminding me when I caught the look of their team.

“We shouldn’t underestimate them,” I noted, sharing a knowing look with everyone.

“Our game plan is the same as the others until said otherwise. I don’t trust these girls because they are fast and sneaky.” They nodded and then the coach discussed the game plan.

I felt like sitting out the first 7 minutes of the game just so I could keep an eye on them from the side, but my team needed me.

“I know that look,” Briana commented when we broke apart to get ready for the coin toss.

“They are going to come after me,” I told her when I caught the opposing team glaring at me and their plan was obvious. Remove me from the play so they can move in on my team members.

“Why do you say that?” She asked.

“What makes a team weak?” I questioned, referring to something we learned during hockey camp back in school.

She thought for a while and I could hear the gear in her head working.

“How do you want to play this?” She then asked.

“Let’s give them one hell of a start,” I said.

“Ah, hell, that’s my favorite part.” She said, jogging over to her position when the umpire called us to the center

“I want the first touch of the ball,” I told Clarissa when we made our way over to where they stood waiting for us.

“I hope that destiny is on our side.” She muttered.

I kept my face blank when I called heads. The umpire tossed the coin and I bit back a smile when we won the coin toss.

I went to the center circle as instructed and nodded my head at my team who got into their positions.

I inhaled a breath to calm my racing heart and remind myself to keep breathing. I turned to face the other team who was also in their positions and waiting for me. I got down into a squat position and showed the umpire I was ready.

At the blow of the whistle, I knocked the ball back and trusted my team to be ready to receive it. Our opposition was on us the minute the ball got released.

I haven’t met a team as strong as them in a while and I was overwhelmed for the first few seconds of the game, but soon got my feet and my mind working.

Nobody scored in the first seven minutes of the game and tension levels were all over the place. I was caught in the middle of a player knocking my feet out from underneath me when I was going for the ball.

I cringed when my elbow made the first impact with my body following. I heard the sound of loud cheers and every bit of my soul slowly evaporated to a point where I was ready to give them hell.

I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the pain shooting up from my elbow, and got back into the game. They had their first goal of the game and I felt the pressure.

We headed over to our bench when the umpire called for our first break. The medics had a look at my elbow while I nibbled on my protein bar trying to figure out how we were going to smash them.

“They are too fast,” Megan complained.

“We can catch them,” I informed her throwing the empty wrapper into my bag and getting to my feet, checking up on my arm before re-joining my team.

“How are you feeling?” Clarissa asked, gesturing at my arm.

“I’m fine,” I assured everyone.

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