Chapter 42: 28|I am happy

"Okay! Enough suspense, now tell me what you both wanted to tell me!" I announced and the mood uplifted considerably. "Yes." Rose clapped her hand excitedly and looked at dad who gave her an encouraging smile. I furrowed my eyebrows. "So as you know that I am taking photography in school and interning in the same field, I asked Henry if I could do your Athelon photo shoot for The Team as the company I am interning in, is given the contract." "I said why not." Dad shrugged. I literally squealed out of happiness and jumped into his arms. "I thought you will be more comfortable with your friends around, after all. Rose was fit for the job after the original photographer couldn't make it, due to one month delay in shoot." I nodded and thanked him. Aiden and Asher seemed relieved too. Conversation went smoothly after that, until Alex decided to ask the dreaded question- "By the way, how was your date?" And all hell broke loose. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A shrill whistle resounded in my ears and I stopped. Bending on my knees, I panted and clutched my jersey to wipe the sweat. I heard an 'ooh' and looked to my right only to find Xavier, the captain of Wood creek High's soccer team, eyeing my stomach. I glared at him and straightened my jersey. He looked up at me and smirked. "Still the feisty hot chick. Eh?" "Fuck yourself." I flipped him off. "How will I do that alone? Help me?" he pouted and I almost punched him but Felix came and steered me away after glaring at him in pure hate andsomething I couldn't pinpoint. 1-0 In their favour. And its halftime. "Chill, captain. We've got this." Felix assured and removed his gloves while shaking his head like a drowned dog as we joined the rest of the team. I noticed Aiden and Alex in a deep conversation. "Yeah, we've totally got this even when we're losing." I bit back sarcastically and grabbed a bottle. I gulped it down and dried my mouth with my sleeve. Felix rolled his eyes. "We still have second half left. Relax, Astrid." I sighed and nodded. "Sorry, I am just- whatever, I don't want to lose to that asshole." He chuckled and gave me a thumbs up. He was about to jog away when I tugged the back of his jersey and stopped him. "Yeah?" "Uh. You were great back there." I smiled but he bit his lip and shook his head. "No. I wasn't. I could've blocked that goal easily." I rolled my eyes. "You blocked 4 of their attempts. That counts a lot." I patted his back and grinned at him. He gave me a small smile and nodded. "Squirt?" I turned on my heels to come face to face with my brother, Alex and Vince along with coach. "Yeah?" "I think we must change the formation to 4-3-3 or else we won't be able to win if they score another goal." I nodded. "Alright. I, Aiden and Vince will play strikers. Alex, you are doing a great job as defender." I gave him a small smile "Huddle up, team!" In seconds, my whole team circled me. "We are changing our formation to 4-3-3, Aiden is joining me and Vince as striker. We need to step up our offense, all 3 attempts of goal by us were blocked by their goalkeeper. We can't let this happen. But don't let our defence weaken. We've still got it. We can do it. Who's with me on this?" "We can do this!" "Let's show them who owns this field." "Yeah!" It's not like Wood Creek high is a strong team. We have won almost every match against them. They are all talk and no play, especially their captain. That jerk manages to get on my nerves every single time. Our school hates them with a passion. As for, Summerfield High, they will forever be titled the most despised team. Why? Because they are real competition. With much higher spirit, all of them start preparing themselves for second half. "Show time." I whispered as whistle pierced through the air. Our team managed to get the hold of ball as soon as second half began. Everybody kept a close watch on it, having no intention to let opposition claim it even for a second. Vince dribbled it and upon noticing opposition closing up on him, he used an inside shot and passed the ball to me. I immediately started moving towards the net, making sure to not lose ball. Aiden and Caleb were on either side of me, keeping a close look. I used a standard shot and kicked the ball. It flew high at an angle, I crossed my fingers and hoped that the jerk Xavier will fail to block it. He failed. He jumped to his side to block it but missed the ball by an inch or two. As soon as the ball kissed the net, bleachers erupted into cheers and hoots. 1-1 I smiled in relief as Aiden ruffled my hair and Jeremy high fived me. "Great shot, cap." Caleb saluted and jogged away to his position. I am going to win this effing game. 2 corners and 1 goal on each side later, we were tied at a score of 2-2. "If I am right, there are about 5 minute or so, left." I nodded at Alex. Licking my lips, I clutched my waist and panted lightly. Vince managed to score a goal but then Max from opposite team had to go and tie us again. "We need to step up our game." Alex nodded and jogged away. I caught Aiden's sight and he mouthed 'we've got this' to me. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up. As if on cue, referee blew his whistle. Opposition got hold of ball and I flared in frustration. Closing up on the opponent with ball, Alex confused him and skillfully snatched it from him. He dribbled it for a while and then kicked it towards Seb. The ball flew straight towards him and Seb quickly head butted it towards Justin. I panicked. If Alex was right, then we had to score faster. As if on cue, Justin kicked the ball and passed it to Aiden. Aiden skilfully meandered through the Wood Creek High's team as we covered him. He stuck his leg forward and kicked the ball with his toe. Everything suddenly went slow. Bleachers went quiet after a collective gasp as the ball flew straight towards Xavier who was squatted with arms wide, ready to block. Ball went on an angle and he jumped to stop it but missed it by an inch, exactly like he missed my goal. My eyes went wide as the ball kissed the net and assured our victory just in time referee blew his whistle as end of time. Bleachers went wild. Everybody started shouting and cheering. Cheerleaders started jumping and dancing wildly with their pom-poms. I squealed and jumped on Aiden, hugging him tightly. After approximately 3.5 seconds, we were tackled on the grass by my whole damn team. "Whoo hoo!" "We did it!" "We won!" I laughed despite the weight on me. Lifting my head up, I met Xavier's glare. Giving him a mocking smirk, I flashed him his favourite thing- my middle finger. He threw his gloves down and stormed off. I chuckled quietly and threw my team off me. "Guys. Guys. Its soccer not football! Get the eff off me!" They laughed and got up. I turned and saw Aiden smiling at me. I hugged him again. "You were amazing, bro!" he laughed and let go of me as other members came to congratulate Aiden. "We won!" Felix cheered and hugged me tightly. I chuckled in his arms. "Of course we did! Now get off me! You smell like a pig." "Gee, thanks captain. As if you smell like heaven." He scoffed and rolled his eyes. I hit his head but he dodged and ran away. "You scored." I turned on my heels and grinned at a beaming Alex. "I did." He didn't make a move so I just rolled my eyes and hugged him. He froze but then breathed out and wrapped his arms around me. "I am proud of you. You are an amazing captain." He mumbled against my hair and I got this strange feeling because of his words. I didn't need words, I replied by tightening my arms. I am happy.