Making Goals

2.0

A/N: Apparently Co-ed College teams are a thing... Rare, though.

For content purposes, I'll be abusing that truth.


Miranda gently opened the door to her apartment, mildly aggravated by the volume of a song drifting through the air.

Before her stood Jane Shepard, clad in a black sports bra and a pair of matching athletic shorts. Her lips danced as she sang along to Dion & The Belmont's original song, The Wanderer. The volume of her voice hitched as the chorus approached, "loud and proud" as she organized some books upon a lone wood shelving unit. Apparently the young woman had figured out how to attach her phone to the televisions audio system.

"...I'm the type of guy that likes to roam around. I'm never in one place, I roam from town to town. And when I find myself fallin' for some girl... Yeah, I hop right into that car of mine, I drive around the world. Yeah I'm a wanderer. Yeah, a wanderer. I roam around, around, around, around-"

As Jane turned, their eyes locked. Shepard fell silent and quickly fumbled around for her phone, smashing the white pause icon on its glassy LCD screen. "Uh- sorry. I didn't hear you come in..."

"Can't hear much of anything with music that loud, I'm sure."

Oddly enough, Shepard seemed unfazed by the Aussie's brute comment. "Jane Shepard," she introduced.

"I'm well aware." Miranda set her books down on her study-table. "Miranda Lawson."

"I'm well aware," she returned, no doubt teasing. It definitely didn't go unnoticed by Miranda, for she fell silent. "What major are you?"

"As of right now, physics. Top of my class, top marks in the history of the program..." Miranda's icy eyes locked onto Jane's piercing green. "To maintain these statistics, I am going to ask that you refrain from providing an outside distraction. Or multiple. Whichever you feel more prone to offer."

Not liking the tone of her new roommate, Jane crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. "Do me a favor and replace the stick that's up your ass with a lamp." Miranda's eyes narrowed. "That way maybe you'll lighten up."

In all honesty, Miranda wasn't angry. She was amused. Before any snark remarks could be fired from either one of their lips, Shepard's music started up again, louder this time.

"Oops," the red-head yelled over her tunes, "looks like I pushed a few buttons. I do that a lot." Miranda's lips twitched. That was probably the biggest understatement she had ever heard.


"...She's our Coach?"

"Play your cards right, maybe she'll choose you as Captain. Then you can spend every waking moment with her, planning every little thing that happens from here on out."

"I'm guessing you were stuck in that position once?"

"Yep," a pop was added for emphasis, "...withdrew my reign as soon as the night ended."

"I regret many choices in my life," Shepard sighed, "and joining this team is one of them."

At the side of the field Shepard and another lanky red-head sat, discussing their lovable coach.

"Her blue eyes could make a team forfeit in seconds," they drafted.

"Her hair is so big because it's full of secrets," Kelly began.

"...And black because she wanted something to low-key reflect her soul," Shepard finished.

Knowing that the two were talking about her, Miranda turned to look at them head-on. "Chambers, Shepard, get over here and start passing."

The two girls did as they were told and rushed over to the far net, grabbed a soccer ball, and began prodding it around. All the while the rest of the team joined in under Miranda's command, shuffling quickly in hopes to impress one another. It was Varsity's first day and Shepard was interested in seeing what The Great Cerberus had to offer.

"We got it going, let's roll." Miranda was focused and snappy as she began ordering the girls around. One by one the ball skipped down the field, expertly bouncing off the soles of each team member. "Don't be lazy with the passes, get them in. Nice and clean. Everything is quick and sharp."

It took a few moments before Shepard fell back into a familiar rhythm. God, how she had missed this... the feel of the wind smashing against her as a ball thudded thoughtlessly against her feet. Slowly she could hear the crowd around her roar to life- cheering her name, the Prodigy of Soccer. She was the best player of her day and she knew it. She lived it. She had to.

The overcast sky brought a drop of temperature, and everything inside and out of Shepard started to cool.

"Lawson, do you think we could do a practice game?" Shepard stopped with the ball as Jack Zero dove for it, accidentally sending her to the ground. The bald woman let out a string of curses as she brushed off some lone strands of grass from her knees.

Miranda cocked a brow, if only for a moment. "I suppose. Though, for the record, I have a plan Shepard, and I really don't enjoy you throwing it into a disarray."

"Noted."

With a small purse of her lips Miranda turned around towards a blue plastic bin. "After a quick water break, we'll split apart. Shirts versus skins." As she popped off the top she began calling the names of the Shirts, respectively. "Jane Shepard, Jack Zero, Gabriella Daniels, Jacob Taylor..." One by one Miranda Lawson gave out the team jerseys for the year.

Being honest with herself, Shepard quickly and highly approved of the original Cerberus design. That was something Cerberus University always had: Style. The orange stripes of the jersey accented well against the fresh, crisp hexagonal pattern of the rest of the shirt. With a soft athletic netting atop the shoulders, the Jersey was just as easily made for comfort. As Shepard turned the new article of clothing around, she was happy to see that her old number 4 (now decorated in orange) was still in place.

"You lot are on offense," Miranda concluded. As she marched towards the pile of soccer balls at the end of the field, no doubt to grab the best one, the rest of the team ran to the sidelines to grab their chance at a quick water break.

Shepard was the first to break the silence. "What happened to your hair?"

"Last semester our dorm found out that the RA had cancer. So, we shaved our heads for her in support," Jack replied.

"Is she okay?" Kelly asked.

"...It's cancer."

Shepard fell silent. Jack tossed back the rest of her water bottle and turned to Miranda. "Are you sure you're up for this? I personally think you'd be better off as the cheerleader."

Miranda, now outfitted in the same jersey as the rest of her team, tossed Jack a searing glare. "Don't forget who holds authority here, Zero." Each word came out laced with venom. Even Shepard was worried for a moment.

Clicking her teeth and turning away, Jack figured it best to leave Miranda alone... For the time being.

No more words were said until all players held their respective spots on the field. Without warning the ball came under the command of Shepard. Her passes were quick, sure, and perfect... Proof that she was a legacy, no doubt. Her ailment affected her performance little to none, but nonetheless, everyone could sense that she'd be sore the next day. But in that moment, Shepard didn't care. She was free again. Her heart soared as the ball soared into her goal.

She was back, baby.


"Shepard. A word?"

Kelly gently passed Shepard, pressing her hand against her shoulder before whispering a crisp "good luck".

In the distance the sun began to set, turning the field around them dark. It was nature's way of telling the team that practice was over. A few lights offered them solace under the dim sky.

After removing her gaze from Kelly, she let it settle upon the raved-haired girl across from her. "Of course."

There was no dancing around the question. Miranda didn't do that, she was always short and to the point. Shepard actually admired that about her. "Would you like to be team captain?"

"It's my first day here. Are you sure that's something that you'd like?" Shepard questioned.

"As much as I'd like to find someone else, you're the best candidate." Miranda replied.

Or the only candidate, Shepard thought. From what Kelly told her, that could very much be the case.

Miranda continued forward, taking Shepard's silence as a concern. "You've been captain of the Citadel team for a year, and everyone knows you have plenty of knowledge to share. If it weren't for the accident last year, you would have scraped by us and earned a shot in the championship." The young woman didn't like admitting these things, but she knew she had to say whatever was necessary in this case. Cerberus needed Shepard.

Shepard pursed her lips. Miranda made a hard bargain. "As long as I get to call the shots, it's a deal."

"Just remember who's really in charge."

Shepard crossed her arms and lifted her chin.

"See you at the dorms."

"Wait," the arms that she had so meticulously crossed flew outward, as if she could stop Miranda with some simple movements. "Miranda, wait-" Shepard quickly began gathering all of the soccer balls that littered the field. "MIRANDA-"

Pale features made an appearance once more.

"One of the many tasks of the Captain is post-practice clean-up."