Hey guys, thanks for all the support on my first chapter - you're all legends.

To thank you, I present you with the gift of part 2 (:

Enjoy x

The school football team had been performing better than ever since Nat had joined their ranks. For the first time in the school's history, the team had made it into the final of the regional cup - everyone was very excited.

The final was on a Saturday morning at another school in Greater Manchester and so the team was travelling there on the minibus.

Nat jumped out of bed that morning buzzing with excitement. She hurried downstairs after checking the time - she was cutting in finely to be able to get to school on time. No matter how early she set her alarm, she would always be nearly late. On the table next to her sports bag was a note, it read: Morning Nat, good luck for the final, sorry I can't be there. Mum xx

…

Rachel was very annoyed that she couldn't be at the match to offer the school, and Nat, her support. As their headteacher, she felt she should be there - but sadly, an important meeting had been called by the LEA that she couldn't miss. Instead she had made Eddie promise to text her to let her know what was going on and had given him a message to pass onto the students.

…

When she arrived, Mr Lawson was standing outside the school waiting for her. "Hurry up Mason! We're all waiting for you!"

Nat wasn't quite sure who in the school knew she was Ms Mason's daughter - she didn't think many people did (they didn't mention it if they did) only Mr Lawson commented on it. He and her mum had been growing closer ever since their first day at the school although, he was careful to only call Nat 'Mason' when they were alone as he wouldn't want to embarrass or upset her.

"Nervous?" He asked as they walked to the hall where everyone else was waiting.

"A little… but excited too."

A quarter of an hour later and the team, plus Mr Clarkson, Miss Koreshi and Mr Lawson were on their way to Manchester High School. Some of the older girls, who were sitting at the back of the bus were singing and dancing along to some dreadful music. Nat had put in some earbuds and was listening to her favourite Blondie album - Parallel Lines. It was her go to soundtrack for getting in the zone before a game. As she listened, she envisioned the game and winning the cup - but in the pit of her stomach, she had this feeling that she had never felt before.

…

The referee's whistle blew and the match started. The noise of the crowd grew and rattled around her head. She needed to focus.

Instantly, Nat could tell the opposing team were good. They held formation well and kept possession of the ball even better. Eventually, the inevitable came and they scored. It was a great goal - a header from a corner. Waterloo Road had to push harder.

Just before halftime, the ball landed at Nat's feet in their half and she spotted an opening down the wing. Her lungs burned as she ran and her muscles screamed for mercy but she kept running. She could hear the pounding feet and gasping breaths of the defenders behind her and it forced her to up her pace. She kept her head up to look for someone to pass to but no one seemed to be coming, she didn't have time to sit and wait for them. With a slick bit of skill she ended up in the box, one on one with the keeper. She couldn't mess up now.

The ball slid between the goalies legs and hit the back of the net with a small thud as the ref blew her whistle for half time.

…

Once he had finished celebrating the goal, Eddie tapped a message into his phone and clicked send. 1:1 at the break. Nat is on fire! Hope LEA meeting isn't too boring

…

The run down the wing had exhausted Nat and she was glad of the chance to have a drink and sit down. The rest of the team looked knackered too. They had been working so hard to shut down all the opposition's chances on goal.

After a motivational talk from Mr Clarkson and Mr Lawson (on behalf of Ms Mason) they headed back out onto the pitch, pumped for the second half.

After a shaky start, Waterloo Road got the ball into the opposing half for a chance to get on top.

"Go Maxine!" "Yes Maxine!" Were the shouts from the sidelines as she was passed the ball just outside of the box.

Maxine spied Nat moving into a good position near the far post and crossed it over to her.

Nat jumped into the air to meet the ball and suddenly realised she had company - one of the defenders had gone for the ball too. The defender was massive compared to her, she had no chance.

As the ball came in she noticed that the defender was attempting to kick the ball away - by her head…

…

Nat hit the floor with a thud, falling into a crumpled heap as the referee blew her whistle and ran over.

"Hey, you good?" She asked, gesturing for a coach to come over.

Nat groaned and sat up, rubbing her head, "I think so…"

After persuading everyone she was fine, and could still play, Nat rejoined the game - desperate to see it till the end. The referee had given their team a penalty and given the defender a red card, she had been totally reckless.

Maxine took a deep breath before taking a run to the penalty spot - her foot struck the ball heavily, sending it into the top corner.

Eddie pulled out his phone and tapped out a quick message 2:1!

…

After the penalty, there was still around a quarter of the game left - so it was all still to play for. Five minutes later, Nat began to feel a bit weird. She knelt down on the ground by the corner flag as she was suddenly overcome by a queasy, dizzy feeling that she couldn't shake off.

"Shit! Nat!" Mr Lawson ran over to the girl as she tried to stop herself from throwing up.

…

The LEA meeting was in full swing when Rachel felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, she pulled it out and saw it was Eddie - he wouldn't be calling unless it was important.

She apologised and stepped outside.

"Eddie? What's up?"

"Hey Rach, sorry to bother you but someone needs to come and pick Nat up. Yours is the only number we have on record."

"Is she alright?" Rachel began to fill with worry.

"We don't think it's too serious but she's had a head injury so it's best to get her checked out."

"Oh god, I'll be right there."

...

Usually sitting on the sidelines would be absolute torture for Nat but she really wasn't feeling up to doing much else.

Her head was pounding and she felt a little woozy. Her neck was beginning to ache too. She didn't want to say anything though and make a fuss, she wasn't a fan of being the centre of attention and even if she was - the football game unfolding in front of them was too stressful to take your eyes off. Waterloo Road were still 2:1 up with ten minutes to go,

…

Rachel arrived a few minutes later and drove Nat straight to the hospital despite her daughter's pleas to be able to stay till the end. She was going to oblige and let her stay but after Nat almost collapsed again - Rachel wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Mr Lawson promised to call at the end of the match and finally Nat was persuaded to get into her mum's car.

…

After running a few tests and scans the doctors determined that Nat had a concussion and whiplash and would have to spend the night on a ward for observation. By the time Eddie phoned, Nat was high on painkillers and had nearly forgotten about the final. Rachel spoke quietly on the phone on the other side of the ward and returned a dew minutes later.

"Hey Nat," she whispered to her half-asleep daughter. "They held on, sweetheart. You won the cup."

"Oh really? That's good," Nat mumbled as she drifted off into a deep sleep. The only thing that had been keeping her awake was the anxiety over the final score.

Whilst sitting next to her sleeping daughter, Rachel realised she had never really expressed how proud she was of her. Nat had taken everything life had ever thrown at her with maturity and grace and hardly ever complained - as long as football wasn't interrupted that was. She gave herself a mental reminder to show how proud she was of her two daughters more often. They deserved it.

Nat had never wanted to go to school before but being stuck at home with nothing to do, and no football to play was awful. She had never felt so bored in her life.

It had started off alright, as she was in too much pain to worry about anything else. As she began to feel better a few days later, she wanted to be able to go out and about, but her mum wasn't having that. She had to wait till she was fully symptom free (doctor's advice). She was so bored, she even caught up on a bit of homework, when her head wasn't feeling too fuzzy of course. That was why, when her mum finally brought up the option of going back a week and a half later - she jumped at the chance, even if she still wasn't feeling 100%.

Stepping into the bustling corridors again was a bit of a shock to the system but she settled in easily enough after a few hours and quite enjoyed being back into school life.

The next day didn't go so great, the paracetamols she'd taken seemed to have no effect. Her mum didn't want her missing anymore school so persuaded her to go in anyway.

"I'm sure a bit of fresh air and a change of scenery will do you good. You felt better yesterday right?"

Her mum had a busy day ahead of her and was about to leave the house. Not wanting to argue with her and make her late, Nat agreed and forced herself to get out of bed.

After break, Nat had English. Which was her worst lesson and having Mr Budgen just made it even worse. And it was a double lesson!

The smell of food as she exited the canteen made the already nauseous feeling in her stomach feel even worse.

Before going to class, she headed to the toilets and splashed some cold water on her face to hopefully wake herself up a little bit. She checked her bag for some paracetamol to relieve some of the pain but realised she'd brought none with her. Nat went up to her mum's office to see if she had any but she was in a meeting.

Due to this, she was a little late to Mr Budgen's lesson, who, when she arrived, was in a very bad mood.

"You're late Natalie," he said in his usual obnoxious tone. "After missing a few weeks of school I would've thought you'd be wanting to get here on time to catch up. Or do you not care about progressing in my lessons?"

Nat sighed and tried not to rise to the patronising old bugger and sat down in her seat only opening her mouth to apologise for her tardiness.

Mr Budgen spent most of the lesson rambling about the themes in Of Mice and Men - a book which Nat had never understood. When he called on her to answer a question, Nat had nothing to say. She felt herself blushing as she opened her mouth and hastily closed it again.

"I don't know, Sir," she said eventually.

"You don't know… you don't know…" Nat looked down at her shaking hands as her teacher mocked her, "Course you don't know. Have you even read the book?"

"I have but…" She really had read it - twice in fact.

"Don't try and lie to me or I'll send you to the cooler! Now get on with your work and prove to me you actually have a brain in that head of yours."

"Sorry Sir." The pounding in her head grew worse as she tried to concentrate on the work in front of her but the words were swimming all over the page. This really was not her day. Why did she let her mum persuade her to get out of bed?

Not long later, Nat put up her hand.

"What?" Mr Budgen's voice was filled with annoyance at being interrupted again.

"I don't feel well Sir, can I-"

"-haven't I already told you to get on with your work?"

Nat sighed and looked back down at her book. She daren't ask again.