Chapter 2
August 16, 2022 at 8:30 am
The game would start in half an hour. Both teams were warming up on their respective halves of the field. Samantha scanned the crowd. Joshua sat with his mother. They were talking to her parents.
He came to every game. She thought. Despite their huge argument, he had come to every game as he had promised. Maybe there was a chance for her to talk to him.
How could you after those horrible things you said to him? Samantha asked herself. She wasn't paying attention and her teammate, Justine, threw the ball at her. It conked her in the head.
"Ow!" Samantha cried out.
"Sorry! Hey what's going on?" Justine asked her.
"It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention." Samantha replied.
"Sam, you have to focus. The game starts in fifteen." Justine told her.
"You're right. Toss me the ball." Samantha said.
"You gonna catch it this time?" Justine asked. Samantha rolled her eyes.
"Throw it to me."
WWWWWWWWWW
Sportacus came to center field and blew his whistle. He had been allowed to referee the championship game despite having obvious loyalty to the LazyTown Leopards. The above average hero promised to be impartial and both sides had seemed satisfied but seeing as they needed at least two officials another was chosen to help officiate the game.
Both teams circled the two officials and listened to what they had to say. Sportacus began to talk while the other official did an equipment check.
"All right ladies. You all know the rules. No metal spikes, metal clips in your hair or big scrunchies. We all want a fair game. No tripping, slide tackling, or bad-mouthing. Mr. Booth and I will call what we think is necessary and we will not be afraid to use the yellow and red cards. Good luck ladies. Captains stay here." Everyone returned to their respective benches.
Sportacus flipped a coin. The FunTown Falcons won and they chose to defend the north end of the field. Returning to their benches, the captains told everyone what end they were defending. Both teams took the field and Sportacus shouted down to the FunTown goalie.
"Are you ready?" The girl raised her hand and Sportacus did the same signaling that they were ready. Then he turned to Samantha and did the same thing. When she signaled she was ready, the whistle was blown and the game began.
The FunTown Falcons charged their way down the field. Defenders for the Leopards challenged them at every turn. Finally the ball was stolen away and the LazyTown Leopards started to make their way down the field.
Back and forth the two teams went, neither one gaining ground. Finally, one of the Leopards made a mistake and a girl from the Falcons capitalized on it. The girl came charging in on Samantha as the defense struggled to get back.
Samantha came out on the charging player, hoping to cut the angle down. This made the girl nervous and she tried to move away from Samantha but she was too close. Quickly, she fired a shot that Samantha easily grabbed. A cry went up from the stands.
The ball sailed through the air as it came off of Samantha's foot. She had taped her laces as Stephanie had suggested. It was obvious that it had worked. The ball landed right at Justine's feet. Quickly, the midfielder turned on the jets and shot up the field.
"One minute!" Shouted Sportacus. This meant they only had one minute until the end of the half. Justine passed the ball to Lindsay, another midfielder.
"Defense!" Shouted the Falcons goalkeeper. She noticed that they wouldn't be in time and she came out to cut down Lindsay's angle. Lindsay made one swift move and the ball found Justine's foot. Quickly, the midfielder blasted it off towards the net.
"Ten seconds!" Came another shout from Sportacus. The Falcons goalie realized too late that she had overcommitted as the soccer ball found the back of the net.
"GOAL!" Shouted Mr. Booth, he then blew his whistle signaling for the ball to be returned to midfield. The fans went wild in the stands.
"Halftime!" Sportacus blew his whistle and the teams left the field. Samantha and her teammates congratulated each other.
To Be Continued…
