I don't own Home Alone
A/N: Name of the high school and mascots are made up for I did not know what high school the McCallister teens attended. Also, thank you for all of your reviews thus far.
The car ride to the high school felt like an eternity towards Megan. Throughout the whole trip she tried to keep her mind focused on the upcoming game but how could she when she continuously heard Jeff's and Becky's whispers about the newspapers, Kevin and Buzz fighting, and Linnie listening loudly to her walkman. She leaned forward on her seat and rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers, trying her hardest to subdue the incoming headache.
"Like I said, pictures of the opponents and the action of the game..."
"Stop it you moron!"
It's the eye of the tiger...
"I'm hurrying as fast as I can honey!"
Everyone just shut up! Megan wanted to yell at the whole car but kept her anger at bay. Her stomach began to growl from the lack of food that she had ignored to taste and how much she regretted her choice for doing that. She noticed small spots beginning to form in her vision but they quickly disappeared as she gently shook her head from side to side.
"Here we are," Peter finally announced to the family as he stopped the car in the parking lot of the school.
Megan quickly got out of the car and took a deep breath in the fresh air that surrounded her. She felt slightly better than being in a stuffy car but it wasn't enough to make her feel at ease. "I'll see you guys later," she mumbled to the family before heading inside and building and into the locker room where her team was already meeting and she knew that she was already late for that. So much for wanting to be a team captain.
As Megan headed away from them, Becky turned her attention to Jeff. "C'mon, they're already group at the field." Grabbing her brother by the hand, she pulled him alongside with her as they went to meet up with the school newspaper crew to get started on taking some pregame shots.
Kate ran a hand over her husband's arm as she, Peter, Kevin, Buzz, and Linnie headed over to the bleachers. The family got settled in their seats in front of a crowd that was loudly cheering for the opposing team. Linnie had never before been to such a loud game before but she was going to cheer as loudly as she could for her sister. Her eyes scanned around the field as she took in the details of what stood in front of her...until her eyes fell upon Lucas who was wearing his band uniform and holding a trumpet at hand. A small smile formed upon Linnie's lips as she wiggled her fingers in the air towards him. Lucas smiled to her in return and blew her a kiss causing the young girl to blush in return.
Linnie cleared her throat and then looked down at her lap for a mere second, hoping that none of her family members caught her doing that.
In the locker room, Megan quickly headed inside and was welcomed by the presence of her teammates and her coach. All eyes fell upon her when she made her presence known but the one thing that made her wish she was hiding under a rock was the coach icy glare. "I'm very happy that you could join us McCallister," she said to her with a stern expression upon her face, "tardy is frowned upon when you want to be team captain."
Megan felt her face heat up as she heard a couple of her teammates giggling within one another. Without giving it another thought, she quickly headed over to one of the empty seats and occupied it before she could make herself look more like a fool than she already did. She barely heard any word from the current team captain for her mind traveled elsewhere while the team captain gave her speech.
I'm going to mess up...I just know it she thought as she clenched her hands into fists and mashed her lips together.
"Now let's go and kick butt girls!" the team captain exclaimed and there was an uproar within the locker room. Everyone jumped out of their seats and got ready to head into the field.
Megan slowly got up and joined the rest of the group. She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Sara Henderson, the current team captain who had just given her last motivational speech. "Just so you know," she spoke in a whisper, "I've seen how difficult this has been for you, but you're stronger than you think or anyone else thinks."
Megan never had gotten such a compliment from any of her teammates, let alone her coach, until this moment. She took a deep breath and mustered a smile towards Sara. "Thanks," she managed to say to her for she really needed to hear something like that.
Sara gave her shoulder another pat before walking in front of the line. The moment has come and Megan was going to give it all of her best. After all, she had worked herself to the bone for this moment.
"Good evening Winnetka High!" one of the school's journalists yelled into the microphone as a camera was positioned towards her. "We welcome you to a very exciting nigh where our Cardinals face off against the Panthers! With me is my fellow journalist Becky McCallister," she presented her peer towards the camera as the young girl waved her hand, "whose family member, sister Megan McCallister, is participating in tonight's game! Becky," she turned her attention to the redhead, "how does it feel to have your sister taking part in such an exciting game?"
"It's very exciting," Becky simply said, "not only that but it will also give me all the more reason to write about her for the school newspaper. Which reminds me, I have to get my notes ready!" With a quick smile, she quickly disappeared from the camera's attention and ran towards Jeff.
I never want to do something like that again she thought. She hated having such attention towards herself, but it was all the better for the school's newspaper and perhaps some sort of publicity for the school.
"Okay what do we have?" Becky said as she took the pictures from Jeff and sorted through them. This time, the pictures were in focus and she could easily make out the details from the pictures. "I like this one," she pointed to a picture of an open field where one of the soccer players from the opposing team was kicking a soccer ball into the net.
Jeff suddenly looked up from the pictures when he looked over at the announcer. "Becky it's starting!" he held the camera in his hands and prepared to snap photographs on the Cardinals that were running towards the field.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," the announcer bellowed into the megaphone, "here's the Cardinals!"
The school marching band started off with the school's rendition of We Will Rock You much to Becky's suggestions. It was either Eye of the Tiger which she felt was doable but something that didn't fit for the Cardinals or the beginning of You Should Be Dancing. Great song choices, but not very appropriate for the event. However, Becky didn't share that enthusiasm with the rest of the band for she had told Lucas about it and even though he went ahead and ran it with the group, it reminded her of her sister who had kept quiet about her whole relationship with him.
Suddenly snapping out of her thoughts, she looked over as the Cardinals ran into the field and quickly jotted down notes as she looked at each and every team player that was in the group. Her eyes suddenly fell on Megan as she noticed how exhausted she looked though she was trying her hardest not to make it visible to the others. To Becky's side, Jeff began snapping as many pictures as he could.
Over to the bleachers Kate smiled proudly as her eyes fell upon her daughter. Even though she couldn't see her daughter's expressions clearly from the long distance between them, she could sense the enthusiasm that she had...and the pressure that she had put herself in. "I just hope everything goes fine," she whispered mostly to herself though Peter clearly heard her voice of concern.
Her husband reached over to her hand and held it tightly within his. "She's a feisty Cardinal," he said to her with a smile as Kate turned her eyes and looked at him, "and she gets that from you."
Over to the soccer field, Megan took a deep breath as the team formed a group with their coach and team captain as they went over the strategic plan that the coach had formed on a whiteboard. Megan did her best to follow the coach instructions but all she knew was that she was the team's striker and her job was to get the ball to one of her teammates.
"Alright ladies, get into formation," the coach said as the team dispersed to their positions onto the field.
Megan placed her hands on her knees and got ready for the game to begin. Once the ball was kicked off, she and her other teammate quickly kept their eyes on the ball. As the ball rolled back and forth across the dark green field, Megan was having great difficulty keeping an eye on it fearing that it would disappear into thin air. Focus Megan yelled at herself as she ran forward and was about to kick the ball away from the opponent.
However, the opponent quickly moved the ball within her feet and Megan slid onto the grass.
"MEGAN GET UP!" one of her teammates yelled as she quickly sprang to her feet. Now was not the time to make mistakes...though that mistake had already happened for the opponent scored a goal.
Come on Meg, keep your head in the game.
The ball was airborne once again and Megan leaped into the air and hit it with her head towards her teammate who quickly scrambled with it towards the goal. Her heart palpitated against her chest as the ball was kicked into the net but the game had only just begun. There was still more time on the clock and it was crucial to her.
"This is great!" Becky exclaimed as she scribbled on her notebook as quickly as she could. "A head-butt on the ball that lead to the goal...you think it could've hurt her?" she asked no one in particular but the notebook as if it was going to reply to her question. Talking out loud to herself was one of the many things that Becky found helpful. It got her all the more excited to write.
Jeff however was paying more attention to the photographs that he was taking. He didn't know how many he had snapped up to this point but he hoped that they would at least be good enough for the newspaper.
A fifteen minute break was then announced as both teams took their leave from the field and the band and cheerleaders took their place.
"We need pictures of this!" Becky pointed to the field as Jeff began to snap away. Flashes of light filled the field as the cheerleaders jumped, flipped, and tumbled into the air with the routine that they had learned whilst the band played the school's song.
Megan could hear the music coming from the field and into the locker room, but her attention was elsewhere. Spots were forming into her eyes and she felt dehydrated no matter how much water she drank. Her muscles felt heavy and numb, almost to the point where she thought she couldn't walk but there wasn't much time left. Just a little bit more and it was going to be over. Her mind replayed back throughout the game. So far, the Cardinals were doing pretty good up until the point where there was a tie.
"All I can say is," the coach began, "you girls have done the best you can but there is going to be one to lead us to the victory." Her eyes suddenly fell on Megan and she suddenly looked up at her coach. She felt herself swallow and her hands clench once more. There was that pressure again. Why did she have to be the one to do that? There were plenty of other teammates who had just as strong of a kick as she did. Oh wait, it was to prove that she was going to be a good team captain.
Megan's only response was with a nod of her head to the coach. She was going to do it...and she was going to make sure that the team won.
Heading back into the field after that fifteen minute break was like a breath of fresh air. Almost like the start of something new. Megan looked over at the scoreboard and took a deep breath. 10 - 10 and one point to finish it all. First, the opponent took her strike only to have the ball be caught squarely by the goalie. It was a pretty strong kick from Megan's perspective but could she reflect the same kick...or an even stronger one?
The soccer ball was placed before her as she stared at it. Sweat beaded upon her forehead as she looked up at the goal and swallowed. The same spots formed in her eyes once again and she felt all the more dehydrated and less energized but she didn't want to succumb to that weakness.
Just do it! she thought to herself as she took off into a sprint and gave the soccer ball as much of a strong kick as she could muster. She heard the soccer ball flying through the air and hitting the net, the crowd, cheerleaders, and the band members cheering as the Cardinals won the game and Megan's eyes slowly beginning to shut.
The last she remembered was her mother screaming her name in panic before her body made contact with the grass.
