Season 6 Chapter 10

The whistle blew, marking the beginning of the second half, the first half score stood at 2-0, with our opponent team leading the game by 2 goals, by now their chest swelled with overconfidence and an annoying smirk played on Emilia's face as she sat in her spot, watching our game. They were clearly looking down on us, especially our beloved coach Emilia, it was the perfect opportunity to crush their pathetic ego, and watch them tremble under our feet. I signaled my teammates, so that we can start our real game, till now, we have been playing clumsy and focusing on our defense, but now, it was time to play offensive.

As the restarted, our team shifted into the 4-2-3-1 formation as planned during our training session. I took my position as the striker, ready to destroy the opponent team's dreams and hopes. With renewed determination, we launched into attack after attack, catching the opposing team off guard. Christina and Maria surged forward in attacking position as midfielders, creating openings and opportunities with their skillful footwork. Choon Hee joined them, her speed and agility proving to be a constant threat to the opposing defense. Meanwhile, Victoria and Hope held down the midfield defense with unwavering determination, intercepting passes and controlling the tempo of the game. Jules, Irina, Lotte, and Ratree formed a solid defensive line, repelling any counterattacks with ease. Julie stood at the goalpost prepared to block any sudden attacks.

As the minutes ticked by, our relentless pressure began to pay off. I seized every opportunity that came my way, driving towards the goal with precision and finesse. With each strike, the crowd broke into disappointment as their school team seemed to be cornered with each score, the opponents' faces turned pale, as they started making basic mistakes because of the sudden change in the gameplay. Despite their initial lead, the opposing team struggled to keep up with our relentless onslaught. Their defense crumbled under the relentless pressure, and one by one, the goals began to pile up in our favor.

With each goal I scored, the smirk on Emilia's face faded into disbelief. Our opponents were stunned by our sudden resurgence, unable to comprehend how quickly the tide had turned against them. I glanced at Emilia for a second while scoring our last goal, her eyes turned red and face was swollen with anger and hatred, she felt like tearing her hair as she glared at our direction. She stood up and walked off, even before the match came to an end. As  the final whistle blew, the scoreboard read 2-6 in our favor. Our victory was nothing short of a revenge and a slap against all those who underestimated us. While returning, after shaking hands with the opponent team, something caught my attention. It was the whispering, which made me cautious.

Girl 3: But….how is this even possible…..(she murmurs in disbelief)

Girl 5: I know right…..(she looks at her) did that woman lied to us?

Girl 2: Didn't she say that they are useless, and some of them doesn't even know how to play properly? (She gritted her teeth)

Captain: (she glared at them) shut your mouths.

I frowned before getting on the bus as I contemplated regarding the situation, I sat beside Victoria and looked grim at her face.

Victoria: What happened? You don't seem happy. (She raises her brow) We won because of you.

Me: Victoria…..(I hesitated then said in a low voice) I think, someone is leaking our information to opponent schools.

Victoria: What?! (She exclaimed with a surprised and disbelief)

Choon Hee: What's wrong? (Everyone looked at our direction)

Me: Nothing. Everything is fine. (I smiled)

Victoria: Nothing…..(she sighed) I am sorry for causing disturbance.

Me: Jeez….lower your voice. I don't want others to worry unnecessarily. (I said in a low voice while frowning)

Victoria: What do you mean by someone is leaking our information? Who would even think of doing such a awful thing? (She whispers while pinching her forehead getting stressed)

Me: Who else have access to our team's information? Of course our beloved coach. (I rolled my eyes)

Victoria: How are you so sure that she is behind all this? (She looks in my eyes)

Me: Because, I know that our teammates are innocent. (I sighed) So, someone has to be the culprit.

Victoria: What if, it's done by an outsider? Like….maybe Karl? (For a second, she subconsciously doubts Christina)

Me: Do you even realise, how stupid you are sounding right now? (I frowned)

Victoria: You are right….I am sorry. (She sighs) But, do you have any proof? Or is this just your assumption?

Me: Hypothesis…which still needs to be proven. (I pinched my forehead feeling frustrated)

Victoria: We can't blame a person in authority, without evidence. (She sighs)

Me: (I glanced at her for a second) That's why, I came here to discuss it with you. Use your resources, I know you will have some. (I said)

Victoria: What do you want me to do? (She asks surprised)

Me: Hire a private detective, you have a lot of money. At least do one thing for this team, instead of being a righteous fool. (I bit my lower lip) You people are just dependent on me, and it's tiring. Do you even understand, how much overwhelming it feels when everyone just assumes that you can solve everything like a magic? (I said while rubbing my face feeling exhausted)

Victoria: I...(her lips trembles for a second, as she presses her upper lip against her lower lip hard and looks away) I am sorry…. Don't worry, I will look into this matter.

Me: Thank you. (I replied in an emotionless tone)

Victoria: But…..I am confused, if our information was already leaked to our opponent team, then how come they underestimated us? (She ponders)

Me: (I laughed with a mischievous grin) That's because, I knew that Emilia would try and ruin our gameplay, so I kept fake recordings in the clubroom. I wanted her to underestimate us, and surprise her by winning the game. But I never thought that she would date to actually leak it.

Victoria: Hm…..good thought. (She smiles softly)

By the time we reached out school premises, the whole school was waiting for us as they welcomed us with a roar of cheers, acknowledging our victory. Mr. Gunther nodded with a smile, those people who doubted our abilities, were looking at us with renewed expectations.

Julie: We won't today's match because of Anne. (She smiles with tears in her eyes) Thank you Anne…(she says while looking at me)

Choon Hee: We owe this victory to you. (She grins)

Hope: We owe everything to you. (She smiles)

Me: Uhm…..(I felt awkward) we still have a long way to go.

Everyone took turn to hug me, making me feel awkward. After the crowd dispersed, I went to Mr. Gunther's office and informed him regarding my discovery, he said that he will look into this matter and not to worry, rather to focus on the competition and upcoming examinations. He also said that he always felt suspicious regarding Emilia's background but there is some powerful source backing her. I knew that it was useless to depend on school authority, instead I needed to collect hardcore evidence and immediate action. Something that will be enough to kick her out of this school and never see her face again. But before that, we needed a new coach, who can replace that bitch, because without coach, it was difficult to continue participating in the competitions. Even though, I had some knowledge regarding how to train a team, it was nothing less than an amateur level, which was far from enough for my teammates.

I frowned while walking out of the school premises without wasting my time further, my head ached with the train of worries that kept popping in my mind like bubbles. I felt helpless and aimless, I didn't know where to start and how to end this game and needed atleast one clue. That evening after dinner, I was going through my grandmother's notebook that I brought back from Japan, I wanted to go through some new technics that I can teach the team when something fell from one of the pages, it looked like an old picture. Picking it up in my hands, my eyes becomes wide, and a smirk played on my lips. I finally remembered where I saw that face before. "Eureka" I finally saw a light of hope to protect our team.

To be continued....