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T.H · 21-03-08, 09:58 PM

Chapter 2: Falling Into Place

The week flew by as usual, and then on Wednesday evening, I found myself involved in a particularly long phone call. And it wasn’t just any old phone call, no it was a phone call to the girl that I had liked for some time, Charlotte Ulman. I’d told her how I felt 5 months prior to this call, and we spent an amazing day together, before things just faltered. I had told her that I still felt the same way whilst on the phone with her, and she revealed to me that she had been going out with a 19 year old called Matt for 5 months. I felt devastated, and was unsure what to do, until she explained that she had had previous feelings for me, and they had all come rushing back to her, on hearing my news.

We talked for a couple of hours, and we arranged for me to go to hers on the Thursday night. I put down the phone, filled with great excitement, although worried that my nerves would get the better of me. Thursday trudged past at an incredibly slow rate, and as the evening approached, I got ready for my big night, and started to anticipate what lay ahead.

When I arrived at her house, we went upstairs and talked things through for ages. I was thinking all the time in my head, trying to figure out whether anything was going to happen. My phone rang, and I answered the call from my dad. He was outside ready to pick me up, but as I got up to go, she told me that she had broken up with Matt for me. I hugged her and gave her a quick kiss, and walked down to my dad, over the moon.

I woke up on Friday morning feeling ecstatic! I walked out onto the astro turf for P.E in the best mood of my life. We divided into teams, with me leading the non-bibbed side onto the pitch. We started the game horribly, going down 1-0 instantly. I hit back straight away with a left foot volley from the edge of the six yard box, after beating a couple of defenders. The game drifted on with goals flying in. We soon found ourselves 3-1 up, until we were pegged back to 3-3.

I received the ball from the kick off, and knocked the ball up with my right foot, seeing the keeper, Adam Mawson, off his line slightly. I couldn’t see many other options, and being a kickaround, I decided to go for it. I let fly with a searing left foot volley from the halfway line, that went perfectly straight and seemed to hang in the air for ages. 20 heads hung looking up for what seemed like a century, as the ball dropped perfectly under the bar, and over Adam’s head. I turned around in delight, to a barrage of high 5’s from my teammates. I was speechless! I managed to score another goal a couple of minutes later, a right footed half volley from the edge of the box, after breaking through the defence.

The end of the lesson drew closer, and the opposition got back into the game with another goal, leaving the score at 5-4. One of our defenders made a school boy error and gave away a late penalty, but fortunately it was put wide, and the full time whistle went. After a fantastic night on Thursday, the match further enhanced my fantastic mood.

The weekend flew by, and on a cold, damp Mother’s Day morning, I prepared for a difficult match, home to 9th placed Ashington Rovers of Portsmouth, Ashington had a strong team, and were pushing for promotion along with us, and a host of other clubs. I knew that a win would leave us in a brilliant position towards the dizzying heights of promotion. I made the short trip to Manse Lane, and headed for the dressing room, with my dad’s words of good luck ringing in my ears. I was determined. After possibly the best week of my life, things were destined to go right once more. I pulled my number 11 shirt over my head, and headed for the damp turf that waited.

Making my way to the left flank, I shook hands with the Ashington captain, repeating my dad’s words of good luck in his left ear. The game started evenly, with a lot of the play happening in a congested midfield. Neither team could make the required break, and a frustrating 45 minutes came to a close, on a wet Sunday afternoon. I sprinted into the changing rooms, knowing that we needed an energy boost in the side to lift what had been a dismal performance so far, with opportunities prevented for both sides, by solid defending.

We made an early entrance to the second half, eager to get the ball rolling once more. Dave Cowie’s inspiring words made an instant difference, with Liam Finnerty notching his 11th goal of the season from the edge of the box.

However, Ashington fought back, and we were on the backfoot most of the next 40 minutes, with a heavy onslaught piled on our goal. The ball broke free from a once again crowded midfield in the second half, and Andy Reid found himself through on goal. He slotted the ball past the keeper to round off an unconvincing 2-0 victory, moving us up to 3rd in the table, with the previous holders of 3rd spot, Rochester United, drawing. With a four week break on the horizon for us, it gave me time to concentrate on my schoolwork and exams, as well as Charlotte.

The first part of my epic day was over, and it was now time for part two. After a quick shower, I got ready to go out for a Mother’s Day dinner. We picked up Charlotte, and made a way to the restaurant, with my pulses racing, as this was the first time my parents had met Charlotte, and I was eager for her to make a good impression with them.

Fortunately, everything went fantastically, and after dropping Charlotte off, my parents told me how much they liked her. I was relieved, my weekend had gone perfectly, much like my week, as I got ready to prepare for a hard two weeks of coursework before the Easter holidays.