Chapter 9: Chapter 9

“And on the eighty-third minute, both teams seem to make all their allowable substitutions!” said the commentator as the five new players entered the pitch at the same time for their respective teams.

After the short delay, the throw-in was taken by Aberdeen High with Walden Smith taking, he tried throwing the ball to Ryan Buckle, but the ball instead of being met by Ryan, met the chest of Mathew Bale who quickly came forward and through chest control, stole possession and passed to his teammates who charged forward to try score and finally put an end to this match.

The Crystal High players charged forward with full might and determination to put one past Aberdeen High in the late stages of the game.

As soon as arriving near the edge of the Aberdeen High box, John Funk gave sent across to his teammate Shay Atwood who headed in a powerful effort from a near distance. Shane quickly jumped, punching the ball away, sending it for a Crystal High team corner on the right-hand side of the post.

The Aberdeen High supporters cheered their team on after another successful shot on target was saved by their golden boy for the evening Shane Foster.

“And on the eighty-fourth minute Crystal High send another effort on goal this time a powerful header after skillfully making their way past all those defenders of Aberdeen High! They seem determined to win this one! Let’s see what unfolds of the rest of this match after this corner!” said the commentator after that saved attempt.

“Phew, another save for Shane! I was afraid he might concede this one after the way all those guys from Crystal High were running forward!” said Marissa breathing a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, but now he might just have to save a frenzy of shots like before!” cautioned Sam.

Sam was right, for just after the corner kick was taken, Shane was called into action several times, making a range of high profile saves. He had to make save after save to keep his dreams alive. He did as much for his team as his body allowed him to do so.

An official announced that there would be four minutes of stoppage time played as the ninetieth-minute mark was approaching.

“And Shane Foster makes save after save to keep his and his team’s hopes of progressing alive. There will be a total of four minutes added on here! Let’s see if we get to witness some late drama here!” announced the commentator after the ninetieth-minute was fast approaching.

Shane, by this time, was exhausted for his performance throughout the evening. His entire team was exhausted from continuously having to defend their goal. All eleven teammates were inside their box to try and protect their goal.

Soon just as Crystal High was attempting to make one last attempt on goal, their captain John Funk had shot from a distance at the edge of the box, Kevin to try and block the shot away dove forward in front of the shot to deflect the ball away. But unfortunately for Kevin, he raised his arms in the air while doing so, hoping the ball was to hit his chest when in fact, the ball had gone higher and touched his right arm. The referee immediately signaled to the penalty-spot. It was a penalty for Crystal High!

“And Crystal High have been awarded a penalty here, ladies and gentleman! On the ninety-second minute, they are awarded a penalty for Kevin James hand-balling the ball! Now Shane Foster will really have to save his team if they are to stand any chance at all of progressing to the final and keeping their dreams alive!” said the commentator as the Crystal High team along with their supporters rejoiced after being awarded their penalty.

“Dude, don’t let it get to you! We’ve had a wonderful run in this tournament, and I’ll do my best! Don’t be too hard on yourself, these things happen!” said Shane giving some words of encouragement to Kevin as Kevin looked disappointed and sorrowful feeling it was all his fault. Shane had to keep his dreams on one side and look to the feelings and emotions of his friend on the other.

“And Shane Foster offers some words of encouragement to his teammate and friend Kevin James! Truly a remarkable act and a worthy captain act!” said the commentator after seeing Shane trying to console Kevin.

“Well, that was nice of him! But I hope he can save it; otherwise, it’s out of the tournament for all of us!” said Marissa.

“That mostly looks to be the case since it’s a ninetieth-minute penalty and could very well be the last kick of the game!” said Sam.

“What’s this? The Crystal High goalkeeper Brendan Given himself comes forward to try and score from this penalty! It’s goalkeeper versus goalkeeper in this scenario, ladies and gentlemen! This should be interesting!” said the commentator as he saw Brendan Given making his way to the Aberdeen High goal to try and put the spot-kick beyond Shane.

“Huh? What’s going on!” said Marissa surprised as she saw the opposition goalkeeper coming forward to try and score one for his team.

“I just hope this doesn’t end embarrassing for me!” thought Shane to himself as he got ready to try and save the penalty. The Crystal High supporters chanted “Given…. Given…..Given” as Brendan was placing the ball in the middle of the box to take his penalty.

“I’m not going to let Shane try and save this penalty without letting him know he’s being counted on and supported!” said Marissa determined.

“I’m with you on this one!” said Sam determined with Marissa.

Give me a G

Give me an O

Give me an S

Give me an H

Give me an A

Give me an N

Give me an E

Give me a G

Give me an O

Give me a G

Give me an O

Give me another O

Give me a D

Give me a K

Give me an E

Give me another E

Give me a P

Give me an E

Give me an R

Go, Shane! Go Aberdeen High’s Good Keeper! said Marissa, leading the cheer for her team.

Shane looked on at Marissa on the cheerleading stands and thought just moments before he would have to try and save the penalty-kick. “I just hope I don’t let you down!”

The whole stadium was silent when Brendan was preparing to take his spot-kick. All players of both teams were standing behind the box in anticipation with the exception of Shane and Brendan Given. It was truly a nerve-wrecking scene for both team supporters.

Brendan had made his run-up fast and tried moving in multiple angles before hitting his shot in an attempt to send Shane the wrong way, but luckily for Shane, he just stood there and waited for Brendan to kick the ball first before diving. It was lucky for Shane too that he followed this practice as the closer and closer Brendan got, only the more obvious he was making it seem as to where he would kick the ball. Finally, he kicked the ball, but he, through his run, had made it so obvious where he was going to kick it that when he hit to his right side, Shane automatically jumped to his left hand and caught the ball as it came his way. He had managed to grab hold of the ball! It was a penalty-save for him and one which kept his side’s hopes alive of progression.

He quickly saw Kevin at the edge of the box and threw the ball with his hands to Kevin, shouting “Go now! Score….the goal is empty!”

“And Shane Foster gain saves for his team! It was a poorly taken penalty by Brendan to be fair, but Shane Foster keeps his nerves! And he also fed his teammates the ball for a counterattack!” said the commentator as he saw Kevin charging up the field towards the Crystal High goal to try and put the ball into the back of the empty net.

Kevin soon faced a slew of defenders who were catching up fast on him.

“Now Kevin, shoot already!” shouted Benjamin Cross to Kevin as Kevin prepared to take the final kick of the game from the half-way line as the Crystal High defenders had nearly caught up with him.

The ball reached the box, took a few bounces, and then was soon into the back of the net! On the ninety-fourth minute, Aberdeen High ran out one-nil winners on the night!

The referee blew the whistle for full-time.

“Extraordinary! Incredible scenes from what we have just witnessed here! From saving a penalty to scoring a goal at the opposite end! From a remarkable turnaround of events, these young lads have put up here tonight! Surely a group effort from everyone, especially their ‘Good Keeper’ Shane Foster, who deserves to be named man of the match for this evening! These Crystal High players played a fantastic game of football and deserved credit for all the work they’ve put in this evening!” said the commentator after witnessing those extraordinary scenes happen right in front of him.

The Aberdeen High supporters were ecstatic chanting both Kevin and Shane’s name and their high school name as well.

The supporters of Crystal High, although disappointed that they had lost this one, still cheered their team on for all the hard work they had put in and clapped for Aberdeen High as well.

“Yes! I knew Shane would save it! I just knew he would! And Kevin scored with the final kick of the game to take us to the finals in two weeks' time! I’m so happy!” screamed Marissa in ecstasy and joy.

“I’m super duper happy as well that we won, and most of all, that Kevin got to score the winning goal!” said Sam hugging Marissa and then dancing with her in sheer excitement.

Shane hugged Kevin and said with a wink, “I’m proud of you! We’re in the finals, and you’re taking a lot of credit, young man!”

“We wouldn’t be there in the first place if it hadn’t been for your heroic display all evening, I too only scored the winning goal after your penalty saves, so no one's taking the credit away from you!” said Kevin hugging Shane tightly.

They both laughed for a bit then joined their team for the celebration that evening.

John Funk and Brendan Given came forward to pay their respects and congratulate the winning team.

“You guys defended well! Good luck in the final, and good luck with your college applications!” said John Funk shaking hands with Shane and Kevin.

“Thanks! You guys attacked really well! You guys gave us a real tough test when defending tonight!” said Shane shaking the hands of Brendan Given.

“Thanks! That makes us feel better!” said Brendan, Given with a wink.

The two captains bid each other farewell and gave each other best wishes for the remainder of the academic year.

“Both captains bid each other farewell most remarkably and respectfully!” said the commentator remarking on the respectful nature of both team captains.

The college scout from Manchester University was now more impressed with Shane than ever before and got up from his seat in the stands to try and have a word with Shane backstage.

Shane, along with the rest of his team, thanked their supporters for all their support before heading into the tunnel for their dressing room.

“And join us again in two weeks' time when Aberdeen High take on Blackrovers High in the final of this Inter-State High School Tournament! The way Aberdeen High has played tonight, they have proved that old saying correctly that attack wins you matches, but a strong solid defense wins you titles! Tonight is surely a night which none of these young lads from Aberdeen High will ever forget in their lifetime to come! Join us again next time on the final!” said the commentator bringing the evening’s show to an end.

Meanwhile, in another area, someplace else in the near distance was a group of teenagers the same age as that of Shane and Co enjoying each other’s company in a nearby café having watched the match between Aberdeen High and Crystal High.

“Turn the TV off! I don’t want to see any more of those gullible chumps! They look so happy, having just qualified for their final against us! Ha! As if they stand any chance at all of beating us….Blackrovers High in the final! The trophy is ours, and ours to win and keep! We’re not going to let those chumps win over us!” said a tall, muscular young man with a golden earring and long black hair.

The TV was immediately turned off by one of their group members.

“And how do you propose we do that, Butch?” asked a tall, lanky young man with curly blonde hair.

“Well, Nick, I’ve got a plan up my sleeve!” replied Butch.

“And what plan might that be Butch?” asked a tall, pretty redhead putting her arm around Butch’s neck.

“Well, Michelle, the plan is, is that you are going to help me out in executing my plan! I know for a fact through watching and observing their team so much on TV that I know their captain for the moment, and their so-called ‘good keeper’ has a thing for that cheerleader Marissa Walker and it’s apparent that she has a something for him as well! And since you’re the captain of our cheerleading team and my girl…you are going to help me out in breaking up those two! That way, I intend to destroy their golden boy Shane Foster from within so that he wouldn’t be able to captain their side correctly in two weeks' time, automatically gifting us the Tournament trophy! You’ll do that for me, wouldn’t you baby?” said Butch putting his arm around Michelle’s shoulder and neck.

“Of course, my love! You’re my boyfriend! I’d do anything to please you! I’ll make it seem as if he’s cheating on his girl Marissa Walker by declaring my love for him and then kiss him in front of her! She’ll break up with him, causing you to win in two weeks time automatically!” replied Michelle with a smirk kissing Butch on his lips after that.

“Well, Michelle, when exactly do you plan on carrying out this stunt of yours?” asked Nick.

“Next Saturday, when the tournament final press conference will be held! There’s a dance after the press conference, and both high schools will attend the event. Everyone will be in formal attire, and then I’ll seduce Shane in front of Marissa, causing a break-up between those two, thus guaranteeing us to win the final after that!” answered Michelle with an evil grin.

“That is a deviously delicious plan you have there!” admitted Nick.

The group laughed an evil laugh after that.

Meanwhile, back at the stadium, everyone was busy congratulating each other in the Aberdeen High dressing room.

“Way to go Shane, a penalty-save and an assist in one match!” said Benjamin Cross giving Shane a high five.

“Not to mention all the saves he made!” added Kevin giving Shane a knuckle touch.

“Thanks, guys! It was a group effort from all of us!” thanked Shane modestly.

Just then, the coach came in and said, “Well, that group effort should continue further and certainly in the last and final match of this tournament against Blackrovers High! Oliver would have been proud of you tonight, and you all as well!”

“Thanks, coach!” thanked Shane graciously.

“Well you’re all gonna have to train really hard for the next couple of weeks, and that includes training on Sunday as well next week, but you’re gonna get next Saturday off due to the Press Conference Gala that will be held at the Chateau Exquisite next Saturday night, and there’s a dance after that. Both school’s students are eligible to attend, followed by an evening dinner and enjoyable festivities for all attending! Be sure to bring your dates with you as you’ll have a great time, and any plans you guys wanna make in the daytime are also fully appropriate since I’m giving you guys off that entire day! Till then, work hard as I expect all of you to improve and after the Gala work even harder since we wanna win the tournament in two weeks' time!” added coach concluding their evening.

“You got it!” replied Shane for his entire team before they each headed to take a much-needed shower after their exhaustive match that evening.

After their showers, as Shane and Kevin were heading out, an official reporter stopped Shane to give him his man of the match accolade and take his post-match interview.

During the interview, Shane thanked his teammates for their performance and was grateful for the way he had played and how he hoped to keep up his performances in the coming and final match of the tournament against Blackrovers High.

After the interview, the college scout from Manchester University approached Shane and talked to him in private, saying, “That was some performance there young man! Keep it up in the next match, and that scholarship is yours! You got a full ten out of ten in my books for your performance this evening!”

“Thanks! I’ll be looking forward to giving my absolute all and continue fighting for that scholarship!” concluded Shane, graciously accepting the college scout’s words of encouragement.

“Good! And I’ll be looking forward to seeing you do so!” said the college scout as he bid Shane farewell and headed off.

Soon after Shane and Kevin proceeded outside of the stadium, they saw Marissa and Sam were already out waiting for them.

The boys quickly hurried over to greet them.

Shane quickly hurried over and hugged Marissa while Kevin rushed over to hug Sam.

“You guys, were great! Thanks for putting up such an entertaining evening for all of us!” thanked Marissa while greeting Shane.

“No, thank you for all the cheering you gave us tonight! It meant a lot, and it motivated us to keep on going. After all, we were the underdogs tonight by a long margin!” thanked Shane graciously.

“Shane’s right, we couldn’t have done it without all the cheering you girls put up for us tonight!” added Kevin.

“Aww, shucks! It was nothing!” responded Sam with a blush as if the whole idea for all the cheering to be done was her own in the first place.

Marissa put her hand on her hips and looked closely at her friend with a smile remembering what happened.

Shane quickly changed the subject. “Anyways, a Final Press Conference Gala is being held next Saturday night, and there’s a dance after it followed by a dinner and plenty of fun festivities for students of both schools to come and enjoy! If you don’t mind, would you ladies like to be our dates for the evening?” asked Shane asking them out on behalf of himself and Kevin.

Marissa looked at her friend Sam and then joyfully replied, “I’d be delighted to! Wouldn’t you, Sam?”

“I sure would! A double date between myself and Kevin and Shane and Marissa sounds like a lot of fun!” said Sam accepting their proposal.

“Great, then it’s settled! We’ll meet each other at the dance Saturday evening for an evening full of enjoyable activities! Oh, and by the way, do you girls want to spend the rest of Saturday afternoon together as well? Kevin and I have rigorous training sessions throughout the week, even on Sunday! But we do have all of Saturday off! And then it’s back to training for us for the rest of the coming week till the day of the final!” said Shane trying to make plans for Saturday afternoon in addition to Saturday evening.

“That would be lovely! How about we go to the beach during mid-afternoon and catch the sunset there? It’s going to be a beautiful sunset at the beach!” suggested Marissa after accepting Shane’s offer.

“That would be great! The beach sounds like a lot of fun!” said Shane, gladly accepting Marissa’s idea.

“All that seems great, and I can’t wait for Saturday, but I don’t know about you guys, but I’m in the mood for some pizza! Let’s all go for some pizza right now!” suggested Sam.

“That sounds great! Let’s go already. I’m famished!” agreed Marissa as the four teenagers concluded their eventful evening and set out for their dinner plan.

The Outing

The next morning when Shane woke up and seated himself on the breakfast table, he told his mum Gertrude about how he performed excellently for his team and how much that college scout was impressed with him and about the Press Conference Gala on the coming Saturday night and of his team’s chances of winning in that final and how he was to be looked upon by everyone as he would be serving as Aberdeen High’s team captain for that evening.

“Well all that sounds great dear, but just remember to put your feet on the ground and don’t get carried away with your recent success and please do your best as that college scholarship would serve as an enormous blessing for you and I both!” advised his mum putting fried eggs on his breakfast table.

“I won’t, mum! You can count on it!” assured Shane as he started eating his eggs.

“I hope you always stay happy, dear!” said his mum smiling, rubbing his forehead.

Shane smiled at her and knew what this college scholarship would mean for both him and his mum.

The following Monday, as Shane headed off to school, he met up with Kevin on the way.

Kevin came sprinting to Shane and delivered the good news. “Dude, dude! I checked on the official Inter-State High School Tournament website, and they’ve given ratings to everyone who performed in the match between Aberdeen High versus Crystal High, and you’ve gotten a perfect ten! No one got a higher rating than you! They also say that you single-handedly won the entire match for your team, and if this level of performance continues on your part for the final as well, then you’ll be crowned player of the tournament!”

“What? That’s great! That’s fantastic! That’s superb! That’s awesome!!!” exclaimed Shane ecstatic with joy.

“Yeah! That scholarship looks more and more likely to be yours as time progresses! Just be sure to take training very seriously and improve in any way you can!” advised Kevin.

“You bet I will!” assured Shane giving Kevin a thumbs-up.

As they approached their school, they met up with the rest of the team in their class refreshing memories of the previous Saturday evening and how each had

contributed to their part in their victory over Crystal High.

“And of course who can forget number ten out of ten Shane, who played his heart out for the team!” reminded Benjamin Cross, giving Shane a knuckle-touch.

Benjamin continued, “I heard from Oliver, and he’s in strict bed rest and will miss two weeks of school and return afterward. But he seemed hopeful of coming to the stadium and watching the final, and he said he was very proud of the way we played and especially of you and how you captained us that evening!”

Just then, Marcus showed up to class!

“Hmpf! This weasel has been playing in my spot while I was out injured…well, guess what! I’m back from injury and taking back my rightful place as Aberdeen High’s first-choice goalkeeper, and there’s nothing you or anyone else can do about it!” jeered Marcus shoving Shane aside.

“Oh yeah! And what makes you so confident you’re going to playing in the final after all Shane’s done for the team!” confronted Marissa from behind entering the class with Sam alongside her.

“Huh?” said Marcus as he looked behind him and saw Marissa Walker along with Sam Lawless entering the classroom.

“Marissa’s right Marcus!” said Benjamin Cross, who suddenly spoke up.

“Shane is the main reason why we’re even in that final, and Oliver trusted him with captaincy, and we want Shane to remain as captain and to lead us against blackrovers High!” continued Benjamin raising his voice at Marcus.

“Yeah, well, we’ll see about that! I already spoke to coach this morning, and he seemed very impressed with my fitness level ahead of the game in two weeks and said he’ll think about it! But I’m pretty confident he’ll choose me over this loser Shane and his chump Kevin here!” said Marcus raising his voice and his nose in the air as he seated himself in his seat.

Shane was quiet after that, for he knew what was at stake, and now he had no idea whether he could even play in the final anymore.

Even Marissa was quiet alongside the rest of the football team, for they didn’t know as to how they could respond to this latest dilemma which had been put served to them.

Just then, their teacher Mr. Crawford entered the class and said: “Everyone, please sit down and take out your textbooks!”

Everyone obediently followed.

Shane thought to himself, feeling sorry for himself, “Oh no! What has Marcus done to me!”

Soon after classes were over, the entire football team, including Shane and Kevin rushed to meet their coach to find out what decision he had taken: To start with Shane or Marcus in goal on the final.

Even Marissa and Sam rushed to hear from a distance as to what decision their coach was to take.

As soon as the football coach arrived and the entire team had gathered around and was anxiously waiting to hear what their coach had decided, there was a silence to find out what the decision was to be.

The coach, upon seeing his players gathered around in such a disciplined manner, knew exactly what they were so anxiously waiting for.

“I can see many of you are waiting for my decision whether I will play Shane or Marcus in goal….well, the decision was straightforward for me, and it was one which I did not doubt myself that I was making the right call!”

“Yes…yes!” said Marcus, eagerly waiting for the decision to turn up in his favor.

“Well, the decision for me was straightforward…and it’s to play Shane in goal against blackrovers High in the final!” said the coach announcing his decision.

“Huh?” said Marcus with a frown disappointed by the outcome.

The coach explained, “Shane played stellar performances after stellar performance…which meant that he clearly deserves to play in the final as we wouldn’t be here without him in the first place! Marcus’s fitness levels are awe-inspiring, but it wouldn’t do justice to Shane after the performances he’s put in this tournament! And he will remain captain for the match as well!”

“Rats!” pouted Marcus, angry after the final decision.

“Sigh, Phew! That’s a relief!” said Shane breathing a sigh of relief after the outcome was finalized.

“Ha! In your face Marcus!” shouted Marissa from behind, getting overzealous in Shane’s favor.

Marcus was infuriated after listening to Marissa’s recent taunt. His face started turning red as a tomato with anger and rage.

“Get back to your cheerleading practice, young lady!” said the coach banishing her from the time being from the football training ground.

Marissa sheepishly smiled and cheekily replied, “But it hasn’t started yet!” as she and Sam started to head in the opposite direction. She felt magnificent about herself after that.

“Alas! The right decision has been made!” said Benjamin feeling grateful for the final decision was a fair one.

“You bet it has… and there’s one more decision to be made!” said the coach.

“What could that be?” asked Benjamin.

The coach headed over to Kevin’s direction and looked at Kevin in the eyes and announced, “Son, I’m proud of the way you played on Saturday against a tough opponent, which is why I’m treating you to a first-ever starting berth against Blackrovers High! Yes, you will start for your High school team against them in the final!”

Kevin was ecstatic with joy as he couldn’t believe what his ears had just heard “You mean it?” he asked once more to make sure he didn’t just hear things.

“Yes, I mean it! Now get to training all of you! There’s a lot of work to be done this week and the next week if we are to stand any chance of beating Blackrovers High in the final!” assured the coach before giving his players their marching orders.

“Way to go, Kevin!” said Shane patting Kevin on the shoulders before congratulating him with the rest of his team, with only the exception of Marcus.

“Hmpf!” pouted Marcus.

Sam, who could hear in the far distance, was overjoyed at hearing the news she had very recently just heard. “Yes..Yes….Yes!” she chanted, clenching her fist and jumping up and down.

Marissa was happy for Kevin and even happier to see her friend so happy.

Soon the boys were putting in a lot of hard work as their coach made them train to the very maximum of their capacities.

“Pant, pant, this sure is a lot of hard work!” panted Kevin.

“It sure is… I hope it all pays off!” consoled Shane.

“I sure hope it doesn’t get any tougher than this, cause there are predictions for a lot of rain all week next week…so we might have to train in the rain as well!” updated Kevin.

“Well, if we train in the rain, it could cool us off, and we wouldn’t feel so hot as well during training!” said Shane feeling optimistic.

“Yeah! Let’s hope so!” replied Kevin.

Soon after both training sessions were over with, as the boys met up with the girls to walk back home with, Sam and Marissa gave their congratulations to Shane and Kevin.

“Congratulations, you too on securing your respective starting places in the final!” said Marissa congratulating Shane and Kevin.

“Yeah, congratulations, you two! And Kevin, I’m proud of you!” added Sam.

“Thanks, girls! Let’s hope everything turns out alright and in the best interests for everyone in the end! And looking forward to our outing on Saturday afternoon and then to the dance afterward!” replied Shane.

“Your welcome! And we’re looking forward to it as well!” assured Marissa as the four teenagers started walking together in the sunset towards their respective homes ahead of the hectic and exhaustive week which each of them would occur until Saturday arrived.

Throughout the week, Shane and Kevin remained busy with their football practice while the girls indulged in their cheerleading practice.

When Saturday finally came, all four teenagers looked forward to their outing on the beach as it served as a much-needed break from their hectic daily routines.