"Troy! Troy!" Brenda shouted, waving her phone at Troy.

She panted heavily, as she was out of breath.

"Troy...do....you..." Brenda said in between breaths.

"Wait, slow down, Brenda", Troy said.

After a few minutes, Brenda's breathing became normal and she was able to speak more clearly.

"Troy, do you know which team you're going to play against in the finals?" Brenda asked Troy.

"No. I don't. Why are you asking?" Troy asked, wondering why Brenda asked such a question.

He had been training for two weeks now and didn't get time to check out the team he was playing against.

"Well, look here. They've never lost a match. It's either a win or draw", Brenda said, showing Troy the information on her phone.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"So that you will know what you're up against. It's not too late to back out now".

"Back out? Why would I want to back out?"

"To save yourself from embarrassment and because you're obviously going to lose. Their players are really good".

"Brenda! I don't care about all that. I thought you understood".

"I understand! I just don't want you to...." Brenda began but was quickly interrupted by Troy.

"Just keep quiet. I've heard enough", Troy said and walked away, leaving Brenda utterly confused.

Troy had not noticed, but a crowd had gathered to witness the argument between him and Brenda. Suddenly, the bell rang and the crowd dispersed, hurriedly making their way to their respective classes. Hurrying to his next class, Troy couldn't wait for soccer practice. He knew that would be the best thing to relieve his mind.

Throughout practice, all Troy heard was discouraging words from his teammates. All they talked about was how better, stronger and tougher the players from the opposing team were. There were even rumours that their coach, Coach Franklin had quit. All Troy wanted to do was play and enjoy soccer and his teammates were making it difficult to do so. Beffore practice ended, Coach Franklin called for a meeting.

"As you all know, the team we are going to play against is very tough. To avoid ruining my reputation, I have decided to quit", Coach Franklin said.

"What?! What are we going to do without you, coach?" Troy said in amazement.

"You'll have to figure that out on your own. I would advise you, though, to back out while you can. You don't stand a chance against that team", Coach Franklin said.

"We can't back out! We've come too far to back out now", Troy said.

"Coach Franklin is right, Troy. We don't stand a chance. There's no way we're going to beat that team", Leslie said.

"Boys, boys. This is no time for arguments. You're all dismissed", Coach Franklin said.

Troy watched as his teammates trooped out of the school park which was their training grounds. He was amazed, upset and baffled. He just couldn't believe this. Just two weeks ago, his coach was still with the team and his teammates were supportive of him, but now everything was the exact opposite. He didn't know what to do. All he could do was to pray.