Silver Falls, Colorado
(2020)
- ceilings -

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"Earth to Val, are you even listening to me?" Danny asked with a laugh, while Valeria was still lost in thought. Only when he nudged her did she turn her head in his direction.

"Sorry Dan, I really wanted to listen to you, but I have so much on my mind right now! Especially the conversation with the coach of the football team." Danny tilted his head. He found the way Valeria talked fascinating and he admired her. He could certainly talk to her about anything in the future, once they knew each other better!

"That's right, I wanted to ask you that! How was the conversation with the coach? What did you talk about?" Valeria unintentionally and subconsciously started to grin, which made Danny laugh. She was happy and glad that a place in the team had become available after all and that she didn't have to wait any longer for it!

"The coach told me that the team captain is out due to injury, and probably for good, so she offered me her place in the team. So now you can call me a member of the team!" her grin only got bigger and her eyes started to light up. Danny was happy for her and the two of them hugged.

"Do you think you're up to the task? I mean, I'm sure you play great football, but our captain was outstanding, almost extraordinary!" Valeria hadn't even asked herself this question yet. Was she even good enough for the team? Maybe Danny was right and she wouldn't be up to the task, but she really hoped that the team would take her on well!

"I haven't even asked myself this question yet, to be honest. Maybe you're right and I'm not up to the task. Maybe I should reconsider and talk to the coach again, what do you think?" Danny's eyes widened and he shook his head in a flash. He had misspoken and made Valeria feel like she wasn't good enough! He took Valeria's hands in his and squeezed them lightly. To be honest, she wasn't angry with Danny, because he was only telling the truth. It would become clear soon enough whether she fitted into the team or not!

"You will do a wonderful and impressive job and lead the team to every victory, I'm sure of it!" Danny had such a calmness and love in his voice, which Valeria found very soothing and she could listen to him for hours! She smiled at him and gave his hands a gentle squeeze. Then she stood up, planted a kiss on his forehead and disappeared in the direction of the classrooms.

She wanted to have a look at the football pitch and see if there were any girls from her new team there. When she got there, she saw a bunch of girls and the coach. She slowly approached the pitch and heard the coach talking about her.

The coach talked about her with so much dedication and enthusiasm that Valeria forgot for a moment how stupid she must have looked! Her smile was more disturbing than beautiful, her hands looked like she was praying and her stomach was clearly telling her that she should have eaten her snack!

At some point, the coach turned around and noticed Valeria. A broad grin formed on her lips and she waved Valeria over to her and the girls. The girls looked friendly and smiled at Valeria too. The coach must have shown them the videos she got before she spoke to Valeria!

When Valeria finally set off and arrived with the girls and the coach, the girls immediately introduced themselves and gave Valeria a warm welcome! She was surprised that the girls were so friendly to her straight away, but she wasn't going to complain about it either!

"Now that you all have two free periods, I say we show Valeria how to play football with us, all right?" the girls agreed and Valeria didn't know what hit her. Suddenly, a bodysuit in the colour purple was thrown to her and her 'team' took up their respective positions! Were they now playing a kind of test game to see how good Valeria really was?

"Coach, what do we do now? Do we play a kind of test game to see how good I really am?" the coach nodded with a broad grin and seconds later she blew the whistle to start the 'game'!

Valeria took a deep breath before getting into position and showing the girls and the coach how well she could play football! It wasn't long before it was 1:0 in Valeria's team's favour and the coach couldn't close her mouth. Valeria and her team played perfectly together. The coordination was spot on, the tackles were precise so that nobody got hurt, the dribbles looked majestic and the goal was textbook!

It seemed that Cole's class, Nathan's class and her brothers' class also had two free periods because before Valeria knew it, Nathan and Danny were cheering her on. Alex stood next to Isaac and admired Valeria.

With at least 15 minutes left in the game, Valeria's team got ready to succeed again! Once again, Valeria's team formed a perfect team and the coach was proud. The coach was proud that her team was playing together again and had finally found someone who would never let the team down! After a further 15 minutes, the coach blew the final whistle and the girls clapped each other off. Valeria was celebrated and hugged by the coach.

"Thank you so much for finding someone who would never let the team down! And thanks to you, my team is now playing together again!" Valeria and the coach smiled at each other before a couple of the girls came up to Valeria and wanted to talk to her.

"That was outstanding! I'm so in love with the way you play and handle the ball, Valeria! Where did you learn that?" Lena, one of the girls on the team, was one of the friendliest people Valeria had ever met!

"Thank you, Lena, that's very kind of you! And to answer your question: my dad actually taught me how to play football! He was one of the few who always believed in me!" every time Valeria talked about her father, a kind of lump formed in her throat and she suddenly felt sad. Tears filled her eyes and no matter how hard she tried not to cry, she failed.

"Your father has done a fantastic job, because thanks to him we now have one of the most talented players in the world in our team!" Valeria laughed lightly, wiped away her tears and then looked at Leah. Leah had scored the goal for her team thanks to Valeria's assist and Valeria could feel that Lena and Leah could become two of her closest friends!

"Thank you girls! You are great! Also, thank you for welcoming me into the team and not ignoring or mocking me!" Lena and Leah hugged Valeria. Yep, Valeria felt comfortable around them and yep, she would be forever grateful that she had met these amazing girls!

But when the 2 free periods were over, Leah and Lena walked to their classes in another building, which is why Valeria had to walk back to her class with the boys without wanting to. Well, actually, she just didn't want to walk back to her class with Cole because she was still mad at him.

"So Philadelphia is good at something after all." Cole said suddenly, which caught Lee's and Isaac's attention. Valeria just rolled her eyes and decided not to say anything. But Danny probably had other plans.

"Cole, leave Val alone for once! Since she's been here, you've tried everything to make her feel insecure and bad! Enough is enough and you've more than overstepped the mark!" Cole hadn't expected his twin brother to shoot at him, and from the looks of the others, they hadn't expected it either! Only Valeria smiled slightly and bumped into Danny.

"Hey, Danny, relax! I don't want to make Valeria look bad and I certainly don't want to make her feel insecure! All I want is to toughen her up against the harsh reality here in Silver Falls and especially in our family! But if it came across as if I wanted to make you feel insecure or make you look bad, Val, then I'm truly sorry!" Valeria sighed, stopped and looked at Cole. Ever since she had moved in with the Walter's, Cole and she had been duelling every spare minute! She couldn't stand it any longer, which is why she finally wanted to open her mouth and tell Cole what she thought!

But just before Valeria was about to open her mouth, she heard Erin's voice and immediately rolled her eyes.