FK Day 9 - Thursday

On Thursday the team is allowed to wake up like normal people. Tiff comes in to clap her hands and get you all out of bed and getting cleaned up for breakfast. No activities, no early morning workout. Even though there is a lot of dumb reality TV shit at FUTA, it is still about soccer. Tomorrow is the first big game and you have to get ready. FUTA won't screw with you today.

At breakfast, you know something is going to happen because the camera people are there.

Lulu and Moxxi walk in. The announcers are all dressed up for TV while you and all the other players are not... you all have shorts and t-shirts on and everyone's hair is in a ponytail or something. Nobody has makeup on... but this is what FUTA is about. It just feels kind of voyeuristic this morning.

"Listen up, Ladies," Lulu announces in her no-nonsense way. "Let's talk about tomorrow. Pink versus Green. Red versus White. Blue versus Yellow."

The dining hall gets loud fast. This is a huge announcement, and so sudden! You know who you are playing against now... This is so big.

"Couple things," Moxxie says with a big smile. "You remember how winners get the lodge and losers don't? Let's talk about the details! Losers also have to give up their phones. Oh, and losers can't leave camp without being disqualified from the show, but winners still can under special circumstances." She is absolutely relishing this, but you and the others are all devastated.

Yeah... there was something about this in the contract, but you didn't think you would actually be **** to stay here while the show was shooting... and giving up your phone? You can't remember even going a day without it before. Now you won't be able to have it at all? Well, only if you lose...

"...and while winners go to the Lodge, losers go to a very special place!" Moxxi claps her hands excitedly. "So look forward to that."

They leave, and the dining hall is in chaos. It takes the coaches a minute to calm everyone down.

"Pull it together guys," Tiff says. "This isn't anything to freak out over. Be on the field in half an hour."

You and the others go back to the cabin to change and get ready. Now you have to practice, but your phone is ringing. You stop to answer it, watching Elena squeeze into some tight shorts.

"Riley!"

"Mom?" You are surprised she's calling so early. "What's wrong?"

"Well, it's about your dad," she says.

"Oh my God. Is he OK?" you ask.

"He's fine. He's getting married."

"What? What the fuck?" you say. "To you?"

"Of course not. It's someone new, but they got engaged yesterday and your sister says he hasn't told you."

"Oh my God." You close your eyes. Your dad is such a mess. "OK. Thanks for telling me. When's the wedding?" This will be your dad's third wife...

"Pretty soon. Are you doing OK?"

"I'm good. It just got real over here. It's gonna suck if we lose."

"Baby, it's sports. You'll lose sometimes."

"I know. And it'll suck when I do," you say honestly. "I have to go practice, mom."

"OK. Love you."

You hang up. Ugh. Thursday.

Now that Tiff knows you're up against Green Team, she has special drills prepared for you. You spend all morning working hard. After lunch, you find yourself in a classroom with Tiff and the team to get serious about Green Team. You have the clips that you won from yesterday's pillow event to study some of Green Team's members.

For four hours, you sit with your team and talk. Some of you know members of Green Team, and you share that information. When you conclude the planning session, this is what you know:

Green Team has a lot of extremely physically tough girls.

Green Team has exceptional synergy and teamwork because several of the girls know each other.

Green Team's captain is a strong leader.

CAM is Green Team's strongest player by far.

Cheryl, the goalkeeper, isn't perfect, but she is not afraid of anything at all.

Their attackers and defenders... they all know each other, but the midfielders seem more diverse. Maybe that's important.

At dinner, Tiff warns you to be extremely careful this evening to not get into trouble, and above all, to not get hurt.

As soon as you head out with the girls, planning to go back to the cabin and relax, you get jump scared by someone grabbing your arm. It's Julieta!

"Hi," you say, glad to see her. You have not even gotten to be near her since FUTA started up...

She says something in French.

"I don't understand," you say.

"She says she needs your help," Elena says. The other girls are moving on, but Elena stopped and came back to you.

"You speak French?" you ask her.

Julieta says something else.

"Will you help her?" Elena asks.

"I'm not sure I can. We aren't on the same team," you say.

Julieta replies to that.

"She says you don't have to worry about being seen as collaboraters because Pink and Blue already played this week," Elena explains, looking effortlessly cool and sexy as she throws her towel over her shoulder.

That makes sense.

"What can I help with?" you ask.

Julieta speaks in French for a whole paragraph.

"She says her coach has had a terrible day," Elena tells you, looking amused. "She says she wants your help to help her."

Oh... OH.

You blush. Elena is staring at you. She can see right through you.

"Of course I'll help," you say.

Julieta speaks.

"She's asking if you have anything to wear," Elena says.

You think you know what the French girl means, but you really don't... you packed for soccer, you know?

"No. I'm sorry," you say.

Elena says something to Julieta in French, and Julieta looks pleased and runs off.

"Let's go back," Elena says, leading you after the other girls. "I have something you can wear."

Seriously? You can't wear Elena's clothes... she's six feet tall with a perfectly muscled, yet not bulky body. You are... a little sporty, but otherwise normal. There's no way anything will fit.

But she takes you into the cabin and to her bed, where she hands you a shopping bag from a fancy lingerie store.

"It won't fit," you say without even looking inside.

"Yes it will," she says confidently.

You suspiciously open the bag and look inside. Inside is a lacy, black set with a lot of see-through parts. It's your size.

"You bought this for me?" you ask in disbelief.

"I wasn't planning to let you wear it for someone else," Elena says, sitting down and opening a bottle of powerade. "But I'll allow it tonight."

Whoa. The look on her face, her confidence, the fact that she did this... it's making you blush, and your heart race.

"Have fun," she says.

"Thank you," you say, and go to meet Julieta.