LT Day 5 - Lotte...

You wake up in a single bed at the Lodge, the nice place where you were supposed to end up after the float trip yesterday. The Lodge is great: it's modern and has almost luxurious stuff... you get to sleep in a room that's just like a hotel room, with two beds in it. You have privacy, unlike in the cabins...

...but yesterday, just reaching the Lodge was a nightmare. You don't want to think about it. You hear commotion from the other girls in the hallway outside your room and sit up, lifting the covers to reveal a huge stain in your boyshorts.

Already pissed off, you get out of bed, take a shower, put on clothes, and go downstairs.

At breakfast, everyone quiets down at the coaches gather at the front of the room. Everyone stops eating and talking to listen. Something is going on.

Michelle steps forward, apparently the spokesperson.

"So, announcement time. Everyone listening?" she asks.

"Yes," everyone says together.

"OK. Remember how you have all been gossiping about a new league? And how that's our fault, kind of?" She gestures at the other coaches.

"Yes," everyone says.

"About that. There's no new league," she says.

The room explodes with shock and from some girls, outrage.

"What?" You can't believe it. It's all anyone could talk about yesterday...

"Shut up and listen," Michelle says impatiently. "It's not a league. It's a TV show."

She has to wait again while you all freak out.

"But! But! It's not getting produced yet," she goes on. "Seriously, guys. Let me finish. The producers are here to do a trial run. Your coaches and supervising coaches all have the contract, and you will get your chance to look at it and make your decision."

You want to laugh... like anyone is going to NOT want to be on a TV show about soccer. Everyone will sign.

"For this show, we are going to do a scaled down league, which means teams. But it's a show, not a league. That means these people want to see drama. They want rivalries and things like that. You're sorted into teams, and you *stay* with your team. Your team is like your family," Michelle says.

Wait a minute. What are the teams? Who is on which team? You and lots of the other girls start demanding to know, but Michelle shushes everyone.

"We'll post them in a minute. And I know! I know there's romance here at this camp where we are supposed to be concentrating on training," she says, kind of irritatingly. "So this is how it works. On Mondays you train. On Tuesdays, you have a half-day of training and a practice match. On Wednesdays, you do strategy and light training. On Thursdays, a half-day of training and match prep. On Friday, you have a real match against another team. There will be six teams. Three matches. The winning teams get to spend the weekend here at the lodge. The losers have to stay at camp. What happens at the lodge stays at the lodge. This is the only place where you can mingle with other teams. So if you want to mingle, you have to win. If you don't care about mingling and you just care about soccer, you still have to win, because only winners get interviews. That's how this is going to work."

Whoa. That's a lot. But wait... there are a lot of girls at camp, but not enough for six teams.

"Are these just very small teams, then?" Beth pipes up.

"No. Full teams. More girls arrive tomorrow, and a few of the girls from the Swim Camp are going to come up and join. We..." she says, pointing at herself and the other coaches. "Are your subs if there are injuries. Yes, we know there are some girls here who don't have to sit down to pee. Those girls don't have to hide that. No secrets. Any other questions?"

Wow! You can shower with everyone else now? And share a changing room? And yes, there are lots of questions, but you just want to know what team you are on... but you don't get to see that until after you sign a contract, and none of the coaches will let anyone sign a contract that they have not read yet.

Going over the contracts takes most of the morning. You finally get yours signed, and are handed a sheet with the teams on it. You are officially a contestant in the pilot shoot for Football Ultimate Television Association, or FUTA for short.

You check out your team.

PINK TEAM:

1. Riley (USA) Captain, Striker COACH: Tiff

2. ATT Aki (JAP)

3. ATT Lara (UK)

4. MID Sun (KOR)

5. MID Sam (UK)

6. MID Elena (KEN)

7. DEF Rebecca (USA)

8. DEF Sheva (SEN)

9. DEF Lili (MON)

10. DEF Max (USA)

11. GOAL Viti (IND)

Thank God... Lotte is not on it. That is such a relief... You give Michelle a big hug, and go to high-five your new teammates: Lara, Aki, Viti, and Sun. It looks like the other girls are planning a picnic. They are all excited and trying ot keep busy, calling their parents and wondering what TV will be like. You have nothing else to do, so you go along for the picnic. It's a way nicer day today and Lara wants to talk strategy. She knows a lot of the foreign players, and you will have to learn about them before you can face them, or you will lose for sure.

So you sit on a blanket with your teammates, eating sandwiches and wondering if this girl named Chun is as good as they say she is. Adella's team is nearby, doing the same thing. It's perfect.

"What's that?" Lara asks, pointing up. You look up, but there's a creaking sound, and you are suddenly doused with something smelly and gross. The other girls shriek and get away from you, but you are just confused. You look down at your body, covered in red. What is this? There's a bucket hanging above you... It's not paint. Is this blood?