Open Play: Ladies, Goals, The Everything System in-between

Henri got angry about the chip yesterday, as Luc recalled. This one was not chipped. He just dropped his left shoulder, mimicked a big shot to the near post and saw the keeper throw in his full weight. Luc whipped the ball around the grounded goalie and laid the ball off into the empty net.

1-0 to the reserves.

Everyone on the training pitch fell silent. The midfielders, even the skinny one, was definitely shocked.

Henri, the coach, just hit his stopwatch. "Reset! Go again!"

The captain, Mateo, ran past Luc. He was angry. "Luckily, kid, it won’t happen again."

"Keep telling yourself that", Luc mumbled.

---

The restart. The yellow team was now very angry. They were a very physical team pressing like as if it were a real game. A loose ball dropped out of the air towards Luc, close to the halfway line, five minutes later. He caught it skillfully on his chest and dropped it to his feet.

Mateo was flying in from his blind-side, a two-footed tackle that was made right at Luc’s ankles. If it connected, the challenge would be a career ending one.

Luc didn’t panic. He wasn’t fazed in the least. Just seconds before Mateo’s cleats smack the backs of his shins, Luc had his foot under the ball and sent it right over Mateo’s head, he tried to get a proper view of the sliding captain.

The perfect Sombrero trick!

Mateo hit the ground with a lot of force. Luc wasn’t even concerned to see if he was okay. He picked up the ball on his thigh a few yards off, and blasted a half-volley from 30 yards.

It was as if the ball moved in a missile fashion. It plunged at the very last instant, and crashed into the top right-hand corner of the net, striking the metal stanchion with a loud thwack.

2-0.

Luc faced back to the center circle and walked slowly into the center. He glanced over to the sidelines. Physio Juliette was standing by the bench. Her jaw was set in a slight open manner, looking at him in disbelief. He winked at her slightly.

---

Luc was like a ghost for the remainder of the scrimmage. He ran at the center-backs from a low position and put a lot of them in disarray, before taking advantage of the huge space behind them. He was in charge of the reserve team, pointing, shouting and setting the pace for the entire match.

He netted his third goal just before the end. A corner-kick, and a simple one at that, out-jumped Mateo in the air to add just a bit of extra salt in the wound.

Hat-trick.

Henri closed the match off with a triple whistle. "Bring it in!"

[System Notification]

[Objective complete]

[Rewarded 5 Skill Points]

Luc read what was in front of him and looked around to see who else was seeing what he was.

The yellow bibbed players were looking completely defeated and embarrassed. Mateo refused to make eye contact with anyone and was looking at the grass. The reserves were gasping and grinning like fools.

Henri paced in front of the crowd, growling, "Sloppy defending from the starters today! But fair attacking play from the blues." He paused, and just looked at Luc. "Beaumont. My office. Five minutes."

Most of the participants walked away, quietly, towards the locker rooms.

---

Luc was walking off the pitch, mopping his forehead with the hem of his shirt when a shadow fell over him.

She fell in step beside him. Juliette. She gave him a new cold water bottle. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Her voice now was low, without the strict medical professionalism of an hour ago, "I believe I owe you a dinner," she said.

After taking a big sip of the water, Luc looked down at her. "I prefer my steak rear."

She smirked, moving closer. "I know a place. Arrive on time, it is "8 o’clock. Don’t be late.

She left, hips swinging purposefully as she made her way back to the medical ward.

Luc chuckled to himself. First day of training, and he was already the undisputed alpha on the pitch, and had acquired his first date in France.

He raised his eye to the sky. Olivier Fontaine was probably enjoying himself over at Chloé’s place, or in an over-priced penthouse, miles away. Let him.

---

9 o’clock early in the morning. The restaurant was located in a tucked away alley with a cobblestone road. It didn’t have a big neon sign. It didn’t need one. One had to know there’s a table to obtain a table.

Luc walked in right on time. He had a button-down shirt and dark jeans. Simple. He could see her in all her beauty.

She was in a corner booth, in the dim, amber light. The club track suit had become a thing of the past. Instead, she donned a deep emerald dress that clung to her curves, and showcased her bare shoulders and cleavage. Her dark hair cascaded down her back. She looked dangerous.

Luc came up to the booth in front of her.

"You look after yourself very well, American," she said, taking a sip of red wine.

Luc took out the menu and replied, "I try. And by the way did you not believe me?"

"After twenty minutes," Juliette said, "You got a hat trick off against Mateo. I’m a woman of my word; the steak here is phenomenal, whatever you order it will be on me."

The waiter was like a ghost. Quiet. Luc had the rib-eye. Rare. Juliette ordered a filet.

---

The waiter was gone when Juliette leaned towards the dark wood table, her elbows resting on it. "You made Henri’s day really difficult, didn’t you?"

"I gave him a solution," Luc corrected. "Your starting XI doesn’t have any pace in it. Mateo plays like he’s pouring wet cement." The big CB has the turning radius of a cruise ship. "If you start them, SC Valois will be relegated by December."

Juliette replied softly, "SC Valois has heritage. But yes, we’re in trouble, we were only just getting by last season and the board are really putting pressure on Henri, he needs a fire, he needs a miracle."

"So he signed a twenty year-old college student," Luc continued.

"He gambled on a twenty year old college student," she corrected. "One who just humiliated his team captain. Mateo has a lot of pull in that locker room. He’s going to make your life hell."

Luc poured himself a glass of water from the carafe. "Mateo is a speed bump. What about the kid who fed me the ball? The skinny one."

"Hugo Blanc."