Home Ground ( for Chriswk)

[Mjølner]

Helena Mickleson was rightening the collar of her black wind jacket as she was looking herself over in the mirror. On the left side of her jacket was the badge of the football team that she was the manager of, Northcester Football Club. It was a white silouhette of a wolf on a blue background. She was also wearing black jogging pants and blue football shoes. She was seen as a talented manager and she was happy to use her background as a teacher to help her team.


She tied her blonde hair up in a pony tail and went to adress her team, or her Cubs, as she would affectionately call them. She did care for all of her players, but there was one player who had something very special about him and she wanted him to be the great player that he truly could be. " Alright, boys. We have a game against Rosenberg coming up, so I want you out for practice." she said to the men in the dressing room. They all shuffled out, but one player was remaning. It was William. " Didn`t you hear me, kiddo? Get out there. I want to see how good your finishing has become. We need you to be sharp against Rosenberg." she said to the boy in a calm, but also slightly stern tone of voice.

[ChrisWk]

William had been playing football for pretty much as long as he could remember. Although he had never really liked it that much, he was quite good at it, almost the best at his team even. Had he just put some effort in, he could perhaps even become a professional, but that didn't seem to be what was on his mind, for he wasn't exactly looking forward to practice at all. As the team ran out to practice, the teenager remained. He really didn't feel like playing today, however, by the sound of Helena's voice, it didn't seem like he had any say in it.

With a light sigh and a subtle eye roll that only those with a keen eye would spot, the walnut-brown haired boy got up from the bench and headed out to the field with a water bottle in one hard and his jacket in the other. He was wearing his black shorts and a blue exercising t-shirt, in addition to his football shoes. Last year, they had lost against Rosenberg, however, their manager, Helena, truly believed that they would turn the tables this year. William on the other hand, was way more pessimistic about it, and in truth, didn't think he cared all that much.

[Mjølner]

Most people wouldn`t have caught that eye roll that the disinterested William did, but Helenas keen eye saw that William was once again less than enthusiastic about their upcoming match against Rosenberg. She sighed and placed a hand on the slightly taller boy`s shoulder. " I don`t understand you sometimes, kid. You have a great gift...you`re so talented. Why do you act like you don`t give a damn about it?" she asked him as the two of them walked out of the dressing room.


" Rosenberg may be the best team in the country, but their defenders are slow. You`re quick enough to get around them, even if they are tall." the blonde woman explained to the boy. " Besides...there are going to be scouts from Mancastor United, Mancastor City and Barcegona at the game. You have a chance to impress them if you do good." she said and gave him a small smile and two pats on his shoulder.

[ChrisWk]

The young sixteen year old hadn’t really enjoyed football for the past two years or so, but his talent kept him from quitting. It was the only thing he was good at. He had joined the club just a year back, and was currently living alone. Helena had been the first one to really take care of him since his arrival. He was new to the town, as he had to move over there alone to play for the club and go to school there. “Because I don’t..” he replied bluntly, as they headed out.

Although William was clearly one of the best on the team, and could be the best if he wanted to, but he didn’t think he was. He still thought of himself as just above average. He listened to what she had to say, although he wasn’t too enthusiastic about it. “We lost against them 1-3 last year.. What makes you think we’ll win this time?.. If I can’t even compete with a team like Rosenberg, which isn’t even the best team out there, why the fuck would any professional team even bat an eye over someone like me?” William said with a slightly annoyed tone, before running off and doing some exercises with the team.

[Mjølner]

Helena sometimes felt really frustrated with William. She thought that the kid was throwing his talents away by acting so careless. She saw that he was just barely trying during their practice for the upcoming match against Rosenberg. The former teacher muttered under her breath and blew the whistle that she had around her neck to signal that the practice was over for the day.


She walked up to William and shook her head. " I`m sorry, but that wasn`t good enough, William. You barely seemed interested to do passes or shoot at goal. Rosenbergs defense will stop that easily." she said sternly. Her featured softened slightly as she decided to voice her concerns to the boy. " How are things at home? Are you eating and sleeping properly?" the tall woman asked him in a soft tone of voice.

[ChrisWk]

William was quite relieved to hear that whistle, and was about to run to the changing rooms, before being stopped in his tracks as Helena approached him. What he was met with wasn’t a big surprise, as she had been disappointed with his performance before, but he couldn’t help but feel a little bd about it. “S-Sorry..” was all cared to utter, looking a little down and off to the side.

As she asked him how it was going at home and if he was eating and sleeping enough, his face suddenly turned pink. He was certainly not eating proper food, nor was he sleeping enough. His entire apartment was a mess, as well. “Oh uh, it’s fine.. Yeah, I’m sleeping enough and eating healthy..” the teenager lied. Helena had visited him before, and did it every other month or so, if not even more rarely. He had always had time to clean his apartment and fill his fridge with healthy food before she came.

[Mjølner]

Helena did not believe William in the slightest. His hesitant way of speaking to her was a dead giveaway that the kid was not telling the truth. She was not going to put up with that any longer, but she was waiting until later to deal with it. " Go and take a shower, kid. I want to speak to you after practice, so meet me at the parking lot." the former teacher stated to the youngest member of her cubs.

She lead him to her black car and they were driving to his apartment. " I just thought I`d check in on you to see if you`re telling the truth. You don`t mind, do you? I trust that you`ve also kept your apartment clean as you promised me the last time I stopped by, right?" she asked the boy before they parked in front of his apartment complex. The club was giving him a scholarship to focus on school while he was also a soccer player. " Go on, let us in." the woman instructed him.

[ChrisWk]

William gulped as she told him to go take a shower and meet her in the parking lot. It didn’t seem like he had much of a choice. He gave a light nod as he headed to the changing rooms and undressed, before taking a quick shower. He swiftly got himself dressed and headed out to the parking lot where Helena was waiting for him. As he got in, he quickly realised that he was gonna get an earful and a half once she saw his apartment, but there was no use trying to hide it.

“N-No problem at all Helena..” he said as they started driving. He was quite nervous, even though he wasn’t entirely sure as to why. So what if he didn’t clean his apartment, it’s his place, he thought to himself, although deep down, he knew that was a stupid thing to say. Once they arrived at his front door, he got his key and unlocked it. The moment he did, his face turned crimson, letting her walk in first. His kitchen was an absolute mess, with dirty dishes piled up. The living room was no better, as the carpet was almost curled up and there was chips and crumbs in his couch, with a whole array of energy drinks on the table. He wasn’t looking forward to this talk.

[Mjølner]

" Thank you." Helena said curtly and stepped inside of the apartment. The sight that met her caused her eyes to flash in anger. It was appaling and disgusting. " Willaim Hawkins!" she yelled and turned to fix him with a stern look. " I knew that you were lying! You promised me that you would clean up this place and take school and football more seriously the last time I was here, but you lied to me...I do not tolerate that." she stated and suddently took a firm hold of his arm.



She then pulled out a chair and sat down on it while quickly yanking the boy down across her lap before he could process what was happening. She secured a hold of him before landing two firm smacks to his behind. " I`ve given you plenty of chances, kid. I`m not going to let you ruin yourself." she stated and smacked him again.

[ChrisWk]

William had forgotten just how bad of a state his apartment was in when they entered. He closed the door behind him, and soon felt cold shivers travel down his spine as he heard his full name be yelled sternly. This meant big trouble for sure he thought to himself, and he couldn’t have been more right, as the next thing he knew, he was being pulled towards the dining area by his arm like a little kid. Her grip around his arm was surprisingly firm, and he didn’t even have to to say a word before he found himself bent over her lap.

“Nngh! Ow! Helena!..” the sixteen year old whined a he squirmed around over her lap and kicked lightly too. “Let me go!.. I’m not five anymore!..” he complained, before feeling another sharp swat land over his thin shorts. “Ouch!” He yelped, squirming as he tried to get off her lap. His face was as red as a tomato, which his bottom would soon match.