I fell to my knees in horror. We'd lost. We'd lost badly.
The scoreboard said 4-3. The Cooktown Sheilas had officially lost the Regional Women's Soccer Championships. The siren had rung out, the crowd was cheering, and the other team were hugging and high-fiving. I looked over to Gabrielle, our striker - a gorgeous blonde with a crewcut - who looked back at me sadly and shook her head.
All that work! We'd clawed our way to the final two, training our hearts out, only for it to be snatched out of our hands at the last minute. I buried my face in my hands. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up. It was Sierra, our centre-back - a gorgeous redhead.
"Hey, it's okay, babe," she said with a warm smile. "We'll come back next year and kick their asses then."
I sniffed and rubbed my eye. "I suppose. But after all this, I don't know how we'll show our faces."
"I know it's hard, but it's tradition. Frankly, I think I'm going to enjoy it."
"You're a weirdo."
"Come on, We've gotta line up." She offered me her hand, and I took it, letting her pull me up. My team all walked morosely over to the centre of the field while the winners - the Wagendor Wallabies - cheered boisterously, surrounding their coach as he brought over the winning trophy. We lined up, facing the crowd in the bleachers, pulling off our shoes and socks. The Wallabies were hooting and hollering, but very quickly and decisively gathered in a group in front of us as they held the trophy aloft.