John's big day (story) - Wielki dzień Jasia (opowiadanie)

John woke up early in the morning. He brushed his teeth and rushed downstairs. He didn’t want to miss even a single minute of that day. Maybe that is why he woke up at 4 a. m. when it was dark outside and his family was still asleep. It wasn’t important, though. He was too excited to stay in bed and wake up at 7 a. m., as usual.

He prepared breakfast and began to wonder what it would be like. He imagined the crowds cheering and all his friends congratulating him on his success. From the very beginning of the year the only thing he could think about was winning the first prize in an annual football tournament. Even now it was so absorbing he didn’t even notice that he had spent three hours sitting at the table. Only after his father had woken up did he realize that it was already 7 a. m.

He began to do the warming up in the kitchen. While his parents were constantly yawning, he looked as if he didn’t need to sleep at all. His father joked that John would fall asleep during the match if he didn’t stop acting like that. There was no need to worry, though. John was full of energy and prepared for his best performance ever. 

His parents drove him to the municipal stadium and they finally got there an hour before the match. It turned out that some of John’s teammates had already waited for him. He was not the only one to be nervous that day. However, he could be twice as nervous as others – he was the youngest and this was about to be his debut in the tournament final.

During the match his opponents attacked with fury but John was a very talented goalkeeper. He didn’t let them shot a goal and made a few great saves. At the end of the match, when his team was on the lead, John saved the penalty and became the hero of the day. His dreams came true. He won the championship and was praised by all team’s supporters. When he finally got home, he was really delighted but also very tired. So tired that he fell asleep almost immediately...