3rd & Long

Chapter 2: Pass Interference

"Well, now that you've seen the place, how do you like it?!" Ellie inquired enthusiastically.

"It's nice... It's a very charming place" replied Nat. Truth be told, Levi's wasn't as impressive to her as her old stadium of Sofi had been, but there was certainly a special quality to it. Nat could tell there was a rich history buried in these red and gold walls and she could also tell everyone here was happy to be where they were. After Ellie had helped her get settled, Nat began to think that adjusting to this new environment wouldn't be as hard as she feared thanks to all the kindness everyone had shown her.

Of course, there was still one person Nat didn't have the best start with. But she was sure that would be remedied in time.

Ellie took a seat in one of the office chairs. "Yay! I'm glad you liked it. I can't remember the last time we had another girl 'round these parts. They usually don't make it very long."

Nat thought back to the story Mr. Stoll had told her and after her encounter with the presumptive Defensive Player of the Year, she could begin to understand why she hadn't seen more women working around the facility.

Nat took a seat across from Ellie and decided she should flex the few social skills she did have. "So, any advice you can give a newbie like me?"

"Wellllllll," Ellie started, "Don't put anything in the staff fridge. Someone's been stealing things for the past few weeks. I'm not sure who it is yet, but I have a couple of suspects in mind."

"Noted"

"And another thing- make sure you get here before 8:30am. I know it's way earlier than we need to be here, but parking fills up fast. If you want a good spot, that's the time I recommend."

"Is that when you show up?" Nat asked

"Nah, I shoot for 8:25" Ellie winked

Nat smirked at this, "These are great, keep 'em coming."

"Hmmm" Ellie hesitated. Nat could tell Ellie was thinking carefully about what she was going to say next.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but it would probably be for the best if you didn't get involved with any of the players here" Ellie let out after a few seconds of thinking.

Oh. Nat couldn't say she was surprised to hear this. Workplace romances had a reputation for being messy, and in the NFA, workplace romances were like the kiss of death. She couldn't think of a single time a romance between players and trainers had worked out, not even-

"Sorry! I'm not trying to make assumptions about you or anything!" Ellie interjected. Nat's silence must've scared Ellie a bit because her light brown eyes seemed to be slightly bugging out of her head. "It's just these players can definitely be a lot to handle sometimes. I can't tell you how many girls come sniffing around here thinking they'll find their prince charming. I also can't tell you how many of them come back either crying or with some sort of amateur weapon. It's just a real messy situation"

Nat thought back to that big banner at the entrance of the stadium with the players' faces on it. The Pioneers were undoubtedly the best looking team in the NFA. Not even her dear Lightning could come close. Still, she found it hard to believe Ellie had seen so many messy situations. Nat could maybe count on one hand the amount of times she had seen scorned girls at the Lightning locker room, but never anything too out of hand.

"What kinds of situations have you seen?" Nat asked gingerly.

"Wellll..." Ellie turned back to make sure the office door had been closed. "Just with Deon alone, I can tell you there's been a steady parade of Insta models coming in and out."