Game Theory × NH

088 | radium

× Horan

Swindon was a nice little town compared to the monstrous cities I have been to. Everything was calmer, cleaner, and more peaceful than the ugly traffic noises and nasty people of London. Or at least, I thought it might be because it was hard to tell with hundreds of people piling into the stadium and all the reporters busting their asses just to get a peek of a player before the game actually began. It was so bad that I had resorted to going out a back door to get some fresh air.

We had arrived in Swindon about an hour ago, and then were taken to Webbs Wood Stadium a half hour after that. There was still two hours before the game actually started and I was bouncing on the balls of my feet with excitement and nerves.

The cold air was chilly against my skin, but from all the people bustling inside and creating a humid atmosphere, the cold was more than welcoming. I hadn't bothered on changing into my uniform yet, and instead sported grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt and some trainers.

I'd only been outside for five minutes when a huge snowball hit my shoulder and exploded into dust.

"Ow, what the fuck?" I shouted, looking over to see Jace laughing at me. "Goddamn, Layton. That hurt."

"Its only water, calm down," he assured.

"That wasn't water, it was ice," I clarified as I rubbed my arm. It took me a solid three seconds for me to figure out what I said. "Which is technically water, I know, but there was mass to it and it fucking hurt."

"I'd think for how tough and mighty you act, I'd expect you to whine less." Jace was also wearing sweats and a shirt, but unlike me, also had a winter coat on over his shoulders and a beanie over his hair. "Coach wanted me to come get you. Apparently some reporters are out on the field asking for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Tell them to piss off. They don't actually want to talk to me; they just want to get the dirt on Lynn and I."

"I told Coach that, but he insisted," Jace said. "Just go and see what they want."

Sighing heavily, I walked back into the building. The stadium we were playing at wasn't as big as the one back home, and the layout wasn't nearly as complicated, so it was pretty easy to learn my way through the hallways and find the pitch.

I spotted Reece and Thomas standing next to each other in front of a couple of reporters off to the side of the field. There were a few people holding video cameras and I knew that they were being filmed live. I made my way over to them and stood to the side so to not interrupt.

"-first time getting into the BUSA. What is going through your head right now?" one of the reporters asked, holding the microphone out to them.

Thomas crossed his arms over his chest, dark skin glowing from the sun's rays beating down. "Honestly, it's all insane to me," he told them. "We've never gotten this far in the competition and it's just mental to stand here right now."

"Reece, this is your last year, isn't?" the other reporter asked. "After this, you're all done. Do you have any recruiters asking for you? You reserved on a team?"

Reece smiled. "I have some lined up."

"How is it like to play in such cold weather?"

"A lot better than it has been before," Reece said. "The weather's been kind to us, I remember playing last year and it was brutal."

"I bet Lynn is taking the winter hard," the man reporter asked. "Coming from such a warm state in America, I can only imagine how much she hates this."