Page 8

Adriana arrives at the training ground feeling terrible.

Her crumpled kit is as skewiff and limp as she feels.

Even though she was coming from her own flat, and had actually managed to do a proper skincare routine, she is so used to riding on adrenaline and endorphins of the night before that she barely recognises herself in the glass doors.

She looks paler and more withdrawn than when she was hungover.

Even though she’d gone to bed early, she’d lain there staring up at the ceiling fan, thoughts racing round, and then when she had finally fallen asleep, she’d had one of her recurring dreams.

In the dream, distorted faces of people from her life stare at her in a constant carousel.

One face after another, like masks being lit from strange angles, glaring at her, their faces unreadable.

Dream-Adriana had read their impassive expressions as angry and disappointed in her.

All the members of the team had been in last night’s carousel, Maeve, Coach Hoffman, their now ex-Coach Fernandez, and then her family, and even Jacob from the other night, as well as exes significant and insignificant, faces of people from her life who definitely weren’t deserving of late night rumination.

Everyone she had ever disappointed, everyone who had ever been angry at her, everyone she hadn’t been able to successfully please, all in this endless parade, where she felt that she had to justify her actions over and over, apologising.

Every time making herself smaller and smillier until they might finally smile back.

The parade of masks started off slowly, but then sped up, one face after another, so that Adriana, begging and pleading with them, felt herself running out of time, unable to make any headway with any of them.

When she woke up, her chest was tight, and she was breathless like she’d been running in her sleep.

She didn’t know when exactly these stress dreams had started – she had managed to avoid them for several months now, she supposed through a combination of feeling more settled in the team, and fun nights out to distract her.

Because the thing was, she never got the stress dream after a night out.

If she’d been out partying, or with a date or with a friend, she always fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep, and woke feeling connected and rested.

There had even been a moment of weakness when, thinking about her wonderful night spent with Jacob’s soft bed and even softer eyes, she had been tempted to find the number he had given her and break her no repeats rule…

Adriana tries to gather herself before she heads into the dressing room.

It was just a dream. It was just a dream.

Why does she always make such a big deal of it?

Now is not the time to be a drama queen over something that’s only in her head.

Not when the rest of the team need her to give them a morale boost more than ever and she needs to be on top of her game to impress Coach Hoffman.

She’s about to push open the doors, when her ears prick up to the sound of her best friend down the corridor.

She’s talking to someone, an unfamiliar voice.

She can’t hear the words they’re saying, but Maeve’s tone sounds kinda unusual?

If Adriana didn’t know better, she’d think that Maeve could be… flirting?

Two people round the corner. Maeve appears stiff next to a boyish shorter player with artfully cropped black hair that’s curly on top, clear brown skin, and a distinctly cocky smile on her face.

There’s something so unabashed and alive about the shorter player that makes Adriana’s face broaden into a smile automatically too.

Adriana decides immediately that she likes her.

(This, to be fair, is a pretty common reaction for Adriana to have upon meeting a new person, especially another footballer, to whom she always feels a sense of protective camaraderie.)

As Adriana watches, the shorter player looks over to Maeve.

‘So what if I was?’ Kira asks her. ‘What are you going to do about it?’

Oh my God, she is definitely flirting with Maeve! Adriana can barely suppress her glee . All her worries go out the window for now because witnessing her best friend being hit on by a certified hottie is a real delicacy.

Adriana and Maeve’s eyes meet across the corridor.

Maeve’s ears flush pink, and she looks immediately away, which Adriana recognises to be a tell-tale sign of her embarrassment.

Adriana’s chest does a surprised, delighted little cartwheel.

Maeve fancies the stranger too! Maeve’s always been absolutely terrible at hiding when she’s into someone from Adriana although it really doesn’t happen very often.

Adriana had been worried that dormant romantic part of her friend might have been killed off forever amidst her fanatical regime of becoming Captain of the Tigresses the first time round.

But it seemed that no, this bud of romance could bloom in the most stressful of soil.

Adriana has to cover her mouth to stop herself from squealing.

But wait, who is she? Her face does seem kind of familiar, but why? Adriana skips over to them.

‘Well, hello!’ Adriana says brightly.

Maeve swallows and quickly looks at the floor. Adriana coughs politely, in the universal language of, ‘Maeve, why aren’t you introducing us?’

‘Hi, I’m Kira,’ the player grins confidently.

‘Oh, of course! Kira Choksi! The star goal-scorer for the Vixens, Coach’s old team! And what are you doing here today?’

Kira tilts her head.

‘I’m your new player. Coach wants me to join the Tigresses with her.’

Adriana looks from Kira to Maeve. So, this cutie that Maeve clearly has the hots for… is not only going to be a fellow teammate, but surely a rival for the captaincy.

‘Oh shit!’ says Adriana. She didn’t mean to say it aloud. Maeve pinches the bridge of her nose.

‘Er, sorry, I mean, I’m Adriana!’ she offers her hand out. ‘But you can call me Addy.’

Maeve frowns at her curiously. She knows that normally, Adriana likes people to earn the right to call her that.

Kira glances between Maeve and Adriana, clearly sensing that something is going on between the two of them, but not knowing what exactly.

‘Addy, great to meet you.’ Adriana notes Kira has a hint of an American accent, as if she’s travelled around perhaps. ‘Your hair is incredible. Like, wow. How do you get it to bounce like that? Are you doing the curly girl method?’

Adriana beams. She knew she liked her.

‘I really don’t think we have time to go into all that now,’ Maeve says sharply. ‘Coach is expecting us to all be on the pitch, and we’re here to fetch them. Perhaps Addy can go into her hair regime with you after this morning’s session.’

‘Buzzkill,’ Adriana teases affectionately, which elicits a laugh from Kira. Adriana tries to grin at her friend and telepathically say, ‘We will be debriefing later!’ but Maeve, to Adriana’s surprise, tenses her jaw, and strides on ahead.

On the training pitch, the team cluster around Coach Hoffman and Kira. Adriana notices the other players eyeing up Kira warily. She stands there, stretching casually – if anything, it seems like she enjoys the attention, a peacock wanting to show off their feathers.

As Adriana goes to slot in next to Maeve, she walks away, ostensibly to put her water bottle down on the side, not returning to the same position, instead standing further back away from Adriana.

What is up with her this morning? Adriana can’t work out if she’s being paranoid, or if her best friend is being off with her? But why?

Adriana doesn’t have a chance to speak to Maeve or move across to be next to her, because Coach Hoffman claps her hands sharply together, commanding immediate silence and attention from everyone.

‘Players, good morning. I have a couple of important announcements and introductions to make before we start our training this morning. Firstly, I’d like you to meet the new member of your team and our first summer signing. This is Kira Choksi.’

As Coach Hoffman gestures towards Kira, her eyes crinkle, and she gives Kira a proud smile. Adriana feels a tiny flicker of something like jealousy and admiration, all in one. It’s obvious that Coach is very fond of her fiery protegee, and Adriana is amazed by anyone who has won her respect.

Kira stands tall, arms folded confidently, looking boldly out at the team, instinctively making eye contact with everyone.

‘Hey y’all, it’s good to be here,’ she says. ‘I look forward to us winning a lot of matches together.’

Kira grins as her eyes meet Adriana’s, and she gives the air a little punch. ‘Go Tigresses!’

On someone less confident the gesture might have seemed lame, but Adriana can’t help smiling back at her, and punching the air back in return. A few other members of the team do so too, laughing a little.

Adriana glances over to the rest of her teammates, mentally clocking who is smiling back, and who isn’t, as it shows maybe who is feeling on edge about more changes to come during the summer transfer window.

Rival striker Milo has their arms folded competitively – which is no surprise because it’s clear they’ll be competing for the same position – and Maeve – Maeve is looking several feet above Kira’s head rather than at her actual face.

This is highly unlike Maeve, who would normally be doing anything she can to be a teacher’s pet for the new coach and prove herself as a welcoming captain.

‘Kira is the first player I wanted to bring in when I accepted the job,’ Coach explains.

‘She was our MVP at Loughborough Vixens, and scored the most goals in the league last year when we won promotion to this division. So it was pretty easy to convince the new owner of the Tigresses that she was worth every penny to secure her transfer.’