Page 28 of Playing the Game

Jonas shook his head. “It’s more work coming to yours for breakfast than it is staying at home.”

“Quickly or it’ll burn.”

Jonas did as he was told. Living in identical apartments meant he knew his way around Tito and Noah’s homes. Tito insisted on the microwave being in one of the spare rooms. He’d watched an online documentary on the dangers and had taken it to heart.

“You know what, Noah,” Tito said, taking the pan off the heat. “When we faced you last year, you were a fucking nightmare.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah? All over the pitch. Do that today and you’ve nothing to worry about.”

“I stopped you from scoring, that’s for sure.”

Tito stuck his tongue out.

Jonas took a seat at the dining table.

“What do we do if they boo us?” he asked. “The home fans, I mean.”

Noah hopped off his stool and sat next to him. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

“Pretend you can’t hear it,” Tito said, filling two bowls. “This is only the first game. We have a whole season to persuade them we belong here. At least we’ve got each other. Poor Udo had to handle that shit all on his own.”

Jonas took a bowl from Tito.

“That’s not true,” he said. “Adam and the others rallied. From what I heard it was the making of him.”

He took a taste of his breakfast and immediately burnt his tongue.

“Din jävla sopa!” he burst out.

Tito sniggered, which set Noah off.

“You literally just watched me take it off the heat,” Tito said. “Patience, my friend.”

Jonas wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Tito shuddered.

“I didn’t know you’d heated it with uranium.”

“You and Adam are getting on better,” Noah said.

What did he mean by that? Jonas tensed.

“After costing him a small fortune with my stupid mouth,” Jonas replied, “I figured it might be a good plan to keep the captain on side.”

“Don’t blame you,” Tito replied. “He seems decent. Not like some of the others. When can I start making suggestions in training?”

They had been Brockton players for almost a week and Tito had rubbed more than one person up the wrong way.

“Stop winding people up,” Jonas replied. “You’ll end up making trouble for yourself. Adam said he doesn’t want any issues this season.”

Tito made a face. “And we mustn’t upset Adam, must we?”

“Are you sure you shouldn’t be playing in the under-18s squad?” Noah asked.

Jonas burst out laughing.

“That got you.”