Page 32 of Playing the Game

Adam pushed Tito toward his teammates, who were waiting to congratulate them both.

“You don’t belong here,” one woman shouted.

The high of the goal disappeared. Shaking, Adam doubled back.

“Who are you to say who does or doesn’t belong here?” he snarled.

“Come on now, Adam,” a man closer to him shouted. “Surely you can’t defend this.”

Adam thought he might explode.

“Defend what?” he shouted. “There’s nothing to defend. Now get over yourselves.”

“Woke bastard,” another yelled.

“Fucking twat,” Adam replied.

Then Alain was by his side.

“Come on, mate. This isn’t a good idea.”

Alain’s hand on his arm brought him out of his rage. Javier would probably kill him for having a go. He allowed himself to be dragged away.

“You call yourselves fans?” he shouted over his shoulder.

In a daze, Adam followed Alain to the halfway line. The others were watching him in shock.

The referee came up to him. Edd Baker had always been a decent guy.

“I know that things are heated at the moment, Adam,” he said. “You can’t do that. Whatever they say.”

Adam glanced over at Javier and Steven in the dugout. They were watching. Like everyone else in the stadium.

“Edd, come on now,” Adam replied.

To his horror, Edd raised a yellow card in the air. If Adam put another foot wrong, he would get a red card and be sent off.

The injustice of it burned.

“You shouldn’t have sworn,” Edd replied. “You’ve left me no option.”

Deep down, Adam knew he was right. His picture would be everywhere before they left the pitch.

He nodded. “I get it,” he said.

There was no use arguing and making things worse. They were one goal up.

He jogged to his position in the middle. A concerned Jonas waited for him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Adam nodded. “At least I’ve got you three out of the spotlight. A captain’s work is never done, eh?”

For the rest of the match, Brockton defended their lead brilliantly. Following another goal from Alain, they secured a convincing win. Mercifully, Javier had sent Alain to speak to the reporters.

The rest of the team were in the briefing room they usually used for pep talks rather than post-match autopsies.

Adam sat between Goran and Udo.