Tartt

Part 3

Isabelle trailed behind Jamie. She was terrified but she hid it well, at least from Jamie...
He sat her down on a bench in a blue and red hallway.
"Ok Iz, I won't be a moment, I'm just going to catch up with the team and get my kit on, and then I'll find you somewhere to sit so you can watch training. Sound good?" Jamie prayed she would say yes.
Iz nodded slowly. She was still dead terrified but trying her best to contain it.

Jamie returned after a few minutes and led Isabelle through some doors, down a corridor and out into the stands overlooking the pitch.
Jamie disappeared again leaving Iz sat alone with her thoughts.
Slowly she watched the pitch as more and more players and coaches filtered onto the grass. Fear crept in as a couple of people took notice of her sat up in the stands. She tried to avoid eye contact and kept her eyes up and around the pitch, admiring the slight view of Richmond.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them as she zoned out as training began.
After about half an hour of nail biting and playing with her shoelaces, Isabelle came out of her trance as she heard her name being called. She looked down to where it was coming from as she saw Jamie beckoning her down onto the pitch.
Her heart caught in her throat as she trudged slowly down the steps. Many of the players were dotted around the area having their own conversations or stretching, but it was still scary for her approaching the group.
She walked round the barrier and approached Jamie without making eye contact with anyone.
Jame rested his hands on her shoulders, he could see she was scared and was attempting to calm her a little.
She heard a booming American voice shout at the group to continue their stretching instead of chatting. In a moment of panic, Isabelle grabbed Jamie's hand and held it tightly. This took him by surprise but he squeezed her hand in response.
She glanced up as the man looked down at her and smiled. He knelt down to her level and held his hand out for her to shake. She cautiously lifted hers and shook his hand.
"Hi there. My name is Ted. What's yours?" the man smiled.
She knew he already knew her name but she appreciated that he was already trying to make her comfortable. Unfortunately it didn't seem to work as she tensed her shoulders and let go of Jamie's hand as her eyes found her shoes.
Despite her lack of response, Ted proceeded to talk to her about anything and everything he could think of that might interest her.
"Jamie's a good ol' player on the pitch right here. I wonder if it runs in the family, huh? Are you any good Isabelle?" he asked her hopefully.
It took her a second but she mustered up the courage to meet his eyes and whisper, "Maybe... not really."
Despite the answer, Ted glowed with pride that he had gotten a response out of her.
Jamie could the help but smile, Ted was overjoyed.
Ted's face lit up with an idea,
"How would you like to be an honorary coach for today? You can borrow a jacket and a hat and I'll even let you blow the whistle if you like!"
Isabelle looked up at Jamie with uncertainty. She wasn't sure if she was allowed, or if Ted was really as nice as he seemed.
Jamie smiled down at her and nodded with encouragement.
"Ok.", Isabelle muttered.
Ted clapped his hands together loudly, making Iz flinch violently.
"Ok... sounds like a plan...", Ted replied, not missing Isabelle's reaction to his actions, but shooting Jamie a concerned look which was reciprocated.

Ted had Nathan fetch a jacket and whistle for Iz and she now stood shyly between Ted and Coach Beard. She blew her whistle on Ted's command and the team gathered before them. Nobody missed how Iz cowered before them and avoided eye contact. Anyone could tell she was afraid. They felt a pang of guilt and felt almost protective over the girl instantly.
"I want you all to know we have an honorary coach for today...", Ted explained, placing his hand gently on Isabelle's shoulder. "This is Isabelle Tartt, Jamie's sister. She will be my right hand man this practice!"
Isabelle looked up from her shoes but still avoided eye contact with anyone but Jamie. She offered up a shy smile which was returned by the team as a swarm of "Hey!" "Nice to meet you!" "Hi Isabelle!" and kind smiles and waves were returned.
She felt a little relieved by this but was still cautious and still felt awfully anxious with all the attention and eyes being on her. Ted took notice of this and instructed the team to do sprints from cone to cone.
"See? Not so scary, huh?", Ted asked Isabelle.
She replied with a small smile and nod.

When training was over, the team all returned to the locker room and Isabelle was invited into Ted and Coach Beard's office. Perched up on a filing cabinet, she observed Beard and Ted do a run through of the plans and layout for their next match.
In the locker room, Jamie was being interrogated by the rest of the team.
"So why is she with you? Did something fucked up happen? She seemed incredibly nervous.", Colin asked.
Jamie sighed, "Her dad- My dad wasn't taking care of her, wasn't good to her. What more do you expect from an addict asshole, you know?" he took a breath, "The police are still investigating what was really going on... but I think it's worse than I thought, you know?"
"What do you mean?", Isaac asked.
"I don't know man, she's just terrified of everything. I don't even know how to take care of a kid, I have no idea what I'm doing and I don't want to get it wrong."
It was silent for a few seconds while the team pondered on the young girl's circumstances.
"We'll help."
Everyone in the room looked over at Roy Kent.
He rolled his eyes and repeated himself.
"We'll help you out, ok? We've... got your back."
Jamie didn't know quite what to say. He knew Roy had a niece he loved to pieces, but Jamie couldn't think of a time when Roy had ever been even remotely nice to him.
"Thank you... genuinely thank you." Jamie said.