MASTERMIND | Jamie Tartt

NINETEEN: OKAY IS OKAY

There was a sense that everything was going to be okay. AFC Richmond may have been on the brink of relegation, but there was a new brightness shining on the club, some would call it optimism, others would call it hope. Nature was healing and so was Rebecca Welton who had brought Leslie Higgins back into the fold, and in the same breath had apologised to all the people she had wronged.

But none of them had taken her actions to heart, because hurt people hurt people. The greyhounds were a found family, by no means were any of them perfect, they were works in progress and works in progress made mistakes.

Like thinking that cramming an entire Premier League football team into a small office with the windows and doors shut and blinds drawn, leaving them submerged in darkness was a good idea.

The universal lack of air conditioning in British workplaces didn't help either.

The act was a selfless effort to surprise Nathan Shelley with his new promotion from kitman to assistant coach. So at the time the team thought it would be a great idea to join in on the action, hiding out in Ted and Beard's office to be part of the surprise.

"Is now a bad time to say I'm claustrophobic?" Colin whispered, standing beside Billie as Bumbercatch and Zoreaux peered through the blinds, ready to keep an eye on the action as soon as it started to unfold.

"You didn't think to mention that earlier?" Billie hissed at her friend.

"Will you two be fucking quiet?" Roy huffed, frowning at his sister.

"Guys, please," Sam hushed the group, "You'll ruin it."

Sam was eager for the plan to go to plan, having created the group chat, purchased the confetti cannons and made the whistle box with the help of Billie while they watched Dirty Dancing at his house.

Billie was incredibly dedicated to spreading the Dirty Dancing agenda.

"Hey," Isaac who was at the front of the group clicked his fingers, pointing at the window that overlooked the locker room, before holding up two fingers and then miming his fingers walking like they do in those spy films.

"The fuck does that mean?" Billie whispered.

"Game time," Isaac nodded at Roy.

"Who the hell are you?" The group heard Nate ask the room.

Those at the front of the office, peered through the blinds to see the new young kitman pushing the laundry cart into the locker room.

"Oh, hi, hello!" The young man beamed, holding out his hand to Nate, "I'm Will, the new clubhouse attendant."

"No you're not, I'm the clubhouse attendant," Nate was quick to reply with fear in his eyes, fear that he had been replaced.

"It's like that Spiderman meme," Billie whispered, "The one where they're all pointing at each other."

"What's a meme?" Roy frowned

"Alright, Cillian Murphy, who invited you to the party?" Billie smirked at her brother, never missing an opportunity to reference specific pop culture events.

"Hey, Higgins, where are you?" The group heard Ted's voice as he entered the locker room, acting as though he were on the phone.

"Ted, what the fuck's going on?" Nate asked the coach anxiously.

"I don't know, I'm trying to figure it out myself." Ted answered.

"Figure what out?" Nate replied, "Have I been sacked?"

"Has he been fired?" Ted asked his phone.

Billie and Colin exchanged grins as Higgins entered stage right, "I don't know anything about this, Ted," He looked up to see Ted, "Oh, there you are."