The six-month housemate

Thirty-seven

THIRTY-SEVEN

The rugby match came very fast after we get back. Apart from the fact I got the results from my finals, the first week was mostly about getting back into gear. The results weren't amazing, but not that bad either, considering the fact that I'd had to catch up with a lot of things to actually understand what was going on in class. We had to be at the stadium very early, where we were taking the coach with the rest of the team.

I'd prepared my bag the night before, to make the least noise possible in the morning. The Coach had provided me with a full rugby gear in the colours of the team, so I would be recognisable as a member of the staff. Alex and Vanessa were already up, but everybody else was still sleeping in the house.

"Hi honey. Ready?" Vanessa asked, smiling, while making breakfast.

"I think so." I smiled back.

She was cooking eggs and bacon, and there was a smoking teapot on the counter, with a mug standing next to it, ready to be filled.

"I'm preparing you a tumbler of tea, there will probably some over there, but it's probably not going to be great quality."

"Thank you! You really didn't have to get up, I'm sure Alex and I would've done just fine." I said as she served me and her son.

"Nonsense." She shook her head. "You two are already tense, no need to add time to that. It's better if everything is already ready."

Alex was very silent, for once.

"Are you okay darling?" Vanessa asked him, voicing my concern.

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling about today. It's very cold, I'm kind of concerned people will get injured." He said, a frown on his face as he looked out of the window. It was still dark out, which didn't seem to reassure him.

"We've seen worse." I nudged him with my elbow. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I really do hope so."

---

We went to the meeting place by motorbike. Alex drove carefully, much more so than he usually did, which meant that we were almost late. When we arrived, most of the team was already in the bus, so we rushed to the door to get in. Coach Smith grabbed me by the arm before I could get in, and pulled me aside.

"Hey Coach, is something wrong?" I asked, rubbing the spot where his hand had been.

"I'm sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you." He looked at my arm and grimaced. "It's just that... Are you sure you want to go by bus?"

"Er... Yeah, why? Is there something wrong?"

"You know... The guys can be a little crude sometimes... And even more so in the bus." He scratched the back of his head.

"I know. But don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm used to it." I shrugged, smiling.

"Well, if you're sure... Okay then." He gestured for me to get in the bus.

Alex had saved me a seat next to him. The journey to the stadium was pretty silent, probably because everyone was at least a little tired. The guys seemed very concentrated, most of them either slept or listened to music. Alex and I decided to play 'yellow car' since we were bored, but stopped quite quickly when our arms started to ache to much from being hit (you have no idea how many yellow vehicules there are on English motorways), and started listening to music.

He and I had always had the same kind of taste in music. I knew that from a young age, when I managed to get his Deezer pseudonym and stalked what he added to his playlist. I was kind of creepy when I was young, but hey, at least that was the only place I did stalk him, so I guess it wasn't that bad.