Bright Lights, Little City

1

"Australia? Are you sure?" Jordyn Van Dijk sounded absolutely incredulous, and Anabelle De'Angelo laughed at the dark haired Brazilian with a smile. The two best friends were sitting in a cafe in Manchester, discussing what was about to become an amazing opportunity for Jordyn.

"Of course I'm sure," Anabelle retorted. "Email came through today. Perks of working for a big club like City, I guess."

"Liverpool's a big club too, you know," Jordyn rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Oh stop it," said Anabelle, "Don't pretend you don't love it."

"I really do," Jordyn chuckled. "I know my brother plays for Liverpool, but I've kinda fallen in love with City."

Jordyn had been adopted by the Dutch mother of Virgil Van Dijk when she was a baby. Her real parents were Brazilian, but that was all she knew of them, and she was raised in the Netherlands. She obviously looked nothing like her brother, but growing up together meant the two actually shared quite a few mannerisms and quirks which made them seem genuinely related. It had always been the three of them, since Virgil's father had abandoned them before Jordyn had come into the picture. Their mother hadn't wanted to date anyone or marry again, but she had always wanted a daughter. They followed Virgil around for most of his career, moving to Scotland, Southampton, and Liverpool when he did. Jordyn was always the little sister, however, so landing a big job at a club that wasn't Virgil's, (and a rival, no less) really felt like proving to the world that she was independent. Virg pretended to be annoyed that she worked at City, but in reality he was happy for his sister.

It had been almost six months since she'd landed the job as Manchester City's main photographer, and it had been little short of a roller coaster ride for her ever since. Perhaps meeting the girl who would become her best friend, who worked as a receptionist at the training complex, could be considered the highlight. But an end of year trip to Australia seemed a bit over the top.

"Is the break even that long?" She asked. "Australia is so far away. Surely we'll just get there and have to turn around and go home again. And don't people want to be with their families over Christmas?"

"You don't leave until the day after Christmas, and you're only there for a week or so, aren't you?" said her friend. "That's plenty long enough. And Liverpool are involved too, so your brother will be there anyway. Come on Jordyn, this is a once off opportunity, surely you can see why they've jumped at it."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Jordyn smiled. "I'm just surprised, is all."

"Of course you're not complaining," Anabelle grinned. "I know there's SOMETHING going on with ONE of those boys, and..."

"Ana, I swear," Jordyn interrupted, swirling her coffee in her mug. "There is nothing. I don't have a soul mark yet."

"Girl I know our friendship is only half a year old, but I like to think I know you, and no one smiles to themselves like you do unless there's someone, soul mark not not."