Alex walked back towards the U18 building. It felt... smaller. The paint on the door was peeling a little. He could hear the loud, bad music from outside.
He was holding his bag tightly. In it, wrapped carefully in a plastic bag, was the jersey from Antoine. It felt like a secret. A magical, sweaty secret.
He pushed the door open and walked into the locker room.
"HE IS HERE!"
Sam launched himself at Alex. It was like being hit by a very happy, very sweaty dog.
"DUDE! ALEX! WE HEARD! THE U21 CAPTAIN TOLD OUR CAPTAIN! DID YOU REALLY NUTMEG BEN? DID YOU REALLY MAKE BASTIAN FALL OVER? IS ANTOINE AS COOL AS HE LOOKS? DID HE SPEAK TO YOU? DID YOU GET A SHIRT?"
Alex laughed, trying to push his friend away. The entire room was staring at him. The music had stopped.
"Yes, I nutmegged Ben," Alex said, and the room went "Oooooh."
"No, I did not make Bastian fall over," Alex continued, "I just... stopped the ball. He sort of... stumbled."
