"My head is fine, Bastian," Alex said, sitting at his locker, number 38. "I am just... tired."
"Good," Bastian said. "Famous and tired is better than famous and stupid."
The locker room filled up. Antoine came in, looking like a movie star. He winked at Alex.
"Today, Professor," Antoine whispered, "we show them the signals."
Alex just grinned.
Mark was the last to arrive. He was not wearing his shiny suit. He was in his full training kit. He was already sweating. He had been running sprints. In the parking lot.
"I am not late," he panted, bursting through the door. "I am... warm. I am the chaos."
Harry, the captain, just laughed. "Go get the balls, chaos."
Mark grumbled, but he did it.
The manager, Steve, stood in the middle of the room. He was holding a tactics board.
"Okay," he boomed. "You are not a secret anymore. The whole world knows about the Hurricane. They know the trap. They know the decoy. So today... we see if it really works."
