"Hey. Kid."
Alex looked up.
It was James. The star striker from Chelsea. The one who had laughed at him in the locker room.
He was standing over Alex. He was huge.
"You are in my seat," James said. He was not smiling.
"Oh," Alex said. His face went hot. "Sorry. I did not know."
"Now you do," James said. He just... stood there. Waiting.
Alex picked up his plate. He felt his hands shaking. He felt like the new kid in school. The one everyone was going to bully.
"Hey, James! Leave him alone!"
Alex turned. It was Tom. The big defender from Liverpool. The one who had also stared at him.
Tom walked over. He was even bigger than James.
"He is just a kid," Tom said. "Stop being an idiot. Go sit somewhere else."
James looked at Tom. He was not going to fight Tom.
"Whatever," James sneered. He looked back at Alex. "Do not get comfortable, 'Professor'. This is not your little Arsenal academy. This is the real world."
James walked away.
Alex just stood there, holding his plate.
