The bus ride back from Manchester was quiet.
Isaiah King was asleep, his head resting on the window, clutching his pink boots like a teddy bear.
Kenji Sato was reading a book about recovery yoga, but his eyes were closed.
Only Kai Sora was awake. He was playing a video game on his handheld console, the light illuminating his sunglasses.
Michael Sterling sat at the front. He looked at his phone. The battery was dying because he had received over a thousand messages in the last two hours.
Arthur Milton sat next to him. The old scout was eating a packet of crisps very slowly.
"We did it Arthur," Michael whispered. "We actually did it."
"We poked the bear," Arthur mumbled, crumbs falling on his coat. "And then we punched the bear in the nose. The world is going crazy Boss. My wife just texted me. She says the butcher gave her free sausages because we won."
"Free sausages," Michael smiled. "That is the real trophy."
