The Team

The next day passes in a blur and suddenly, somehow, we're on a plane to Porto.

It's not my first holiday, but it's the first time I've been away without family. Iwassupposed to have a "lads on tour" holiday with the old team beforeeverythingchanged. I don't know if they went in the end.

It's almost seven in the morning, which is an absolutely unholy hour for me to be not just awake, but sitting 30,000 feet in the air, when it should be a day of rest. Each of us seems to be reacting in a different way to the whole situation.

Vikram is buzzing with excitement, like a child who's up past his bedtime. This, predictably, is annoying all of us, but seems to be especially painful for Gene. The way he's sitting next to Vik, rigid and grimacing, makes it obvious that this is torment for him. Every time the excitable kid bounces around too much, it seems to send a jolt through Gene, who looks moments from cracking his teeth or trying to storm out of the plane.

Liam is sleeping, as he has done each time we've stopped since meeting in the god-forsaken hours of the pre-dawn morning. I'm sure that he's only been awake for about an hour, all told, since we got together this morning. I swear he was even sleeping in the queue to board the actual plane.

Josh is a pint in, at least. He said it was tradition as he necked the eye-wateringly expensive amber liquid at the shithole pub in the airport with all the Gammons. Only Jamie joined in with him, and he went for some kind of sweet looking cider instead of the lager-looking stuff Josh downed. Now Jamie plays a game on his little red and blue computer thing; massive headphones swaddling his head, while Josh and Emma speak in hushed tones, laughing now and then.

The team is spread across two sets of seats on one side of the aisle, while I sit on the other with Jade. We had been fortunate enough to get Jade a seat on the plane with us, but not fortunate enough to get her on seats anywhere near us. My mum had been surprised by this; apparently seats on European flights were usually a free-for-all, in her experience.

Fortunately, Vik's absolute disregard for social etiquette caused what I can only describe as a permanent expression of revulsion from the moment they sat down next to me. Once the plane was in the air, Jade appeared like a guardian angel and offered them her seat in exchange for hers.

They were halfway down the aisle still whispering thanks, before Jade even finished offering, so now Jade and I sit together on the opposite side of the aisle to the rest of our group.

"Oh my god, it's like he's never been on a plane before," Jade groans into my ear.

"I know," I respond. "At least Emma had the sense to put him in the window seat, away from real humans."

Jade sighs and sinks into the seat, closing her eyes. "Except that poor old guy behind him."

I frown, remembering the man's exasperation the last time I caught a glimpse of him. He looked moments away from standing up and batting Vik around the head with his newspaper.

I gaze past my girlfriend and through the small window at the sparkling ocean below us. I feel a shiver of excitement and turn my eyes back to her, wanting to share the moment with her. She still sits with her eyes closed and I can't help but drink in her beauty.

Her face still holds a light tan that's enough to make her freckles bloom, despite her makeup, across the bridge of her nose and under her sea-green eyes. Eyes which are closed lightly, seeming larger by the way they're ringed in black matching her long eyelashes. She only wears light makeup today, but it's still enough to make her cheekbones seem to shine, emphasising their depth. Her soft pink lips are parted, slightly, enticing.

"I've got some headphones if you want to sleep," I say, smiling at her.

"Nah, I don't think so," she yawns, keeping her eyes closed. "It would take something loud enough to cause me permanent hearing damage to block out that racket."

"I should have come to you," I mumble, and lean back, closing my own eyes.

"Who in their right mind would have swapped seats to be next to this?"

"Someone both deaf and blind, maybe? Or do you think Vik could somehow get to them too?"

Jade giggles and nuzzles up against my shoulder, raising her eyelids to expose a narrow slit of her namesake irises.

"How does he do it?" She gestures past me.

Liam, who sits the other side of the aisle to me, has started to snore. This, despite the fact he sits just one seat away from the human klaxon.

"This is all old hat to him," I venture.

"You're kidding me," she looks at me with surprise.

"Nope. This is nothing. He's played in tournaments all over the world."

"Then I guess you've got good odds," Jade burrows farther into me.

I make a noise of agreement in my throat, mind wandering to the tournament and all the associated stress that will come with it.

"Do you think he had teammates as... annoying, as this before, then?" Jade smiles up at me.

"I don't know how that could be possible," I shrug, making Jade's head rise and fall. "But he did say he used to do drama trips or something, and they were apparently quite rowdy. He probably learned how to cope from those."

Jade sucks in some air through her teeth, "Oh. He would definitely have learned how to block out distractions then."

"You know of his fabled drama trips?"

"Nothis. But I happen to have GCSE in drama, so I'm well aware of what goes down."

I look down at her, taken aback, "You have a drama GCSE?"

She curls an eyebrow as she looks back up at me, "Yes?"

"I... I didn't know."

"Is there something funny about that? I didn't do it at A-level, when I heard things wentreallycrazy on drama trips, but, well... with my other choices, it was down to drama, computing, or business studies, which is basically just computing with less programming and more PowerPoints, I think."

"I just didn't know... You didn't strike me as the drama type."

"Does Liam?" She grins at me.

"Well... no..." I admit.

She smiles widely at me, her expression almost triumphant, as if she's just won something.

The trolley laden with drinks and snacks materialises a few seats up the aisle, and Josh manages to pacify Vik with what looks like as many miniature alcohol bottles as he can grab in one hand. The cabin crew member freezes, contorting their face and tilting their head, their hand moving towards the drinks as if to take some of them back, but the surrounding passengers all seem to unite in a shaking of heads and clearing of throats, causing the crew member to look around. I'm sure I even hear someone plead under their breath. After a moment, their radiant smile returns, and they take payment before moving on.

I can't express how grateful I am to them for that decision.

The blessed respite allows me to start dozing off, and I feel Jade's breathing become deeper and more even as my eyes grow heavy. I don't dwell on it for too long as there's a sudden, loud, chime and I open my eyes to see the seatbelt lights are back on. Within half an hour or so, we step out of the plane.

A wall of heat hits me as soon as my foot passes the threshold at the aeroplane's door, and I savour the feeling. I didn't think it was going to be that much hotter than back home, at this time of year, but there's always something special about those first few steps and breaths in a foreign country; something about the air and the heat. It's more than just the difference between the air-conditioned cabin and the outside.

"It smells of arse!" Vik laughs, hooting as he descends the stairs.

Gene slaps him on the back of his head, clearly annoyed with his behaviour on the journey, "Please just take a few minutes to think about... anything before opening your mouth again."

Josh leads us onward, not bothering to comment on Vik's behaviour.

***

The accommodation is more than I anticipated, even from the photos. It's like someone was asked to build a palace, but their only experiences of palaces were from children's books.

We disembark from a shuttle directly in front of some large, ornate, white and gold gates and I hear some gasps from the others, as I help Josh and the driver remove our bags from the vehicle.

"Should you be doing that?" Josh asks, gesturing at my leg, without interrupting his motion to pick up another bag.

I look down at it. I am wearing trousers, but I feel as though I can see right through them at the pale and scarred skin with a red, angry, slash from the surgery. It isn't back to 100%. It won't ever be back to 100%, but it only bothers me when I exert myself a lot. I have a telescopic cane with me, in my bag - brought more for Jade's reassurance than my own benefit. Lifting a few bags out wouldn't be a problem.

"I'm good," I reply, putting on my best smile.

He grins back, taking me at my word and not fighting me, like I would have expected from someone else. Liam appears at that moment, looming like a bear, to grab several of the bags under one stocky arm. He mumbles a brief apology for leaving it to us, but he also has a bright smile on his face.

The shuttle speeds away almost the moment the boot closes, and we turn to enter our accommodation. The first thing I see is Emma rummaging in a hatch in the wall, next to the gate. After a few seconds, she turns and hands out two cards, keeping a third for herself. Jade takes one, and Gene takes the other.

"These are our keys. Don't lose them as we will be charged if you do, and the university won't pay for things like that," she looks pointedly at Vik before turning.

"Why just three?" Gene asks.

Emma raises her card to something that looks like an American mailbox. One of those things that sits outside their houses with the little flag looking thing. It beeps and the gate begins to rattle, screeching for a second before beginning to slide open.

"Because," she turns to smile at us all, as if that's an answer.

"What if we're all out separately?" Gene persists.

Emma is wearing a baggy black hoodie and black jeans. None of us are particularly dressed for the weather, but the few minutes since disembarking the car must have been affecting the usually cool and collected Emma, as she turned her ice-blue eyes on Gene with a cold stare. A single bead of sweat ran down her pale face.

"If that happens, we will deal with it then," Josh cuts in, smiling.

"What even are the chances you'll be out on your own, anyway?" Jamie continues.

"I could be out picking up sexy ladies," Vik pouts. "I do not want to have to do that while one of you losers holds me back."

"Vik," I say, feeling the exasperation from several hours of his constant annoyance, and wanting to get inside to cool down. "If you manage to 'pick up' any 'sexy ladies', I will personally-"

"Gate's open," Liam points, saving me from saying something stupid.

We step through, Liam still overloaded with his, Gene's and Vik's luggage, while the rest of us carry or drag our own.

"Fuck," Vik states.

"Fuck, indeed," Gene corroborates.

We have stepped into paradise. The photos really didn't do it justice. This really is someone's idea of a palace, or at least their idea of what a palace should be, if they had access to a single small plot of land. We stand on a white stone 'road' which leads from the gate to what looks like a small, empty, parking area to our side. The road splits off directly in front of us into a pathway between some verdant hedges, the green extremely conspicuous when compared to the more... arid landscape outside.

We follow the path, walking through the hedges into a courtyard that sits directly in the middle of three buildings, all set back from the courtyard to give an element of privacy. I notice that I'm not the only one who has stopped to stare.

The courtyard is basically a large rectangle made of beige stone slabs surrounding a large pool that reflects the blue sky perfectly, still and inviting. The pool itself is edged in a lighter, marble-like, stone that almost seems to shimmer. The pool is surrounded by unevenly spaced furniture that looks a lot higher class than the dodgy wooden deckchairs and plastic seats from the beaches back home.

Surrounding the courtyard is a wall that's about as high as my chest, and I see short green grass, almost like astroturf, leading from the top of the wall right up to each villa, separated from them only by a few feet of the same beige stone. Each of these walls is cut through by stairs that lead from the courtyard to the front door of each villa.

"Is this all ours?" Gene gasps.

"No," Emma says after a pause. "It was in the emails. We're sharing with the other teams."

"Do we have to do the tournament?" Vik groans. "I want to just stay here instead."

Nobody replies as we continue to stand and take in the sight.

"Hey, look, a pizza oven," Liam grins, pointing.

I follow his gesture to a stone outbuilding made of the same stone as the courtyard, with a roof with the same terracotta tiles as on each villa. Only the corners of the building seem to be supporting the roof, with the rest of the walls seeming more like counters. One side, specifically, does have a round bulge, an opening, and seems to be positioned below a chimney, so I assumed that's what Liam's pointing at. The whole thing kind of looks like a bar, from here.

"I could really do with a pizza," he continues.

"It's too hot for pizza," Jade replies, in a hushed tone.

"That's a factual impossibility," he shoots back.

"Whatisthat?" Jamie asks.

"I'm going to christen it as our pizza h-" Vik gets cut off before he can finish the sentence.

"-Pergola," Jamie states. "It's just a pergola."

"That's not a real word!" Vik complains.

"Do you mean 'pagoda'?" Gene asks. "Doesn't look like one of those."

"It's just a shed," Josh says. "Forget about it!"

Emma clears her throat and looks at her phone, before moving ahead and gesturing for us to follow. We do, trailing her past the beautiful cerulean pool and towards the villa directly opposite us, the sounds of the others arguing fade into the background as I take in everything.

We reach an entrance, and she presses her card against a plate embedded next to the big double doors. They swing open without a sound.

"Jesus," Josh whispers as we step inside.

The reception area is huge, with marble-looking floors and an unnecessarily elaborate light fixture that I wouldn't quite go as far as to describe as a chandelier. The squabbling from the team trails off as they stop and gape at the room.

"This is insane," Jade gasps, looking around, eyes wide.

"Yeah," I agree, my own eyes roaming around the room. "It's something, alright..."

My ears perk up as the sudden silence of the group lets me hear what sounds like distant conversation.

"Someone beat us here," Jade observes, glancing around as if looking for the source of the noise.

"Maybe the other teams are already in their own accommodation," I guess, shrugging and thinking back to the other paths from the pool.

"This place is bonkers!" Vik looks around, wonder in his eyes. "How many villas do we have?"

"Did you pay any attention to... toanything? Do you even know where we are?" Gene asks, his expression the picture of aghast.

"Not a clue," Vik shrugs carelessly, smiling and looking away from Gene.

"This is Porto, Vik," Liam yawns. "We just have this one villa, but-"

"And where's that?"

"Portugal, dumbass," Jamie rolls his eyes.

"It's basically Spain, right? It's not as hot as I thought Spain would be."

I feel my head shake as I try to tune them out. Itreallyis hot here, but not much worse than at home, and it's a dry heat rather than the horrible mugginess we left behind. That was outside though; this entrance hall is cool enough to make Emma's clothes look suitable.

I hear Jade sigh and mutter something as she takes my arm, still instinctively trying to support me, even though I don't need it anymore.

We pass under an actual archway, and into a big open room, complete with another large, elaborate, light fixture above what I think are marble floors. The centre of the space is surrounded by matching plush sofas arranged around a large coffee table complete with a basket full of... stuff, and a vase of fresh flowers. The wall opposite us, the only one not furnished with a sofa, is actually the side of some stairs, and supports a TV that's probably the same size as the coffee table.

One wall seems to be mostly floor to ceiling windows looking out onto a patio area distinct from the courtyard we walked through. The wall opposite it is barely worth noting, other than the white, slatted, door in the centre.

"Our room are just up here," Emma directs us, as she makes her way towards the stairwell at the back.

I've already learnt to accept what she says in matters like these, without questioning. Obviously, the others have too, as even Vik doesn't squawk about it.

We follow her up and into a corridor that's length must run the width of the room below, with two doors leading into rooms that would be above the room we had just come up from.

"This is a weird layout," Josh mutters.

"It's like something I would make in The Sims," Jade laughs, barely audible.

I know what they mean. The corridor is narrow and cramped with all of us standing in it, in stark contrast to the rest of the house. If there hadn't been large windows on one side of the hall, then it would feel way too claustrophobic.

Emma sways to the door farthest away from us, letting us all crowd into the hallway, instead of lurking on the stairs. She opens it after a moment of obvious effort, making a clicking sound with her mouth before it begins to move.

"Oh..." I hear her, after she steps inside.

"What?" Josh asks, striding forward to join her.

We all pile in, and I get my first look at the room. It's long, although not particularly wide, and contains two single beds, a closet, and a door to, I guess, an ensuite bathroom. Two windows opposite look out over a balcony I hadn't noticed on my way in; it must look out towards the pool. Then I see the other wall.

"Oh," I say voice almost dripping with disappointment.

"It's not ideal, but..." Emma begins, but she trails off, obviously unable to think of a positive.

The wall isn't quite a wall, but more like a very wide archway with a large wooden slatted partition separating this 'room' from what is obviously, and quite visibly, the other 'bedroom'.

"This isn't bad, is it?" Vik laughs.

"It's not ideal... But it's better than a hostel," Josh shrugs. "Well... I mean, excluding the bedroom."

He clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What do you mean?" Vik turns and stares at him.

Jade, Emma, Josh, and I all turn to look at the small guy with mixed expressions of disbelief.

"What?" Vik repeats, his eyes beginning to squint behind his glasses.

"How many rooms do you count, Vik?" I ask.

"Uh... one"

"Right."

He still looks confused, "But ours is next door, isn't it?"

Gene slaps his hand to his forehead so hard that it rings out in the room, "Why don't you just go and look in the other room."

Emma hands Vik the card, wordlessly, and he scurries back out into the hallway. I catch a glimpse of Gene's forehead and stifle chuckle at the red mark left by his hand; Vik must really be getting to him today.

We have a few seconds to edge farther into the room and to get a better look beyond the wooden partition. I hear the handle on the other door rattle, and then Vik appears from the side of the archway. He almost jumps out of his skin when he sees us, letting out an actual squeal.

"There's no way," he whispers, his head swivelling, eyes darting around the room.

"It's fine," Josh shrugs. "We can drag the beds further over, and maybe the divider..."