章節 17: Anne

Alexis had a smile on his face as he walked home. Occasionally, he looked up at the sky and muttered prayers of thanks to God. No one could convince him that God hadn't done a miracle at that point.

After overcoming his earlier excitement, he began to meditate about the tactics that Xavier discussed with everyone in the locker room. Before Xavier dismissed them, he said that they were going to talk more about it the next day and Alexis didn't want to find himself confused.

He continued thinking about the tactics until eventually his gaze stumbled on a figure. It was a feminine figure. She was wearing a plain white dress and was waving goodbye to someone. She turned around and instantly locked eyes with Alexis.

In that moment, the both of them went through the same rollercoaster else of emotion. Confusion, shock and finally… a bit of happiness…. The feminine figure went on a different ride for that last one. Alexis face didn't move from the shocked expression.

The female figure had a bright smile on her face as she rapidly close the distance between her and Alexis. A few moments later, she was just in front of him.

"Hey!" She smiled at him.

In front of him was a girl that looked about his age. She had a bit of a tanned complexion coupled with black hair and green eyes. She was currently standing at a whole head under him, quite short indeed considering that Alexis wasn't the tallest of people.

"Hi". He forced a smile on his face. It wasn't good enough though, it was quite obvious that the smile was forced.

Anne didn't take offense to it though, if she was a stranger she might've gotten angry but she was one of the few people who actually knew Alexis.

"You haven't changed at all". Anne said. "You're still so awkward".

"People don't change". Alexis said.

"But they sure do grow up". Anne smiled. "You're actually taller than me now. I feel like a dwarf standing next to you".

Akexis's lips twitched. "You're short. It's a simple truth".

"Oh… he jokes". Anne said dryly. "But seriously though, how long has it been? Five years?"

"Two". Alexis said.

Anne had been his best friend when he was little. Their houses were located next to each other so they were together literally every single minute of the day. They went to school together, came back home together, played together. She even accompanied him to training when he started football. She was his only friend, not because he wanted it to happen but it just did.

Alexis wasn't the most outgoing person. He could be extremely passionate and loud around people he knew but outside of the football pitch, he was a very shy person. He didn't socialize much and never really knew how to do it. People took it as him being rude and arrogant, only Anne knew him for what he was… him.

When people started distancing themselves from him, she always stayed close. Whenever he was annoyed or pissed by the coach, he always ranted to her and she… she actually listened. She became an irreplaceable part of his life.

Unfortunately though, she moved away two years ago and Alexis became even more of a loner than he originally was.

"I didn't know you were in Birmingham". Alexis said.

"I also didn't know you were here". She said. "Doesn't matter though, we have a lot to catch up on".

After she said those words, she dragged Alexis to a nearby cafe, of ignoring his protests. He was practically screaming at a point, but Anne didn't pay him heed. Eventually they were sat opposite each other inside a small cafe.

"So how's football?" Anne said.

"It's going okay". Alexis answered plainly.

Anne scoffed. "You're in Birmingham Alexis. You hate their accent here, and don't tell me some shitty story about how you transferred academies. I'm smarter than that".

"I uh… I actually had an ACL injury on my left leg. Real Stars released me cos of it and ya-da ya-da, I'm here and in my school's football team". Alexis said.

"But you're all good now?" Anne asked, concern settling in her eyes.

"Yeah". Alexis nodded. I recovered a while back.

"Alright then". Anne said. "So what school are you going to now?"

"Charles Patterson". Alexis answered.

Anne looked a bit disappointed when she heard the name of the school. She was obviously hoping that she and Alexis were going to the same school.

Alexis on the other hand didn't expect such. Her parents were stinking rich. The only reason why she and Alexis were going to the same school in London was because she begged her parents. Obviously some words from a child wouldn't be enough to convince some grownups so she threatened them with suicide.

A smile hung on Alexis's lips as he remembered that incident. Anne could be crazy when she wanted to. It was one of the many things he liked about her.

They talked for a few more minutes then seperated after collecting each other's phone numbers. Anne said that she had other things to do and Alexis had to go home and make with Xavier's technique.

When Alexis went home, he took off his clothes. After a long ice bath, he opened his phone and saw the document that Xavier had sent to the group. He immediately opened it and started reading the tactics and descriptions that were there. After an hour of reading it, Alexis started to become really impressed with Xavier, he really knew his stuff!

After reading for about two hours, Alexis felt that he had understood what Xavier wanted from somebody playing his position on the field. He closed his phone and laid on his bed. His eyes remained open though, meeting Anne today and brought back so many memories. He began to reminisce of his childhood and had a smile on his face. Talking to her again was just what he needed.