IR Day 12 - Love and Soccer

Lara takes her place beside you on the bus, and you look out the window at the passing trees. It’s hard to know which is a stronger feeling: relief at getting back to something a little more civilized, or anxiety about the coming week. It’s a bumpy ride back, but short.

Camp has changed. The tents for camera operators and editors look more official now: they have FUTA logos on them, and more of the young women in the black and pink uniforms of FUTA are bustling around, taking care of the grounds. The stands have grown, so the live audience will be larger. There are lots of new signs that you don’t have time to read as the bus rolls by.

Pink Team’s cabin has been quietly improved. Even though the interior is still a camp-style space with no privacy, it feels more like a hotel room. There’s a new coat of paint, new mattresses, nicer sheets… little details like that. You want your own room, but you know that isn’t going to happen. If everyone had their own space there would be less frustration and getting aggravated with each other, so then there’d be less drama.

You and the others crowd into the showers, which are hotter and have more water pressure. After that, it’s straight to dinner.

The winning teams are already there, looking more put together than the rest of you. You aren’t worried about that. There’s plenty of time for you to turn things around. The food here is much better than at loser camp.

About twenty minutes into the meal, Annette takes the small stage at the front of the dining hall.

“I feel like this is Hogwarts at times like this,” you mutter to Lara.

“And Annette’s the hot, MILFy Dumbledore?” she replies.

Tiff is near your table. She gives you and Lara a look, and you shut up.

“Welcome back, everyone,” Annette says, picking up the mic. She’s looking good in her crisp slacks and blouse. You just have a thing for blondes these days. “I hope you had a restful weekend. I’ll make it quick because you have a busy week. Your coaches have your detailed schedule, but the simple version is this: tomorrow you’ll be training and re-orienting after the weekend. On Tuesday, you’ll have another fun little event that’ll be a great opportunity to catch some attention, and it will determine your seed for Friday’s matches. Wednesday is a recovery day, and Thursday we’re having another event for charity that’ll be another great opportunity to get some eyeballs. On Friday, we play.”

She pauses as everyone reacts to that, murmuring to each other. You say nothing, but you exchange a look with Lara. She’s thinking the same thing that you are.

“And one other thing,” Annette chirps. “A change is being made to how teams are captained. Judges will assess gameplay on Friday and name an MVP on each team. That MVP immediately becomes captain of that team.”

The reaction to that is louder, but not as loud as it would have been if the rumors hadn’t been circulating all weekend. You watch Lara take a deep breath.

This captain thing… you aren’t so attached to being captain, but in the actual FUTA contracts, the captain has a ton of power and authority. You don’t use it because you aren’t that kind of captain, but what if someone else did?

So…

More events.

Barely any time to practice.

“Who are the judges?” Meghan from Green team shouts at Annette, who smiles at her.

“Lulu and Moxxi,” Annette replies.

And… the captains of your teams are going to be determined by two women who know nothing about soccer.