How will you get in to see the match?

With the help of a friend

You're still considering your options when you hear a familiar voice calling your name. You spin around to see that it is indeed Dr. Morgan, the college Tutor for Women, waving at you as she approaches down the street in the company of a few other staff members, apparently having just arrived by minicab. You wave back and walk over to meet them.

"Hello, Julia," you greet the attractive brunette thirty-something with a smile. "Here for the match?"

"I wasn't expecting to see you today, Jack," she replies, nodding in answer to your query. "Would you like to join us?"

This seems to be an excellent opportunity, so you agree without hesitation and fall in with the small group, listening to the conversation, rather than participating. You're the eldest by some margin and none of the others is from your department, although you know them all at least by sight. Ignoring the queue for the turnstile, you all saunter along to the gate, where showing your university identification sees you let through, giving access to a set of metal steps rising at the back of the home grandstand to the highest tier, which is set aside for staff. It's already quite busy and your companions have to squeeze past other spectators to find enough empty seats next to each other. Happily, you find yourself between Doctors Morgan and Lighthouse, the latter of whom is so engrossed in the pre-match preparations that you don't feel the need to converse with him at all.

The folding seats are not too bad, all things considered and you have a perfectly acceptable view of the pitch, given your relative lack of interest in the sport. Julia is chatting to the young man on her other side, so you take in the atmosphere. At ground level, both teams have troupes of cheerleaders entertaining the crowds before the main event, but there the similarity ends. The opposition's squad are basically dancers shaking their pompoms on either side of a mascot dressed in a huge costume, possibly intended to resemble a crocodile or lizard, whereas the university girls are putting on an acrobatic display that would be breathtaking even without the shocking detail that you can hardly fail to notice.