Play On: A Glasgow Lads Novella by Avery Cockburn

Author:Avery Cockburn [Cockburn, Avery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-05-25T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

“WILL THERE STILL be tickets available?” Brodie asked Lorna as they approached the East End park where Duncan’s match was soon to begin.

Lorna and Paul found this question hilarious.

“This is amateur football, mate,” Paul said. “Nae tickets. Nae seats either, usually, but at least this park’s got the terraces.” He pointed to the rows of long, mossy, concrete steps, most of which were sheltered by a roof with peeling white paint.

“Is this your first match, Brodie?” Lorna asked as they went round the back of the stands to the entrance. “Are you a football virgin?”

“Please don’t use those two words together.” Brodie shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets to hide their trembling. His skin felt thin today, perhaps due to the damp wind or the lingering virus—or maybe because of his nerves.

Reading Fever Pitch last night had left him more puzzled than ever. But he reckoned the best way to understand Duncan’s great passion was to overcome his own football phobia and put himself in the thick of it. If nothing else, he’d show Duncan he was trying to bridge the gap between them.

“Oh.” Brodie stopped in his tracks. “There they are.”

Not fifty feet away, the Warriors and their opponents were warming up on the pitch’s patchy grass. It took only a moment to pick out Duncan in the row of high-stepping footballers in pale blue shirts.

Lorna tugged his right arm. “This way.”

“Why not sit here in the middle?”

“It’s an away game for Warriors,” Paul said, “so their supporters sit at the end. The section with no roof, of course.”

“How do you know which—ah.” Brodie gaped up at the score of fans who provided a welcome blare of color against the drab background of concrete and clouds. A few waved rainbow flags, one loon wore a rainbow clown wig, and one quine flourished a stuffed version of My Little Pony’s Rainbow Dash on a stick. “I assume that’s the Rainbow Regiment?”

“The one and only.” Lorna unzipped her hoodie to reveal a rainbow tie-dyed shirt. “Ooh, they’ve finished warmups.” She dragged Brodie to the rope fence separating the stands from the pitch. “Harris, ya wee knob! We brought a surprise!”

Duncan looked over from where he stood talking to a tall, lean, ginger-haired man in a Warriors kit. At the sight of Brodie, Duncan’s face brightened with his signature broad smile. He abandoned his teammate and darted over to the fence.

“What are you doing out of bed?” he asked, still grinning. “Lorna, was this your idea?”

“It was Brodie’s,” she said. “He didn’t want to tell you earlier in case he changed his mind at the last minute out of fear.”

“Out of tiredness, you mean.” Brodie glared at her.

“You do look pale,” Duncan told him.

Brodie shrugged. “I was born pale.”

“Harris, let’s go!” the ginger teammate shouted. Even from this distance, Brodie noticed a desolate quality about the man. His shoulders hung heavy, and his mouth looked permanently etched into a grimace.

“That must be Fergus,” he said.

Duncan nodded. “I gotta dash. But I’m happy you’re here.

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