It had turned out to be one of the worst days of her life. Why she had let him talk her into it she had no idea, she hadn't really wanted to come at all. Alan helped run a local pub football team and this weekend they were playing a summer pre-season friendly away up north and Alan had talked her into going.
"Don't be such an arsehole," he had told her when she initially refused, "you'll know some of the lads and some of their girlfriends will be there as well. It'll cost you nothing and you don't even have to watch the match, you can spend the day in Carlisle if you want to. It'll be fun." Eventually she relented and agreed to come.
When she turned up outside the pub on the day and climbed aboard the coach she was shocked to find Alan's girlfriend on the coach, sitting with a couple of her mates, Sally glared down on her from the bus window before turning to say something to her friends who looked down at Jackie and laughed. The bus was half full of rowdy blokes all sporting various bits of football kit and pushing each other around. They parted to make room for her.
She should have just got straight back off the bus but the doors closed behind her and the engine started. "Sit down you lot and behave yourselves," shouted the driver and the bus lurched forward. Sue sat down and looked glumly out of the window as the village began to slide past. Alan's girlfriend was a bit of a surprise and most of the blokes and girls seemed to be much older than her. Some day out this was going to be.
The journey seemed to take forever. The further north the bus went the more they left behind the fine summer weather, the day turned unseasonably wet and the rain began to streak the bus windows, smearing the outside world as she watched unknown and uninteresting, villages and fields roll by. The bus was half empty and far from knowing a lot of people there seemed to be no one she had met before.
After what felt like half a lifetime of gazing blankly through the window Alan suddenly appeared and sat himself heavily in the seat beside her. "Enjoying the trip?" He asked as though genuinely interested or at least as though he thought that an affirmative answer might be possible. Jackie just pulled a face and continued to look out at the wet landscape. "May just brighten up for the match," Alan offered conversationally.
"Oh goody," she muttered with all the enthusiasm she could muster.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked finally picking up on her mood. "Thought you'd enjoy it. "
"Enjoy what?" She asked sarcastically. "Sitting on a bus going to God knows where, with a group of people I don't know to watch a flipping football match that I don't care about, in the bloody rain." She paused, "Excuse me if I don't get too excited."
"It's Sally isn't it?" He asked as if he hadn't heard her.
"Who's Sally?" Jackie asked nonplussed by the answer and pretending that she didn't actually know who Sally was.
"My girlfriend."
Jackie looked at him, "What the fuck makes you think I care one jot if you bring your girlfriend with you? We're not an item. I don't care who you bring. I just wonder how the hell I let you talk me into this!"
Alan smiled, "Might turn out to be better than you expect."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jackie asked warily. She never knew with Alan.
"Nothing," he said looking around, "why aren't you talking to anyone?"
"Because I don't know anyone."
Alan looked over his shoulder at the guys sitting towards the back. "Tony," he called and one of the younger guys, who until that moment had been involved with the others in heading the ball between themselves, caught the ball and looked over. "Yo." Jackie inwardly pulled a face 'Yo', where the hell did he get that from?
"Toe," Alan called back to him, "come down here and talk this young lady. She thinks you're all a bit standoffish and she's lonely."
Throwing the ball to one of the others Tony got up and walked down the bus. Alan vacated the seat next to Jackie and Tony sat down. "Tony is our star goal-scorer." Alan volunteered as Tony settled himself down with a smile. "Be nice to her and look after her," he said to Tony, "she's our mascot;" and to Jackie he added, "He'll explain the offside rule. He's good at that," and then he was gone, back down the bus to sit and talk to the lads at the back.
Despite her misgivings Tony was good company and he soon had her laughing as he kept up a steady chatter about the club, his job and the guy's on the bus. He sort of introduced some of the others through his stories although he didn't bring them over to actually meet her.
When he got to Stan she finally remembered him as the landlord from the pub Alan had taken her to on his bike and she blushed at the sudden rush of desire when she remembered Alan's hand under her skirt up against the pub wall; and then the policeman. She hoped that Stan had not heard about what had happened and she gave him a quick glance but he appeared to be deep in conversation with Alan and a couple of the others.
It took hours to reach their destination, a windswept field in the middle of nowhere. The town where there was supposed to be a pub and a café was a good half mile away, other than that it was stand in the shelter of a broken down shed that was masquerading under the title of 'the pavilion', or changing rooms. The other team was already waiting for them when they arrived and friendly insults were immediately exchanged as the visitors got down from the bus. The wind cut across the field at right angles, driving the rain before it. A far cry from the summer sunshine back home and Jackie shivered and huddled under the small shelter the broken porch of the pavilion provided. The few girlfriends and what she supposed was a small scattering of local supporters, ignored her as they huddled in their small groups and shivered in the rain.
Soon the two teams poured out of the back of the pavilion and ran wetly onto the field, jumping up and down trying to look sporting and keep warm while the referee and the team captains tossed up for the kick off.
The game was soon underway and soon both teams were chasing each other up and down the pitch and cries of 'To Me' and 'Over Here on My Head!' interspersed with obscenities as they gamely battled the wind, rain, mud and each other for the few points the game would provide the winner.
Jackie lost track of time as the game ebbed and flowed from one end of the field to the other. Eventually a ragged cheer sounded and Tony ran back away from the opponents goal while an obviously disgusted goalkeeper ran back to collect the ball. Tony acknowledged the congratulations of his team mates and gave Alan a broad grinned 'thumbs up' while sending Jackie a broad, albeit muddy, smile.
Jackie smiled back and waved. Tony looked suitably impressed with Jackie's congratulations and Alan laughed. Jackie felt suddenly embarrassed and dropped her hand.
The match continued without further score until a cold and sodden referee blew for half time and the two teams walked wet and slightly despondent back into the Pavilion. Jackie followed them inside with the rest of the supporters. The teams were towelling themselves dry and had been given hot drinks from a battered old tea urn that wheezed and grumbled tiredly from a rickety old table in the corner.
The air was warm and steamy and smelled of stale sweat and liniment. One of the opposing side grabbed Jackie and pulled her onto his knee. "Come 'ere lovely," he said, "are you the mascot or the prize?"
