Football singularity

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May blinked as she took in the sight of her childhood best friend, standing barefoot on the stairs in plaid pyjama bottoms and a University of Cambridge hoodie that looked at least two sizes too big. "Emma…" she whispered, her throat suddenly tight.

But Emma didn't give her time to finish. In a few quick steps, she crossed the space and pulled May into a long, silent hug. It was firmer than Jenna's earlier one, almost to the point of squeezing the air out of her lungs, but she didn't complain. They stayed like that for a few moments, neither of them willing to end the moment, but like all things, it must come to an end.

"I'm sorry," May murmured into Emma's shoulder, her voice cracking just a little.

"Me too," Emma replied, remembering the fallout she had with her friend after her brother mustered up the stones to spill what he had overheard. They stayed in the hug for a few moments before finally pulling apart after overhearing Jenna's not-so-subtle cough.

Awkwardly pulling apart, Emma gave her a soft smile. "It's good to see you, it's been too long, I was starting to feel withdrawals. If you had let us know you were coming, we could have prepared a room for you."

"Do you want me to leave and come back so you can get ready?" May asked in a joking tone, her hand moving to her suitcase as if she was ready to leave.

"That's not such a bad idea, we would just need to wipe your memories of the mess you've already seen. Don't worry, a good whack should do it, I've seen it on Tom and Jerry," Jen chimed in from across the kitchen island, holding a frying pan which neither of the two had seen her take out.

May instinctively shrank back as Emma blinked in surprise, her sleepy mind trying to catch up. "Jen… why do you even have that out right now?"

The girl sent them a wide, harmless smile before loudly slamming the pan down on the cooker. "I was going to make eggs," she said innocently, though the mischievous glint in her hazel eyes told a different story. "But then again, I wouldn't mind putting that Tom & Jerry logic to the test."

May snorted. "Okay, well, I'd like to keep my skull uncracked, thanks. This brain might be just above average, but god gave me good looks for a reason."

Emma chuckled and waved her over. "And what a pretty head it is, though if you don't hop in the shower, your scent will start attracting the bacon."

May was confused for a second, even raising her arms to smell herself, but couldn't quite make sense of her friend's words. "Oi, I don't smell, wait, do I? Be honest, Jen?"

"Hahah, I plead the fifth, but if I were you, I'd make a beeline for the bathroom and use up some of Emma's expensive shampoos and bath bombs." Jen joked mid-laugh before proceeding to turn on the gas stove, acting totally uninterested in her friend's mental state.

"You guys are the worst... and where is that fakackter bathroom?" May exclaimed, her cheeks puffing in indignation as she stomped her boots on the marble floor.

"Second floor, fourth door on the right", both girls quickly explained, sounding as if they had practised that for hours just to be in sync. May didn't bother with them anymore as she carried her bag up the spacious carpet-laden stone stairs.

~~~

[Glebe Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Emma's Crib| 20/01/2020 | Time: 09:20]

"So, are you ever going to tell me what happened between you two over Christmas?" Jen asked as she placed the last of the bacon into the designated serving bowl before closing the lid that kept the warmth in.

By now, the living room had been cleaned up, and the glass dining table had been decked. Different types of food decked the long table from the small yoghurt stand on the left end to the hot food in the middle, and a more traditional bread section at the end with a fresh batch of bread rolls and pretzels. They made an effort to have a big breakfast every Monday, switching out who would prepare it each time.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." Emma tried to say but stopped mid-sentence as she felt Jenna's eyes lock onto her.

"Don't give me that BS, May doesn't just go off the grid for almost a month over a small misunderstanding. Now, Liv and I have been patient, giving you guys your space, but we deserve to know what is going on in our friend group." Jen retorted, her voice rising slightly with each word as her petite figure gave off the aura of a principal.

Emma sighed, her shoulders sagging under the weight of the question. She stood frozen for a moment near the kitchen counter, hands resting on the edge of the sink, her expression conflicted. The morning light poured through the tall sash windows, illuminating the tension between them.

"I honestly just overheard Rakim talking to Zeus about it and got caught up in this mess." Emma finally muttered, not looking up. "It's not my place to tell you, though you will have to wait for May to do that,"

"Fine, but one of you better start talking, and fast, I'm way too busy with my UNI workload to tiptoe over a minefield," Jen complained as she placed the scrambled eggs into their own serving bowl. "Let's get washed up and wake the twins for breakfast."

Emma gave a short nod and pushed herself away from the counter, grabbing two sets of cutlery as a distraction. "Alright. But you're on twin duty. I'm not getting caught in another one of their sleep-paralysis-murder stares."

Jenna rolled her eyes but chuckled. "Deal. But if I get slapped with a pillow again, I'm throwing Hailey's organic protein powder out the window."

Emma smirked. "She'd declare you excommunicado and send a certain British special agent to finish you off."

"Oh, please, he'd go running for cover the moment he heard the name Wick," Jenna retorted with a light laugh and quickly disappeared up the stairs to rouse the house's infamous "twins"—not actual siblings, but Hailey and Maddie (Madison), where always together to the point people thought they were attached to the hip. The fact that they both majored in mathematics and computer science didn't help to dispel the rumours.

[10min later]

All the girls were gathered around the glass tables in their respective seats. Hailey, a petite brunette standing at 5'7 same height as Jenna, had her hair tied into a messy bun, letting two loose strands frame her face. Her eyes were a shade of light brown, which matched her cute facial features.

Maddie sat next to her and unlike her self-selected twin, she had fiery ginger hair which flowed in curls like a lion's mane. She was gifted with a symmetrical oval facial structure with high cheekbones and a pair of sharp, sea-glass green eyes. Maddie was slightly taller than Hailey at around 5'9 with an immaculate posture that was inherent in her very being.

The two were silently buttering rolls and sipping their protein smoothies in perfect sync like an unspoken ritual. They gave May polite nods when she sat down across from them, barely acknowledging the fact that the girl hadn't been there last night. May didn't feel offended as she knew that this was their default setting until their blood sugar levels reached an acceptable threshold.

Emma sat at the head of the table, pouring herself a cup of peppermint tea. May sat to her left, fresh-faced from the shower and wearing a TitanFit hoodie that nearly swallowed her whole. She looked better, less haunted, more grounded than when she had arrived, but there was still a subtle tension in her posture.

Jenna, now placing the final pitcher of OJ on the table, slid into the last open seat. "Alright, troops. Monday breakfast briefing is in session."

"You know, kids our age just text using your voice is just so 2015," Hailey absent-mindedly retorted as she bit into her roll, savouring the sweet taste of blueberry jam.

Emma raised an eyebrow, her mug halfway to her lips. "Says the girl who has a sticker on her laptop that reads 'I miss 2012 Tumblr.'"

Hailey didn't even blink. "Because Tumblr was a cultural movement, not a communication tool."

That earned a soft snort from Maddie, who reached for the avocado bowl. "You're not wrong. But seriously, Jen, what's the briefing this time? Are we voting on who's doing the dishes or declaring war on our pervy neighbours?"

Jen leaned forward, elbows on the table like a war general about to lay down her master plan. "Neither. We need to decide where we will host the back-to-semester kickback."

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To be continued...