When observed from a distance, the assembled youths gave the impression that they were engaged in card games, however, a closer examination revealed a different scene. When Jamison cleared his throat, drawing the attention of everyone present, all the young individuals turned their intense, hostile gazes towards Winston, particularly since they possessed a map detailing the entirety of the Federation Academy. With a pleased expression, Jamison gestured at the youths to come down, "Now, now, this is Winston, our new friend,"
One youth furrowed his brow and asked, "Are you sure we can trust him?"
With a pleased smile, Jamison replied, pointing at all the youth, "Yes, and this is Kyle, Sandile, Daniel, and Blu"
"Nice to meet you, fellow football player," said Sandile, extending his hand for a handshake..
Daniel and Blu also offered Winston a handshake, but Kyle didn't bother with the formalities. He simply fixed Winston with an intense stare until Jamison broke the silence by pointing at the map.
"Mmm, this won't be easy. The Federation has tightened security around this area. How about over here?"
"That's a no go, I searched it earlier and there were cameras there," Daniel said,
Retrieving a lunch box container filled with baked vegetable mix—beef buns, Jamison then handed it over to Daniel.
"Oh, finally, something to eat. I was starving! I thought you'd forgotten about my food."
"I would never," Jamison replied,
Winston was surprised by the youths, particularly by how Jamison had managed to sneak food out of the cafeteria without attracting the attention of the instructors monitoring the area.
And how had this youth named Daniel managed to slip out and explore the entire premises? They had only just arrived in this place—at least, he had. So how had they managed to get their hands on a map? Is this underground football really this important? Of course, Winston didn't ask any of these lingering questions. For a while, Winston merely listened, observing the youths as they talked among themselves. His attention shifted when Jamison suddenly addressed him.
"What do you think, Winston? Could you check this area for us? You're in the striker dome, so none of us are allowed into the other one."
As all the youths turned their attention to him, Winston let out a sigh before replying: "sure why not, I will check it out,"
"Thanks. How much are you guys betting on the match? I think K9 will lose to the Sharp Blades. They've been on a winning streak lately—remember the last city match?" Daniel said, munching on the baked meat buns.
Sandile nodded in agreement and said, "I think the Sharp blades are monsters, they will wipe out the K9. You forget they have that big guy as their leader,"
Blu who was quiet, finally said, "That is true, but I think K9 have a shot, I mean, in their previous match, they made their opponent look like amateurs,"
Kyle clicked his tongue, "Fuck that, I think we should put our money into the Sharp blades,"
Winston watched the youths exchange conversation, talking about teams with strange names he had no knowledge of. The more he listened to them speak about these matches, the more his interest grew—another avenue for learning and improvement.
To Winston, the underground matches were reminiscent of the games he once played at the beach when he met Ike. These names, however, felt exaggerated. Winston rubbed his chin, a faint excitement building within him.
"Winston is coming with us," said Jamison
"I hope he won't slow us down. This plan has to be foolproof—get in and get out," Kyle said, scrutinizing Winston.
"Kyle, relax. It's not like anyone here is fully trustworthy. Besides, I've been watching Winston for a while, and he seems genuinely interested in the Mortal-street League.
"On top of that, he's the only attacking player we know from the Attacking Dome. We don't have the luxury of being picky—we're running out of time. The league starts in two weeks," Jamison replied,
"It's actually three weeks," Blu said, Looking at the crumpled, graphically designed poster he had pulled from his pocket.
"How much money do I have to put in?" Winston asked,
"For now, you don't have to put in money, since it's your first time—don't worry, I got you," Jamison said, rubbing his hands together.
While the conversation was ongoing, an instructor entered the D building, sounded the bell three times, and instructed the young people that it was their curfew and they should go to sleep.
The quartet quickly scrabble to put away the Federation map when they heard the instructor climbing the stairs.
The instructor furrowed his brow—Jamison smiled and dropped a crumpled pornographic photo of a posing half naked woman.
The instructor shook his head and just acted like he didn't see anything. Instead he switched off the room lights.
As the quartet retired to their respective beds, Winston lay on his mattress, unable to suppress his excitement. For the first time, he had an opportunity to watch the Mortal Street League up close.
He found the name a little strange, but quickly brushed the thought aside. Perhaps the organizers wanted the league to stand out, or maybe they wanted to avoid confusion with the commercial leagues he was familiar with.
Turning onto his side, Winston felt the day's exhaustion wash over him. Before he knew it, sleep claimed him.
The next thing he heard was the ringing of the bell outside Building D.
Winston opened his eyes to find Instructor Smith making his rounds. The instructor ordered the youths to get washed, eat breakfast, and report to their respective domes for the day's training.
As they arrived at the striker dome, the instructor in charge of the attacking dome, a rather short and perpetually grumpy man who projected an aura of having a dreadful day, promptly instructed the attackers to undertake twenty laps around the entire dome.
"How's life in Building A treating you?" Winston asked Oswin who was running alongside him.
"It's okay for now, how's your side?" Oswin replied,
"It's interesting, I met some interesting players,"
"Interesting how?"
"Mmm, it's hard to explain, did you know that there is underground football out there?"
"Underground football, you mean the football that is being played in the street?"
"I think so, but I'm not sure. I only heard some of the players talking about it back in Building D." Winston replied,
"I didn't know it was a thing, I thought it was just a thing we use to play as kids, so what happening with the underground football?,"
"That's what I thought too, until I saw a promotional poster. Oswin, it's real—and it's actually a huge event.
"I'm thinking of sneaking out to watch one of the matches being played in the next few weeks. Back when I was at the beach, I played underground football with Ike."
"Ike?" Oswin asked with his brow furrowed, "wait? Wis you're thinking of sneaking out, you know if the Federation finds out you will be expelled from the academy"
"Yeah, remember when Atlas suggested that Dumi take me to the beach? Well, while I was there, I met this kid who sells ice cream. He's actually a pretty skilled player. And don't worry—the guys in Building D have a foolproof plan to make sure we don't get caught."
"how much do you trust these players, whose to say they wont put you under the bus, Wis this is a bad idea remember what we are here for." Oswin said lowering his voice,
"But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, bro. I wish you'd been there to witness the unbelievable skills those players displayed at the beach. Some of them were playing at a professional level."
"Looks like you've made up your mind. So when is this tournament?"
"Three weeks from now," Winston said,
"But next week is an open season for player vs player challenges, you should be preparing for challenges,"
With his brow deeply furrowed and a clear look of concern etched upon his face, Oswin directed a discerning glance towards Winston.
"About that I got a plan, I'll display my awesome skills in the next dome challenge and that would show all the youth not to mess with me, and they persist you know me I love challenges," Winston got close to Oswin he glanced at the youths who were running in front of them. Winston gestured at Oswin with his arm to lower their speed, and Winston whispered, "They have a map of this entire place,"
Confused, Oswin whispered back, "Who has a map? We just got here—how the hell did they even get their hands on that map?"
Winston had forgotten to ask the youths how they had gotten a map of the entire academy. But he couldn't bring himself to think about it properly—the excitement of the Mortal Street League clouded his mind. Winston considered asking Jamison when he returned to Building D. He looked at Oswin and said, "I will ask Jamison,"
"Jamison?"
"Yeah, he's the player I met in Building D. He and his friend are planning to sneak out to watch an underground football match."
Oswin stopped running so as Winston, "Yo, Wis, I don't think it's a good idea. You should focus on getting out of building D, don't forget why we are here."
"I know, bro. I just really want to watch this match. I'll be careful and don't worry about Building D. I'll make sure I earn more rating points."
"You two, who said—you should stop," the short instructor said with his arms folded.
Winston and Oswin continued running.