There were exactly three things I wanted from my first season with the Gold Coast Titans.
1. A starting jersey.
2. A Rookie of the Year nomination.
3. absolutely no unnecessary distractions.
Which was why, when I walked into the media room at Parkwood on Monday morning and saw Ollie Pascoe sitting in the chair beside mine, I knew immediately that somebody was taking the piss.
"No." The word came out before I'd even put my bag down. Ollie looked up from his phone.
His eyes moved over me once before returning to my face.
"Good morning to you too," he said.
I looked toward the media coordinator standing behind the cameras.
"You said this was an individual interview."
"It was," she replied, adjusting something on the tripod. "We've changed the concept."
"Change it back."
A quiet laugh came from beside me. I turned. Ollie was still looking at his phone, but the smirk on his face told me exactly where the laugh had come from.
"Something funny?" I asked.
He finally looked up.
"No," Ollie replied. "Just didn't realise NRLW players were this demanding."
My eyebrows lifted. There it was. We'd been in the same room for approximately thirty seconds and I have already decided I dislike him.
"Didn't realise NRL rookies were this arrogant," I replied.
"I'm not arrogant."
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Then he shrugged. "Confident."
"Same thing when you haven't achieved anything yet."
His expression changed.
Good.
The smirk disappeared for half a second before returning.
"You've achieved plenty, have you?" Ollie asked.
"Enough."
"How many NRLW games have you played?"
"How many NRL games have you played?"
The media coordinator stopped fiddling with the camera.
Somebody behind her coughed suspiciously.
Ollie leaned back in his chair.
"Right," he said.
"Right," I repeated.
"Going to be a long year."
"Not for me."
"No?"
"I don't plan on spending much of it with you."
He laughed.
Not a polite laugh, a proper one. Like I'd genuinely amused him and it irritated me more than it should have.
"You haven't heard the pitch yet," Ollie said.
"I don't need to."
"You might want to."
"Why?"
"Because apparently we're spending quite a bit of it together."
I looked toward the media coordinator again.
YOU ARE READING
ROOKIE STATUS | OLLIE PASCOE
FanfictionTwo rookies. Two competitions. One club. She was supposed to be focused on one thing - making her mark in her debut NRLW season with the Gold Coast Titans. Ollie Pascoe was supposed to be doing the same. When two breakout seasons put them both in th...
