imbalance | trent alexander-arnold¹

two.

"If you say so," the Dutchman concluded as he began to back away, though Wynter could see the smirk he tried to withhold. She shook her head, the corner of her lips turning upwards.

"You see, everyone's beginning to warm up to you already. You'll be best friends with everybody in no time." Jordan said to Wynter as he slung an arm around her shoulder while they prepared to regroup.

"Let's hope so," Wynter wished. 'Cause once she got back into her position, she felt a certain scouse's glare directed towards her, leaving her confused. However, she still focused back on the game.

In the end, Jordan's team came out as the victors of the minor match. It ended with a close 2-1 score. Minutes after Wynter's impressive goal, James equalized the scoreboard. The two teams continued to battle it out for the win for the next few minutes as the next goal would determine the winners of the match. Unfortunately for Joe's teams, they'd given away a free-kick which was taken by Jordan, who then scored the winning goal.

All the players then found themselves indoors for their water break and lunch before they would go back outside and resume training. As she went to sit down by Jordan's side, Wynter found herself casually starting a conversation with Joe.

"So Wynter," he started, catching the young girl's attention. "Tell us about you. You know things we probably wouldn't know about you already."

When Wynter realised that nearly everyone's attention was placed on her, she gave them a sheepish smile. "Okay. Well, my name's Wynter, but my friends and family call me Winnie. Uh, I'm French 'cause of my mom but also American because of my dad. I've been playing football since I was five and yeah. Unless you want to know anything else, that's all I have got to tell you all."

"I've just got to ask," Gini stepped into the conversation. "What was like winning the World Cup?"

An acutely bashful smile appeared on her face. "It was cool. You know 'cause I got to win it for my country with my friends, some of which I've been friends with for a while like Mbappé, Griezmann and Pogba. And since I'm female, it was a bit of a shock to some people when I ended up playing on the overall winning team. So it was also funny to see their reactions as well when I won. But you know it wasn't just all smiles then."

"What do you mean?" Virgil asked.

"You know, just the regular backlash and criticism that you would get from the media or even the fans themselves. Except for me, because I was the only girl playing in the competition, some people, I guess, took offence to it and hated me for it because they didn't like the idea of a girl playing in men's games." Wynter shrugged as she looked down at her food.

As he noticed that the mood had quickly shifted, Jordan picked up on a different convo. "Are you going to be playing with France in the Nations League?"

"I've been told so, I'm not sure but I think I am if I'm called up." She smiled.

The players continued to have their conversation amongst each other within their small groups. As Wynter was eating, minding her own business, she felt a pair of curious eyes on her. She glanced up from her plate and saw Trent staring at her from where he sat. His faintly cruel eyes glared at her with discontent and quite frankly the french girl couldn't help but be confused by his sudden attitude aimed at her.

When the young players' eyes aligned with each other, Wynter's melanin eyes travelled over to the exit of the cafeteria. Trent's followed her direction and instantly understood what she'd was trying to convey. He got up from his seat and slowly made his way out.

Wynter sighed to herself and followed ensuite with Trent. "I'll be back in a minute," she told the players at the table she sat at. She watched them nod before she left.

Wynter walked along the hallways of the training grounds, eyes scanning the area. The boy only left a few seconds before her and yet she couldn't find Trent anywhere.

"Hey, Trent?" She called out, though she got no answer. "Hello? Trent—"

Suddenly, Wynter felt a warm hand grab her own, pulling her to the side. When she was about to let out a cry of dismay, she came face to face with the boy himself. "Trent, what the hell? You can't just do that! You almost scared of me."

Trent disregarded her questions. "What do you want? You're the one that wanted to talk."

"I just want to know what is going on with you. Ever since you saw me today, you've been giving me all these bad looks and I don't appreciate them. Do you have something against me or what because I won't be surprised if you did."

"What? Of course not! I'm just not in the best mood today, that's all." He shrugged.

"And so you have to direct all of that on me?" She huffed, folding her arms.

"Look, whatever you think I have against you, it doesn't even exist, alright? I'm going to say it all now, I'm sorry for anything that I have done today that may have offended you. It was unintentional. But on a serious note, I've no idea about what you're talking about."

Wynter didn't get a chance to reply as Trent had already pushed past her, leaving her alone in the hallways with her unanswered thoughts.

——

[ do y'all think the chapters are too long?

edited—13/04/20 ]