BOND

12.

"You all are like a bus load of kindergartners high on cookies!" he looked at Elena, "And you're supposed to keep them calm not participate in their shenanigans!" 

Ben started giggling at the last word and Alex who was sitting next to him punched him. 

"Ow! Don't get physical with me! You have a girlfriend!" Ben glared at him and turned to look at Coach Harley like the abiding student he wasn't.

Mark raised his hand from the other end of the couch where he was sat on the armrest, "Calm the eff down guys!"

Oliver shouted out from next to Elena, "Have some decency man! You're swearing in front of our teacher!"

Joey squirmed and stood up from his squished position. He raised his finger to his lips and whistled until all of them had stopped talking. "Shut. Up." He said raising his hands after each word.

Coach looked at him, still pissed for what had been going on when he had entered the room, "Get back to your place."

Joey was no stranger to his vocabulary and understood that Coach found it as funny as they did. Regardless, he settled back into the tiny void of space on the couch for him. 

"You all have interviews from today evening and all the time till then will be spent prepping for it." He let out an exasperated sigh as Ben raised his hand. "Yes, Ben?"

"Will Elena be there?" he said smirking at Joey and the latter realized how stupid it was of him to tell Ben that he had watched her interviews before sleeping.

Elena answered him, "I actually have interviews of my own. But I'll get free by the time yours start."

"Will you?" Ben asked cheekily still looking at Joey who discreetly flipped him off when Coach had started speaking again.

"No stupid things should be said and I'm saying this specially for you Ben, because you will even after repeated reminders."

Ben who had been sticking his tongue out at Mark turned to look at the Coach and said, "What?"

Alex said, "I'll look after him."

Josh said, "We'll all be there so most of us won't even get the chance to talk."

Coach nodded, "That would have been the case if you all hadn't come out of her plane. And already got clicked with her back home and here," he pointed at Elena.

She gave them a sheepish smile, "If it's any consolation they're pretty fun. And it's your first time so it'll be a blast."

"Like I was saying, now you all have about five minutes of alone screen times in addition to your thirty minutes of group time which all the rest of the teams have as well," Coach Harley continued.

Joey said, "Five minutes isn't that bad."

Coach said, "Funny you should say that because you have been given ten minutes. The photo of you two from the hotel lobby is still blowing up. And they want you specifically to talk about the relationship you have with her."

"We don't have a relationship," Joey answered. He could feel Elena's stare on the side of his face.

"Yet," Ben added and four people said simultaneously, "Shut up, Ben."

Alex said to Elena, "Can you do something about it? I mean you probably have a manager or something, right?"

"I've already gotten the post taken down," she shrugged. "There isn't much I can do about the interviews."

Mark said, "This is stupid. We're here to play so if they need to ask us something it should be about basketball. Not these two," he pointed at Joey and Elena. "No offence guys."