Minnie poured the last dregs from her pint pot into her mouth.
"See you guys in there," she said, to nobody in particular, as she gathered her belongings and headed to the pub's exit. It was a nice enough day outside. She didn't need a coat, and her scarf was hanging limply over her arm.
She scanned the beer garden as she made her exit, looking for familiar faces. She spotted a few of the Academy players sitting on the astroturf, laughing hysterically at each other as they sipped their J2Os through soggy paper straws.
She saw Gerdie, their oldest supporter. For 100 years, Gerdie had attended all but one game at Liddleton Road since the day she was born. "And I had the bloody right to miss it. I was 4 hours old!!" she would always exclaim after someone new was introduced to her.
She heard the supporters club's chants coming from her right, but she couldn't see them. She pictured them on the other side of the shrubbery, drinks in hand, flags draped around their shoulders.
"Minnie!" she glanced over her shoulder to see Freya running to catch her up "Wait for me!"
Minnie pulled up at the lamppost a few feet in front of her and checked her phone for the time whilst she waited for Freya to catch up. 45 minutes until kick-off.
Minnie met Freya when Freya's dad brought her to her first game. Their season tickets were directly in front of Minnie and her Dad and she had seen Freya at every home game ... except for one.
"And no. I wasn't 4 hours old" She would always jest when anyone brought it up. "I went to Disney on Ice OK?".
Freya was 9 when they met and Minnie was 12, but at Liddleton Road she felt older. There weren't many kids there back then. Middle-aged men would nod their heads at her in recognition when they saw her on the concourse. The flask of whiskey-spiked coffee that made its way around Section W2 never skipped her during those cold December matches. Nobody ever watched their language around her. "Fucking shit that wasn't it Minnie?" her Dad's friend Carl had called to her across the concrete steps. Her Dad had laughed, so she nodded and laughed too.
When she had first spotted Freya in her oversized bobble hat, and a scarf that could have covered her entire face, she was ecstatic. Although it was nice to be treated like a grown-up, sometimes Minnie was desperate to talk about pop music, the latest episode of her favourite shows, and have her picture taken with the mascot Ernie the Eagle. On the day they met, she had leaned forward moments after Freya had sat down.
"Ignore the swear swords" were the first words she had whispered into Freya's ear "I sing them sometimes though" she had added smugly. Those were the first words her dad whispered into her own ear when she had taken a seat at Longridge Road for the first time. "My name is Minnie", she smiled.
"Hi Minnie, this is Freya" her Dad Joe had replied for her. He replied for her for the rest of the game too, offering up Freya's favourite player, her favourite subject at school, and her favourite singer. In fact, it took 4 games for Freya to finally communicate verbally with Minnie, but Minnie did most of the talking anyway.
Freya caught up to the lamp post and Minnie matched her pace as they proceeded to the pelican crossing. "They're doing my head in" Freya gestured her head back towards the pub "Moaning about the Scotts Stand". Minne's heart dropped. She had been trying to push that to the back of her mind all season.
"Why?" she said. "What are they saying?"
"They were just talking about where they're moving to. Carl says he hates Barry Bradford so he won't go in the Bradford End. Chloe says she's teetotal now so she said she won't go in the Brewery stand" Minnie burst out laughing at the suggestion that Chloe could ever be teetotal. Freya rolled her eyes in agreement. "What do you think?"
"I think" Minnie took a deep breath "Carl hates Barry Bradford because he got sent off 3 minutes into that playoff game when Carl had fifty quid on him scoring ..." she paused for effect "...12 years ago! Chloe won't go in the Brewery stand because that's where her ex-husband sits, and what do I think?" She searched her head for the words. "I think ... oh Freya I really don't want to leave Scotts Stand".
She felt like she could cry if she wanted to, but there was no point. She'd cried when she got the email. She'd cried when she returned to Liddleton Road the first time after she heard the news. She'd cried when she did the charity Sleep In. The outcome never changed, no matter how much she cried. So what was the point?
"We're going to the Bradford End" Freya tried to sound assertive but her voice wavered slightly, unsure if she was content with the choice that had more than likely been made by her Dad.
Minnie wasn't quite sure if "We" was Freya and her Dad, or if she was included too. She didn't care to ponder about it for too long because she already knew the answer. She was more taken aback by Freya's forced assertiveness and it was plastered all over her face. Freya knew she had to elaborate.
"Well, they don't sing as much as us in the Brewery End. And the Supporters Club are in the Bradford Stand as well. And I like sitting with them at away games. And I can't start watching football from BEHIND the goal Minnie. It's been FIFTEEN years!" she had paused slightly between each reason which made her sound unsure, but Minnie knew that Freya was just worried that Minnie would hit her with counterarguments for the Brewery Stand and take her back to square one.
"Ok" Minnie shrugged her shoulders. Freya's eyes widened. She had assumed she would have needed to put up more of a fight. "Bradford it is".
They walked in silence for the remainder of their journey. Minnie pulled out her phone and opened her app. She swiped both ways, looking for the right ticket. "Cup game, Cup game, friendly, men's, Dad's, women".
She started watching the women when they formed 10 years ago. A few of the A Level PE girls from college were bench warmers and she didn't particularly have much else to do on a Sunday afternoon.
Her Dad had rolled his eyes when invited him. She knew he worked Sundays but she thought it was only polite to ask. It conspired that he had already spoken to Freya's dad and they had collectively decided that the girls would go together. Minnie was 17 and Freya was still only 14 the girls had no objections.
For the first few weeks, Minnie would pick up Freya whilst her Dad sat in the back, reminding her to check her rearview mirror, telling her she was braking too late, and explaining how much it costs to replace a wing mirror if you damage it. He would then drive the car back home, and then drive it back to Liddleton Road a few hours later so that Minnie could drive Freya home again. After Minnie had executed the journey 6 times without any major incident, she was allowed to drive solo.
Minnie held her QR code up to the scanner. The turnstyle chimed and the barrier retracted to allow her through. Freya held up her watch to the scanner and the gate chimed once more. "Hiya Minnie!" one of the stewards called over. He'd once helped her find her Dad when she had got lost on her way back from the toilets and he'd never forgotten her since, nor had she forgotten him.
"Mornin' Dave!" she returned. She wondered where Dave would end up once this stand closed.
She approached her usual kiosk, stood in her usual queue, and ordered her usual hotdog and hot chocolate from her usual kiosk attendant. She took her food over to her usual condiment counter, and added mustard to her hotdog and sugar to her watery hot chocolate. She found herself welling up over a hotdog. Get a grip get a grip get a grip she repeated in her head. You're literally crying over a hot dog. Please get a grip.
She wrapped up her hotdog and placed it into her pocket. She made her way to the program stand and placed a £1 coin on the counter and took a program from the stack. She had lost count of the times she had followed this routine. And now every single step incited a pang of sadness in her chest. She glanced down at the program "So Long, Scott's Stand!" read the headline. Another pang. She would usually read the program back to front once she took her seat, but she had a feeling she would need to wait to read this one in private.
She walked up the stairs, trailing the bannister with her fingers, trying to take in every inch of the last journey to her seat. She wonders if her Dad did the same when they came to the last men's home game a few weeks ago.
"I used to wipe my bogies on that" Freya offered from behind. Minnie snatched her hand away from the cold metal railing whilst Freya chucked to herself.
They made their way to their seats. At the men's game, Freya's assigned seat was directly in front of Minnie's, but Freya had the seat next to Minnie at the women's games.
Freya affectionately called it "Eric's seat" but in all honesty, Freya sat there more than him these days. Minnie's Dad had gravitated towards the seat next to Joe at the men's game after he got caught in the middle of a riveting conversation about tampons during the first game of the season 6 years ago.
"Here, Joe, would it be OK if I swap seats with Freya? I think they've got a lot of off-season catching up to do" he had offered, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah no worries Eric" he'd returned pleasantly. "I need your opinion on this anyway" he flashed a picture of a car on his phone.
Freya placed her hand on Minnie's knee. "I know it's shit, Min. But it's ok. We're literally moving there." Freya pointed directly in front of her at the Bradford Stand facing them. The stand had had a swanky multimillion-pound update 6 years ago. It made the Scotts Stand look ancient in comparison. She had heard the stories of the self-serve kiosks, the automatic flushing toilets. Apparently, the hot chocolate actually tasted like hot chocolate on that side of the pitch.
"I know Freya I'm just wallowing in my own nostalgic depression" She hung her head dramatically and looked at Freya with a wry smile.
"It'll be alright kiddo" Chloe had just taken her seat behind them. "I'll get the seat behind you it'll be like nothing had ever changed"
"You coming to the Bradford Stand too?" Freya looked across the concrete stairs at Carl who had followed Chloe out of the concourse.
"Yeah, kiddo. Apparently, Barry scoring the winner in 3 cup finals outweighs my fifty quid?" Carl replied without looking up from his program. Minnie pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a message to her Dad
Freya n her dad movin to bradford. Chloe n carl n all. What did u want to do? Love u x
"LOOOOOOOOONGRIDGE"
The loud piercing voice made Minnie jump. She fumbled to catch her phone that had almost slipped out of her grasp. She knew that voice well, but it felt out of place. The whole section erupted into the sing-song chant "LONGRIDGE! LONGRIDGE!"
"They must have moved here for the last game" Freya offered. Minnie was confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"The supporters club. C'mon, tell me you recognise Orla's voice! I practically hear it in my sleep after away games"
Orla. The head of the Women's Supporters Club. Orla. The loudest person she'd ever seen at a football game. Orla. Stanley Scotts' granddaughter. Of course.