Chapter 4

"So how did it go?"

Mia heard as she opened the door. She saw her best friend lying on the couch. Stacie Rosen lay on the couch, her brown hair trailing behind her. Her brown eyes questioning Mia, as she walked in to the room.

Stacie had been a permanent fixture in Mia's life, since she had moved to England. They had both graduated from the same program, but had studied with different mentors. While Mia had decided to work outside the university, Stacie had been offered a job in her mentor's research group. Stacie was only two years older than Mia, at twenty four.

"It went...well." Mia managed to say, dumping her folders and bag in a corner as she joined her friend and sat on the couch across from her.

"Doesn't sound like it went well." Stacie smiled knowingly.

"You know how there's love at first sight?" Mia started. "Yea, what about it?" Stacie asked, instantly curious.

"Well, I now know there is definitely an equal and opposite reaction. Hate at first glance." Mia stated, glumly. Stacie burst out laughing, upon hearing this.

"You are joking, right? Who could hate you? You're so goodie goodie." Stacie asked, after her laughter had subsided. Mia glared at her.

"Aww, you poor dear! So what happened?" Mia slumped back on to the couch. It was clear her friend still thought of it as a joke.

"I'm serious! I got introduced to the players that are a part of my roster...and one of them hates me!" She told her. It frustrated her that someone could immediately hate her. He doesn't even know me! She thought instinctively.

"Oooh! Who's on your roster?" Stacie asked excitedly, getting up and into a sitting position.

"Oliver Fields, Nathaniel Madonia, Jason Roberts...thirteen other guys and...Wait for it! Matthew Rossi!" She told her friend, not trying to keep the excitement from her voice, she still couldn't believe she had gotten him...of course there was that downside...

"Hey, you got your favourite! Yea! So who's the one who hates you immediately?" Stacie asked sounding intrigued; she was oblivious to the expression on Mia's face. Mia smiled at her bitterly.

"Rossi..." She told her friend, looking at the carpet. It only took a snort to make Mia look at Stacie. The older girl was trying to control her laughter.

"Some support you are!" Mia huffed.

"Sorry...but it's like you were asking for it!" Stacie tried to stifle her laughter.

"Okay...well did you tell him he was your favourite?" Stacie asked, once she had gained some control over herself.

"Yea! It was the first thing I said to him!" Mia blurted out, feeling stupid.

"Well, honey...maybe that's why he didn't like you? Maybe he thought you were some weird rabid fan girl?" Stacie tried to reason, all the while struggling to keep a straight face.

"It's not funny! He looked like he wanted me dead when he found out he was on my roster!" Mia said, sounding exasperated.

"Uh huh...well he probably gets people gushing over him all the time, so I don't think it helps when his new sports doc does the same thing. He probably thought it was unprofessional or something." Stacie sure knew how to put salt in a wound, Mia thought miserably.

"Whatever...Oliver said it was probably because he has a five game ban." Mia tried to rationalize.

"Who's Oliver?" Stacie asked.

"Oliver Fields."

"Yea he's probably right, he knows Rossi more than you and certainly more than I." Stacie didn't sound as thought she believed it.

"Thanks a lot, Stacie!" Mia groaned.

"No problem!" Stacie's cheek earned her the well aimed cushion Mia threw in her direction.

-----

"What's up, doc?"

Mia turned to face a smiling Oliver.

"Nothing. What's up?" Mia asked in return, as she hung up her lab coat. She wouldn't need it today since she had no appointments scheduled in.

He was dressed plainly. Jeans and a collard shirt. Mia looked over at the bulletin board on the wall, where a sheet of paper had been stuck with a tack. There was no training today, so what was he doing here?

"Not much. Felix told me to help you settle in, and I came to help you set up the system." He nodded towards the open laptop and the humming computer.

Mia sighed in relief; Felix was very good at knowing what she needed. Mia had just been thinking about asking for help. Lucky me, she thought. Clearly things seemed to be going in her favour today, and she had yet to run in to Matthew.

"Yea, I could definitely use the help." She muttered, putting in the last file of papers in to the filing cabinet against the wall behind her.

Oliver sat in front of the computer, typing things in.

"How do you know about the system? I thought it was staff only...and besides don't footballers have better things to do?" Mia asked, looking over his shoulder as he worked.

"I'll let you get away with that one, but I will have you know that I helped Felix make everything electronic. Apparently I'm not your typical footballer...I don't think my wife would have married me if I was." Oliver chuckled.

"You're married?" Mia asked in surprise, turning to face him. He didn't look that old. Her eyes flickered to his left hand. Sure enough there was a gold band on his ring finger. Why hadn't she noticed it before?

"Yea. Six years going on a hundred...shh don't tell her that!" Oliver said, looking over to her. He looked amused at her surprise.

"Wow...umm so how did you learn the computer stuff?" Mia said with a laugh, trying to steer the conversation away from his personal life. She wasn't one to pry.

"When I was signed here, I took a few correspondence courses in programming and stuff. I've always liked working with computers." He said with a shrug.

He clicked one more thing, before turning to face her.

"All set up. So when you have your appointments, all you have to do is fill in the forms here, and send it in. It's the minimal paperwork approach. Oh and if a player isn't fit or doesn't show up, you put them as undeclared and the system sends them a text and email...so they'll check in with you." Oliver gave her a shortened version of the manual on her desk.

"Shouldn't I know what you just did?" Mia asked, looking at the screen which was now showing a weekly calendar.

"Do you really want me to break it down for you? I could go through all the different codes and components." Oliver grinned.

Mia held her hands up in defeat.

"Forget I asked. I get it...you don't want to reveal your magic. So what do I do now?" Mia asked, shaking her head.

"Well we could start by scheduling in your appointments for the week. Do you have the list Felix gave you?"

Mia went to the filing cabinet and fished for the paper he was referring to.

"Yea, I've got it." She said, holding the paper for them to see.

The two of them sat down by the computer and filled in the schedule.

The week had been going slowly. Mia was going to be seeing all the players. As excited as she was to be working...there was something still terrorizing her. Every time she thought of the last person she would be seeing, she could feel her stomach knot.

Mia leaned in to her chair, as she checked her email. There was a newsletter for the staff. She immersed herself into the reading it. There was a knock on her open door. Mia turned to see who it was.

"Hey doc!" It was the brown haired boy. "Hello Nate." She said without thinking. Nathaniel looked at her amused. "Sorry...is it okay if I call you Nate?" She asked him. Nathaniel laughed, his hazel eyes held warmth. "I don't mind. As long as I can call you Mia, doc." He laughed.

"Alright. That's fair." She told him. It was easy to talk to him. Mia got to work, as she chatted to Nathaniel. They seemed to become fast friends.

The other players weren't as friendly as either Oliver or Nathaniel, but at least they weren't after her blood for no reason.

It was when she had met Jason, that she felt a little uneasy.

She had been going through her files, when she had heard a low whistle. Mia had whirled on her heel. Her lab coat whirling to a stop behind her as she stood embarrassed in front of one of the players.

"We don't get many pretty doctors around here." He said, looking her up and down. She didn't respond; it would have been unprofessional to acknowledge his comment. Instead she shrugged. Mia felt uncomfortable; she pulled her lab coat a little closer around her.

"You must be Jason." Mia said, at last, as she looked over her clipboard.

"At your service." Jason said, bowing.

Mia groaned inwardly, this guy was a piece of work. She wasn't looking forward to seeing him in the future...that much was sure.

"Alright...it says here that you are having some sort of shooting pain in your shoulder?"

"You have no idea! It kills every time I try to move my arm. I think I might have broken it." Jason told her, as he watched her every move.

"...Well let me have a look at the X-rays Dr. Lever sent me...I'm sure you didn't break it." Mia sighed, as she went through her files to get them. He was still watching her intently. This is going to be a long day, Mia sighed in exasperation.