the weather channel to get his mind back on the wholesome track he was supposed to be treading while with Noah.
“In that case, I expect to be wowed tomorrow,” Alex warned.
Noah chuckled, which sounded kind of ominous. “Oh, you’ll be wowed all right.”
Alex couldn’t wait.
He was in so much trouble.
6
“Muggle quidditch,” Alex said, disbelief evident in every last syllable as he stared at Noah’s back in front of him. “You mean to tell me that people here play muggle quidditch.”
“Oh yeah,” Noah said. “It’s this whole thing. We’re the regional champions, so it’s a big deal around here.”
They were walking up the bleachers of Riverton High stadium and once they reached the top row, took their seats on one of the benches. Noah placed the two large sodas down next to him, and Alex handed Noah one of the hot dogs he’d been carrying.
“I didn’t even know muggle quidditch was a thing,” Alex mused out loud.
“Don’t let people hear you say it, you heathen. It’s a famous sport. There’s even an International Quidditch Association,” Noah said.
“I’m… I don’t know what to say to that. Don’t you people have a football team? Baseball? Basketball? Anything remotely mainstream and… normal?”
“Hey!” Noah pushed his shoulder playfully. “Don’t knock it ’til you try it. Or watch it, at least. You might be surprised. I’ll have you know that it’s an incredibly violent sport. Very dangerous and aggressive, which obviously makes it highly entertaining to watch. You just wait, soon you’ll be at the edge of your seat.”
“What kind of injuries can one get while running around on a field, pretending to fly?” Alex asked incredulously. He bit into the hot dog and chewed. “Concussions?” he guessed through a mouthful of food.
Noah nodded. “It’s a violent contact sport, so hell yes there’ll be concussions but, also, testicular ruptures.”
Alex winced. “Really?”
Noah nodded, completely concentrated on the field now that the two teams were starting to gather and go through their pregame rituals. “Happens more often than you’d think.”
“That would make one hell of a slogan. The advertisement practically writes itself. Again, what’s wrong with football?”
“Oh, our football team sucks. Especially after they lost Ridley. He was the quarterback, and their only decent player, but he’s the chaser now, so I guess football’s loss is quidditch’s gain.” Noah pointed to a guy on the field, who was stretching his legs and jumping up and down. “That’s him. He’s also the captain of the Wizards.”
Pretty soon, the game started. The cheering was deafening from the first moment. Alex almost jumped out of his skin as the old lady behind him started yelling curses after the first goal. Alex had no idea who they were supposed to be cheering for. One of the teams was dressed in black and the other one was in various shades of blue. Alex supposed the team with the ex-quarterback must have been the home team, but then they scored and Noah booed loudly.
Alex leaned in closer to Noah. People were yelling so loudly that he was having a hard time making himself heard. “Which team are we cheering for?” he asked.
“Whichever one you want,” Noah shouted back so very unhelpfully.
“Which one is the home team?”
“They both are.” Noah pointed to the team in black and yelled, “Those are the Dark Wizards, and the blue ones are the Grindelwald’s Fire.”
“Those are probably the nerdiest words I’ve ever heard spoken out loud,” Alex said as Noah shook his head in exasperation.
“Just enjoy the experience.”
And then Alex… kind of did. Since he couldn’t figure out who to cheer for, he just followed Noah’s lead and cheered or yelled insults after Noah’s example. They finished their hot dogs and followed those up with popcorn and more soda. The old lady behind them was called Gladys, and she turned out to be the sweet, grandmotherly type—when she wasn’t cursing like a sailor at Grindelwald’s Fire that is—who had cookies in her purse she didn’t mind sharing.
It was still weird as fuck, especially when the human snitch appeared, but whether it really was a great game or hanging with Noah was just that entertaining, Alex found that he didn’t want the day to end.
After the game was over—the Dark Wizards were unstoppable and beat the blue dudes by a mile—they gathered their stuff and started for the parking lot where they’d left the car.
“You want to grab a bite to eat before we go?” Noah asked and immediately winced. “No, you probably wouldn’t, would you? I mean, we ate