Page 36 of After the Siren
There was a doorbell, but someone had pasted a sticky note above it that readfucked, so Theo knocked.
‘It’s open,’ someone yelled from inside. ‘Come in, turn left.’
Theo stepped into a tiled hallway with a worn runner that had definitely come from Ikea and stopped. Blinked.
There was a shrine to the Virgin Mary in a nook next to the door, complete with one of those waxy statues wearing a baby-blue robe and an expression of blank benevolence. It stood on a lace doily alongside a set of rosary beads and a couple of candles in pink plastic holders. All standard (though unexpected in this house). What was less standard was the array of other objects: Falcons footy cards, several seashells, a battered green rosette and a scattering of middling origami.
Theo wondered if he was dreaming. Maybe his mind had merged the homes of various elderly relatives with what he’d imagined Jake’s house to be like. Maybe his parents had asked one question too many and he’d had some sort of stress blackout.
‘Don’t worry,’ Jake said, materialising next to him. He was wearing fireworks-pattern board shorts and nothing else. ‘You brought beer, so she approves.’
‘I ... Do I want to know?’
‘It was here when we moved in, so we just left it.’
‘Hey, bro,’ Paddy said, joining them in front of the little oratory. Theo handed him the beers; he wasn’t going to drink any of them, but it would have felt rude to show up empty-handed. ‘Thanks. Nice of you to say hi.’ Paddy gestured at the statue.
‘That’s a lot.’
‘Felt weird to chuck it out.’
‘That ... I get it.’ Good to know the tenets of a Christian childhood crossed cultural barriers.
‘Mainly it’s to stop Paddy fucking anyone in the hall,’ Xen said, coming up to join them. ‘Hey, Stavs.’ He pulled Theo into a friendly hug.
Paddy snorted. ‘Maybe she’d be into it.’ He ducked past them to greet a couple of newcomers before Theo could reply.
Theo followed Xen and Jake deeper into the house. It was exactly what he would have expected from Jake, Xen and Paddy: huge TV, giant sectional couch, wall-to-wall Ikea. There were a handful of Falcons players in the living room – mainly the younger guys and several of the AFLW players. He could have amused himself guessing whose friends were whose; there were definitely some people who were too cool to be there for anyone other than Paddy.
Jake and Xen got pulled aside by some people Theo didn’t know, so Theo joined a group that included Tommy and Raze. He didn’t know any of the AFLW players well. He’d spotted for the captain, Gabriella D’Ambrosio, a few times during early morning gym sessions. He knew a few of the others from the sort of casual chats you had in between sets or when you were both making a cup of tea at the same time. They were all friendly, but he had the sense that they were a little wary about the men’s team. Probably with good reason.
He came into the conversation in time to join a spirited argument about indie pop. He found an unexpected ally in one of the AFLW players, who was rocking a lot of facial glitter and the most impressive mullet Theo had ever seen.
‘I’m Dex,’ the player said in a lull in the conversation. ‘They/ them.’
Theo took the hand they offered. Dex held on just long enough to let Theo know that they weren’tnotinterested.
He didn’t find it hard to smile back. ‘Theo. He/him.’
‘Ooooh,you’reTheo. Interesting.’ Dex gave him a once-over.
‘What?’
Dex shrugged. ‘Nothing, just heard about you.’
‘That’s alarming.’
‘Dex is usually pretty alarming,’ one of the other players chimed in. Yagmur Kaya, Theo remembered. She was wearing denim shorts and a crop top that readFuck NYE.
‘Theo, this is Drips, she’s my least favourite teammate,’ Dex said.
Drips – Theo had questions about that nickname – rested her chin on Dex’s shoulder. ‘Mean. Why are you alarming this nice boy, Dexy?’
‘I just said I’d heard of him,’ Dex protested. ‘Good things only.’ They tipped their head towards Gabby. ‘Gabs likes you, and Paddy hasn’t said anything that bad about you.’
‘Wow, good to know.’
It actuallywasgood to know. Theo knew he’d gotten a couple of black marks against his name with Paddy.
