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“I don’t know, man, I’m getting some good vibes for the Brazilian team this year,” Lucio announced, ever the optimist.
Angela didn’t mean to overhear them, but the kitchen was directly connected to the living room, where Hana, Lucio and Lena sat sprawled on the couch in front of the largest monitor in the base. And since she was currently on the very monotonous business of watching water boil for her tea, she couldn’t help but pay attention to the trio’s excited blabber.
“You say that every year, yet Brazil never goes past the quarter finals,” Hana retorted. “Why don’t you just switch to a team with a chance already?”
“Don’t be so hard on him,” Lena censored. “You’re both equally deluded about winning the championship this year.”
She heard a yelp and a curse and looked over to see the start of a ruckus. Pillows flew around and she winced at the thought of damage to the high cost equipment. Her kettle began to whistle, bringing her attention back to her drink, and she opened the counter and grabbed a bag of black tea.
“That’s not real tea, luv,” Lena materialized in front of her, reaching for a bag of popcorn. “It’s an insult to Britain and our queen, these watered down atrocities you dare call tea. Don’t let the water boil – it’s not proper. It’s supposed to be just warm, not scalding.”
She smiled, spilling the hot water in her mug and grabbing a spoon of sugar.
“Oh my god, no, I can’t believe you’re sugarin’ it!” The girl complained, and Angela’s grin widened. “And with no milk to boot!”
“You don’t see me complaining about the aberrations you call ‘chocolate’ and ‘cheese’,” she shot back, then blew over the liquid to cool it. A series of popping sounds in the microwave indicated the popcorn was almost done, and Lena hopped from one foot to the other, zipping around while she waited.
Children, she mused, shaking her head.
“Hurry up, Lena, the massacre is about to start!”
The British opened the popcorn bag and spilled its contents on a glass bowl, giving Angela a small heart attack when she ran at supersonic speeds with it on her hands.
“Your team is the one going down today, hun!”
Pushing her glasses up her nose, she grabbed a pair of cream crackers and made her way to the living room, to take a peek at what they were up to. When she got there, she saw three pair of eyes glued to the screen, Lucio holding the popcorn in the middle of the two girls while they all ate without looking.
Little digital characters ran around in the display, unleashing electronic powers against one another while a narrator babbled so fast she wondered how he didn’t bite his tongue. She watched for a good five minutes while the stream alternated between lanes and heroes, occasionally showing a split screen of the players.
“And there he goes and he’s going to ult their butts off – double kill!”
“Oh hell yeah!” Hana pumped her fist in the air. “Write my words, Koo Tigers are taking their fifth title home.”
“I don’t think so,” Angela replied absently, swallowing her cracker. “INTZ was never a strong team – sorry, Lucio – and Koo Tigers have been scattered ever since their jungler retired. The new kid hasn’t quite picked up the team’s pace yet,” she took a sip of her tea. “My money is on Fnatic this year.”
There was one long moment of silence, which was just enough for her to realize she’d made a terrible mistake. When she looked down, there were three gaping agents staring at her, eyes wide.
“I – I mean.” She stuttered. “What are ze kleinen men hitting one another for?”
“Oh my god,” Lena began.
“You play?!” Lucio, with disbelief.
“Oh my fucking god,” Hana agreed. “Best. Mom. Ever.”
“What hero do you main?”
“What’s your rank?”
“Do you have a team?”
They were all speaking at the same time and she raised a palm to stop them, face flushing. “I –I don’t. Look. I used to play a little back in college – do backfills for my friends, that’s all.” She paused. “…sometimes we still play a match or two.”
She was bombarded with questions once again, the three all talking at the same time, only interrupted when Fareeha walked into the room and tilted her head at them, curious.
“What’s up?” the soldier asked, a loaf of bread in hand.
“Other mom!!” Hana jumped. “Did you know mom played League?”
A mean twinkle crossed the Egyptian’s eyes. “Oh, which one do you mean? The one with the cards?”
Angela died a little on the inside. “That’s Hearthstone.”
“The one with the shitty graphics?” the woman continued.
“That’s Tibia,” she hissed.
“Hmm. Perhaps the one with the guy who looks like Roadhog?”
“Who, Pudge?” The blonde sighed. “No, that’s DoTA – okay, fine, we get your point.”
“Oh my fucking god,” Hana repeated. “Not even I play tibia. You’re – you’re –”
“A huge nerd,” Fareeha finished, and then she had the nerve to wink.
“We have to play a match, we absolutely have to,” Hana blurted. “I mean, it’s fine if you can’t keep up with us, my fans will go absolutely nuts just from knowing I have such a cool mum –”
I’m not your mom, she inwardly whimpered, knowing it would be no use to voice it. “I’m not half bad,” she snapped instead.
“What’s your tier, luv?” Lena, grinning from ear to ear.
Angela looked at the door, briefly considered making a run for it, then accepted from the bottom of her heart that she was way too outnumbered and that the trio would never drop it. “…Diamond II.”
“Holy fucking –”
“She’s higher ranked than me,” Lucio, in shock. “You’re higher ranked than me,” he repeated. “And Lena. You’re only second to Hana.”
It’s because I’ve been too busy to play proper. Get rekt, bitches, she thought but didn’t say, glaring daggers at Fareeha, who was laughing herself to tears on her side.
“With four of us we can almost make a team now,” Lena babbled, excited, bouncing on the couch. “And we’ve been looking for a good support for so long, I can’t believe there was one sitting right under our noses –”
“I know, right?” Hana agreed. “Don’t leave us hanging, mom, which one do you main? Lux? Morgana? ”
“Wait, what?” she tilted her head, bewildered, her lips turning into a sly smirk. “Whoever said anything about support? I’m tank all the way.”
The priceless look on their faces made the discovery of her guilty pleasures absolutely worth it.