 be curious, not judgmental
ALL thirteen? Well. All right. Max thought about this one for a long moment before raising a hand once more. This time, he used his other hand to count as he went. "The Appleby Arrows," he said first, feeling obligated to list his mother's team before the rest. "Erm... Puddlemere United," as they just mentioned, then, "Pride of Portree!" For Ellie. She would've probably been upset that he didn't say her team first. "The Chudley Cannons, the Montrose Magpies, the Kenmare Kestrals..." Max was just listing whichever came to mind first now. "The Ballycastle Bats, the Wimbourne Wasps-" he wrinkled his nose at that one, as they were the enemy of his mother's team, "-the, erm, Falmouth Falcons, Tutshill Tornadoes... the Catapults - of Caerphilly, that is, the... uh... Holyhead Harpies..."
There was a long pause as he realized how many he had counted on his fingers. That was twelve. Thirteen... thirteen. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think of his mother's Quidditch schedule at home in the past... who else had she played?
And then he knew.
"And the Wigtown Wanderers," he said finally. Right? He hadn't said any twice?
__________________  |