It’s such a bizarre response to somebody obviously looking for connection that I almost wonder if I heard her wrong, or if it’s code for something. But no, I don’t think it is, because Alfie is giving her a disappointed look. “Yeah, it seems like a lot to ask of the team,” he says finally, and that’s the end of that topic, I guess.

I wonder if this is what Molly was referring to, when she said Rose doesn’t care about anybody? Speaking of Molly, if Alfie is missing Oscar, she must be, too. Is there anything I can do to look out for her? I check on her, but she’s totally wrapped up in speaking to the camera. Maybe it’s a distraction she needs right now.

When the game kicks off, I focus on it for the first ten minutes or so. At least, until I realize I have no freaking idea what is happening. There don’t seem to be any rules, except for everyone to attack the guy with the ball before he can take more than two steps.

“Do you understand the game?” Harriet asks, like she’s read my mind. I jump, and shake my head. “Okay, well, it’s simple. There are four different ways you can score points, and they’re worth different amounts. First, you’ve got what’s called a try.…”

It turns out the only thing less fun than watching a game I don’t understand is watching a game I don’t understand while someone rattles off the entire rule book to me. I don’t have the heart to beg Harriet to give it a rest, though—especially not after she’s gone out of her way to be nice to me—so I let her drone on, nodding every now and then while I silently will time to speed up.

I’m snapped out of hypnosis when—I think—the first point is scored, though I’m not sure which of the four types it is. All I know is the crowd’s exploded into cheering and stamping, so enthusiastically the seats are vibrating.

“Hell yeah, Oliver,” Molly, who’s restarted her livestream, cries behind me while she waves her phone around. “You always come through for us!”

Everyone’s gotten to their feet and broken into song—a kind of cheerleading chant about the other team “trying to try” I’ve never heard before. I scramble up to join them, but I’m just as out of place standing as I was sitting.