CHAPTER 505: BETTER THAN DIAMONDS

"Pressure," Mrs. Stone said. "Metamorphic rocks are formed under intense heat and pressure. The earth squeezes them. It changes their structure. It turns limestone into marble. It turns coal into diamond."

Alex sat at his desk. He was examining a piece of granite.

Pressure.

He knew about pressure. The Premier League title race was heating up. Arsenal were top, but Manchester City were chasing them. Liverpool were chasing them.

Every game felt like a final. Every mistake was magnified.

"Mr. Finch," Mrs. Stone asked. "What happens if the pressure is too great?"

Alex looked up.

"It fractures, Miss," Alex said. "The rock cracks. Fault lines appear. Earthquakes happen."

"Correct," Mrs. Stone nodded. "But if the structure is strong enough, it becomes something beautiful. Something unbreakable."

Mark sat next to Alex. He was wearing a construction helmet and a high-visibility vest. He was holding a small plastic shovel.

"I AM A MINER!" Mark whispered. "I AM DIGGING FOR GOLD!"

"Mark," Mrs. Stone sighed. "Please do not dig holes in the desk with your shovel."

"I am looking for diamonds!" Mark insisted. "Or at least a fossilized sandwich."

"There are no sandwiches in the tectonic plates, Mark."

The bell rang.

Alex packed his bag.

Diamonds. Pressure.

It was the perfect metaphor for tonight.

Premier League. Matchday 35.

Newcastle United. Away.

St James’ Park.

It was a fortress. The fans were loud. The team was physical. And it was a night game.

Alex walked out to the car park.

Milo was waiting.

Milo was dressed as... a Geologist? No. A Caveman.

He was wearing a leopard print tunic and carrying a large inflatable club.

"UGG!" Milo grunted. "ME MILO! ME SELL ROCKS! ALEX! LOOK! PET ROCK! ONLY FIVE POUNDS! IT DOES NOT EAT! IT DOES NOT BARK! IT JUST SITS THERE! PERFECT PET!"

"Milo, that is a brick," Alex said.

"IT IS A DOMESTICATED BRICK!" Milo shouted. "VERY RARE BREED!"

They drove to the airport.

Steve, the manager, was waiting on the plane. He looked tired. The pressure was getting to everyone.

"Newcastle," Steve said. "They are fighting for the Champions League. They will not give you an inch. They will tackle hard. They will run until they drop."

He looked at Alex.

"Professor. The atmosphere will be hostile. Fifty thousand Geordies screaming for your blood. Can you handle the heat?"

"Diamonds are made under heat," Alex said.

"Good answer," Steve smiled. "Now go and shine."

St James’ Park.

It was raining. Of course it was raining. It was the North of England.

The noise was deafening. TOON! TOON!

Alex stood in the tunnel.

Bruno Guimaraes stood next to him. The Newcastle midfielder. He was tough. He had eyes that looked like they could burn holes in steel.

"Golden Boy," Bruno said.

"Bruno," Alex nodded.

"Tonight, we break you," Bruno said. "We turn the gold into dust."

"Gold is malleable," Alex said. "It bends, but it does not break."

Bruno laughed. "We will see."

The whistle blew.

The game started.

It was a war.

Newcastle pressed high. They tackled hard. Joelinton, the giant Brazilian, smashed into Rice. Burn, the giant defender, smashed into Saka.

In the tenth minute, Alex got the ball.

Bruno Guimaraes came flying in. A slide tackle.

He took the ball. And he took Alex.

Alex flipped in the air. He landed in a puddle.

The crowd cheered.

"Get up!" Bruno shouted. "This is not Paris! This is Newcastle!"

Alex stood up. He wiped the mud from his face.

"Okay," Alex thought. "Pressure is high. Structure must be strong."

He looked at Mark.

Mark was on the wing. He was jumping up and down to stay warm.

"I am cold!" Mark yelled. "My engines are freezing!"

"Run faster!" Alex shouted. "Friction creates heat!"

"I AM TRYING!" Mark yelled back.

Arsenal struggled. They could not find their rhythm.

In the thirtieth minute, Newcastle scored.

Trippier crossed. Isak headed it.

Goal.

One zero. Newcastle.

The stadium shook.

"We are cracking!" Rico yelled. "The fault lines are opening!"

Alex stood in the center circle.

He looked at his teammates. They looked scared. They looked like they wanted to go home.

"No," Alex whispered. "Not today."

He clapped his hands.

"Listen!" Alex shouted. "We are not rocks! We are not stone! We are water! Water flows! Water erodes the rock!"

Arsenal restarted.

Alex changed the tactic.

He stopped fighting the physical battle. He started moving the ball faster.

One touch. One touch.

Before the Newcastle players could tackle, the ball was gone.

Forty fifth minute.

Alex got the ball.

Bruno came to tackle him again.

Alex did not touch the ball. He let it run through his legs.

He spun.

Bruno slid past him.

Alex was free.

He saw Martinelli running.

Alex hit a pass.

Martinelli controlled it. He shot.

Pope saved it.

"Close!" Steve shouted. "Keep flowing!"

Halftime. One zero.

The dressing room was quiet.

"They are bullies," Mark said, rubbing his shin. "They have rocks in their boots."

"They are strong," Steve said. "But they are heavy. Heavy things sink in water."

He looked at Alex.

"Professor. Fluid dynamics. Make it happen."

Second half.

The rain stopped. But the pitch was wet. Fast.

This suited Arsenal.

Sixtieth minute.

Alex got the ball in midfield.

He saw the pattern. Newcastle were aggressive. They jumped into tackles.

Alex used this.

He drove at the defense.

Botman stepped out.

Alex waited.

He played a "Wall Pass" off Botman’s shins.

He kicked the ball against the defender’s legs. The ball ricocheted back to Alex.

He was past him.

He was in the box.

He saw Mark.

Alex squared it.

Mark tapped it in.

Goal.

One one.

Mark ran to the corner. He pretended to dig a hole.

"I FOUND THE GOLD!" Mark screamed. "NUGGETS!"

Alex ran over. "The ricochet worked!"

"You used him as a rebound board!" Mark laughed. "Genius!"

Newcastle were angry. They attacked.

Seventy fifth minute.

Isak hit the post. Gordon missed a sitter.

Arsenal were hanging on.

Eighty fifth minute.

The game was tied. A draw was not enough for the title.

Alex had the ball.

He was tired. His legs felt like lead.

But he remembered the geology lesson.

Metamorphic rock. Changed by pressure.

He had to change. He had to become something else.

He saw Rico on the left.

Alex passed to Rico.

Rico danced. He cut inside.

He passed back to Alex.

Alex was on the edge of the box.

He was surrounded. Bruno. Joelinton. Tonali.

Three giants.

There was no space. No pass. No shot.

Unless...

Alex looked down. The pitch was wet. Muddy.

He remembered Mark’s digging.

Alex put his foot under the ball. He dug it out of the mud.

He chipped it.

But not a normal chip. A "Scoop".

He scooped the ball straight up in the air. Vertical.

The defenders looked up. They lost the ball in the floodlights.

Alex ran through the gap between them.

The ball dropped.

It landed in front of him inside the box.

He didn’t let it bounce.

He hit it on the volley.

BOOM.

It flew past Pope.

Goal.

Two one. Arsenal.

The away end exploded.

Alex stood there. He looked at his muddy boots.

"Diamond from the rough," he whispered.

Mark jumped on his back. "YOU SCOOPED IT LIKE ICE CREAM!"

"It was geology!" Alex laughed. "Excavation!"

The final whistle blew.

Arsenal 2. Newcastle 1.

A massive win.

Alex walked off the pitch. He was bruised. He was dirty.

But he was shining.

Milo ran onto the pitch. He was holding a rock.

"THE GEOLOGIST!" Milo screamed. "I FOUND IT! THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE! ALEX! THE GOAL! I AM SELLING MUD! HOLY NEWCASTLE MUD! IT CURES BALDNESS! (Maybe!)"

"Milo, put the mud down," Alex laughed.

"IT IS LIQUID GOLD!" Milo yelled.

They walked into the dressing room.

The team was singing We are top of the league.

Alex checked his phone.

A text from Maya.

"Pressure calculation: Maximum. Result: Optimal. You converted potential energy into kinetic victory. Efficiency rating: 94%. Also, Mrs. Stone says your metaphor about water eroding rock was scientifically accurate. But please don’t let Mark bring a shovel to class again."

Alex smiled.

He looked at Mark.

Mark was trying to wash the mud off his face in the sink.

"Hey Professor," Mark spluttered.

"Yeah?"

"Did you find any diamonds?"

"I found three points," Alex said. "That is better than diamonds."

"True," Mark said. "But diamonds can buy more pizza."

Alex laughed.

The title race was still on.

The pressure was still high.

But the Professor knew one thing.

Under pressure, some things break.

But Arsenal?

They were becoming unbreakable.

"Class dismissed," Alex whispered.

And the diamond shone in the dark.