Riccardo returned home that evening.
He opened the door and saw a dog running toward him.
"Hey, Sasha!"
He closed the door, set his bag on the floor, then knelt down to pet the dog.
"Welcome back!"
A girl walked over as well.
Her long dark red hair, neatly tied back, swayed with every step, framing her delicate features.
When she reached Riccardo, her vivid green eyes settled on him.
"Thanks, Cecilia."
"How was school today?"
"Good. The football team was pretty suspicious of me at first, but somehow I managed to win them over."
Riccardo stood up and took off his shoes.
"What about you?"
"The usual classes..."
"Have you decided whether you're going to join your school's music club?"
"No, not yet."
"What's stopping you?"
They walked into the kitchen, and Riccardo opened the fridge.
"What is this? Have you become my psychologist?"
He grabbed a bottle of water and poured himself a glass.
"No, it's just that... you don't usually talk to me about your private life."
Cecilia lowered her gaze slightly.
"I don't have the courage to let other people hear me sing..."
Riccardo took a sip of water, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"That's quite a problem..."
She gave him a crooked smile.
"What a thorough diagnosis, Doctor."
Riccardo set the bottle down while Cecilia kept looking at him.
"How do you deal with anxiety so easily?"
"Who told you I don't get anxious?"
Riccardo walked over to the sofa.
"Then can you honestly say you do? I've never seen you worry about speaking or doing something in front of other people..."
Sitting down on the sofa, Riccardo thought for a moment.
"Maybe I just don't care what other people think?"
Cecilia looked at him in confusion.
Why is he asking me?
"Are you saying you're cynical? Is that what you mean?"
"Not always... only when it's necessary."
Curiosity filled Cecilia's eyes as she sat down on a stool.
"So you don't even care about the opinions of your friends or our family?"
Riccardo leaned back.
"Like I said, not always... but I do listen to people who give me constructive advice, not those who judge others just to feel superior."
Cecilia's expression turned gloomy.
"You make it sound so easy..."
"It isn't. I make mistakes all the time... and I end up creating difficult situations. But it's the right compromise if I want to live my life the way I choose."
Cecilia was genuinely surprised by those words.
"Sometimes I can't tell which one of us is actually older."
"On paper, you are... but you're still just a little girl. You cry over every little problem!"
"Says the guy who still gets angry over video games!"
Riccardo felt that remark strike him right in the heart.
He lowered his gaze and gave a faint smile, as if graciously accepting defeat.
"I see... everyone has their own weaknesses..."
Cecilia let out a soft laugh.
Riccardo stood up from the sofa, his expression turning serious.
"Do me a favour. Give it a try on Monday."
She met his gaze with the same seriousness.
"Yeah... I'll try!"
Riccardo sighed and walked over to her.
"Alright... but you don't need my opinion to know whether you can sing or not. You've got a beautiful voice."
With that, he gave her a light flick on the forehead and stepped away.
"Ouch!"
Riccardo walked off at a brisk pace, pretending nothing had happened.
"Hey, come back here!"
Cecilia chased after him, but Riccardo slipped into the bathroom and locked the door.
"And he says I'm the child..."
[Monday]
Riccardo arrived at school and checked his phone clock. It was 7:50.
"Today I really came early..."
Then he looked around at the campus, with its various fields and dedicated areas for every sport.
Riccardo started exploring.
"I still can't believe this is my school..."
His expression shifted from calm to uneasy.
"What did my father trade me for to get me in here..."
He walked for a while until he reached a massive athletics area.
It's huge...
He looked closer and noticed Sato on the other side of the track, running laps around the athletics field.
Riccardo blinked in surprise.
"Running at this hour..."
Then he studied her more carefully.
I've seen her somewhere before...
Suddenly, Nishimura appeared right behind him.
"I don't know you that well yet... but I didn't think being a stalker was one of your traits."
Riccardo flinched in shock.
"Whoa! Ma si pazz'?!" (Whoa! Are you crazy?!)
Nishimura looked at him, confused.
"What does that mean?"
Shimizu walked over to Nishimura.
"Good morning, Aliberti!"
He offered a high five, and Riccardo returned it.
Meanwhile, Nishimura glanced toward Sato.
"She's the rising star everyone's talking about... the 100-meter sprinter."
Shimizu leaned in to get a better look.
"Right! In middle school she won tons of regional and prefectural tournaments. They say she's going to be one of Japan's next Olympic representatives!"
Riccardo stood beside them.
"Interesting..."
The school bell rang, signaling the start of classes.
Nishimura turned to him.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
They headed to the main building and said goodbye to Shimizu.
Once in class, all eyes turned toward them.
"Did you hear about yesterday's match?"
"Yeah! They say Aliberti scored two goals and made an assist!"
"I won't believe it until I see him play. Could've just been luck!"
Nishimura heard them, but noticed Riccardo didn't react at all.
They're still doubting him... but I'm sure he'll be a huge asset to the team...
They sat down as the teacher entered the classroom.
After hours of lessons, the bell rang again—this time for lunch break.
Nishimura approached Riccardo's desk.
"Let's go eat lunch."
"Alright, where?"
They ended up in front of a door with a sign above it:
"Students are forbidden from accessing the rooftop!"
Riccardo stared at the sign thoughtfully as Nishimura opened the door.
"Are you sure nothing will happen to us?"
"Yeah, don't worry. I always eat here... no one ever comes."
Riccardo paused, slightly unsettled.
So he basically just told me he has no friends...
He followed him up to the rooftop.
They sat near the fence.
Nishimura pulled out a classic bento, while Riccardo brought out a bowl of rice with tuna and cherry tomatoes.
Nishimura looked at him curiously.
"That's it?"
"Should I have more?"
They fell silent for a while.
Nishimura hesitated, then gathered the courage to ask a question.
"How did you start playing football?"
"I was five when I watched my first football match... a typical Sunday game in the Italian league. It was Napoli–Juventus—"
Nishimura cut Riccardo off.
"Let me guess, you supported Napoli, coming from that area—"
Riccardo interrupted him right back.
"No, I support Juventus... we won that match 1–3 away."
Nishimura paused, slightly confused.
"Ah... I see."
Riccardo cleared his throat.
"Anyway, like I was saying, that match was a big deal. At first I didn't really understand it, but I saw how my father would get emotional over every play. That's when I thought: I want to give people that same feeling. In Italy, football is almost a religion, and one way or another, almost everyone has played it at least once."
"Did they enroll you in a football academy?"
"Yeah, of course... but I didn't like it. The system in Italy is too corrupt... so I found another way: playing on the streets with my friends and enjoying expressing myself freely with the ball."
"Street football, huh..."
"What about you? How was your first experience with football?"
"Pretty similar to yours. We were watching the Champions League—the famous 6–1 between Barcelona and PSG... I was blown away by that Barcelona team. Their possession play was unbelievable..."
"From what I saw in the match, you've got great technique and you read the game well... you took a lot of inspiration from those players."
"That's right. My goal is to play for Barcelona..."
Riccardo smiled.
"Mine, on the other hand, is to reach Juventus!"
Nishimura was surprised by the conviction in Riccardo's words.
The bell rang again.
Nishimura stood up, and Riccardo looked at him.
"Nishimura, we've only just met... but I've realized football makes it easy to make friends, especially when you share the same dreams. And I'm sure the whole team feels the same ambition. That's why, this year and the next, we're going to win everything together!"
Nishimura, who had been listening the whole time, stepped closer and held out his fist.
"Of course—that was the goal from the very beginning!"
Riccardo bumped his fist against Nishimura's, smiling.
"Then let's get to work!"