Riccardo arrived at the school, crossing the large outdoor courtyard and admiring the facilities dedicated to every sport imaginable.
Wow, compared to yesterday, it really does seem more exclusive!
Looking around, Riccardo noticed the fixed gazes of many students passing by him.
Word spreads quickly here...
Riccardo entered the classroom from the back door, where his desk was, put down his backpack and sat down.
Looking around, he noticed everyone chatting in small groups.
School has been in session for a little over two weeks and they've already formed their friend groups...
Then he noticed Nishimura sitting alone, staring at his phone.
The teacher entered the classroom.
"Good morning!"
As soon as class ended, Nishimura quickly left the classroom. Riccardo watched him go.
I have to go somewhere first, the club leader told me...
Riccardo left the classroom.
Nishimura came to a door and went in.
"Excuse me."
Nishimura had entered a locker room full of other boys who were changing.
"Good morning, Nishimura!"
Shimizu approached him, already dressed in his training suit and with spiked shoes.
"Good morning, Shimizu."
"Get ready! It's Friday, which means there's a practice match with the whole team!"
"I know, that's why I'm pumped!"
Shimizu noticed Nishimura's desire to play.
"Good, then I'll go on the field."
Shimizu opened the door and left.
Nishimura went to his seat and opened his travel bag.
"Hey, Nishimura! I heard about the new guy in your class!"
A tall boy, about 1.86 meters tall, with black hair, a streak of blonde hair, and beautiful orange eyes, with a strong build, approached him.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know. I haven't formed an opinion about him yet."
The boy sat down next to Nishimura while putting on his practice jersey.
"This is my senior year, and in all these years I've never seen anyone get in thanks to a recommendation. Right, Kaneko?"
He turned to look at another boy, about 1.84 meters tall, with blonde hair and green eyes, also in good shape.
"Noguchi... I told you, I don't care about this topic. If he got in thanks to a recommendation, he's probably just a failure."
Kaneko tied his right shoe, then stood up, walked to the door, and left.
The other boy watched him go.
"Same old..."
Then he stood up too.
"I'm leaving. See you on the court."
He walked out the door.
Nishimura finished getting ready, full of enthusiasm, and he also went out onto the court.
On the court, everyone was warming up.
Nishimura entered the court, looking around with a puzzled expression.
"Where's the coach?"
A shorter boy, about 1.68 m, with short brown hair and brown eyes, looked at him.
"The coach is not here, as usual..."
"Yes, I knew it, Tanaka. I meant coach Suzuki."
Shimizu, in the middle of warming up, looked at Nishimura.
"Speak of the devil..."
Someone clapped their hands, getting everyone's attention.
They all looked toward the entrance to the field, where they saw an elderly man, about 65 years old, about 1.68 meters tall, with neatly combed white hair and two bright yellow eyes.
"Come here, I have something to tell you!"
Everyone seemed visibly curious to know what Coach Suzuki had to say, so they gathered around him.
"I wanted Coach Ishii to tell you the news, but as we all know, he's not here, so... the news is that you'll have a new teammate."
Nishimura immediately understood and put a hand to his forehead, frustrated.
"Come in, Aliberti!"
Riccardo entered the field under the watchful eyes of the entire team, wearing his practice uniform.
He stopped in front of the team, next to Coach Suzuki.
"Good morning, I'm Riccardo Yui Aliberti, a first-year student. I play as a central striker... but I can also play other positions. I hope we can win a lot together."
After he finished his introduction, everyone stared at him with cold expressions, although Riccardo tried to remain impassive.
They hate me here too...
Riccardo looked at the team and spotted Nishimura.
He smiled at him, but Nishimura quickly looked away.
"Thank you, Aliberti. Now join them so we can finish the warm-up."
Riccardo approached the others.
After a while, the team was finishing the warm-up.
The third-year student whispered to Nishimura, "So, it's him."
"Yes..."
"He seems like a nice guy, and..."
He glanced at Riccardo, who was stretching, and noticed his impressive physique.
"He looks like he's working out a lot."
"Being fit doesn't mean you know how to play soccer."
Coach Suzuki whistled.
"Enough! Now get your balls and cones: we're doing dribbling and shooting exercises!"
Some players took the balls, while others took the cones and headed toward the coach.
The cones were positioned at the edge of the penalty area and Coach Suzuki was standing at the end of the path.
"Okay, everyone take a ball and line up at the beginning. One at a time, you'll dribble against the cones, then you'll pass the ball to me. Right after that, I'll pass the ball to you and you'll shoot at the goal. Our goalkeepers will take turns to try to save the shots."
Everyone took a ball and lined up.
Riccardo took a ball.
"Aliberti! Go to the back of the line so you can see how the exercise works first!"
Riccardo looked at him, confused.
"Okay..."
I have to watch how to do such a simple exercise...
He moved to the back of the line.
Coach Suzuki saw that everyone was in position.
"Okay, let's start!"
He blew the starting whistle and the first player took off. He dribbled between the cones at a fast pace, then passed the ball to the coach, who passed it to the right. The player attempted a right-footed shot toward the far post, but it missed the target and went wide.
As the player went to retrieve the ball, Shimizu rested his elbow on Nishimura's left shoulder.
"Look, we have fans."
Shimizu and Nishimura looked toward the fence outside the field, where some students were watching them.
"Mostly potential haters..."
The second player dribbled between the cones and shot a powerful toe shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper, who saved in two touches.
Two more players tried, but missed.
Then it was Tanaka's turn. He waited for the coach's whistle.
Coach Suzuki looked at him and then whistled.
Tanaka dribbled through the cones in a flash with incredible speed, passed the ball to the coach, received the return on the right, and fired a precise right-footed shot into the bottom right corner.
"Good job, Tanaka!"
Tanaka grabbed the ball and headed to the end of the line, but before he did, he noticed Shimizu getting ready to start the drill. He smiled at him with a hint of challenge.
Shimizu and Nishimura both noticed the look.
"Still trying to compete?"
"Yes, he's a first year, but he's really good. We play similar positions, so it makes sense that he'd want to surpass me. But—"
Nishimura interrupted Shimizu.
"But you won't let him."
Shimizu took up his position, ready to go.
"Exactly!"
As soon as he heard the whistle, Shimizu took off.
He dribbled between the cones with less speed than Tanaka, but with impeccable technique and elegance, using the sole and outside of his foot. When he got to the shot, the coach passed him the ball to the right and Shimizu hit it with the outside of his left foot, combining precision and power. The ball rocketed into the top right corner.
"Nice goal, Shimizu!"
Shimizu picked up the ball and walked to the end of the line, standing behind Tanaka, who watched in frustration.
"You always exaggerate..."
"Sorry, it just comes naturally to me!"
Riccardo turned and saw them arguing.
Then he turned again, just as Nishimura was about to shoot.
Oh... I missed his dribbling.
Then he noticed someone coming through the gate.
Meanwhile, Nishimura was preparing to shoot. He hit the ball with the instep of his right foot, sending it flying toward the far post. The goalie was completely taken by surprise, with no chance to save. The ball touched the post and went in.
"Mister Ishii, good morning!"
At those words, Nishimura turned and saw Mister Ishii coming in.
He was a tall man, about 1.84 meters, probably in his mid-30s, with short, dark, neat hair and piercing black eyes. He was wearing a tracksuit.
Mister Suzuki approached him.
"Do you feel like practicing a little today?"
"Very funny, Suzuki..."
Mister Ishii looked at the team. The look was cold and contemptuous.
Then his gaze fell on Riccardo, who was standing at the start of the practice, visibly confused by the tension.
"Enough of this practice... It's Friday! Get your bibs: let's play a game!"
He paused, then added: "Two teams. But there is one condition... Aliberti and Nishimura will play together in a 4-4-2. Aliberti will be the main striker and Nishimura will play right behind him!"
Everyone was stunned by the announcement, especially Nishimura. Meanwhile, Kaneko was furious.
"What!? Why are you taking away our best playmaker, the one who actually helps me score!?"
Mister Ishii gave Kaneko a disapproving look.
"Do you have a problem?"
Kaneko snorted, clearly annoyed.
"No. No problem. It will be fun to destroy my rival."
Kaneko turned and glared at Riccardo with obvious hostility.
Riccardo stared back, more confused than anything.
Why does it seem like the entire school staff wants me to take sides against the students?
Coach Ishii watched the moment.
"I will coach the team captained by Nishimura," Nishimura was visibly shocked to find out that he would be the captain, "and Coach Suzuki will coach the team captained by Kaneko! You have five minutes to choose your teams."
Five minutes later, the teams were formed.
Nishimura approached Riccardo.
"Do you have your uniform?"
"Yes."
"Good... we'll put a bib on it."
Riccardo looks at him puzzled.
"Oh... I see."
Coach Ishii approached Nishimura.
"All right, guys, gather!"
Nishimura's chosen team approached.
"As I said, we'll play with a 4-4-2. Andou in goal; right back Ueno; Sugimoto on the left; central defenders Noguchi and Kinoshita. Central midfielders Hamada and Koyama. Right winger Shimizu, left winger Yasuda: even if it's not your usual position, I know you can handle it. And finally, our forwards: Nishimura just behind, and Aliberti as the central forward."
The named players took off their training uniforms, revealing their match uniforms underneath.
Then they took out their red bibs and put them on.
Nishimura approached Riccardo again.
"Try to follow my movements and, whatever you do, don't get caught offside."
"Got it."
Riccardo took off his training shirt, revealing the number on his match jersey: 24.