The day before the events in the last chapter…
Adrian hesitates in front of the door but finally musters up the courage to knock. Before Amelie can respond, he lets himself in.
"Hey. You busy?"
"You can literally see that I'm reading." She sighs. "What do you want?"
"I need you to do me a favor."
"I'll do it."
"What?"
"I'll do it. But you'll have to buy me earbuds."
"Hell no! It's not that big of a favor anyway. Plus, don't you already have earbuds?"
"Nah, those are headphones. I need earbuds for school."
"Yeah, no. I just need you to tell someone something for me."
"Okay."
"You know that kid Che? I want you to say something to him."
"Like what?"
"Just… motivate him. Give him some words of encouragement."
"No."
"Why?"
"I don't even talk to him like that."
"Please. Even if you make something up, I really need you to do this."
"That's weird. Why don't you guys just do it?"
"We already did."
"And? Why do you need me too?"
"He's got trials for Stuttgart next month, and he's been feeling down. I don't want it to kill his confidence and ruin his chances. Plus, I wanted to do something for him as his captain one last time... Since he likes you and all. That kid—he can really go places. He's a true magician—"
"Wait. He likes me?"
"Uhhh… yes?"
"Fine. I'll do it. But you have to buy me the earbuds I want."
"I don't have the money for that, and it's not like I'm asking you to do something crazy."
"Okay, then I don't have to do this."
"Okay, fine! I'll buy them. I'll try to convince Dad to get them for me."
"Deal."
"Deal."
Adrian leaves her room.
(Present day—two days later…)
"So?"
"What do you want now?"
"Did you end up talking to him?"
"Yeah, I did it yesterday."
"And? How did he react?"
"He was happy. He even asked for my number." She smiles.
"Ohhh, really? So you think he's cool now, huh?"
"Listen, I did what you asked. Now leave my room."
"Okay, jeez. Thanks, by the way."
"And don't forget my earbuds."
Che is in his room doing calf raises when his mother walks in, startling him. He loses balance and crashes onto his arm, forced into an awkward position with his hands supporting his weight on the floor. Through his legs, he looks up at her.
"What are you doing?"
"Leg strength training."
"Oookayyy? Well, it's time for dinner."
"Just a minute. Almost done."
"No. You'll eat now. You can't train to be strong and then skip food—that doesn't make sense."
"It's leg strength training."
"Come eat!"
Che sighs, wiping the sweat off his face and shirt before joining his mother at the dinner table.
"Ugh, you stink."
"Yeah, because I was exercising."
"I know… I saw you. But I don't get why you don't just train your whole body if you wanna get stronger."
"That's not what I'm aiming for. I just want leg strength, not a bigger body."
"Alright. Just don't waste time on something pointless."
"Come on, Ma! It's not pointless. If my legs are strong enough, I won't get pushed around like I did on Saturday."
"I guess I'll have to believe you on that."
"Yeah, you will."
They continue eating.
Later that night, Che watches footage of professional footballers, taking notes on how they maintain balance against stronger opponents.
He studies Messi, Walcott, and Kanté—players with small builds who move effortlessly across the field with sharp balance and world-class agility. He researches endurance-building strategies online, figuring out how to compensate for his lack of physical strength.
"You're still awake?"
"Yeah, doing some homework."
"Your homework has something to do with football? Yeah, right."
"I'll go to bed in five minutes."
"It's late. You should sleep soon, alright?"
"Yeah. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
The next morning, Leon wakes up early. He washes his face, puts on his training tracksuit, and prepares for his daily jog around the neighborhood while listening to music.
An hour later, he gets back home. His family is still asleep, so he starts prepping for school.
As he finishes getting ready, the rest of the house slowly stirs. His sisters run around, pushing each other while his mother tries (and fails) to calm them down.
"Yo! Damn, do you guys always have to be this loud in the morning?"
They pause just long enough to stick their tongues out at him before resuming their chaos. His mom shrugs while making their cereal.
"I'm leaving."
"So early?"
"Yeah. See you after school."
He kisses her cheek. As he heads out, his sisters bolt toward him, tackling him in a hug.
"Bye, Leo!!"
"Yeah yeah, off me, you little rascals."
He leaves for school, catching public transport. When he arrives, he spots Che stepping through the gate at the same time.
"Che! My man. How's life treating you?"
"Good."
"You look tired, bro. You sure you're good?"
"Yeah. Just stayed up late researching stuff."
"Nice. What are you doing after school?"
"Nothing. Going home, then training."
"Okay, cool. Wanna hit the gym? No need to pay—I've got a membership."
"Nah, what do I even need to do in a gym? I don't need that."
"Come on, man. I need a gym partner! It gets lonely in there. Just come with me."
"Damn, man. Okay, I guess."
"Appreciate it, bro."
They fist bump and head toward their respective classes.