Early Birds

“Meeting’s in session! Eyes on Mother Phoenix,” Dani exclaimed, radiating enough morning energy for all four of them. The other three looked as though they had left their souls sleeping at home.

“What does that even mean?” Karen asked. She was awake, but clearly irritated by the early hour.

“No idea! But I’ve always wanted to say that.”

A soft, amused smile crossed Karen’s face.

Marcel didn’t understand what was happening, and Mari kept her plain, unimpressed face still like a statue, though her sleepy eyes revealed she was barely hanging in there.

Dani sat comfortably on the student council’s couch, as if allowing herself a moment to relax before talking about business.

“Right now we’re four players short of having a team. We suffered some casualties last season, but this won’t stop us!” Dani exclaimed with measured energy. “Our first training session is on Monday. Counting today we have four full days to fill the vacancies.”

Marcel seemed curious, but Dani kept talking.

“Mari, you had some potential recruits, right?”

“Yes. Two first-year students. They still haven’t signed, so nothing is confirmed yet,” Mari said plainly.

“Right. Make sure they sign as soon as possible.”

“I won’t force them. Don’t insist,” Mari replied with slight annoyance.

“Right. Right.” Dani brushed it off as if the last interaction had never happened.

“So.” Karen raised her voice. “What’s the plan?”

“Great question!” Dani replied, confidently pointing at Karen with a finger. “I didn’t have any luck with Vero or Emilia, and Carol’s phone seems to be dead.” She looked sideways. “Maybe she blocked me… Whatever! We also have a recruitment booth at the first-year club fair.”

“Oh?”

“I believe it worked nicely last year. It will last only two days, so Mari and I are taking care of the booth today,” Dani exclaimed. “We’ll be taking turns. Tomorrow you and Mars will cover us.”

Marcel raised his eyebrows. Karen, however, spoke before he could process.

“What? I didn’t agree to that,” she argued. “I have classes too, you know.”

“Well, you might have to figure out how to cover that seat then,” Dani replied, playful and teasing. “We’re short on volunteers. If not even the vice-captain and the coach can be there, we’re in trouble.”

Karen lowered her head.

“Fine. I’ll figure something out.”

Dani looked at Marcel with consideration. “Are you alright with that, Mars?”

“And why are you asking him and not me?” asked Karen in comical disbelief.

“Shh… let him speak.”

Marcel looked around, feeling the playful tension of the moment. Karen’s entire body expressed annoyance, but in a way, she actually seemed to be enjoying herself.

Mari appeared to be used to these exchanges. She simply waited for them to finish.

“I can get the class notes later. No problem on my end,” replied Marcel with confidence.

“Great!” said Dani with a clap. She turned towards the vice-captain and addressed her with a wide smirk. “See Karen? You could be more like Mars.”

“Oh shut up,” Karen muttered, unable to hide the corner of her smile.

Marcel found himself enjoying their banter.

When the moment opened, he raised his hand. The three girls looked at him expectantly.

“Question. What time is practice?”

“Oh! Right—” Dani said, only to be interrupted by Mari’s efficiency.

“Two-hour sessions. Mondays and Wednesdays starting at five p.m., and Fridays at two,” she said with precision. “I’ll send you all the details tonight. Please give me till then.”

“Right. Thanks,” said Marcel. All of this was starting to feel real.

“Oh! By the way. Since you two are free today—” said Dani with authority, as Karen raised her hands in disbelief. “Why don’t you help Mars meet the rest of the team, Karen?”

“Who said I’m free?”

“Come on, Karen, stop complaining. Coach Mars really needs your services. Don’t let him down.”

“In fact, I wasn’t—” Marcel began, only to be cut off halfway through his sentence.

“Fine! I’ll help him meet the others,” Karen said with theatrical reluctance. “Let’s go, Marcel. Let’s coordinate.”

“That’s the spirit!” replied Dani.

Karen stood up and moved towards the exit.

“Good luck today with the recruitment booth,” she said, looking back at Dani and Mari.

Dani thanked her, but Mari looked down worried, as if saying we’ll actually need it.

Marcel stood up as well and followed Karen.

***

As Karen and Marcel left the student council room, they walked through the hallway while students were arriving for class. It was still early enough for everything to move slowly. No one was running. This was the hour of early birds easing into a productive day.

“Okay, Mars! Mind if I call you that? It has a cool vibe to it,” said Karen in an energetic, playful tone, bouncing around with apparent excitement.

“It’s fine. Thanks for asking, though.”

“Let me see. I don’t think we’ll find anyone this early, so let’s try during lunch break, okay?” she said, switching to her more executive tone. “I’ll text our teammates during class—”

She suddenly stopped, looking down the stairs that led to the parking lot behind the building. Her posture straightened. Her voice shifted into something almost graceful.

“Or maybe we already found someone.”

Karen’s eyes focused.

“Lisa!” she called out, softly but clearly.

A girl walking up the stairs raised her head, her chocolate-brown eyes widening as if Karen’s voice had sparked the instant joy of seeing someone she deeply missed.

Straight brown hair framed an impossibly broad, radiant smile. Marcel thought he’d never seen anyone look so genuinely glad to see someone else.

He wasn’t sure why, but something about Lisa made the air feel gentler. Like she carried the kind of peace that felt like a crime to disturb.

Lisa hurried up the stairs.

“Karen! What a nice surprise!” she said gently, immediately turning to Marcel with a welcoming expression that made it feel like he already belonged.

“Hi! Nice to meet you.”

Marcel nodded. Karen paused, giving him a second to reply, but before the silence could even begin to feel awkward, she moved the conversation forward.

“Great timing. We were actually looking for you, Lisa.”

“Oh! Were you?”

“This here is Marcel!”

Lisa’s eyes lit up.

“Ohhh! I really wanted to meet you, Marcel!”

Without hesitation, she took one of his hands between hers.

“I was worried we wouldn’t find anyone. I’m so glad you’re here.”

Marcel had only agreed to be their coach the evening before, yet someone he had just met was already welcoming him with startling sincerity.

“Nice to meet you too, Lisa,” he said, overwhelmed by her kindness.

Karen smiled. “Lisa was really happy when she heard we’d finally found a coach. It’s good she’s the first one we ran into.”

Lisa held Marcel’s hand just a second longer than expected.

“Really. Thank you for being here. I know we don’t look like much right now, but… we're pushing through.”

There was no trace of pressure in her tone, but something about the way she said it made Marcel’s chest tighten. It wasn’t just gratitude. Or hope. It felt like she was standing up for something precious.

“Oh, and fun fact: Lisa’s kind of Team Phoenix royalty,” Karen added, teasing.

“What does that mean?” Marcel asked, still confused.

“Both of my parents used to play here. But don’t worry. It’s an old story,” Lisa replied softly, almost too quickly. “Phoenix today is different. It’s ours now.”

She looked past Marcel for a moment, down the hall and toward the fields.

Her own words seemed to echo back at her.

Her smile didn’t fade, but it lost some brightness.

“You know,” Lisa said. “The team, it’s seen better days. But it still deserves to exist.”

She looked back at Marcel.

“As I said, we’re giving everything we’ve got, so don’t worry, okay?” Lisa said, holding her bag close.

Marcel noticed Team Phoenix’s logo hand-stitched on its strap. Small, imperfect, and unmistakably made with love.

“I’m sure you’ll be a great help, Marcel.”

There was a moment of silence. Before he could answer, hasty footsteps from a student echoed behind them.

“Oh dear, I really can’t be late today,” Lisa gasped, taking a step back. “I’m so sorry. I have to run. It was a pleasure meeting you, Marcel! You’re even nicer than I imagined.”

She turned to Karen. “See you later, Karen. I’m glad we got to see each other.”

“Let’s talk later, Lisa. Take care on your way to class,” Karen replied, her voice almost motherly.

As Lisa disappeared down the hall, Karen’s smile slowly faded. Something in her expression grew distant. Pained, even.

“How can she tell I’m nicer than she thought?” Marcel asked. “I barely said anything.”

Karen didn’t answer right away. She sighed.

Her voice was quieter now.

“I’m sure even you must’ve heard of Alfons and Sabrina.”

“…Those names do ring a bell,” Marcel said.

“They both played here at Solaris for Team Phoenix, back when the professional football club didn’t exist yet. It was right before they transfered abroad to become world-class players.”

She glanced down the hallway Lisa had just left.

“They’re Lisa’s parents.”

Marcel blinked, looking at Karen more closely.

“It wasn’t even that long ago,” she continued. “Lisa was still a kid when she watched them play here. They’re both retired now, and the whole family has come back. Her older brother even plays for Solaris FC. Saying football runs in her blood doesn’t begin to cover it. I saw it up close, we were only a year apart in high school.”

Karen’s tone wasn’t heavy, but it left something hanging in the air.

And Marcel understood.

The weight of it all. The team, its history, the bittersweet hope he’d just seen in Lisa’s eyes.

It hit him in full for the first time.

Whatever he was stepping into, it was much bigger than he had thought when he agreed.