Victories & Discoveries

Holding someone's hand, how can something so simple be so special?

I mean, it's something we've done since we were kids: when we learn to walk we hold hands with our parents so we don't fall, then when we started to go out of the house someone would take us by the hand to take care of us, at school we played holding hands with a classmate… but, as we growing up, physical contact in general is being lost. Why?

I find myself reflecting on this matter while a pretty girl holds my hand without any shame and guides me to the entrance of the soccer field, where a transcendental match is being played.

The distance from where Andrea and I were sitting to the soccer field was not that far, but for me it was as if during that journey time had decided to change its logic: it was an eternity in my mind.

It may seem like I'm complaining, but it's the opposite; I am grateful for those precious moments where the warmth of her hand was in direct contact with me, I appreciated every second that her delicate fingers entwined with mine.

I never imagined that holding someone's hand could trigger so many beautiful feelings inside of me. It was as if Andrea had not only touched my hands, but also the depths of my soul.

“The seats over there are empty, let's sit down.”

Seating? What the hell is she talking about? When I woke up from the angelic dream I was in, I noticed that we were already inside the soccer field, specifically in the area of bleachers where a fervent passion was boiling over.

Andrea achieved her goal: without realizing it, I had taken an important step in my 'rehabilitation', being so close to the field again was a great success for me.

I looked at the electronic scoreboard that was placed in the upper right corner:

Golden School 0 - 0 Diamond Stone Institute

Now I understand why so much fuss with this match, the Diamond Stone Institute, abbreviated as DSI, is a very prestigious school in the country. Before the founding of the Golden School, all students dreamed of enrolling there.

“Who are we supporting?”

Andrea asked me in the ear. Immediately I got as red as a tomato; This girl is going to give me a cardiac arrest today.

“T-to the yellow team. Leonel is playing in the defense; he is number 5.”

She quickly began looking for him within the field until she found him.

“Come on Leoneeeeeeel! You can score a goal!”

I wanted to tell her that it's not very likely that a central defender would score in a game, but I decided not to take away her hope; besides, that's not the most important thing right now.

I just noticed that Andrea is super well dressed, totally different from our meeting at McBurger Jr.

She was wearing white shorts that highlighted the tremendous beauty of her legs, a slightly low-cut navy blue blouse that left her shoulders bare, and beige low boots that matched her bag.

I was dying to tell her how much I love how her look today, but I felt that it was already too late to flatter her, so I limited myself to explaining the situation of the match:

“The score is 0-0, and it's minute 60 of the second half, there is only half an hour left to play.”

She responded by giving me a thumbs up and we both returned our gazes to the game.

It seemed like a very tight game in midfield, both teams were not conceding any space back and the forwards did not have many chances.

Many people think that when there are no goals in a soccer match it's because it has been boring, however, I find these kinds of games very interesting; sometimes both coaches' plans are so good that they clash with each other, so the only option to open the score is reduced to an individual move by a talented soccer player.

I knew who that player could be: who was my rival once, the person I always tried to catch up with… number 10, Renato Maia.

“Andrea, look at number 10: he will definitely score today.”

“How do you know?”

“I have a hunch.”

It had been 15 minutes since I started watching the game. My attention was focused on Renato; it was certainly not a comfortable match for him, the defenders were marking him correctly, and when he received the ball it was almost always with his back to the goal. Even so, he was still a danger, constantly trying to make plays with his teammates, and when his team lost possession he helped by pressing the opponent in midfield.

As time passed, the defenders seemed more tired. At minute 80 Renato got ahead of his defender on the right wing and managed to sneak into the six-yard box, on the edge of the line he made a pass that the midfielder almost managed to receive, but in the end the ball was cleared by the defender.

“It will be in the next play.”

I said that quietly; Still, I didn't want to sound like a know-it-all and glanced sideways to see if Andrea had heard me, but she didn't seem to have noticed, since the emotion from the previous play could still be seen on her face.

The DSI team was also playing a good game, when they had the ball they tried to attack mainly with their two wingers, who seemed quite skilled.

With 5 minutes remaining in the game, the Golden School right-back made a mistake in his own half and missed the pass to the midfielder, which caused the forward to be left alone against the defender.

The number 9 vs the 5, forward against defender... this was the play that would define the match. If Leonel lost this duel, he was going to let the striker in alone so that he could easily beat the goalkeeper.

The striker advanced a few meters and just on the edge of the penalty area made a feint to the right, and quickly changed the direction of the ball to the left.

The play was very good, and the forward left behind my best friend.

“You better not disappoint me…”

As if he had heard me, just when it seemed that the forward had completely passed Leonel, he kept fighting for the ball and with his body closed the distance that the striker had won. Finally, with a precise tackle, he managed to steal the ball and clear it at the throw-in.

The public applauded Leonel's defensive play.

“Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessss! You are the best Leoneeeeeel!”

I got a little jealous, Andrea was genuinely very excited.

The match continued and was coming to an end. The electronic scoreboard had reached minute 90, so only the extra minutes that the referee was going to give were missing.

“You lied to me, the 10 didn't score a goal.”

I wanted to respond to Andrea with a cool line like "This isn't over until the ref blows his whistle", or "The best is yet to come", but I decided to just smile, put my hand on my head and return my gaze to the field of play.

In the last play of the game, the Golden School goalkeeper took a goal kick so long that it reached the right winger, who with an excellent header managed to put Renato in a great position.

“This is just what he was waiting for.”

Renato ran for the ball and with an incredible dribble managed to get lose his marker. His partner on the left flank was crying out for the pass, as he was in a good position.

“Poor thing, he really thinks he's going to pass the ball.”

I know Renato very well, the pass option seemed to be the best, but with a surprising feint inside the penalty area he managed to get rid of the central defender who was chasing him, and got into a shooting position.

The spectators fell silent, just as Renato was preparing his powerful shot, the rival midfielder came from behind to push him, causing a clear penalty.

“RENATO, RENATO, RENATO!”

The euphoric audience shouted the name of their star. The glory was at his feet.

“He doesn't look nervous, but do you think he's going to score the penalty?”

Andrea asked me worried; even though she didn't know much about soccer, she knew that this moment was full of pressure for Renato.

“Don't worry, I'm 100% sure that it will be a goal.”

“Oh really? Wanna bet?”

“Bet? I guess so…”

I worried for a moment, what would she want to bet? A chocolate? A kiss? A life together?

“Let's bet a day off from studies if he misses the penalty.”

Ah, the disappointment I was feeling in my heart was immeasurable.

“It's fine, but if he scores the penalty, you'll take twice as much homework.”

“Whaaaaat? Absolutely no way! I don't accept!”

Her disgust face was so funny that I couldn't help but laugh.

“It's not funny!”

Seeing that I couldn't stop myself, she laughed too, and we became two crazy people who, in the middle of a tense moment, couldn't stop laughing.

I stared at the beautiful smile that formed on her lips. This girl has shown me that she is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, and without a doubt, she has become much more than a friend to me.

I can't deny it anymore: I'm really in love with Andrea.

“¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!”

This game ended in a victory for the Golden School… and, of course, also in a personal triumph for me.