[Warning: Cursing/Profanity]

“Where are you going this time?!” Shouted Lily, who barely had her coat on by the time I dashed out of our café.

“There’s just a few more things I gotta do!” I replied, but before closing the door behind me, I turned back with one more question. “Mind if I stop by your place tonight? I need to let your dad know something!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she replied. “You owe me one for sending you a photo of the team.” She walked back into the storage room, and I smiled.

She’s been dealing with my shenanigans for weeks now… I thought while walking down a crosswalk.

It’s been a week since I was last with Rin, back during that time at Febai College. Instead of playing the hero and helping her recover from last year’s implosion, I found myself hiding in the girl’s bathroom stall instead while Rin defended my reputation. All I could do was quiver at the thought of how useless and embarrassing I was.

“Not this time,” I murmured to myself, pulling out my phone to view the picture she sent. “Just what kind of phone does she even have…”

The photo featured an open binder that included the contact information of every player on Rin’s team last year, but I could hardly make out the pixelated numbers and addresses. It already felt illegal to obtain such private information, but I just had to get this done; I promised myself I’d delete the photo afterward.

Racing down the streets, I dialed Gio’s number on my phone and brought it to my ear, hoping he would answer. After multiple rings, his voice finally popped up on the other side.

“Hello?”

“Gio!” I shouted. “I need to stop by your place again today!”

“Jeez,” he replied. This was the fourth day in a row I had called him and stopped by his place in secret. “This is the last day you can come, got it?”

“Yeah, don’t worry.”

“And well, you've donated quite a lot of money recently to our charity. I guess you really are trying to change yourself. Listen, come now, because I gotta leave after 6.”

“Thank you, I owe you one,” I said happily, but before closing the call, I had just one more question. “Hey… do you think I can volunteer after hours for one of your clinics?”

“Huh?!” Gio shouted. “Are you nuts? What if Mila’s family sees you?!”

“That’s why I said after hours!” I repeated. “I’ll do anything, even mopping the floors or taking out the trash!”

“Listen, don’t push your luck. Get this stuff done with Rin’s soccer team first, and then we’ll talk about that, okay?”

“Okay,” I finally closed the call.

As I continued running down the various blocks until the older, brick-made low-rise buildings around me turned into high-rise apartments, I couldn’t help but think back to last night’s discussion with Lily’s father:

“Mr. Meyer,” Once I arrived at Lily’s apartment, I took off my backpack and placed it on the door mat in front of me. Unzipping it, I took something out, then knocked on the door, hoping he would answer.

“Kai, why are you here again?!” Mr. Meyer shouted, creaking open the door slowly this time. “Like I said the other day, I’ve given up on trying to-”

His speech halted, and his jaw dropped to the ground. Out in my hands was a red jersey with the Febai national emblem stitched on the right chest, and the Febai college emblem stitched on the left. I made sure to hold the jersey by the shoulders in front of his face, so he could get a crystal view of every single detail.

“There’s something…” I muttered. “That I need to tell you about.”

“How…” Mr. Meyer brought a hand to his mouth and stepped back. “Do you of all people have that jersey?!”

I smirked, happy to have surprised him. Before I could answer, both Lily and Mrs. Meyer arrived at the door, stunned by his reaction.

“Honey, what’s going on?!” Mrs. Meyer asked. Once her eyes caught the sight of the jersey I was holding up, she gasped just as loudly. “Oh my goodness!”

Near the bottom of the shirt was a faded but visible signature in black ink. One more laundry wash, and the signature would probably vanish forever.

“I’m glad I asked for this from the police station,” I chuckled. “You see, my father was actually quite a big fan of the Febai soccer team. I’m sure you know whose signature this was.”

And indeed, I was far from lying.

[10 years ago]

“The atmosphere is just amazing!” My father pulled down a folded chair with one hand as the other held a bag of popcorn. We were near the front row of the stadium, in which he took me to right after picking me up from school. I did have to agree - the large, rectangular lights at every corner were so bright that it felt like day time despite the setting sun, and I had never seen so many people cheering for a sport in my entire life. What fun was soccer anyways? There were endless passes without any cool moves like I saw on TV. Compared to the ferociousness of a basketball slam dunk or the constant events of a boxing match, this had to be like watching a fish in a tank.

“Why am I even here?!” I shouted. “I want to go home and play video games!”

“Listen Kai,” he sat down, placed the bag of popcorn on the floor in front of him, and revealed the jersey he was wearing under his large black coat. “Keep your eyes on the captain of our team, Thomas Meyer. He dances around the defenders like they’re statues! One glimpse and you’ll want to keep coming to watch his games!”

He then pointed at a large, buff player who was wearing the #10.

“What’s so great about that big guy?” I asked, sitting down and munching on a hand of popcorn. The timing couldn’t have been more impeccable. A pass from the back brought the ball to Thomas Meyer’s feet, and away he went: one defender, two defenders, three…

“Gooooooooooaaaaaal!” We all screamed, and I felt my eardrums rumbling within me. Thomas Meyer had scored one of the greatest goals I had ever seen, even better than the online highlights that my father would show me at home. After dribbling past three defenders, he changed the direction of his run and curled the ball into the top corner of the net just outside of the box.

[Present]

Mr. Meyer wiped his eyes, which were ridden with tears. His cheeks glowed a bright pink, and a slight smile emerged on his face.

“I thought… that your old man was the one who bet against our team and tampered with the refs.”

“Mr. Meyer, he’s kept this jersey displayed in our mansion for as long as I can remember. You were his favorite player by a mile, and Febai was his favorite team by a lightyear. I don’t know the truth of what happened, but what I do know is that…” I sharpened my gaze, keeping my eyes at him. “He would never do something like that to any of you.”

Reaching the last block before arriving at Gio’s clinic, I wiped a layer of sweat off my forehead. All this running in the past couple of days has really given me a workout and a half.

“Ugh…”

I slowed down, and grasped my crotch with both arms. I forgot to use the bathroom before I left Muller’s Blend, and now my bladder was about to explode.

“Fuck, I need to go badly!”

It was only a few more minutes until Gio’s clinic, but at this rate, I didn’t even know if I could make it. Every movement forward was a pinch on my crotch; it was one small step for man, one giant leap for my bladder, stretching it out like a balloon ready to burst.

That’s when I saw it: a narrow, dark alley in between two apartment buildings, covered in nothing but trash cans and banana peels. The area lacked any streetlights and was engulfed in shadows from the tall structures surrounding it.

Fuck it, I gotta go!

I changed the direction of my run into the alley and unzipped my pants. In just a few seconds, I would be freed from the tyranny of my kidney, and pee to my heart’s delight. Crossing into the shadows of the alleyway so that no one would see me, I stepped in between two trash bags, ready to unleash my sacred liquid.

“Kyaaaaaaahh!”

Behind me was a woman donning a bright white dress and fancy heels, Her hair, a dark chestnut brown, almost blended into the darkness of the alley.

Shit! I thought. I was caught in no time flat, but the issue was more than that.

“K-Kai?!” She screamed, and backed out into the light. Just from the streetlights alone, her skin and dress glistened like the moon. From the corner of my eye danced a large bundle of silver hair, which ruffled like a flag in the wind. Her face, like how she looked in the past, was more recognizable than ever.

“M-Mila?!” I quickly zipped my pants back up, blushing in embarrassment. First the incident with Eleanor back at my apartment, and now this.

“W-What are you doing here?!” She asked, with both hands against her chest. Her eyes were visibly watery, and her face turned as pale as her dress.

“I-I’m sorry for this scene I caused! I just… if I didn’t go, my bladder was going to explode!” I backed up against the other wall, ensuring I was keeping my distance. “That’s why I had no choice but to-”

“Ugh, just stop talking! I don’t want to hear your voice any longer!”

A brief silence filled the dark alley we both stood in. I sighed in defeat and closed my eyes. “U-Understood.”

Mila paced out of the shadows and back onto the main street.

“You… I just can’t bear to see you. Goodbye.”

As she disappeared past the corner, I walked out slowly and covered half my face with my scarf. Despite not being able to fully empty my bladder, the urge to pee was completely gone. Goosebumps covered every inch of my skin, and my nose sniffled from the constant cold breezes.

“I’m such an idiot.”

My plan to surprise Rin hung on the ropes; I still had to get to Gio’s place before he closed his clinic. But running into Mila, a woman whom I knew from my time living in my father's mansion during high school, threw me into a pitch-black hole of dejection.

Kicking a stone on the road, I walked quietly but at a tenth of the speed from earlier without looking up.

Is there any point in doing this for Rin? I thought, with both hands tucked in my pockets like a homeless wanderer. Perhaps it was time to give up and turn back.

Ring ring!

I grabbed my phone and stared down, looking at who the caller was. My eyes widened once I saw Rin’s name appear on the screen, and my thumb tapped Answer faster than lightning.

“Hey, um, is this Kai?”

“Yeah,” I chuckled while halting on the side of the road. “We text every day, but you’re still worried you called the wrong number?”

“S-Shut up! It’s just being polite, okay?” Rin shouted. Hearing her voice, no matter what tone, brought me a pillow of comfort.

“So, what’s up?” I asked, hiding my excitement.

“W-Well,” Rin stuttered. “I’m just calling to make sure you’re not trying to pull anything weird again, like that other day when I had to hide you in the women’s restroom…”

“Oh!” I laughed but lowered my voice. “I’m sorry I forced you to do that, and I still have to thank you for defending me in front of your teammates. You really didn’t have to.”

“Didn’t have to?!” Rin retaliated. “Anyone would’ve done that. You can’t just let this slander continue, Kai.”

“Perhaps not,” my jaw muscles were probably so well-defined from all the smiling. “But thanks for calling, I think I needed it for tonight.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“Meet me tomorrow night at the Febai College soccer field!”

“What?! Kai, I told you not to-”

Beep!

Closing the call, I looked back up at the full moon which glistened ever-so-brightly in the night sky. It shined so strongly over the dark streets of Febai City that it could’ve put the streetlights out of a job.

I slapped my cheeks with both hands, giving myself a wakeup call.

“I can still do this!” I shouted and ran the last block to Gio’s clinic: a household hosting the directory of Rin’s past teammates.