Just as with every good thing in life, there was always an ending. Whether it was a good or bad ending, was up to the people writing the script.
If you asked Adrian what he thought of this ending, he would say, "Hmm, let's meet somewhere in between."
He had been with the Ravenwood team for years, rising to the ranks of captain in his second year of senior high and leading his team to win many competitions.
The only thing they hadn't won so far was the high school intercontinental cup, a competition that took place just once every three years.
He was still in junior high that last time the competition was held. He didn't play, but Ravenwood got quite close to winning, a shame they only came back with a silver medal.
He was supposed to be leading his team to the competition next year which was just a few months away. But it didn't look like that would be happening.
A job transfer meant that he had to move back to his home country with his family.
Anybody who had to suddenly get pulled out of a team like Ravenwood's might feel indignation and strong reluctance.
However, except for feeling a little reluctant, Adrian didn't really feel that bad about leaving. He felt it was a shame, and he would honestly miss all his friends and teammates, but compared to all that, he was more excited about heading back to his home country.
That was because he would finally be able to see someone he had not seen or heard from in years.
______ ______
August 14, 2027. Saturday, 10:06 AM.
The Neros officially returned to the island country of Sendan.
Walking out of the airport, Adrian couldn't help but take a deep breath.
The sun, although not fully overhead yet, fully illuminated the bright sky.
The weather by this time of the year wasn't exactly cool and someone had already started feeling it.
Standing beside Adrian was a girl slightly shorter than him, she was wearing a red summer dress with floral designs and a white summer hat.
If one looked closely, they would be able to see the similarities between the two, especially in their emerald green eyes which shone with the same intensity.
This was Adrian's younger sister, Estelle Nero.
"Ohhh, I'm going to die from this heat." She groaned as she made a motion of fanning herself with her hands.
Adrian glanced at her speechlessly and was about to say something when he heard her whining as he heard his parents calling them to get into the car.
Without giving a response, Adrian pushed his luggage and walked past her.
Seeing that she was being ignored, Estelle let out a huff before quickly pushing her luggage to follow him.
A week before making their trip back today, Adrian's father had already bought a house in a quiet gated community with good security and all the things they couldn't bring with them on the flight had already been shipped earlier. Now all they had to do was clean the place, add a touch of their warmth and their new home would be set.
Now standing outside the house, Adrian scanned the building and its surroundings with a scrutinising gaze.
The house looked nice at first glance, it was a two-storey building with a small lawn of about two hundred and eighty square metres. The fence wasn't that high but the metal spikes at the end were pointed and sharp.
That would be enough to keep possible burglars at bay for now.
With that thought, he glanced left and then right. While the house on the right didn't seem to have anyone occupying it at the moment, the one on the left was occupied as he could hear faint music coming from there.
With his observation done, he was about to look down when he suddenly felt something and quickly looked up.
He didn't react fast enough as all he was able to see was the window getting pulled shut.
That was on the second floor. He had always been very sensitive and was sure that someone was watching him from there just now.
While he found it a bit strange, he also thought it was normal that the neighbours would be curious about them. Maybe it was just someone shy.
Reaching that conclusion, he stopped thinking about the matter and shifted his thoughts elsewhere.
According to the information he got, although schools were currently on break, Sendan was currently playing its qualifiers for the high school continental cup. His new school, Sino highschool was also playing in the qualifiers.
With that thought, he pulled out his phone. The current rankings for the qualifiers were posted on Sendan's government website. There were a total of twenty-two teams, each representing one of the states of the nation, and currently, Sino High School was ranked 10th, just outside the top eight, after playing four matches, with just two last matches to go.
However, their position was still a bit shaky. To get a direct qualification to the round of sixteen, they had to maintain their current tenth position. Dropping to the eleventh position meant that they would have to go to the play-offs to win a position in the round of sixteen. If any team could have it their way, they would much rather get a direct qualification.
Adrian was so immersed in checking the information about the teams currently ranked above Sino High School that he didn't react when his parents walked past him.
Estelle was also playing with her phone as she pushed her luggage in front of her, she was about to move past Adrian when he suddenly looked up.
"Help me get this inside." He said pushing his luggage to her.
Estelle didn't really pay attention and just looked up with a confused expression.
"Oh, okay." She uttered in confusion before her brain could even process what her brother just said.
Unfortunately, by the time she realised, Adrian was already long gone.
She could only grit her teeth and drag his luggage alongside hers in resentment.
As for Adrian, he was heading toward Sino High School to meet his new teammates.
The fact that this team was able to grab six points from two wins after losing their first two matches and stay in the top ten meant that they weren't really as hopeless as he thought.
His expectation still wasn't high but at the moment, he was feeling a bit hopeful.