Ding... Dong...
The school bell echoed throughout the building.
Children immediately began packing away their pencils and books.
A few groaned.
A few stretched.
One little boy looked ready to burst into tears.
Sitting at the front of the Year 1 classroom, a 64-year-old Yusuke chuckled to himself.
"...Oh."
He smiled warmly.
"Is it time already?"
The classroom erupted.
"Nooo!"
"Please don't stop!"
"What happened after that, Mr. Yusuke?"
"Did you beat Aka again?!"
"Did Riku stay on the team forever?!"
The little voices overlapped until nobody could understand anybody else.
"Where's Pambara now?"
"Hopefully somebody let him out of that closet." Yusuke laughed.
He'd been visiting schools for years now, telling stories from his soccer career to inspire younger generations.
But this class...
This class had been especially invested.
He looked toward the teacher.
Mrs. Janet smiled from beside the whiteboard.
She gave him a small nod.
Go ahead.
Yusuke smiled back.
"...Okay, fine."
The classroom instantly fell silent.
"But I'll make it quick."
He pointed toward the clock.
"I don't want to keep you from recess."
The children nodded furiously.
Not one of them looked interested in recess anymore.
Yusuke leaned back in his chair.
"After that match..."
He paused for effect.
"...our team got noticed by a lot of people."
The children leaned forward.
"We trained harder than ever."
"We travelled together."
"We won together."
Another pause.
Then...
"...Eventually..."
A grin spread across his face.
"...we represented America in the World Cup."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Then—
"WHAT?!"
"NO WAY!"
"YOU PLAYED IN THE WORLD CUP?!"
"YOU NEVER TOLD US!"
"I WATCHED THE WORLD CUP WITH MY DAD!"
The classroom exploded into excitement.
Some kids jumped out of their chairs.
Others stared at him with mouths hanging open.
Yusuke laughed so hard he had to wipe a tear from his eye.
"I did."
"And so did the rest of my teammates."
The children bombarded him with questions.
"Did you win?"
"Were you famous?"
"Did you score?"
"Was Riku there?"
"Was Coach Daniel there too?"
Yusuke smiled.
"Those are stories for another day."
A loud chorus of disappointed groans filled the room.
Mrs. Janet clapped her hands together.
"Alright, everyone."
"It's recess."
The children reluctantly stood.
One by one, they walked past Yusuke.
"Bye, Mr. Yusuke!"
"Come back soon!"
"I'm gonna be a soccer player too!"
Yusuke smiled at every single one of them.
"I'll be cheering for you."
Within moments, the classroom was empty.
Mrs. Janet walked over.
"Thank you."
"The kids absolutely loved having you."
Yusuke stood and picked up his old sports bag.
"It was my pleasure."
She smiled.
"I hope you'll visit again."
"I'd love to."
The two shook hands before Yusuke quietly left the classroom.
He walked through the familiar school hallways, passing colourful artwork taped to the walls.
Eventually, he reached the front office.
The receptionist looked up.
"...Mr. Yusuke?"
He smiled.
"That's me."
She laughed nervously.
"My grandson would never forgive me if I didn't ask..."
She slid a small notebook across the counter.
"...Could I please have your autograph?"
Yusuke chuckled.
"I'd be honoured."
He signed his name carefully before handing the notebook back.
She smiled from ear to ear.
"Thank you so much."
Yusuke signed out as a visitor.
Then pushed open the school's front doors.
Bright afternoon sunlight poured across the entrance.
He stepped outside.
Then froze.
Standing on the footpath...
were nine familiar faces.
Hiroto.
Yuma.
Takumi.
Ren.
Daichi.
Sora.
Tsubasa.
Riku.
Even Coach Daniel's old assistant manager stood among them.
For a long moment...
Nobody spoke.
Yusuke blinked.
"...No way..."
Yuma was the first to laugh.
"Took you long enough."
Takumi folded his arms.
"You've gotten old."
"So have you."
They all laughed.
Yusuke walked toward them slowly.
"...It's been..."
"...Twenty years."
"Twenty-three," Hiroto corrected.
"I've been counting."
Riku stepped forward.
His hair had turned grey around the edges now, but the confident smile hadn't changed one bit.
"...You still got your boots?"
Yusuke blinked.
"...What?"
Riku held up a worn soccer ball.
"One last match."
Silence.
Yusuke stared at the ball.
Then at every face surrounding him.
The teammates he'd laughed with.
Fought beside.
Cried beside.
Grown up beside.
His knees suddenly gave out.
He dropped to the ground.
Tears streamed freely down his face.
"...If only Coach Daniel..."
His voice cracked.
"...could see how far we've come..."
Nobody laughed.
Nobody interrupted.
Riku simply walked over.
Held out the soccer ball.
"...He'd be proud."
Yusuke looked up.
Slowly...
he stood.
He accepted the ball.
A smile spread across his face through the tears.
"...Yeah."
"I think he would."
Together...
The old teammates walked toward the nearby soccer field.
Laughing.
Talking.
Remembering.
The game had changed.
The world had changed.
They had all changed.
But one thing never did.
No matter how old they became...
No matter how many years passed...
They would always be...
Southside.
The End.