Oswin walked over and draped an arm around Bongani's shoulders, noticing how tense he had become.
"Don't worry," Oswin said with a confident smile. "I know a few players with solid skills. They might not be on our level, but they'll be great additions to your team."
Bongani slowly lifted his head. His eyes swept across the three friends standing before him. Winston, Oswin, Hickman, all three wore encouraging smiles as they raised their thumbs in support. The tight knot in Bongani's chest gradually loosened. A genuine smile spread across his face.
"Thank you, guys," he said sincerely. "I... I hope I can beat Pirlo."
Winston nodded. "You can. Just trust the work you've put in."
"And don't overthink it," Hickman added. "Play the football you've been practicing every morning."
Bongani took a deep breath and nodded firmly. "Right."
Turning toward Building D, he waved over his shoulder. "I'll go report to Instructor Smith." Without another word, he jogged off toward the instructor's office.
Winston could tell Bongani was doing his best to hide his panic. The three of them watched him jog down the tiled walkway leading toward Building D until he disappeared inside.
Winston turned to Oswin and Hickman. "We should help Bongani put a team together." Both of them nodded without hesitation.
"Agreed," Oswin said. "If Pirlo already has a team in mind, we can't let Bongani walk into this match unprepared."
Hickman twisted the cap on his water bottle before replying, "I already have a few players in mind."
He looked at the two of them. "Count me in as well."
Winston smiled, relieved that they were all on the same page. "Good. Let's start recruiting before Pirlo gets to them first."
Standing with one hand on his hip and the other rubbing his chin, Oswin quickly came up with a plan. "There are a few attacking players in our dome I'm thinking of. I'd better get to them before Pirlo recruits them."
He pointed at Winston. "Wis, head over to Building B." Then he looked at Hickman. "You check on the defenders you know."
Both of them nodded. Without wasting another second, the three split up and hurried in different directions. Winston made his way toward Building B. As he wandered around the training grounds outside the building, he realized something.
Truthfully, he had never taken the time to properly observe the other players in the academy. Whenever he needed information, he usually relied on Oswin, who seemed to know almost everyone.
Hearing cheers from one of the nearby practice pitches, Winston stopped outside the field. A friendly match was underway. Several academy players stood along the touchline watching, and Winston quietly joined the spectators.
"Did you hear?" one of the youths said to the others gathered nearby. "Pirlo has already initiated his one-on-one challenge."
"About time," another youth said. "He's been practicing nonstop."
He folded his arms. "But I honestly thought he was going to challenge someone from Group A. I didn't expect him to go after some nobody from Group D."
Another player, who had been sitting on the grass, chimed in. "I heard they've got bad blood. Pirlo's had a problem with that Group D player for a long time."
"Then why didn't he challenge him earlier this week?" another youth asked. "From what I saw on the rankings, that guy would've been an easy target."
The first player shrugged. "Pirlo said he was waiting for something. He never explained what it was, but after today he said he was finally going to send the challenge."
So he was waiting for Oswin and me to use up our one-on-one challenges. Winston narrowed his eyes. Either he's patient... or he's too cautious to face us.
His attention drifted back to the match. A player with neatly tied-back braids danced through defenders with effortless control. Every feint, body shift, and change of pace drew defenders in before leaving them behind. Winston couldn't help but watch.
"There goes Elijah again," one of the spectators muttered. "His dribbling is ridiculous."
"Honestly, I'm still surprised he didn't make Group A," another replied. "With feet like that, he should be training with the best players."
The whistle blew—the friendly match came to an end. The spectators rose to their feet and applauded before jogging onto the pitch to collect the bibs from Elijah and his teammates.
Elijah walked off the field, breathing heavily. His dark skin glistened with sweat, and his braided locks were tied neatly behind his head. He had a lean, athletic build and stood at an average height. After grabbing a bottle of water, he dropped onto the bench beside Winston and twisted off the cap. Before he could take a drink, Winston spoke.
"You've got great dribbling skills." He glanced back toward the field. "It's a shame your team lacked attacking quality."
Elijah tilted his bottle back, taking several long gulps of water. Without lowering it completely, he glanced sideways at Winston before finishing his drink.
"So, you're saying that while sitting on the sidelines?" he asked with a smirk.
He screwed the cap back onto the bottle. "I've watched your matches too. You're not bad." His smirk widened. "But you also lack attacking prowess. That's why you rely so much on your winger friend."
Winston leaned back on his hands, his gaze drifting toward the afternoon sun. "What position do you play?"
"I'm a central defensive midfielder," Elijah replied, setting his water bottle beside him.
Winston nodded thoughtfully. "Since you seem eager to challenge me in a friendly..." He turned to Elijah. "...how about this instead? Join my friend's one-on-one challenge today. If you help him win, then I'll show you what my real attacking prowess looks like."
Elijah let out a short laugh. "So that player from Building D is your friend?" He shook his head. "It's a shame he got challenged by Pirlo."
His expression grew serious. "Pirlo has been grinding nonstop this past week. Even if I accepted your offer, I honestly don't think your friend can beat him." He paused before looking directly at Winston. "I know I'm skilled, but Pirlo has been preparing for this match for an entire week."
A grin slowly spread across his face. "Besides..." He raised an eyebrow. "...is this really how you recruit players?"
Winston rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.
I thought that sounded pretty smooth...
Before he could explain himself, Elijah pushed himself to his feet and stretched his shoulders. He glanced down at Winston. "Come on." He jerked his head toward the exit. "Let's go meet your friend. I was getting bored of these friendly matches anyway."
A smile spread across Winston's face as he stood up. Together, they headed back to the training field outside Building D. When they arrived, Hickman was already there with three other players standing beside him.
After greeting them, Hickman introduced the three defenders he had recruited. Winston then introduced Elijah. Although he was happy Elijah had agreed, Winston couldn't hide a hint of disappointment. He had only managed to recruit one player.
Just as they began talking football, Oswin jogged onto the field with four players following behind him. "Oh, you guys are already back?" Oswin asked, folding his arms. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting."
He pointed toward the players behind him. "I managed to recruit four players—two attacking midfielders and two strikers."
After introducing them to everyone, Winston leaned against the fence. "Now all we have to do is wait for Bongani to get back from Instructor Smith."
Oswin's eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked at Elijah. "Wait..." He pointed at him. "I know you."
He snapped his fingers. "You're Elijah—the central defensive midfielder, right?"
"That's me." Elijah nodded before smirking. "And you're Oswin... the trickster winger."
Oswin's eyes widened in surprise. He immediately turned toward Winston. "Wis... how did you pull that off?"
He pointed at Elijah. "I tried recruiting him a few days ago before your match against Diego, but he turned me down."
Winston looked at Elijah with a puzzled expression. Elijah simply shrugged. "I didn't want to paint a target on my back." He looked at Winston. "You've got a lot of enemies. I wasn't interested in making them mine."
A grin crept onto his face. "Besides..." He crossed his arms. "Winston promised me a friendly match after Bongani's challenge."
Oswin's eyes lit up. "Oh, no." He stepped forward dramatically. "Get back in line."
Pointing at Winston, he declared, "I've been waiting to challenge Wis in a friendly too." Then he pointed at Elijah. "If you're going to play him first, you've got to beat me first."
The group burst into laughter. Before Elijah could fire back another remark, footsteps approached from behind. Everyone turned to see Bongani who had just entered the training pitch. Walking beside him was a tall, lean, pale-skinned player with slicked-back hair.
Bongani stopped in front of the group, clearly surprised by the crowd waiting for him. "Were... were you guys practicing?" he asked, his gaze sweeping across the unfamiliar faces.
Oswin walked over and threw an arm around Bongani's shoulders with a wide grin. "Nope," he said. "They're all here for you."
He gestured toward the players gathered on the field. "We could tell that one-on-one challenge caught you off guard, so we figured we'd save you the trouble of running around recruiting players."
Bongani stood frozen. His eyes slowly became glassy. He blinked once, then again, but the tears slipped down his cheeks anyway. Embarrassed, he quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand.
"Thank you... guys." His voice trembled slightly. "The only player I managed to recruit was a goalkeeper."
He looked from Winston to Oswin, then to Hickman before sweeping his gaze across everyone who had answered the call. "Wis... Oswin... Hickman..." He bowed his head slightly. "Thank you. And thank you, everyone, for accepting this invitation."
Taking a deep breath, he looked at each of them with renewed determination. "If any of you ever need a midfielder... or even a winger... for your one-on-one challenge, just call me." He smiled through the tears. "I'll be there."
Several of the players smiled back, while Oswin patted him on the back. "Enough with the crying," Oswin teased with a laugh. "Save those tears for after you beat Pirlo."
The tension that had been weighing on Bongani's shoulders finally eased, replaced by quiet confidence as he looked at the teammates standing beside him.