Bracing for Farewell
Poke.
"Ah…! Why are you—!"
"This is fun."
With a rare, beaming smile, Haley jabbed a finger into Yohan's lower back.
Poke.
"Stop it. That hurts."
"Go on, try being a smartass again."
"I won't. Just please stop poking me."
At the moment, Haley was thoroughly occupied with tormenting a very uncomfortable Yohan.
It was the usual aftermath of a match against Lazio. She was having a wonderful time prodding at every aching spot on a body still sore from all the physical battles. Seeing Yohan this worn-down and groaning was a rare treat. On days like these he never said anything to provoke her, and simply rested in quiet. From Haley's point of view, this was a day she held absolute dominance—and she had no intention of letting it slip by easily.
Poke.
"You gonna keep being a smartass, or not?"
"I said I won't…"
"You're mad, right? Mad enough to die?"
Poke.
"No. I'm not mad. Just hurt."
"Hurt about what?"
"That you're bullying your friend."
"You crying?"
"I'm not crying… though my eyes do feel a little weird."
"There you go being a smartass. Didn't you say you wouldn't?"
Poke.
"Ah…!"
At this rate, Haley's fingers were going to poke holes clean through him. Thinking that, Yohan asked the classmate sitting in front of him to switch seats—
"Uh, sorry…"
—but the boy caught Haley's terrifying glare over Yohan's shoulder, chickened out, and refused. Yohan's shoulders slumped.
"Where do you think you're running off to? You wanna die? I'll pinch you."
"Please, just don't pinch me."
"Then sit up straight for the next class. Got it?"
"You're just trying to sleep, aren't you?"
"Yep."
"…"
"Don't want to?"
"I'll try."
"You will. No excuses. I stayed up late watching a movie last night and I'm dying of sleepiness."
"You should watch movies on the weekend. Staying up all night on a weekday isn't good for your health."
"So you're saying no?"
"No… that's not it… but didn't you say you were an adult?"
"You were about to tell me to act like one, weren't you?"
Poke.
With her jabbing him at every opportunity, his muscles were screaming. Deciding this could not go on, Yohan resolved to take drastic measures.
Scrape.
Pushing his desk and chair forward to put distance between himself and Haley was the most extreme step he could think of. Even that made him feel guilty—he worried she might take it as him moving away because he disliked her. In truth, Haley found Yohan's little act of rebellion utterly adorable.
"Where are you going? Running away?"
"No."
"If you don't come back right now, I'll make you sit next to me."
"The seat next to you already has an owner."
"I'll just tell them to move. Don't believe me? Want me to show you? I'll tell them when they get back."
"Don't do that."
"Then get over here. I'm counting to five."
It was the kind of clinginess that would have driven anyone else up the wall. But not Yohan. Naturally gentle in this regard, he never got angry. Still, there was a clear line—a point where he would flatly tell someone to stop. And Haley, having spent so much time with him, knew exactly where that line was drawn. This was still well within the range of his patience.
She grinned as she watched him reluctantly return to his original spot.
"Good boy. From now on, do as you're told. Got it?"
"…"
"You just thought you'd get even once your body heals, didn't you?"
He flinched.
"Look at that. You really did think that?"
"I didn't think it exactly like that."
Scrape.
Just as Yohan was thoroughly flustered, their homeroom teacher arrived like a relief pitcher. He let out a sigh of relief—only to shudder at the small voice that floated up from behind him.
"If you move, I'm poking you. Behave yourself."
She was a terrifying witch if there ever was one. But saying that out loud would only invite retaliation. Imagining himself screaming under Haley's merciless pokes, Yohan stiffened his body and helped her get her sleep. For all of this, Haley was a precious friend. Next time he would firmly tell her not to stay up late watching movies. For now, he would let her sleep. Sleep was important for a student still growing, after all.
Soft weight.
Feeling a somewhat concave, heavy sensation settle on top of his head, Yohan chuckled to himself. Haley was placing something on his head. This was what she did when she wanted to show she was sorry—too embarrassed to say the words out loud, or too proud. It was her own unique way of apologizing. When Haley decided she had done something wrong, she apologized through actions like this. Apparently she did feel bad about poking him so relentlessly.
"Gio! Hurry up. They're doing stretches and starting rondo."
"Got it."
At Bianchi's call, Yohan tied his football boots and hurried over to join his teammates. Since the Lazio match, Bianchi had regained his smile and confidence, and Yohan was glad for it.
Currently the U-13 regional league had Roma sitting in first place. Lazio followed right behind—both undefeated, the points gap between them narrow, and both far ahead of third. In truth, within the region, Roma and Lazio were the only large, skilled clubs, so the result was only natural.
The whole team was riding high. The draw against Lazio had been unsatisfying, but looking back, that match was one they should have lost badly—and the fact that they had chased and chased until they forced a draw had their morale soaring. Yohan especially had become a player everyone recognized after that single match. He had always been good, but against Lazio he had radiated an untouchable aura, and everyone figured he would be skipping a grade again soon.
Just as they thought, within the club, interest in Yohan's talent—already a focus—had only intensified. No one who watched the club official's recording of the Lazio match had failed to be astonished. Judgment beyond his years, an obsession with winning, a problem-solver's ability in clutch situations… fundamentals refined beautifully compared to when he was nine, a growth curve that had shot up steeply since joining… all of it had caught the eyes of the club staff.
"He's friendly on the outside too. He greets the center staff every day before and after training."
"There's no one here who hasn't had a casual chat with him. He even remembers all the center staff's names."
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"Impressive. Is his memory that good?"
"Well, if our hired tutors taught him we might know, but since he commutes to school…"
"Did he say he plans to keep going to school?"
"Apparently so. He said you never know what life throws at you, and if he can't become a footballer he still needs a way to make a living…"
The youth staff gathered in the meeting room burst out laughing. It was sound reasoning, but far too realistic—and old-man-like—coming from a boy of an age when grand career dreams were the norm.
"As long as he grows up well."
"Agreed."
"Let's keep watching him. Just like we are now."
Roma did not openly show the club's interest in Yohan. Excessive attention could be poison to a youth player. What they worried about most was arrogance. Of course, given Yohan's personality they were not truly concerned—but you never know with people. What Roma could do now was provide him with the maximum support, quietly and without fanfare. A flower carefully tended blooms all the more beautifully when it finally opens. So Roma observed Yohan through a very careful approach.
And Yohan himself, completely unaware of the club's secret expectations, steadily absorbed the coaching staff's teachings and grew more mature mentally as time went on. His once simple and lively personality had become a touch more composed, and as the baby fat left his once puffy, cute face, his looks gradually took on a more masculine quality.
"Stop staring in the mirror already."
Yohan was marveling at his own changes; Haley gave him a nudge from behind. He turned at her playful interference and asked,
"Haven't I gotten more manly?"
"You sure think highly of yourself, don't you?"
"Don't I look like one?"
"Not even close. Want me to pretend and say you're handsome?"
"No."
"Then that's settled. You've still got a long way to go before you're an adult."
"That's not what I was asking…"
"It means you're not handsome. Got it?"
"Okay. Let's go now."
"You go alone. I've got no interest in playing along with you guys and your childish Great Sage nonsense."
Yohan was currently getting ready to welcome Aiden, who came every winter like an annual tradition. Unlike the reluctant Haley, Yohan was in high spirits. Playing games with Aiden and talking about so many things had made him think of Aiden like an older brother.
At the same time, he was worried. Haley still desperately wanted to go back to America. He had often overheard her talking about it with Caroline, and because of that he figured these wonderful people would leave Italy someday. He did not know when, but if that happened, it would truly be sad. Even when Haley went to America for short or long stretches during breaks, he nearly died of boredom—if she left forever? He would probably miss her for a very long time.
In any case, Yohan braced himself for the day he would part from the Newman family. As long as he was with them, he wanted to play joyfully so that both he and they would look back on their time here as good memories.
"Come on, don't be like that. Keep me company on the way to the airport."
"What's in it for me?"
"Hmm… want me to make you another wooden doll? The one you clip to your bag is faded—don't you need a new one?"
"Wooden doll? Oh, right. I'd forgotten about that."
"Forgotten? How could you? You've been wearing it on your bag this whole time."
"It's not the only thing I clip on there. I can forget."
"That's so mean…"
"Anyway, if you're going to take up my time, you need to give me something. I can't think of anything right now, so I'll tell you later."
"Alright."
Haley had no intention of using this "reward" as an excuse to put Yohan in a difficult spot. Caroline's airport trip would take over an hour with everything involved—what was she supposed to do until then? In this countryside, no less. The reward was just a pretext. The truth was, Haley was bored of being home alone too. So she put on an act of reluctant compliance—pretending she was sick of it but doing it for Yohan's sake—and left the house.