Scored It

As soon as she was done parking, Lesley scrambled out of her vehicle. The woman slammed the door a tad harder than normal as she struggled to dig her phone from her backpack. With the sun already down, a little light from her phone was a delight. How nice would it be if it still had battery? Fortunately, the school's clock was highly visible. Lesley frowned as she looked at the time. At six-thirty, Harley must be angry at her.

"I'm so sorry," Lesley groaned. A combination of last-minute revisions to her thesis and a traffic jam delayed her trip to Harley's school for two hours. Moreover, it would only be an hour before the World Cup finals would be aired. Lesley promised her younger brother a siblings' night out - a fancy dinner in Franco's. While they taste the finest chicken wings in the City of Scholars, they would watch the football match live. Could they still make it? If only she had the same power of reversing time like the scholar Diggie.

A bright flash caught the older sister's attention. One. Two. Three lights were lit from the field and two silhouettes were visible, their shadows dancing on the grass. No mistaking that one was Harley, while the other one was a man.

Lesley quickly ran towards the field, watching the two play and hearing laughter. Clearly, the man was a football player, seeing how skilled he was in scoring the goal. His kick was powerful and accurate, unlike Harley's shots while he was practicing at home. The man let Harley steal the ball and kick it. However, the ball ended too low and rolled on the grass, eventually missing it's target.

"Hey, it's alright kid. Just keep the form. With the right technique, it would be easier to apply more power later." The man, who had dreadlocks, said to Harley, demonstrating the right posture and positioning. He swung his leg back and kicked, and let Harley imitate it.

As she neared, the identity of the man was clearly written on his back: No.10 Bruno. Lesley blinked. Wasn't he the city's top player? MVP for four seasons in a row? Somehow, her tongue was frozen inside her mouth as her heart raced. Bruno? Of all people to meet?

"Hey sis!" Harley waved at her. Lesley snapped out from admiring the man before her.

Bruno turned around and faced her. Up close he was more handsome than his pictures in the internet. "Hey," he raised his hand and acknowledged her presence.

Lesley nodded, heat spreading on her cheeks. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Well uhh… thank you for watching over my brother."

The man smiled at her. "No, problem. It's only my job. By the way, I'm the new assistant coach here." He extended his hand to Lesley and shook it. "My name's Bruno, and you are?" Lesley could hardly keep herself from screaming. How many had a opportunity to meet and greet such a celebrity?

"Haha," she laughed awkwardly as their hands locked togther. "I'm Lesley, Harley's older sister." Stop. If she didn't she would embarrass herself.

"Nice to meet you Lesley," the man nodded.

She needed to focus on the situation she was originally dealing with. She turned to her brother. "Harley, I'm so sorry," it was hard to look at boy's eyes. How could she promise something and fail? "I know I'm very late and it's a long story, but we have to go now before we miss our reservation."

"No problem, I got to train here with Bruno." Harley beamed as he pointed to his trainer. "He said that I can be a pro like him one day. Can I, sis?" The boy's eyes shone like magic.

"Of course," Lesley wrapped her arms around Harley and kissed the boy's forehead. "I'll be your cheerleader."

"Looking forward to the day he'll try out on our team." Bruno said before shaking his hands and jumping up and down. "I need to go Miss Lesley. You know, gotta watch the World Cup."

"Oh no," Lesley's eyes widened in realization. It was her fault that Bruno needed to stay late in the school. "No, come with us! We're going to watch the World Cup in Franco's!"

"Franco's? You mean the restaurant with chicken wings and all?"

"Yes yes! Lesley nodded vigorously. She extended her hand in invitation to Bruno. "Come on, it's my treat. I work there part-time so I have a discount."

"Come on coach, you're going to miss the game!" Harley insisted, seemingly as excited as his older sister.

"Oh, okay. Just let me shower and change, it'll take a minute." Bruno picked up his ball with his foot, tossed it on the air and let it bounce and roll on his chest before holding it. Harley clapped at the display. Before Bruno turned around, he smiled at Lesley. "Besides, how can I say no?"

Lesley giggled as she squeezed Harley in a tighter embrace. Perhaps being late wasn't bad after all.

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Submitted to Moonton 7-13-2018