Day 5: The Soccer Ball

A group of very young children was playing soccer in a small sand field near a big apartment complex in Hikarigaoka, drawing the attention from a five-year old red haired girl. Sora was passing by the field with her mother and was immediately hypnotized by the ball and the boys playing whatever she thought it was.
"Sora, let's go." Toshiko looked over her shoulder and tried to pull her daughter along with her. "The bakery is going to close soon. We need to hurry up."
"Mommy, what are they doing?"
"They are playing soccer. Now let's go."
"But I want to play it too." Sora looked over her shoulder towards the field with tears in her eyes.
"This is not a sport for girls, Sora. It's dangerous."
"But mommy…"
"No buts. You're not playing it and that's it."

.

A couple of years later, Sora was hanging out with some of her female friends when one of the boys accidentally kicked the ball towards the school patio and nearly hit them. She quickly grabbed it and went to the open area between the court and the patio to kick the ball back to the group of boys playing soccer.
"That was a nice kick." A brunette boy with strange and funny hair said to her after he followed the ball with his eyes. "Do you want to play with us?"
"Can I?" Her face beamed in happiness and a smile appeared on her lips just as quick as it went away. "I'm not allowed to."
"Why not?"
"Because my mother says it's not a sport for girls, so I can't play."
"She won't know unless you tell her."
"That's true." Sora was clearly in doubt whether to go play with them or not. She knew she wouldn't be caught unless she told her mother, but still felt like it was a bad thing to do.
"Your mother is right." One of her friends said. "Soccer isn't for girls. Playing with dolls is so much cooler."
"Why can't we do both? Soccer is cool too."
"Eh… no, it isn't." The girl made a nasty face.
"Don't listen to her." The boy yelled from the court. "Soccer is cool."
"Taichi, are you going to play?"
"Yes, I'm going." Taichi turned to Sora again with a big grin on his face. "We're in the same class, but we never talked before. I'm Taichi."
Sora couldn't help but grin back at him. "I'm Sora."
"I know, you have a cool name."
"Thank you."
And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

.

The moment Sora stepped into the Odaiba Elementary School, but was immediately drawn towards the soccer field. There was a group of boys, who seemed to also be on 1st grade, playing soccer before class. And just like two years ago, the ball came in her direction. However, this time she grabbed it and held it in her hands.
"Hey, Sora!" Taichi yelled from the court. "Looks like we're in the same school again."
"Taichi, hey!" She said cheerfully. "I didn't know you had moved to Odaiba too."
"Yeah, my parents decided to move because of the terrorist attack that happened in Hikarigaoka two years ago."
"Mine too."
"Can you please give me the ball?" The red haired boy who had gone to pick it up asked and Sora looked at him. "Don't get me wrong, the bell is going to ring soon and we really want to win this match."
"Yes, of course." She handed him the ball with a smile. "I'm sorry."
"That's Koushiro Izumi." Taichi said. "He's one year behind us in school, so he's in a different building than us this year."
"Oh really? Nice to meet you. I'm Sora Takenouchi."
"Nice to meet you, Sora." Koushiro said shyly.
"He's joining the soccer club too. Speaking of it, you should too."
"I don't think my mother would let me."
"She still hasn't changed her mind?"
"No, I don't think we will. Besides, female soccer teams aren't that common, so…"
"That would be a problem."
"I should really go to class." Sora lowered her head and said in a very sad tone. "I'll see you soon."

.

The sun was shining brightly that Saturday and Sora, Taichi and Koushiro decided to spend the afternoon in the park near their apartments.
"What's on your bag?" Sora looked at Taichi with a curious and confused expression.
"Oh it's a soccer ball. " He opened his bag and pulled it out. "This is actually a gift for you."
"What?!"
"Koushiro and I were talking and we saw how much you wanted to play it, but couldn't. So we used the money our parents give us to buy this ball for you. That way you can play whenever you want to."
"That's right."
"Oh my God." She said very emotional, but still had a sad look on her face. "I love it so much. Thank you. But I don't think I can keep it."
"Why not?"
"Because my mother still thinks soccer isn't for girls. She will never let me have a ball, no matter how much I ask her."
"That's awful."
"I know." She sighed frustrated. "I really wish she could just accept that I just want to play soccer."
"Why don't you just join the school team then?"
"Because there are only boys and there's no way our teacher will let me be on it. Besides, I don't know how to play it, so…"
"That shouldn't be a problem." Taichi said grinning. "Koushiro and I can teach you."
"Absolutely."
"Would you really do that?" She could barely hold her smile.
"Of course! We can play together after that."
"Okay, I'm in. Let's go!"

At the end of the day, all three children were pretty tired from playing and were lying on the grass to watch the sunset.
"That was so much fun!" Sora said after she recovered her breath. "Thank you so much for doing this for me."
"You're welcome." Taichi looked at her with a large smile. "You were pretty good at this, by the way. You should totally play it."
"I agree with Taichi. You are naturally talented for soccer."
"You really think so?"
"Absolutely. It's a shame our school doesn't have a soccer team for girls."
"Yeah."
"But you can still play before class with us. I'm sure the other boys won't mind. Besides, our teacher can see you and maybe let you be part of the team."
"Maybe."
"Do you want to keep the ball?"
"I do. I just don't know how I will be able to go inside with her and not having my mother freaking out about it."
"I have a plan. Why don't you take my bag with you?"
"Aren't you going to need it?"
"No, I had only taken it because of you. You can give it back to me tomorrow or on Monday morning at school. It's fine."
"Okay, I can hide it in the big and then put it on my wardrobe. I just have to pray my mother won't find it, though I believe it's unlikely."
"It's still worth a shot."
"Yeah, maybe it will work."

.

Sora managed to hide the ball for a few days, until one day arrived home from school she found her mother rearranging her wardrobe. She immediately froze in her position for some seconds before she recovered from her shock and was able to speak.
"Have you been playing soccer, Sora?"
"No, it's not a sport for girls."
"Then what's this?" Toshiko motioned the ball in her hands with her head.
"It's Taichi's soccer ball." She lied. "He forgot it at school and I brought it home."
"Why was it in your wardrobe then? Shouldn't you have given it back to him already?"
"I forgot because it was in there, but I'll give it back tomorrow."
"Sora?"
"Yes, mom?" She looked over her shoulder as she put her bag away.
"This ball is not really his, is it?"
"No." She had a sad look on her face and quickly turned her focus back to her bag. "He actually gave it to me as a present. I couldn't say no to him, so I kept it."
"You're returning this to him."
"But mom…"
"What's going on over here?" Haruhiko asked while he stopped by the doorframe and looked at both his wife and daughter.
"Sora got a soccer ball as a gift. Can you believe it?"
"Yeah, so? What's the problem?"
"I want to play soccer and mom is against the idea."
"Girls shouldn't play soccer. They can get seriously injured."
"Sora isn't a baby anymore, Toshiko. She's seven, she can understand there are risks, but it's still something she wants to do. We should let her do it."
"She's not playing soccer, Haruhiko. She can get seriously injured and I don't want that to happen."
"She's responsible. If she gets injured, she will heal from it. I'm sure she will be okay, though. Let's give her a chance."
"Fine, but if she hurts herself, it's all on you."
"Alright." Haruhiko turned to Sora. "I want you to promise me something."
"Okay." Sora could barely hold her smile.
"Promise you will enjoy it to the fullest."
Her smile got wider and she hugged him. "I promise!"

.

Sora was beyond happy that Monday morning before school. When she arrived, the boys were playing like usual. She ran to the court and stopped near the white line that bordered it.
"Hey, Taichi! Koushiro"
"Sora!" Taichi looked at her and smiled before turning the attention to the match. "Let's take a small break before the second half."
"Guess what?" Sora could barely hold her excitement when they came towards her.
"From the way you look, I assume it's something good."
"My mother agreed to let me play soccer!"
"Are you serious?" Koushiro couldn't help but feel really happy for his friend. "That's so cool! What did you say to make her agree with it?"
"My father was here for the weekend and convinced her to let me play."
"That's awesome, Sora! Do you want to play now? I think the boys from the other team can find someone else to play with them, so we can make it even."
"I'd love to, but not for long because I don't want to go to class all sweaty."
"Great!"

A group of students gathered around the court to watch the match and whispered among their friends about a girl playing with boys, but Sora didn't seem to mind. She was going to take any moment she had to play soccer, and the physical education classes were the best ones to it. She and Taichi made a good duo and understood each other completely due to fact they were pretty good friends. They both played on attack, while Koushiro was a defense player. On his last move before the end of the match, Taichi tried to score another goal, but was stopped by a player from the other team and fell down. Sora was following the attempt closely and hit the ball with her forehead, sending it into the goal.
"I thought you were going to try to score that goal." She said as she helped him stand up.
"I would never do that." He replied, bursting into laughter.
"That was quite a nice goal. Congratulations, Sora."
"Thanks, Koushiro. You two did great too. The whole team did."
"I agree." Taichi placed his hands behind his head. "I can't wait to go home and take a very nice shower."

.

It didn't take long for other girls start being interested in playing soccer too because of Sora, and a female team was made the following year. She was immediately made captain of the team, though she was against the idea at first.

They had been together for two years until they were ready to start playing in competitions. In fact, they had a preparation match against another school in Tokyo for a very important competition, but Sora had injured her knee a couple of days ago and had to put a bandage over it.
"Mom, I'm leaving for the game." Sora announced from the door.
"You're not going, Sora."
"What?" She went all the way to where Toshiko was making some flower arrangements. "Why not?"
"Because it's dangerous."
"It's not dangerous at all."
"Sit down, darling."
With some difficulty kneeling down because of the pain, Sora managed to sit down.
"You can barely sit down."
"It doesn't matter, I'm still going to play!"
"Sora, you should do what I say!"
"Why can't you just understand me?" With tears in her eyes, she ran out of her apartment towards the soccer field in Odaiba Junior High School, where the game was going to happen.

By the time she arrived there, the game had already ended and her team had lost. She was unable to find words to say, so she simply watched her team mates walk past her with their bags. Sora took a deep breath and waited a few minutes before she followed them.
"I'm so sorry for not showing up in time for the match." She said apologetically and looked at everyone's face in the changing room.
"It's not your fault, Sora." The coach said reassuringly. "Missing one game doesn't change the importance you have in this team. I'm sure you have a very good reason for not being able to attend to the match earlier today."
"I do." She said quickly. "I had an argument with my mother just before I was leaving and she thinks I shouldn't play soccer anymore."
"Then we should listen to her." One of the girls said annoyingly. "There's no point in keeping her in our team since her mother won't let her play and she purposely missed our match."
"I didn't purposely miss it, though." Sora replied. "Everything I said was true. It's up to you to believe it or not."
"Well, I don't."
"Stop it, you two." Their coach demanded. "Sora is one of our best players. She's staying in the team whether one of you like it or not.
"Thank you." Sora smiled warmly.
"You're welcome." The coach smiled back and then turned serious again. "You all are free to go. I'll see on Monday."
The girls grabbed their bags and walked out of the changing room.

.

Sora was sitting on her bed with the ball Taichi had given her a couple of years ago. She looked at it carefully as she thought about everything that happened that day. She knew she loved playing soccer more than anything, but having to miss the match really hit her hard, to the point she began to question whether she would continue being a part of the team or not. It also made her realize if the girls from the team actually liked her or not. Shaking her head, she stood up with the ball still in her hands and went to the small storage room in her apartment. She stopped in front of a large box and noticed there was a tennis racket placed against the wall right behind the box. Sora's initial idea was to put the ball into the box and forget about it and soccer, but for some reason she just couldn't do it. And it was when she realized she wasn't ready to quit it yet. Smiling, she returned to her bedroom and put it on her wardrobe, the exact same place her mother had found it years ago.