“Soccer isn’t very social. Plus, if you don’t like someone on the other team, you can do something about it.” -- Mia Hamm

    The sun blazed strongly overhead as the line of uniform-clad students shifted anxiously. They had gathered for the first soccer practice of the season. Directly opposite them was a line of still, silent older students. Suddenly, a piercing whistle split the air, and two men made their way across the field. One of them had gelled red hair and was holding onto a ball, his brows drawn downwards. It was he who held the whistle, scowling over the assembled players. The other was taller with dark hair, frowning slightly as he shifted the weight of the bag of balls onto his other shoulder.

    “Welcome, one and all, to hell,” the red-haired one growled, tossing the ball onto the ground and stopping it with his foot. “You can call me Ravi. I’m your vice-captain, so you’d better up to me or there’ll be hell to pay.” There were murmurs amongst the uniformed kids as they shifted, perhaps a bit uneasily. “Behind me is your captain, Leo. I do most of the talking around here, but he’s a brilliant strategist. When he does talk, you’d better listen, brats.” Pointing the whistle menacingly at the assembled group, Ravi gave them a once-over. “Looks like you bastards are in fairly decent shape. Give me ten laps around the track!”

    A chorus of “aye”s pierced the air before the two assembled lines began to run. Ravi and Leo stood in the middle of the field, setting up cones and soccer balls. After finishing, they reconvened in the middle and watched the running boys.

    “Not bad,” Leo murmured, eyeing them like a hawk. Ravi laughed a bit, placing his hands on his hips.

    “Right? I think we have a fairly decent shot at winning the tournament this year with this group. A lot of the freshmen are surprisingly talented.”

    Leo nodded, shading his eyes with his hand. He trusted the veteran players, as they had already proved their worth last year, but the freshmen would have to live up to their expectations. As he surveyed the running forms, he found his eyes drawn to one surprisingly thin underclassman. His brown hair flopped in his eyes as he jogged, but he managed to keep the pace well. For some reason, Leo had a feeling this one would be an interesting player.

    As the players slowly finished up their laps, they gathered again at the center of the field and ran through a couple of warm-ups and easy exercises. Once they were all properly sweating, it was time for a little bit of individual training.

    The shrill whistle sounded once again, and Ravi glared down the players. “If you thought that was it, you’re dead wrong. It’s time for a little bit of one-on-one. Upperclassmen, pair up with the babies.” When a few of them groaned, Ravi’s head whipped around. “Do you guys want extra laps? No? Then get cracking.” Ravi stalked off himself, pairing up with a newbie named Hongbin. Leo scanned the field. So far it seemed everyone had a partner except for the lanky boy he had seen earlier, so he drifted down the field, stopping in front of him. The boy looked up and flashed Leo a wide, disarming smile.

    “You’re the captain, right! It’s nice to meet you! My name is Sanghyuk. I heard you’re an amazing player, so hopefully you can help me to improve!” Sanghyuk grinned, shaking Leo’s hand enthusiastically. Leo raised a brow before handing the ball he held to Sanghyuk.

    “Show me what you’ve got,” Leo stated simply, and Sanghyuk smiled again.

    Taking the ball, Sanghyuk gave it a few experimental dribbles before pulling a few flashy moves. He did a few simple shots, but amped up his game by throwing in a Rabona and a Rainbow, finishing with a simple cut. Though his facial expression was unflinching, Leo was surprised by how impressed he felt. They were high-level moves, requiring a lot of skill and practice to pull off. Despite that, they weren’t particularly useful in games unless in the correct circumstances, and Leo wasn’t sure if there would be those opportunities in the future. Sanghyuk finally ground to a halt in front of Leo, breathing heavily but grinning as if he had won the World Cup.

    “Man, you’ve got a good one. Leo-ah, let’s trade!” A body latched itself to Leo’s arm, and he looked down in distaste.

    “Leave, Hakyeon.”

    Hakyeon clung to him more and pouted, staring up at Leo with wide eyes. “But Leooo...why do you hate me so much?” Leo shook his head in exasperation and met Sanghyuk’s eyes, trying to convey to him his displeasure. Sanghyuk stared at them with wide eyes before breaking and laughing a little bit.

    “Is he your friend, Captain Leo?” Sanghyuk giggled, covering his mouth with his hand. Leo shook his head furiously, shaking the clingy Hakyeon off of his arm. Hakyeon whined a bit but jogged back to his freshman, who had started bouncing the ball on his knees out of boredom. With a sigh, Leo turned back towards Sanghyuk and motioned for the ball. Once he received it, he dribbled it carefully, testing the condition of the grass and his new shoes.

    “Watch carefully.” With those words, Leo started down the field, demonstrating a few tricky moves before returning to in front of Sanghyuk. Raising an eyebrow, Leo stared at him for a moment. “Finale.”

    With his eye on the target, Leo dribbled the ball back and forth between his feet before taking the shot. The ball sailed through the air, going nearly halfway down the field before barreling into the side of Hakyeon’s head. Hakyeon was knocked down, rolling a couple of times before collapsing face down in the grass. The laughter of his partner could be heard from where Leo stood.

    “Goal,” Leo announced quietly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He turned back to find Sanghyuk sprawled in the grass, tears leaking out of his eyes as he struggled for breath.

    “C-c-captain! That was brilliant! P-please teach me how to kick like that!” Sanghyuk gasped, and Leo felt his heart warm just a little bit. As he nodded and sat in the grass, demonstrating the physics of the kick, Leo found himself smiling a bit at Sanghyuk’s innocence and excitement for the sport. Soccer season would be good this year.