Till Next Time

"GOALLLLLLLL. From the brink of defeat, Niklas Füllkrug has snatched a point for Germany. See the scenes at the Waldstadion. The crowd has gone absolutely crazy."

Füllkrug had just scored the equalizer in injury time.

Germany already qualified for the knockout stages, but a loss would have left them in second place, which might put them in a tough tie during the round of 16.

Javi and Anne shot up from their seats as they screamed with the crowd around them.

Javi was waving a white and black German national team scarf, while Anne had gotten a little German flag painted on the side of her face.

"LUKAS! DID YOU SEE THAT!? WHY ARE YOU STILL SITTING?" Javi crouched as he screamed questions into Lukas' ear — the crowd drowning out half the words he said.

"This is how it was supposed to happen, nothing surprising," Lukas responded, as he slowly stood up looking around at the boiling atmosphere.

"HUH? SPEAK UP, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"I SAID I WAS JUST TOO STUNNED TO MOVE!" Lukas clapped as he belatedly joined in the celebration.

"It went the same way as last time. We almost lost this game."

The game was an early sign of the state of German football for the coming decade. Even though they dominated the game by every metric, they conceded a goal in the 28th minute and couldn't equalize until the last minute.

They had all the possession, but it was like they became toothless in front of the goal.

The hope was that their attacking midfielders would produce a moment of magic that'll make the net bulge, because since Klose, they've lacked a real force. Someone who could act as the tip of the spear during an attack. With Switzerland tightening its defense in this game, Germany was able to get only 3 shots on target from 18 attempted shots.

FWEE FWEE FWEEEEE

With the referee's whistle, the game ended not long after the restart.

The crowd was still bouncing. Sure they had seen their team struggle to finish chances, but they had come out of the match relatively unscathed. With the point, they led Group A and were looking forward to a more favourable draw for the first knockout match.

The German team was going to different parts of the pitch to applaud the supporters who had come to see them.

Kimmich, Rüdiger, and Musiala were walking towards the side of the stands where Lukas' group were sitting — applauding the fans — when Javi pulled out a cardboard sign from seemingly out of nowhere, stuck it in Lukas' hands, and raised them up.

JAMAL, PLEASE, CAN I GET YOUR SHIRT?

"Huh? What is he doing this time?" Lukas was confused as he stared at Javi who was holding his hands up.

Kimmich locked eyes with Lukas before he nudged Musiala beside him and pointed to the sign.

In one smooth sequence, Musiala peeled the shirt off his back, balled it up, pointed at Lukas, and tossed it his way.

"No way! Really?" Lukas thought as he stared at the shirt on his hands, his thoughts all jumbled up as he tried to keep a calm exterior.

MUSIALA

10

He stared at the shirt he was holding, originally white with stripes of red, black, and yellow at the shoulder area, which was now heavily stained from the tackles Musiala had gotten throughout the match.

Several phone cameras were pointed at Lukas with even the Jumbotron playing the whole sequence of Musiala throwing the shirt.

"It's beautiful." He thought, completely unaware of what was going on around him.

"You like it, huh? You should be thanking me," Javi tapped Lukas, pulling him back to reality.

"Thanks a lot, Dad. How did you do that? When did you prepare the sign?"

"During the half-time break when I said I was going to the restroom," Javi replied with a proud smile.

"I just did it just in case, I had no idea he would actually give it to you," he added.

Lukas looked up to see Musiala walking into the tunnel with some other players.

"The next time we meet, we will most likely be rivals."

[*Yes you will.*]

The group — Javi, Anne, and Lukas — got up to leave the arena.

* * *

"Luke, were you able to answer the fourth question?" João nudged Lukas' back as he joined him in the school's diner for lunch.

Lukas was having a bowl of rice, a hard-boiled egg, and chicken sauce.

João sat opposite him as he brought out his own lunch.

"Yeah, I tried. I wrote down something. I don't know if it's correct, though."

"Bro, I couldn't even think of something to write. When did you become so smart, Luke? We used to fail together!"

"What are you talking about? Can't you see I've been a changed man for the past month now?"

"Hmmm. That's true. You really have been a changed man. So have you decided what courses you will be taking in Oberstufe?"

"I don't know yet. I'll think about it during the break."

"But it definitely won't be related to Electrical Engineering, that didn't go so well last time," Lukas muttered at the end of his response.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. How is training at the academy going? How're the guys?" Lukas asked, changing the subject.

"It's going great. The U17 Bundesliga isn't starting until August, so there's a lot of time to train. But I think I might be getting promoted to the U19 this season, Wesley and I have been training with them occasionally."

"Congrats, bro. I'm sure you'll go even farther than the U19, just keep improving."

"I know. How about you, though? When do you start at Eintracht Frankfurt reserve team?"

"I was officially registered with the team three days ago on the 1st of July. I'll report for my first training on Saturday after the end-of-year tests are over."

"I'm so happy for you, Luke. To think you'll be signing with Eintracht Frankfurt of all teams. That's really impressive, and I hope you make it there."

[*He has no choice.*]

"Shut up. You know he can't hear you right?"

[*It's fun to disturb your train of thought when you're having a conversation.*]

"Stop interrupting my conversations."

"Thanks, João. I hope you make it too. In fact, I'm sure you'll make it."

[*You switched the recipients, Luke.*]

"Interrupting your conversations with whom? Are you good, bro? Is your brain fried from the exam? It was question 4, right? I knew it! When you said you answered it, I knew it cost something. Just wouldn't have guessed it caused your sanity."

"Bro chill, it was a slip of the tongue."

"Should I be worried?"

"Nah, really. Everybody makes mistakes."

[*Mission accomplished.*]

"Shut up. You're gonna land me in a mental asylum one day."

[*You should be in Arkham.*]

"I'm just not gonna respond anymore."

[*Because you're criminally insane. You get? Maybe you're already in there and these are all just hallucinations.*]

"....."

[*This is no fun, bye.*]

"Hey. João, Lukas, how are you guys doing?" A soft, soothing voice greeted from behind João.

Lukas, who was nibbling at his lunch while having the showdown with TT, raised his head to see who it was.

There she stood, with a cheese sandwich in her hand — Joanna.

Her piercing dark eyes and hair, every so captivating. She packed the natural hair up into a neat bun secured at the top with a scrunchie.

She sat down beside João before raising her head to look at Lukas whose eyes were still glued to her.

"How are your tests?"

"Mine? They've been great so far. How about yours?" he replied, trying not to seem too flustered.

"I am finally done with my exams. They will count towards my Abitur grades so it really stressed me out, but thankfully it's over."

"Oh yeah, next year will be your final year right?. I'm guessing you already have a course you wanna study at the university. What's it?"

"Yeah, Biochemistry. If there's anything my time at Oberstufe has taught me, it is how much I hate physics. As for where, though, I don't know yet."

"I guess you'll cross that bridge when you get to it," Lukas replied.

"She went to Spain the last time to study, I wonder if she'll do the same thing this time," he thought.

"By the way, I heard from João that you joined Eintracht Frankfurt's reserve team. Congratulations. I didn't know you were that good."

"Haha.. well thank you, I'll invite you guys for my debut match."

"We definitely will be there," João responded as the group ate.

* * *

Saturday, 6th July 2024

"Haaaaaaaa... Finally done with today's LTC session. TT, you gotta start reducing this intensity. I'm gonna die. Where have you ever heard someone my age sprint at 17 kilometers per hour? That's just impossible and torturous."

[*You did it, though, didn't you? You're having your first session with the reserve team today, you don't wanna be just another kid there, do you?*]

A/N: Don't have a lot to say, except I appreciate you all. I love you all. Stay safe.

-Writ.