Lately It's Winter Season

“Tiger”

“. . .”

“Tiger!”

“Wh-what?”

“Class is over.”

“So early,” I said sleeply, rubbing my eyes lightly to wake myself up. Beacuse I had been sleeping at the table for a long time, my arms were numb. I looked around and saw that my friends in the class were starting to leave. So I reached out to put my backpack on and stood up. “Let’s go to the club.”

“Yeah,” Garfield nodded.

“Well”

“Okey,” Mickey snapped back immediately.

“Are you going to join the club or not?”

“You kept pestering me.”

“When you were in middle school, you played with us. Why didn’t you play anymore in fourth year?”

“I was going to focus on studying.”

“You should play games,” Field said and sighed.

“You’re too addicted to games, you asshole.”

“Don’t you play with me?”

“But Tiger and I aren’t that addicted.”

“True,” I nodded in agreement. “You can’t just sit around and play, you know. You have to exercise a bit.”

“Okey, okey. It’s good that I brought a change of clothes since this morning.”

***

The the three of us walked out of the classroom. It’s only been a week since the start of the semester, and today is the first day that the football club starts practicing because we used to play together in junior high school and we like playing football anyway. When we got to high school, we talked about joining the same club.

We arrived at the field, which was espacially lively today. Our school is quite famous for football. During junior high school, we led the team to a national level. Many people transferred to our school because they wanted to join the football club.

I was the team captain in junior high school because I played well and had

the ability to take care of the team. That's what the coach said. I got the

position from a vote of my teammates.

"Will you be the captain again?" Field asked.

"No, I'm tired."

"You'll be."

We changed our clothes and warmed up while waiting for the coach to

come.

Today, we started by running around the field and timing ourselves. If we

want to be a starter, we have to practice hard because the coach is watching and collecting scores the whole time. The coach blew the whistle and called

everyone to gather. Stand and wait at the starting point with a stopwatch. As

soon as the whistle blew again, everyone started running.

I was the first to lead, with others following closely. After a while, the

distance started to increase. I looked back and thought I would see Field or

Mick who was running in second place. But no, it was someone I had never

seen before. Mick and Field were running just a little bit behind them.

"Hey, did Mick and Field lose?" I complained to myself in a low voice. I

looked back at the front and continued running without reducing my speed.

Not long after, I heard footsteps getting closer. The person in second place

had caught up to me. I felt a little strange because since I joined the club in

first year of high school, no one in my class had run as fast as me.

I quickened my pace because I was afraid of losing. It was the same.

Shit! Who are you? You can't do this to the captain of the junior high school

team! On the third lap, we were tied. It was just a matter of who would go

longer.

When we were halfway through, the other person started to weaken a little

bit. It was me who was in the lead. I crossed the finish line just a few

seconds ahead. Because I was too fast, I was more tired than usual. When I

finished running, I stood panting beside the field.

"Hey, you're so fast! Are you a cheetah?" Field said, panting, his face

flushed with exertion. He wiped his sweat roughly. I handed him a towel.

Soon, Mickey crossed the finish line.

"Did you guys run faster?"

"A little. I exercised all summer break. I didn't just play games like you.

Whose speed dropped at the end.

So, who was the guy who ran almost as fast as you? I think I know him.

Mickey asked, taking a drink of water.

"Oh, and who's the guy who runs as fast as that tiger? It sounds familiar."

Mick asked and took a sip of water. "Don't drink too much, or you'll get full," Field warned.

"The twins in class 9."

"Oh, oh, oh, I remember now."

"Twins?" I raised my eyebrows and asked, scanning the area for the person

who was running after me just now. I saw him standing panting not too far

away.

"The new kid?"

"No, I heard he's been there since middle school."

"Oh, why don't I know?"

"That's why I don't know."

"Because you never knew anything," Garfield said.

"But I don't know if he's from the Duennao or Dannue; I can't tell the

twins apart."

"I think the Duennao is more famous; Duennue seems softer," Mik said.

"But honestly, I was surprised. He could keep up with the tiger; everyone

knows he's a runner."

"Hmm, I don't know why your compliment feels off."

After a while, everyone reached the finish line. We got only a little break

before we had to practice something else. The first week would be about

selecting the team captain, as we would collect scores from each practice.

The top six would compete again, and then the teammates would vote.

I don't want to be the captain, but I don't want to lose either.

I practiced as usual and did well enough to receive praise. The coach for

middle school and high school is different because our school focuses on football, which means we have a field. The middle school field is in front,

while the high school has a field in the middle of the school."

The sports day will be held at this field. Many people who used to be on the

old team in middle school did well because they practiced a lot. The

newcomers have mixed abilities, but one who stood out was the one who

ran after me just now. That guy, Mick, said his name is... Duen... Nao? It's

such a hard name to remember.

In the end, it came down to juggling the ball. If you drop the ball, you have

to leave the line. I kept juggling without paying attention to who was left,

but I thought I would be the last one standing. The next thing I knew, I

found myself in the center of attention of the whole team, with only me and

DuenNao left.

I looked at him, he looked at me, staring at each other like a battle of men.

This guy... doesn't he know how to lose? He has to compete with me all the

time, right from when we were running around the field.

As it neared 400 times, it seemed he started running out of energy and made

a mistake. In the end, it was just me left. Truthfully, I could have kept

going, but winning didn't require expending more energy.

Then everyone dispersed as the coach instructed.

"Hey, you're really good, DuenNao. You've been at our school since middle

school. Why didn't you join our club?" Mick said as we were walking out of

the school gate.

"I don't know, but having skilled people on the team is a good thing."

"That's me, the skilled one," I chimed in.

"Isn't that for sure? Who would be better than my friends?"

"Oh my, the other team of eleven people can't even play any of my friends.

I wonder if the coach will send that tiger to compete alone this year. The other twenty-something people are just substitutes sitting on the sidelines

waiting."

"Serve water, cheer, we are only useful for that. "Mick's right, man.

"One is narcissistic, another keeps flattering. Are you really going to let

your friends become like this, Mickey?" Field frowned and asked.

"Then how will he be able to live in society?"

"No turning back, you bastard, Mick whispered. I've tried to stop him, but

it's no use."

"Yeah, what kind of a person is narcissistic since kindergarten? I like to be

flattered by others." Field whispered back.

"I heard those, damn!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow," Mick ended and walked to the parking lot of

his motorcycle. In front of our school, walk into the alley a bit.

There is a motorcycle storage shop. I walked to my motorcycle, which was

in front of the shop. Field put on a helmet and got on.

I took Field back to his dorm, which was not far from the school. He came

to

stay at the dorm because his house was far away. When I finished dropping

him off, I went home.

###

We still practice football every evening, about two hours a day, from four to

six in the evening. I started to get to know and be closer to my teammates.

But I still haven't talked to that great guy, named...Duen Nao? That's it, not

yet talk because there is no chance to steal.

A week has passed, the scores for those who will be selected as captain

have been announced. My score has risen to number one as much as I didn't want to be. DuenNao is second. Today is the last day of counting before the

vote opens, the highest total score will be captain.

"Today is a one-on-one dribble, the last time to collect points. Whoever

passes the ball will get the points. Give 20 minutes to draw lots. Whoever

gets the same number will get a pair."

"Everyone's competing at the same time? So we can cheat. If we can dribble

5 balls, tell the coach a hundred balls." Mick, who was standing next to us,

whispered.

"No, it's not good. Are you willing to let your competitors cheat?"

"Yeah," Mik nodded, before we went to draw lots.

"Who's number four? I shouted and asked.

Duen Nuea walked up to me.

"Duen Nuea?" "Duen Nao," he corrected the name.

Oh.

"Oh, you know? Duen Nao has a nickname of Meow.

"Meow? Meow? Why Meow

"I don't know. I saw Room 9 call it that. It seems like the person is okay. So it became his name.

Oh really?

"Oh, try talk to him and call him Meow. It'll make you more friendly and close."

"The name is hard to remember. Then call him Meow instead. I think it's better. I remember Mick once said that this person's nickname was Meow.

Since I wanted to be close to him, I'll call him by his nickname instead. "What?" The other party frowned.

"Meow"

"Jerk"

Oh, I'm just insulting you"

###

"Go ahead," he said before walking to a spot where there weren't many people, tossing the ball to me as if to say I should start first.

"I told you before that I'm not interested in the captain's position."

"Me neither," the person in front replied firmly. "But right now, I guess I'll be the captain because I'm going to win against you. How about scoring twenty goals? I'll definitely lead in points."

I couldn't help but smile slightly in delight.

Our practice competition for dribbling began. I had thought I needed to be good, but I didn't expect to be this good, which made me have to take it seriously from the first minute. After three minutes, I managed to dribble past him. In another three minutes, he got it back until the coach announced that time was almost up while our scores were still tied.

I gave it my all in the last minute because the other side couldn't keep up with my moves, causing him to stumble and fall. My score took the lead.

The competition was over. I walked closer and extended my hand. The person who fell looked up with a bit of dissatisfaction, sighed softly, before reaching out to grab my hand and pull himself up. Suddenly, the thought of wanting to tease him popped into my head. I let go of my hand, causing him to fall again.

"You jerk."

"Just kidding," I laughed lightly before reaching out again, but this time he didn't grab my hand. Instead, he steadied himself and walked away in another direction. How frustrating!

"What's up with you?" Field walked over to ask.

"How are you?" I asked back.

"I won, played against that idiot Wan. His skills have really dropped."

"Oh"

"And what was that earlier? Why were you acting so angry?"

"I was just kidding."

"Even though you like teasing, You can't tease someone you just met, right?"

"Forget it."

"May you be hated."

Oh,

In conclusion, I got the highest total score, making the position of team captain mine again. Even though I didn't want it that much, I had to accept it. From that day on, I did my best as captain, taking care of everyone on the team, making sure no one got hurt, helping the coach with the training plan and competition practice, and teaching many techniques to my friends.

And it seemed that I really got hated, just like Field had cursed. DuenNao barely talked to me. Whatever I said, he just nodded as if "I know, but I really hate you, you fucking captain.

"Is it possible to get away from me, you asshole?"

"Meow," I called out loudly, and the people around me chuckled. I waved my hand to call Meow over. At first, he was chatting with another friend, looking quite happy, but as soon as he heard me call him, he glared.

"Go die, you bastard."

"I think I've been told to die ten times a day already," I complained to myself. "Come here, meow meow."

"Go mess with your mom."

"Where did that anger come from?" I teased. He sighed and walked over to me. I started talking about today's practice, where he made mistakes and what he should improve. "Do you understand?"

He nodded.

"What do you say?" I asked again.

"Oh, I understand."

"Oh, good job. I'll give you a reward." I said as I took out a cat treat from my bag.

It was a cat treat that I saw a female friend in the room give to a stray cat so I asked for some. I intended to tease him.

I saw he get angry and twitch his eyebrows, and it was so funny. I thought of the bag and held it up to its mouth. That made it frown even more.

"Eat it, meow"

"!!!"

Suddenly, I was punched in the face by the other party without warning. I took a small step back. It didn't hurt that much, but I didn't understand. I raised my hand to touch the corner of my mouth, that was slightly bleeding.

"What the hell?

"I have to ask you what's wrong with you!!" he shouted back. My teammates rushed over to stop us. I wasn't able to do anything before I was picked off.

Probably because they were afraid that I would accidentally punch back.

"Hey, I was just teasing you. Why are you so angry?!"

"I can't take it anymore, you idiot!!"

"Do you have to be that angry? About a cat?"

"Meow is my mother's name, you bastard!"

***