I kept running until I arrived to a place that seemed like the corridors of "Anexa" elementary school; suddenly I realized I had the school uniform on, and I was a little boy again. I looked at the other kids playing soccer and basketball; all of them were very skilled and they would sure would be enlisted in teams and be very successful in their life. I realized once again that if you want to excel in anything, you must do it since you are a child. I felt envious of all those kids practicing soccer and being good at a very early age.
I saw Eric (a.k.a. Chipo,) the kid that was always bashed by the others; he approached me and greeted me.
"Hi, do you want to play with me? My mom bought me this new ball," he said proudly as he showed me a cool black and white, leathered soccer ball.
I felt pity for both of us; we were in the same situation. We simply didn't fit with the others; we ate alone at lunch and people would only talk to us to make some bad joke.
"Sure, I'll play with you," I said, "you know, I was thinking if we practice together everyday, we could get really good at playing as they are," I said pointing at the kids that were playing at the courts.
"I don't think I can be as good as them," Eric said with a sense of self-acceptance.
"Of course you can," I said, "you only need to practice seriously and everyday both your skills with the ball and your attitude. We both have to gain the respect of the others, and that's something hard to get but once you have it, you will feel much better and everything in your life will improve."
I was just finishing saying that, when a boy called Ruben took the new ball Eric's mom had bought him and ran with it. Ruben was a very popular boy amongst our peers and he was considered the best soccer player in 5th grade.
"Look, guys, we have a new ball," shouted Ruben laughing with his friends.
Eric ran after him begging him to give his ball back; I felt very sad for him. He was the sensitive type and never been respected by the others because of his big orthodontic brackets.
I ran to Ruben and shouted, "So, you're too afraid for a match and being ridiculed that you prefer to take his ball?" I went to tell him.
"Oh yeah afraid of you two?" said the boy in a sarcastic way, "look how I'm shaking."
"Then, I guess you wouldn't mind to play with him?" I said in a teasing way.
"I can beat you two, all by myself," said Ruben never leaving his pride. "Hey, guys, give me the ball. I'm gonna show these losers how soccer is played."
I went with Eric who was crying sitting on a stone step with his arms covering his face.
"Hey, they want to play soccer with you; that's why they took the ball from you. They said they were too shy to ask you to play with them. They asked me if you wanna play with them," I said to make him feel better and willing to accept the challenge.
"They wanna play soccer with me?" asked Eric in disbelief.
"Of course they do. Now let's go; if we pass the ball to each other, we'll score more goals than him."
Eric stopped crying and stood up; he wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "Let's go." He was very excited that the other kids wanted to play with him.
The other boy defined where the goal lines would be and even gave us the ball as a sign of self-confidence.
"Alright, I think I have a new ball already," Ruben said assuming he would win the little bet he had secretly arranged with me.
Eric looked at me as if asking what he was talking about; I just shrugged and didn't mention anything so he wouldn't become nervous about it.
The game started; I dribbled Ruben and passed the ball to Eric, but he was still too shy that he missed a very easy shot. Now, Ruben got the ball and faced me; he indeed was very good at playing and he dribbled me and Eric, and he scored a goal.
"Goal!" Ruben cried in an excited and contemptuous way showing his friends why he was called the best.
"Don't worry," I said to Eric, "remember we have to pass the ball. This is just the beginning."
"Ok," Eric answered.
If only he had known that if Ruben scored five goals, he would lose his new soccer ball, he would have been really worried.
The game went on; Eric had the ball and advanced towards the contrary's goal line. He could be a good player; I could see it in the way he moved, he was as fast as the other boy. If only he was not bashed by the others, he could have become a good player and self-confident, socially successful person.
"Here come the jaws; come on "chipo;" you couldn't play with a beach ball," said Ruben offending Eric and belittling him.
The other boy robbed the ball from Eric and advanced towards our goal line; I tried to stop him but he shot a strong ball that I couldn't stop. We were 2-0 down on the score and I was thinking I would have to buy a soccer ball to Eric.
"Hey friend, don't pay attention to his words; remember he is afraid you are better than him; so he has to say those words so you can't win. We have to pass the ball to each other and ignore his comments." I said hoping to increase Eric's self-esteem.
Eric nodded and looked ready to score a goal. I ran with the ball towards the goal line and when the other boy attacked me, I passed the ball to Eric who received it well and ran towards the goal line. The other boy ran after him tried to take the ball from him.
"Poor little loser; this ball is mine," Ruben said as he tried to take the ball from Eric.
Eric ignored his comments and this time achieved to trick the boy and pass him; then he ran towards the goal line and scored a goal."
"Goal!" I cried loudly so all the others would turn to see, "that's it, Eric! We need four of those."
Eric was smiling; I bet he felt really good. The other kids that were watching the game uttered "ooh" as if telling Ruben that he was being beaten by the school's "wimp." Ruben felt his heart was burning; he took the ball and stormed against the goal line. Eric skilfully took the ball from him defending the goal line and when he was heading to the opposite's line, Ruben pushed him with so much strength that made him fall on the grass.
All the kids that were watching remain silent, no laughs were uttered this time; everybody knew that was a foul, but no one dared to speak against Ruben.
"Look everybody! This is the only way Ruben can win a soccer game against chipo? I thought Ruben was the best, but now I am disappointed." I said loudly with the intention of catching everybody's attention.
Ruben who has going to score a goal stopped and looked at everyone and then looked down; he realized his reputation would be ruined if he acted like this in front of everyone. He took the ball with his hands and gave it to Eric recognizing his fault.
"Um, sorry, chipo," that's all he said.
I helped Eric to get up and set the ball at the foul spot for Eric to do a free kick.
He passed the ball to me and I headed to the goal line; Ruben tried to take the ball from me but I tried to trick him with my speed and I managed to pass him and scored a goal catching up with the score 2-2.
Ruben took the ball advanced across the field; when I faced him, he used a "flying ball" technique to pass my by quickly; then he proceeded in an attempt to score a goal, but Eric had already taken all the possible space by going forward blocking any possibility of goal.
Eric then took the ball and advanced to Ruben's goal line and scored a goal.
"I scored another goal! If mom was here, she would be proud of me," said Eric in an excited way.
Ruben was more than angry; he could send us both to hospital if he wanted, but somehow he didn't. He took the ball and headed to our goal tricking me this time and facing Eric. He shot a strong ball intentionally directed to Eric's stomach. The shot took Eric's air out making him fall gasping for air; the ball was close to his feet and despite the anxiety of being unable to breathe, Eric managed to kick the ball towards me, and I easily scored a goal.
"Goal!" I shouted loudly as a revenge for the shot Eric received on the stomach. I hoped he felt better; I went and helped him stand up.
"Well done, Eric. We just need one more goal and we'll have victory over that conceited brat," I said.
This time, Ruben was not going to let us have the ball and he would fight and no matter what he had to do; he was determined to score a goal.
He took the ball and headed to the goal line with incredible speed; when Eric saw he was approaching, he ran towards him and blocked him. With a lot of effort, he managed to take the ball from him and he passed it to me, but before I could receive it, Ruben was over me. He was very fast and committed not to let us win.
I passed the ball to Eric and he again received it well; he ran towards Ruben's goal line but he confronted him. Somehow he tricked him again and ran towards the goal. Ruben saw there was no way to stop him so he took hold of his shirt; in spite of not being able to move, Eric shot and scored a goal even from the distance he was from the goal line.
"Goal! We won, Eric!" I shouted.
All of the kids that were watching cheered up and said things like, "way to go, chipo."
I ran and shook hands with Eric.
"And you say you couldn't play soccer, liar," I said to him making him enjoy this victory. Eric smiled and certainly he felt accepted and happy Ruben wanted to play with him.
"Ok, it's was a lucky move. Here's your stupid ball and this," said Ruben as he gave $10 to Eric.
Eric looked at me as if asking me why Ruben was giving him money. I didn't say anything just tried to repress a laughter. The bell rang indicating the break time had ended and we had to go back to the classroom.
"Um, what if we play after school, you don't it so poor after all, chipo," said Ruben as he headed to the classroom.
When Ruben was away, I told Eric about the bet I had made with his ball; he couldn't believe he had won. It was a very rewarding experience for him; now he was gaining the other kids' respect as the kid that beat the best soccer player in the school: Ruben.
If only this dream had been true, I would have been very proud of helping Eric. Today, I still feel sorry for him and I wonder how his life is nowadays. I am tempted to look for him in the school archives and see if I can contact him and tell him that I am sorry for one time that I bashed him too.
(c) Kevin Allen kevnkid@hotmail.com