Not The Main Character

"Woo, I feel ready!" Immanuel shouted.

The guys around him were chuckling as they did short burst sprints on the sidelines. The game continued with the team showing more signs of life. Still, there was a bit of struggle as it went on. Ian crossed his heart and prayed to the heavens as his nerves got the better of him. He kept chattering his teeth and was moving his legs rapidly.

Around the 56th minute, Tati called over everybody and gave them the rundown on a new tactical change. Last-minute waters were drunk and boots laced. Ian stretched to loosen up his muscles and to keep himself focused. As he approached the sideline near the fourth official, the boys stared at the beautiful game, now moments from making an appearance. Everyone, but Johnny, Lorenzo, Georgie, and Dean, were in the first batch of subs.

On the field, Pietro was trapped near the sideline. He twisted his body, kicking the ball forward, causing it to ricochet off an opposing player.

The subs started to flow in, with Ian coming on for Klaus. Jogging over, his face was neutral. Expressionless to be more detailed. Dapping him up as he patted his back. Ian rushed out onto the pitch as his legs wobbled. Though it was just a friendly, there were still a huge number of Münster supporters.

Those who came on the pitch were Immanuel for Pietro. Sergio for Richard, Toyo for Yuri, and Cedrick for Reggie. Ayomi for James, Timothy for Gregor. Tony, who usually plays right back, subs in for Kaiser. Jorge came on for Roberto, and Ian came on for Klaus.

"Garbage, garbage!" screamed Toyo.

"Aye, aye," acknowledged some of the boys on the pitch.

The game resumed with a throw-in. Ian had backed up, playing more defensively. He wasn't that confident about playing more with the CAM. The ball moved swiftly, too quick for him to fully comprehend where he was. It stayed toward the left as Münster tried to horde Jorge.

Jorge Pineda was a muscular young man. He's been on the team for a few years and used to work as an ice skating attendant in New York City. He was born in Guadalajara but moved when he was young due to his father finding a better job. Jorge, now 25, has dedicated his heart to Waterfront. Although he wasn't as good, with Tati around, he's been improving and has improved a lot since then. He had curly, slick hair and was very quick on the ball.

Münster's winger tried to dual him, slowing down the pace of play before flicking the ball inside, then back out toward the corner flag. Jorge twitched and flinched before regaining his balance, cutting off the box for the cross. The ball, which had been forced toward the box, would bounce off Jorge and end up slamming into an advertisement board.

"Nice work, Jorge!" screamed Ian.

A corner was called. Toyo moved up as Luca directed players in the box. Players were moving into each other and pushing off one another.

*Bweep*

"What?" asked Toyo. "What did I do? I did nothing; he's pushing on me."

"Calm down," the ref said in a thick accent. "It's only a friendly; there's no need to get worked up and carded."

"Fine by me," said the Münster player.

*Bweep*

The player taking the corner held his arm up as he flicked the ball toward the edge. There was a player on the side who whined up for a shot but hesitated and misplaced the ball toward Ian, who had heavily touched the ball but regained it with his pace. He passed it toward Ayomi, who had flicked it past the midfielder who had been covering him, and shot the ball up the field to outrun the right back who had stayed back.

Ayomi Nadarhaar had long black hair, which he had put in a ponytail. Usually he had braids, or sometimes he cut his hair. Ayomi, who also goes by Ayo, joined the team two years ago. He was young and fresh out of his second year of college when he joined. He was scouted from his college team and given a trial. First, he started off in the small academy that Waterfront has, then gained his way to the top. His pace and knowledge make him a very strong candidate for the starting striker spot. Ayomi's family is originally from Nigeria but moved to Suriname, where his mother had remarried. He was tall and quick, but not so muscular.

Ayomi fought with the right back before gaining more speed while kicking the ball further. They wrestled with each other, as Ayomi just didn't want to give in. He moved the ball toward the left side and collided with the center-back, who had run down to stop him.

"Damn, he should've gone down before hand," Ian muttered.

A foul was called, but no card was given.

"Ayomi!" Sergio ran over to him. "Go down, man! Go fucking down!"

"Sorry, sorry," he gasped. "I thought I had him."

A freekick was to be given.

"Who's taking the freekick?" asked Toyo.

Sergio, Toyo, and Timothy stood over the ball. They covered their mouths as they spoke to one another. Ian was being covered by a player who was muscular and sweating bullets. Toyo moved away from the ball as Sergio and Timothy were the only ones standing over the ball. The foul was committed just outside the penalty arc. Sergio was positioned to hit the ball with his left foot, whereas Timothy was positioned on a straight path toward the ball.

As the two nodded, they watched the wall.

*Bweep*

Timothy ran up but stopped as Sergio flicked it up away from the wall. It aligned with Ian as his heart started racing. The ball flew in the air before aiming down just before the goal area. Ian leaped up into the air as he put his weight on someone's back. He flew up into the air and headed the ball as it squished off his head and fell towards the ground. It wasn't hit perfectly, but at a decent angle for a 50/50 chance. Unfortunately, the keeper put his body on the line and recovered the ball in the rough sea of players.

"Run back, run back!" screamed Luca. "Keep it up!"

Ian shook his head. He wanted to score that but didn't position his head perfectly for a direct header. He was also annoyed, as if he had put in a bit more power, he could've found Timothy, who disappeared and reappeared in the sea of players with a semi-open lane.

"Good try, Ian," Sergio said as he ran back with Ian.

The play continued as Münster had a failed counterattack. The ball was intercepted by Toyo and played up toward the left wing, where Immanuel had been positioned. It was his first touch as a semi-pro player. Immanuel held up the play as the players moved up. The score was still 1-0, as Münster had just subbed out six of their starting players. Each team had fresh legs on the field.

Immanuel moved the ball backward to continue with possession after being cut off. The ball was played in the back before being sent to Ian, who had came up short near the middle of the field. He waved his hand, lowering it, indicating that he wanted it to his foot.

Ian looked both ways before receiving the ball before he started jogging up the middle. No one pressed him till he got 30 yards away from the 18. He moved the ball to the right and passed it toward Sergio, who had stopped his run.

Behind the line of players, a hand was slightly raised. Immanuel had snuck in from behind, holding off the fullback that was supposed to cover him. Sergio moved the ball up and sliced it toward the box. The ball had no curl; it wasn't rolling. It just moved with the wind that had suddenly came out of nowhere.

Immanuel ran past as a tall center-back blocked the view. The ball flew for a split second before dipping low into the box. Immanuel moved ahead of the center-back, who had been preventing him from entering his space.

With a last-chance effort, Immanuel jumped up. He headed the ball down toward the edge of the box, where an opposing player and Timothy had been. Timothy received the ball, moved it away from the Münster player, and shot it in traffic. The keeper was blinded and misjudged the shot as it deflected off a Münster defender and skidded into the bottom right.

"Come on!" Timothy shouted. "Woohoo!"

Although the majority of the tough players were subbed off for Münster, the Waterfront boys pulled through. 73 minutes into the game, Münster made their last subs. Their right winger had been subbed out along with two other players. The man who walked onto the field was immediately given the captain's armband.

"I'm sorry, did this man just give the winger the captain's armband?" asked Timothy.

"I've never seen this before," Ian whispered.

"Focus!" screamed Luca. "Aye, focus!"

The ball was kicked off. Münster passed it back as the players started to move up one by one. They kept communicating with each other as their captain received the ball at his feet. He moved elegantly, chopping up the grass as he poked the ball toward the midfield. Ian slid his foot, deflecting the pass away from the player, who had been wide open for a run.

The ball went toward Immanuel, who was immediately tackled off the ball. Turning around, he hawked the midfielder who tackled him as they both began to wrestle for the ball.

"Hold the inside, Iman!" screamed Ian, who had been marking a player in the midfield.

Immanuel slid to get the ball, but stumbled and failed the tackle. The opposing player cut inside, shifting Tony and causing him to twirl his whole body horribly to read where the ball was going.

"Block it!" Luca screamed. "Don't move your body like that!"

The ball had rolled an inch further before slanting again, this time outside toward the corner flag. Tony became clueless. The ball was flung into the box but was headed out by Toyo. Ian received it and quickly cleared it toward the right side before getting trucked onto the ground.

"Ah!" he screamed. "What the hell?"

*Bweep*

Münster had begun to play as they did in the first half. It was as if they were just testing Waterfront. Ian got up, dusting off his pants, realizing that Münster's formation had changed drastically. It wasn't as family-friendly anymore. They were planning to kill.