Julius
Part Three
They had played so well. They had defeated Acronius 5-3, had played close with an Abanhfleft side that was in the top twenty five teams in the tournament, and they had gone up 2-1 on Nephara, the number six ranked side. When the Barons were playing at their best, they really could beat anyone. The Kurovo Whirl could be a tactic that was nearly magical when the players executed it correctly and kept their roles and positioning correct. The entire team was capable of playing like one well oiled machine… A big gold machine, as they had been called by the press a few times in the past. It was cliche, but a true expression. When they were playing their best, at least.
In the second half against Nephara, they did not play their best. They blew the lead, allowing Nephara to win 3-2 behind their second half defensive mistakes and lapses in concentration when it came to offensive positioning. In the Nordskanian system, positioning was key. Each player had their job, and each player was a part that was carefully aligned in the larger machine. Move one of the cogs into the wrong spot, and the machine jammed. Some parts had more freedom of movement than others, but the concept stayed relatively the same most of the time: everyone had a job, and it was important that they stuck to it instead of going for glory and interrupting the careful balance that had been planned out ahead of time.
Jakub Danshov had tried to do much in the midfield and had hurt their playmaking, Fabijan Hadzic had made too many runs upfield while abandoning his defensive duties, and Arkadi Zima had been forced to spend much of the match playing underneath the midfield and cleaning up Danshov’s messes after the young central midfielder left plenty of defensive holes in the formation. Josef Grekov’s skill at shot stopping had kept the final scoreline from truly reflecting the mistakes that Nordskania had made, but everyone still knew how badly they had messed up by stepping away from the plan in this match. And as the players left the pitch and walked down the tunnel, the staff told them that.
“This is why we have a game plan,” Julius Shvets said, leading the team to the locker room along with Karl Karpenko. “They’re the more talented team, the reason we had a chance against their more athletic players is because we set up a game plan that worked. Step outside of that plan, and you turn the match into a series of individual matchups, and the majority of those aren’t going to go in our favor. Jakub tried to take on the defense himself, and that resulted in him losing the individual matchup every time and opening holes in our defense for the opposition to exploit. Fabijan tried to make plays instead of defending, and the result was a slew of chances from the counter attack on the side that he was supposed to lock down. Ante was playing too high and missed out on chances to make plays, just so he could get a few more chances for himself. There were mistakes across the board, and that, not the talent of the opposition, was what cost us the match.”
“We know, Chief. You can stop reminding us and rubbing it in our faces that we choked,” snapped Ces Yoshida, who was keeping her head down as she followed the coaches and the other forwards to the locker room. The three forwards were the most frustrated of anyone, because the majority of the pressure fell on their shoulders. When the team didn’t perform, the fans always asked why they hadn’t been able to rescue the match. “All of us know what happened. We just want to turn the page now and focus on the future. And if you guys want to replace me, replace me. I don’t want to hear a speech about it, though.”
There were widespread rumors that Ces Yoshida was in danger of losing her spot to Theodora Bojovic or Pavel Adrianic, because of her poor chemistry up front with Damir Dragovic-Courtial. The two had formerly been close, but they had suffered a falling out when Ces lied to Damir about wanting to sign for Central Turbayov. She had went to the Heiwa Wizards instead, and Damir had felt betrayed and hadn’t spoken to her for months after the incident. Now, they were on speaking terms, but they were by no means friends like they had been during their Baptism of Fire. Ces playing well as of recently had saved her spot, but with a loss where she hadn’t put in a great performance, it looked like her spot was in danger again. Then again, none of the forwards or wide players had played particularly well, except for Piotr Vlasenko, who had scored both goals.
“We haven’t decided the lineup for the next match,” said Karl Karpenko. “Though, your chemistry with Damir, or lack thereof, has been concerning. My advice to you, Francesca, is to stop putting so much stock in what the media tells you. These rumors, they weren’t started by myself or by anyone else on this staff. And yet you talk about them as if they’re facts. If there’s one thing that you should have learned by now, at this point in your career, it’s that everything the media says isn’t true. By extension, just because they don’t report something doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I thought I did a better job of teaching that to you all.”
Ces hung her head, letting her blonde hair fall forward over her eyes. “Sorry, Karl-san,” she said. “It’s hard not to pay attention. Every time I turn on TBC Sports, they talk about the lineups and the national team pool and which players should be starting, and I’ve never been criticized by them as much as I’m being criticized now. I try to ignore it, but it’s hard to not let it affect me. I’ll try harder.”
Before Julius could speak again, Piotr Vlasenko put his hands up and said something of his own. “I know what you’re going to say, already. I didn’t make enough plays in center field despite getting the goals, and I didn’t facilitate well enough for Damir and Ces. But they weren’t in position to make plays like I was, and if all of the chances fall to me, I’m going to take all of the shots. I stand by the way I played today,” he said. Of course, Piotr couldn’t be called the problem with this team right now. He’d been great despite not making plays for his teammates.
“Sometimes I think the reason that I’m not starting is because of my last name,” sighed Theodora, referring to how she was the daughter of a famous player who had been a star during her playing days but had been exposed for more and more off the pitch problems recently, ranging from poor parenting to drug abuse. Now, Theodora carried that bad reputation, despite doing absolutely nothing to earn it. “If you remove the names and look at our numbers and match ratings, there’s no way anyone would pick Ces over me based on our recent form for club and country. Just saying.”
The comment had been directed at Antonius and Antonia Karpenko, but Theodora spoke a bit too loudly and she was overheard by Ces, who butted into the conversation. “Maybe when you learn to play as well as you talk, you’ll start,” she said, towering over the smaller girl. At six five, Ces was the most physically imposing member of the squad other than Damir Dragovic-Courtial, who was an inch shorter but much more muscular and athletic. She was referring to the way Theodora was often a locker room leader who spoke eloquently and pumped up the team and their fans with her speeches, but despite this, she had never broken through to become a starter unless Ces was injured.
“Watch yourself,” snapped Theodora, as Ces pushed against the smaller girl and bumped her off of her path. It was unlike the taller girl to do this, as she usually had a strict code for her behavior that, according to her, kept her grounded, but the frustration of the loss was getting to everyone right now. Theodora kept walking, and Ces kept pushing her until she had bumped her into the wall, where she stood in front of her and pinned her there with her body. Everyone else stopped, watching silently as the two strikers faced off. “I can have your career ended in a minute,” Theodora blurted out, saying something that she really shouldn’t have. Her friends in Redvale had heavy connections throughout the Northern Isles, and while it was true that she could put a hit on Ces or sic the Nordskanian media on her, it wasn’t a good idea to advertise those facts.
“You will, eh? What are you going to do to me?” Ces asked, moving her hand to Theodora’s throat and squeezing hard. Antonius and Antonia were watching, but they didn’t interfere because they knew they had no chance in a fight against this giant. “Are you going to stand up for yourself or what? I’ll let you have the first punch. Come on. Prove to me that you’re a real woman and not just a stupid little girl.”
“Francesca, that’s enough!” snapped Julius, using her full name to show how serious he was. But even he wasn’t about to wrestle with someone who was five inches taller than him and much more muscular. “I know we’re all frustrated, but you’re way out of line. Walk away and take some time to calm down-”
“Come on,” said Ces, still holding Theodora by the throat and choking her rival out with one hand. “I’m not letting go until you hit me. You want to prove that you’re better than me? This is the time to do it-”
Theodora threw a weak punch at Ces, who quickly dodged it and responded by landing a hard left hook that caught Theodora on the temple and knocked her to the hard ground. She landed another pair of punches while Theodora was on the ground before Antonius finally stepped in and did his best to hold the large forward back. “C’mon, don’t be like that, Ces,” he said, holding onto her left arm. “I know you could beat Theo up if you wanted, but is that really the right thing to do? She’s tiny and you’re a giant, it’s an unfair fight. You need to be the bigger person here. Figuratively, not literally, I mean. You already are bigger than her-”
Ces threw Antonius off of her, standing over Theodora’s unconscious body and glancing towards Julius. “I’m very sorry, Chief,” she said, turning to him and bowing respectfully. “I don’t know what happened there, my temper got the best of me and I lost control for a few moments… I only wanted to rough her up, I didn’t want to hurt her-”
“Just stop talking, Francesca,” said Julius, sounding like he was a disappointed father who was looking at something bad that his daughter had done. “I can probably already say that you’re going to have to sit the next match for this, and maybe longer. We’ll decide when we have the next staff meeting, tomorrow. I’m not angry at you, I’m just really disappointed that you haven’t grown up at all since you joined our team. I thought you had gained some maturity from your time in Heiwa. Obviously, I was wrong.”
“But Chief-” started Ces, turning on the waterworks and letting tears flow down her cheeks. There was no doubt in Julius’ mind that those tears weren’t genuine, and that she had just learned how to cry on command to milk sympathy from others. Of everyone that had played for Nordskania over the last couple of cycles, Julius knew that Ces was the least mature. She was the one who never owned up for her mistakes or cared how her actions affected others. The fact that she showed this much emotion over her playing time and none at all when she was hurting one of her teammates was concerning.
“No buts,” Julius sighed, holding up a hand to gesture for her to shut up. “You should be glad that you’re getting off with a suspension and some mandatory visits to the psychologist. In some countries that are more strict with off the pitch conduct, you would never make another international appearance after doing something as bad as knocking out a rival teammate. Even at the club level, there’s many teams that would be done with you after what you did. There’s no more excuses, Ces. You’re a grown woman, not some kid, and you’ve proven yourself time and time again to be habitually immature. You’ve also proven time and time again that you only care about yourself. You’ve lied to your family and to multiple teammates about your career plans to keep them from bothering you, and now you’ve shown that you could care less about hurting your teammates because of a petty argument. If Antonius hadn’t stepped in, you were going to keep hitting Theodora while she was unconscious. You don’t care about the damage that could do, just about looking tough-”
“She threatened me and said she would end my career,” Ces pleaded, as the others watched. Their star center fielder was unraveling before their eyes, as more tears ran down her cheeks and she gestured emphatically, trying to prove the point. “I didn’t mean to keep hitting her, I was just so angry that I couldn’t control myself-”
“You’re full of shit, Ces,” Antonius stated. “Those extra blows were completely intentional. You were trying to break something so she would be out of commission for the rest of our matches, since she’s your main competition. Just own up to it and stop making excuses like you always do.”
“I’m sorry,” Ces said again, before turning and running into the locker room and leaving the others behind. So that was that. This team didn’t handle losing and playing badly well, and now their tempers were flaring as a result. Julius could just hope that they would continue their pattern of bouncing back with wins, before things fell apart completely at the seams. They were so close, yet so far, from being a legitimate contender to go to the World Cup. And now, that was getting into the heads of just about everyone.
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Antonius was faced with a situation where he needed courage. Natasha Grekov was surrounded with her older friends: Arkadi Zima, Leandro Besic, Alek Brzic, Grace Aguilar. Those five liked to break away from the rest of the locker room and hang out as their own little group, where they often staged pictures with each other for social media and had private conversations about the rest of the team, that Antonius knew were filled with gossip. Arkadi was Natasha’s cousin and could be quite intimidating to a younger player, and Grace Aguilar and Leandro Besic were both popular and well marketed players who were viewed as distant by the younger members of the squad. Alek was more down to earth, but even he was much older than Antonius.
It would be awkward to approach the group and try to impress Natasha, but it was what Julius wanted Antonius to do and it was what he had spent the last three or so days preparing to do. “Go get your girl,” his twin sister told him, slapping him on the back and forcing him to stand up from one of the benches to go across the visitor’s locker room to the side where Natasha’s group was waiting. This was already more awkward than he intended, as Natasha already saw him coming and watched him the whole time as he made his walk across the room. Maybe he should turn back. She was seven years older, after all. He had been right when he said that the age gap would make it awkward. And Antonius wasn’t used to doing things like this. He was more of a quiet passive observer than someone who was good at impressing others with his social skills. It was too late to turn back, though.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, he was standing across the room where Natasha’s friends were gathered around her, looking at something that she was showing them on her phone. “Hey…” he tried to say, but his voice trailed off. None of them looked up. “Hey,” he repeated, and they still didn’t notice. His hands were shaking and his forehead was sweating and his face war turning a bit red by now, and he was losing his voice. “Um… I have something I want to say. Or ask,” he finally said, and Natasha looked up.
Her cold grey eyes seemed to pierce his soul, and now her other friends were starting to look up. She pocketed her phone, and cocked her head to the side as she studied his face. Everything felt like it was happening much slower, now. Natasha was staring straight at Antonius, and Arkadi was eyeing him up too, and Grace looked like she was miffed that he had interrupted their gossiping. Arkadi imitated him the most. He was shirtless right now, showing both the muscles of his chest and abs and the tattoos that decorated his body. And Antonius knew that as a cousin of Natasha, he would be protective of her. “Uh…”
“What is it, kid?” asked Natasha, sounding like she was about to say something cutting. But she stopped, at least for now. He couldn’t tell if it was because she genuinely wanted to be nice, or because she didn’t want to get on the bad side of the manager’s grandson. Everyone else was glaring at Antonius for interrupting, but Natasha kept a straight face and waited patiently for his voice to return.
“I wanted to ask you if you want to go on a date with me, or something,” Antonius finally muttered. He expected an immediate reaction, but nothing happened, and that was because he had spoken so quietly that they couldn’t hear him.
“You what?”
“I think you’re the most beautiful girl in the world and I really enjoy being around you even though we haven’t hung out much, and I admire your popularity and leadership and I really enjoy your personality and I want to ask if you want to go on a date with me because of that,” Antonius blurted out, saying all of that in a few seconds. That wasn’t how he wanted it to come out, but he had resorted to using every point from Julius’ notes at once to try to impress her. She was supposedly a narcissist, which meant she really liked it when someone complimented her looks and personality and made her the center of attention. She also was an alpha personality, and according to the psychologist’s evaluation of her, it made her extremely happy when someone remarked positively on her popularity or her leadership traits. While most girls would see through such an obvious attempt at making things up to impress someone, Natasha just smiled. Antonius was sure that she was distracted by the attention.
“You know that I’m seven years older, don’t you?” she asked, still smiling. “That’s really cute that you asked, though. You remind me of Arkadi when he went steady with his girlfriend-”
“Um, I also brought you something,” said Antonius, who had completely forgotten about the box in his hand. He opened it up, showing her the silver necklace that was inside. It wasn’t gold, but it was still nice and Antonia had given it to him to give to Natasha, because she wasn’t the type of girl to wear jewelry. She had supposedly gotten it from some ex boyfriend, and according to her, it would be better off with Natasha than her.
“Silver, not gold?” chuckled Natasha, but despite her verbal reaction, her eyes showed that she was somewhat impressed. “Like I said, this is all really cute. What makes you think I want to go out with someone that’s basically a kid, though? Even if you’re a Karpenko, you’re still only eighteen.”
“Uh… Sorry…”
“No, I’m just messing with you, kid. You seem nice, I don’t mind taking you out to town and seeing where it leads us,” Natasha said, reaching out and pulling him into her inner circle of friends. “And also, no matter what happens between us, you’re welcome to hang out with me and my posse. You’ve got huevos, and we like people like you. Right, guys?”
The others grumbled responses that ranged from grudging acceptance to annoyance. Arkadi made eye contact with Antonius, and then made a throat cutting gesture with his hand that told Antonius that he had seen straight through his little ‘proposal’. Arkadi probably assumed that Antonius only wanted to be with Natasha because she was a Grekov and because dating a Grekov worked wonders for someone’s social standing, and while Antonius didn’t have one hundred percent pure intentions, that wasn’t his motivation at all. All the boy could do was look away nervously. Natasha had her arm around him and was looking in the other direction, smiling and chuckling with Alek about something while Arkadi and Grace looked like they were ready to murder the boy on the spot. This turned out to be more interesting than Antonius, or Julius for that matter, had ever planned.