The day after his debut, Thiago woke early—not from the alarm, but from habit. His body still felt like it was vibrating with leftover adrenaline. Not pain. Not fatigue. Just energy with nowhere to go.
He sat up, rubbed his face, and checked his phone.
Three unread ssages. One from João. One from Camila. One unknown number.
João’s ca first.
João:You moved like you belonged. Keep going. I’ll be watching when I’m not getting scread at by the U20 coach.
Thiago smiled.
He typed back:
Thiago: I miss training with soone who passes back.
João replied instantly.
João: You want complints or assists? You can’t have both.
He answered Camila next.
Camila:You didn’t smile once in the post-match photos.
Thiago: Didn’t score. Nothing to smile about.
Camila:You’re on a first team sheet at 15. That’s more than half the pros I’ve seen.
Thiago:They’ll forget if I play badly next match.
There was a long pause.
Then:
Camila:I won’t.
The unknown number was last.
Just one line:
Lucia:Would you be open to a short follow-up? Just for the piece. Five minutes.
He replied after a minute.
Thiago:Tomorrow. Keep it about the match.
She answered two minutes later.
Lucia:Always.
The training field that morning was slick with dew. Possession drills. Cutbacks. Half-pitch sequences. Thiago was sharper now—less cautious. Not reckless, but bold.
Rafael called to him during a small-sided ga.
"Overlap!"
Thiago surged ahead, drew the defender wide, then backheeled the ball into space for a cutback.
Shot. Deflected. Still clean play.
Eneas blew his whistle. "Good run, 17. Keep your head up."
Nando didn’t say anything that day. He just avoided eye contact. But Thiago noticed the look he gave when the staff announced the squad for the next league match.
Thiago’s na was on the bench again.
Nando’s wasn’t.
That afternoon, Thiago found a quiet table outside the admin building for the follow-up.
Lucia arrived wearing sunglasses and a press badge clipped to her bag. Still no cara. Just a small recorder and her notebook.
"You look less annoyed than last ti," she said, sitting down.
"I slept."
"Can’t imagine you do much of that these days."
"I sleep fine," he said. "Dreams are louder, though."
Lucia smiled a little and clicked her pen. "You don’t say things for the headline, do you?"
"I say what I an."
"You don’t an the part about not smiling?"
He shrugged. "I’ll smile when it’s finished."
"And when is that?"
"When they stop calling it a fluke."
Lucia tilted her head. "You think they will?"
"I don’t care if they don’t."
She jotted sothing, then said quietly, "You’re more open than I expected."
"Maybe I’m learning."
"Or maybe you’re just tired of being quiet."
Thiago looked at her fully for the first ti.
"Is that part of the article?"
She smiled. "No. That’s just being nosy."
Later that night, João called again. This ti video.
"You look tired," João said, grinning.
"You look like you haven’t slept in a week."
"Coach won’t stop running us. They think we’re gonna grow faster if we sweat more."
Thiago laughed for real. It was short but genuine.
"I saw the article," João added. "She wrote it clean. No fluff."
"She listens."
"Rare," João said. "You talk to Camila?"
Thiago nodded. "She’s been texting more."
"You think it’s real?"
He hesitated. "I think it was always real. I’m just not sure where it fits now."
João didn’t push. Just leaned back.
"You talk to Caio lately?"
"No," Thiago said after a beat.
" neither. He stopped replying around the ti you got moved up."
"I’ll ssage him."
"You should," João said. "He always looked up to you more than he’d admit."
Thiago nodded. "Yeah. He did."
Camila ssaged again that night.
Camila: Do they treat you differently now?
Thiago: So do. Most don’t talk.
Camila: That good or bad?
Thiago: It’s quiet. I like quiet.
Another ssage ca after a mont.
Camila: You’ll be playing again soon, right?
Thiago: Saturday. Maybe.
She replied instantly.
Camila :I’ll be watching. I show the videos to Clara. She says you don’t run enough.
He smiled.
Thiago: Tell her I’m conserving energy. Like a cat.
Camila: She said cats are lazy.
He laughed again. Alone, this ti, with the room dim and the city lights flickering outside.
He opened the System before sleep. Just to check.
—
Level: 13
EXP: 128 / 500
Skill Points: 9
Focus Stability: High
Stamina Efficiency: Normal
—
No flashing quests. No new abilities.
Just the quiet hum of growth.
He closed it. Plugged in his phone. Let the darkness take him.
And for once, he dread without running.
Reviews
All reviews (0)