Diego the Tornado

by Joachim Masannek

  Fabio

  It was the day after Memorial Day when danger showed its face for the very first time. The first day of school after a long weekend is bad enough, I think. But to top it all off, I had been coughing all night and overslept. You can imagine I wasn’t exactly in a good mood. I was late for school, and when I finally arrived, I was still a little out of it. Still in a daze, I walked into the classroom and straight to my seat. Then, I froze in my tracks.

  The chair between Kevin and Danny, my chair, was taken. I was stunned. I stared at the boy. Then I heard the teacher’s voice: “Students, Fabio is from Brazil. His father works here. He’s playing for the Chicago Fire this season.”

  An excited murmur made its way around the classroom. Kevin, Julian, and Danny stared at the boy in my chair, awestruck.

  “Wow!” they all shouted, and Kevin and Danny high fived each other. “Dude! What’d I tell you?” Danny laughed enthusiastically. “He’s the son of a soccer God!”

  Fabio smiled proudly when he heard this. Nobody noticed me. Even the teacher didn’t seem to notice that I was standing in the aisle without a place to sit.

  “I knew you would enjoy hearing this,” the teacher smiled. “But I suggest you discuss the important things in life, like soccer, during recess.”

  Then he wrote the word Brazil on the board.

  “Let’s talk about Brazil,” he said in that special tone teachers use to make offers you cannot refuse. I was not at all in the mood to talk about Brazil. But how was the teacher supposed to know that? He didn’t even see me!

  “Who knows anything about Fabio’s home country?” the teacher asked and turned around to face us. “I mean, except for the fact that they play soccer there.”

  Our teacher smiled into our silence. Nobody had listened. That is, nobody but me.

  “Apparently, in Brazil, people sit on the floor,” I hissed like a snake.

  Now everyone noticed me.

  I was standing in the aisle. Fabio furrowed his brow with obvious hostility and eyeballed me up and down. Our teacher didn’t appreciate my remark either.

  “Oh, good morning, Diego,” he said. “Would you mind explaining what you mean?”

  “No problem!” I answered, still hissing. “It looks to me like they don’t have enough chairs in Brazil. Or else Fabio wouldn’t have stolen mine.”

  “Oh,” the teacher said again, finally realizing what was bothering me. He looked at Kevin and Danny, and then at Fabio sitting between them on my seat. “I was under the impression you had already worked this out with Diego.”

  Caught red-handed, Kevin and Danny fussed with their t-shirts.

  “Now I understand,” the teacher nodded. “I recommend you clear this up during recess. Until then, Diego, please take a seat next to Roger.”

  Of course I heard. I have 20-20 hearing. I shot an angry glance at Kevin and Danny, then I walked towards the other chair. I was about to sit down, when Fabio raced from my chair and sat down in the one next to Roger, leaving my seat empty.

  “Hello Diego,” he said politely. “You are Diego the tornado, right?” he smiled. “Sorry about the chair thing.”

  I stared at him for a moment. Ignoring his smile, I walked back to my own seat between Kevin and Danny.

  “Dude, what’s up?” Kevin whispered. “We thought you were sick.”

  “Yeah, man!” Danny sighed. “And we’re really sorry. I swear, Diego.”

  But I didn’t give a rip about their apologies. I opened my books and stared at the boring pictures.

  “Fabio’s cool, Diego,” Julian said from the row behind me, trying to ease the tension. “He said he wants to practice with us today. Isn’t that cool?”

  “Cool?” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Who exactly is it that’s coming for practice? Fabio or his father?”

  I glared at Fabio.

  “I mean, it’s your father who’s the soccer pro, right? So how do we know you can even play?”

  Fabio scowled at me, and then looked to Kevin and Danny.

  “Look, that’s not important!” Roger chimed in. “Fabio is a good guy. He’s new. He doesn’t have any friends.”

  “So what,” I snarled. “Go ahead and play with him then.”

  That put a lid on it. Even the teacher was speechless and forgot to start the lesson.

  “I’m sorry,” Kevin said to Fabio. “Diego isn’t always like this. He’s worried we’re going to replace him with you. Am I right?” he said, staring straight at me.

  That hit home. Hard. But I wouldn’t admit it. I ignored him and stared out the window. “You can kiss my shin-guards!” I grumbled. “Fabio is no friend of mine. He is not nice or cool. He’s stuck-up and arrogant. You’ll see.” Yes, that’s what I thought then. I was sure of it. And it didn’t take long before everyone knew I was right.

  Fabio, the Wizard

  When I arrived on the field that afternoon, everyone else was already there. Everyone but Fabio. They were sitting in a circle around Larry, crooning about the Brazilian wonder child. Joey and Kyle, who attend different schools than the rest of us, didn’t know Fabio yet and couldn’t believe their ears.

  “Wow!” Joey murmured. “Ribaldo’s son? You serious?”

  Kyle whistled.

  “If he plays only half as well as his old man, he’s a God.” I rolled my eyes.

  “A God? Give me a break. Why is he hiding then?” The others looked at me in surprise and even Larry scowled.

  “I bet he doesn’t show,” I spat. “He won’t dare. He’s scared because he’s not all that good.”

  At that very moment someone tapped my shoulder.

  “Hello, Diego!” Fabio said, walked past me and sat down with the others. He was greeted enthusiastically.

  “Hey, Fabio!”

  “Glad you could make it!”

  “Dude, your jersey looks cool.”

  “What kind of shoes are those?”

  Fabio wore the jersey of the Brazilian national team and his shoes were golden. They almost blinded you.

  “My father gave them to me,” he said proudly.

  ‘What a loser! Nothin’ but a show-off!’ I thought, rolling my eyes.

  But the others obviously didn’t think so. Even Larry got up, something he had never done for any of us, and extended his hand to Fabio.

  “You’re Fabio,” he said, just as my ball hit him in the chest.

  “What are we waiting for?” I demanded, glaring at everyone. “I’m here to practice.”

  Larry’s eyes wandered from me to Fabio. He pushed his cap far back on his head and scratched his forehead. He always did that when he had to think hard.

  “I see. Okay. Let’s play four against two. The four outside are Danny, Kevin, Fabio and Diego. Roger and I play in the center.”

  I clenched my fist and pressed my lips together. This was not what I had in mind.

  Fabio and I on the same team? I sure didn’t appreciate that. But Larry’s glance didn’t allow any room for arguing.

  “Okay. Fine!” I sulked. “How many passes?”

  “Seven!” Larry announced. “If you can manage seven passes without Roger or me getting to the ball, you get a point. Otherwise we do, and three points win.”

  I looked at Fabio, my enemy.

  “Seven passes, you hear?”

  “Yes, seven,” he nodded. “Got it.”

  “Good,” I shot back and picked up the ball. “And just so we’re clear, Fabio, the center has never won.”

  I ran out to the field, dropped the ball and waited for the others to take position. Kevin, Danny, Fabio and I made a circle about twenty feet apart from each other. Roger and Larry took position in the middle. The first pass was easy, but then things heated up. Larry and Roger charged towards us. Winning would take fast and precise passes. But I didn’t want to win. I wanted to lose, and I wanted it to be Fabio’s fault. So I directed the first pass to him. I played it hard and low. I knew that was against the rules but I wanted him to lose the ball the
first time he tried. ‘Losing the ball to Roger would seal the deal,’ I thought. Fabio would be humiliated and I’d keep my spot on the team.

  They’d see that I didn’t give up that easily. Everything went according to plan. Roger saw my pass and fully expected what I expected. No way could anyone stop that ball. That’s why Roger threw himself onto Fabio to catch the ricochet. But Roger straddled into nothing. Fabio plucked the ball from the air with his big toe as if he had a lasso, lifted it on his thighs, played over Roger’s head, took it with his left foot and, although Larry was charging him, played it past him to Danny.

  But neither Danny nor Kevin moved. They were as amazed as I was.

  “Tight!” Roger exclaimed. “That was really wild!”

  “No! That was magic!” Danny shouted, ran towards the ball and passed to Kevin.

  “Three!” he counted out loud.

  Kevin took the ball while I ran to a free spot.

  “Here!” I shouted, but Kevin shot a pass back to Danny, who passed to Fabio, although I had shouted “here” yet again, and was completely free and unguarded.

  “Five!” Danny and Kevin shouted at the same time. Fabio wasn’t free and unguarded. He stood right in between Larry and Roger and they charged him immediately. Fabio had less room than a postage stamp to move on, but he stayed calm. He stepped on the ball, pushed his butt back, turned in a quarter circle, shouted “Danny, watch out!” tossed the ball straight in the air and headed it back to me.

  “Six!” he shouted. “Diego, come on, time for number 7!”

  But I didn’t move. My jaw dropped to the floor. I was furious. I couldn’t and wouldn’t admit I was wrong about Fabio. The last thing I wanted was for him to be a great soccer player.

  “Come on, Diego, pass the ball!” Danny shouted. I looked at him. Then I looked for the ball, but I just couldn’t find it.

  “You blind or something!?” Kevin exploded. “Look!”

  I looked. The ball was at my feet. I blushed, that’s how mortified I was. I lifted my foot. Kevin was free. The seventh pass should have been child’s play. That’s when Roger slid into my shot.

  “One to zero for the center!” he shouted triumphantly, and Danny and Kevin shook their heads in disbelief.

  “Diego, what’s the matter with you?”

  I looked at Larry, pleading for help, but he didn’t come to my rescue. He just looked back at me. But I couldn’t do or say anything. I was humiliated. Instead of Fabio, I had been the one to lose the ball to Roger, and that made me even more furious. But I was no longer angry with Fabio, I was angry with myself.

  “Come on! Let’s go on!” I sulked, took the ball and this time I played a clean pass to Kevin.

  “One!” I gathered some courage, but the pass was too short.

  “Awww!” Kevin complained, but he got to the ball just before Roger did, and passed it to Danny, who played it back to Kevin, who gunned it to Fabio.

  “Four!” I shouted loudly.

  The pass was imprecise. Larry charged and I was sure he’d catch it. But Fabio slid into the ball before Larry could get there, picked it up with his left foot and tipped it gently towards me with his right.

  ‘Impossible!’ I thought and stopped the ball with my right. ‘No mistakes now,’ I pleaded with myself. I placed the ball so I could kick it with my right, but I had to double step to do so and that took time. Roger reached the ball before me.

  “Two zero for the center!” he shouted. All I wanted was a hole in the ground to hide in.

  That’s when Fabio came over to me.

  “Diego?” he asked politely. “Can I tell you something?”

  I glared at him. “And what would that be?”

  Fabio met my gaze. “I usually stop the ball with my weaker foot so I can play it with my stronger foot right away. No double steps that way.”

  He put the ball at his feet with his left and then quickly passed it to me with his right.

  “You see?” he smiled, but I just stared at him. ‘What is he babbling about, a weaker foot?’ I thought. ‘The way he plays he has five strong feet.’

  I was upset. Fabio took the ball.

  “This is serious now!” he shouted. “We’ll have to score the next three points in a row.”

  I swallowed anxiously. The ball rolled towards Kevin, who played a quick pass to Danny. Then the pass came to me. ‘I have to make it,’ I thought, ‘at any cost,’ but then I saw Roger and Larry charging towards me. My right foot touched the ball automatically. ‘No, that’s wrong,’ I thought and pulled my leg back. Big mistake! The ball rolled right through my legs. I couldn’t believe it. I turned around as quickly as possible, pushed my body between the ball and Roger, blocked him, stopped the ball with my left and passed to Fabio with my right.

  “Wow!” he said. “That was fantastic!”

  I beamed and shouted: “Five!” I was back in the groove.

  After that everything was easy. Kevin and Danny made the next two points and the score was two to two. The next point would decide the match. Kevin started. He cut to Fabio, who passed the ball to me. Everything worked beautifully. Roger slid into nothing again and again, and after the fifth time he complained.

  “It’s not fair!” he shouted. “Fabio is way too good!”

  Larry reacted differently. He turned his game up a notch and showed us what he had. We were stunned. We had never seen him play like that. Larry was even better than Fabio, despite his lame leg. It took quite an effort to make the sixth pass. One more pass and we would have won. But it wasn’t that easy. Fabio had the ball, but Larry cornered him. Fabio had to give it his all to get the ball to me. But the pass was too hard and too low. I couldn’t take it with my foot. I looked around. Roger towered behind me, confident of certain victory. That’s when I threw myself onto the ball and headed it to Kevin. He stopped the pass with his chest.

  “Alright! That’s seven!” he shouted. “We did it!”

  “That was fantastic, Diego!” Danny added.

  But I was on the ground, looking up at Fabio.

  “Thanks!” I said to him.

  “What for?” Fabio shrugged his shoulders, grinning. Then he reached out his hand and helped me up.

  “Without you,” he said, “I would have messed it up.”

  I couldn’t believe he said that.

  Then we all walked off the field to the stand. Larry sprang for a round of lemonades and we sat down in the grass around Fabio. Fabio told us about the beaches in Brazil and about his friends. He told us how sad he was when he had to leave, and how glad he was to have met us. Then he paused and looked at his golden shoes for a long time, suddenly uncomfortable.

  “I’d really like to play with you,” he hesitated. “Is that what you want, too?”

  “Does the deer live in the woods?” Danny beamed.

  “Of course we do!” the others shouted. “What kind of question is that?”

  But then Fabio looked up from his shoes, directly at me.

  “What about you, Diego?” his voice was barely audible. “Do you want that, too?”

  I blushed, fighting the lump in my throat. I could see that Fabio was anxious.

  “Dude!” I swallowed. “More than anything!”

  I grinned and we high-fived. My anger and jealousy had vanished. At that moment, I would have done anything for him. And if someone had told me what was going to happen the next day, I would have called them a liar.

  Diego is Right

  The next morning at school, we were all waiting for Fabio. We felt 10-feet-tall and like 12-year-olds. We were a real soccer team with a real Brazilian on the team, just like the MLS. And we knew that if you play in the MLS, you’re really cool. You’re no longer afraid of anyone, not even Mickey the bulldozer.

  Suddenly, that’s who appeared right before us, his Darth Vader shirt desperately trying to keep his fat bulges from exploding all over the playground. When he breathed, he sounded like a seal snoring, and his beady little eyes beamed like hot lasers from t
he fatty folds of his face, gunning us up and down. As usual, he picked on the weakest of the bunch. Me.

  “Out of my way, Asthma!” he hissed. Right behind him stood Octopus, Kong, the monumental creature from the prairies of Mongolia, and the Grim Reaper, wearing the usual chains around his neck.

  I swallowed, expecting an asthma attack. Asthma attacks and Mickey the bulldozer always seem to go together. But that day my breathing stayed calm. I watched myself, as if I was dreaming.

  “What do you want?” I asked the monster jellyfish. “In case you didn’t notice, this is a school, not the zoo!”

  Mickey squinted. He didn’t expect that to come out of my mouth and therefore couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “In case you didn’t know, schools are for intelligent creatures who walk upright,” I explained, not believing what I was saying. This was the kind of stuff Kevin and Danny would say. Now I know why. It was fun.

  “Do you really think,” I continued, “you belong to that species?”

  The bulldozer’s beady eyes darted back and forth like crazy, that’s how much his small brain had to work. He was suffering mental overload.

  “Monsters like you belong in the zoo. You get what I’m saying?” I needled him, totally oblivious to the danger I was in.

  The bulldozer’s face swelled and lit up from the inside like a lava lamp. His beady eyes drilled holes into me. The Darth Vader shirt rippled, like the ground during an earthquake, as he tried to grab me with his huge meaty hands. I ducked, but I wasn’t quick enough. He grabbed me by my shirt and lifted me effortlessly off the ground. My legs dangled in the air.

  “You are so dead, Asthma!” Mickey seethed into my face, his breath so bad I could see it.

  But I didn’t give up. I swallowed his stinking breath, grinned back, and went for the big guns. “Let me down, or I’ll serve your butt to Sox for breakfast!”

  Mickey froze and looked quickly around, beads of sweat forming on his massive pimply forehead. Octopus, Grim Reaper and Kong also looked for Kevin’s dog with the big flapping ears.